Don Swayze is an American actor and stuntman. He is popularly known as the younger brother of Patrick Swayze, the Dirty Dancing star. Due to his extraordinary talent and long career, he has made a name for himself as a star of several television shows and films, including hits like Sons of Anarchy, Hawaii Five-0, and True Blood.
Who Is Don Swayze?
Don Swayze was born on 10th August, 1958. His performances in dramatic TV series, soap operas, feature films, and theatrical productions are what made him most famous. Swayze is from a well-respected creative family and was raised in Houston, Texas.
His mother, Yvonne Patsy Swayze was a dance instructor, and his father, Jesse Wayne Swayze was an engineering draughtsman. He had an elder brother, Patrick and a sister, Vickie Lynn. In addition, Swayze has a younger brother named Sean Kyle and a younger sister named Bora Song who were adopted.
Patrick and Don Swayze attended and completed their education at Frank Black Junior High School in northwest Houston before enrolling in and graduating from Waltrip High School.
When Don’s father suffered a heart attack in 1982, it was a devastating blow, but by that point, he was able to take care of himself, so he chose not to allow the sad event to break him. Instead, he focused more on developing the talents that would aid him in his acting career.
He gained knowledge of skydiving, fighting choreography, singing, dancing, riding horses, and riding bikes. In 1983, he was prepared to tackle the unpredictable American entertainment industry and began going to television auditions.
Don Swayze’s Career
Swayze has portrayed a variety of characters in a wide range of motion pictures during his varied career. In the 1980 motion picture Urban Cowboy, he performed dances. In Father for Charlie, he portrayed the character “Ruben,” and in Shy People, he played “Mark.” He most famously co starred with Corey Feldman in the film Edge of Honour, in which he played a “homicidal lumberjack.”
Swayze portrayed “Col. Sherman Rutherford” in the 2012 western-noir hybrid, Heathens and Thieves. In addition, he has acted in films like Death Ring. In the IMAX movie Alamo: The Price of Freedom, he portrayed “James Bonham,” the Alamo courier.
In addition to making appearances in conventional movies, Swayze’s flexibility was seen in his work on television. In the seventh episode of the fifth season of the Netflix series Longmire, he played “James (Jim) Mackey.” In addition, he appeared in two soap operas, Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless.
2010 saw Swayze make six cameo appearances in the HBO vampire series True Blood in a recurring role as a werewolf named “Gus.”
His history in television dramas includes multiple roles in series such as Carnivàle, NYPD Blue, The X Files, Murder She Wrote, and NCIS. Interestingly, Swayze played an intellectually disabled man suspected of murder in a Matlock TV episode. He also acted as a member of a gang who kidnapped guests at the hotel in the 1989 Western drama Paradise. He portrayed the demon “Lucius” in a Charmed episode from 2005, and he appeared as “Jesse James” in a Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode from season two.
Swayze’s stage career also showcased his acting talents. In 2001, he took on the role of “Pedro” in Man of La Mancha at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. In 2005, he portrayed “Roy” in the comedy Lone Star at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
Swayze and Anne Archer co-starred in an original theatrical production of Jane Fonda: In the Court of Public Opinion, which was performed in the autumn of 2011 at the Edgemar Theatre in Santa Monica, California. He performed the part of a wounded Vietnam War veteran, “Sgt. Don Simpson (retired),” in this production.
Don Swayze’s Net Worth
Swayze’s estimated net worth is $1.5 million. The actor makes a living by taking part in motion pictures.
