Why Alan Keene From Yellowstone Looks So Familiar
In the early days of "Yellowstone," when John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) biggest problems were stolen cattle, land baron Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston), and the occasional family squabble, everything seemed so simple. In the land disputes, though, the Dutton family has to contend with the suits — like Alan Keene. Alan is a lawyer we see in Season 1, Episodes 1 and 3 — in fact, he's the third character we see in the show. In his first scene, he argues in court against Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), trying to break up the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. In Episode 3, he returns to temper Dan Jenkins' fiercer instincts, talking him down from seeking legal recourse after John moved a tributary to thwart Dan's plans. Alan then tries to talk Dan out of flirting with John's glass-shards-tornado of a daughter, Beth (Kelly Reilly). Dan doesn't listen, of course.
So who is Alan? He's a slick-haired suit, a slight but notable character among the sprawling Minnesota legal landscape. Those two episodes are his only ones — that's all "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan wrote for Alan Keene. In his two scenes, though, Alan might look familiar to some — his actor has enjoyed a long career in film and television.
Actor Bill Tangradi got his start in television procedurals
Bill Tangradi plays Alan Keene in "Yellowstone," but the Paramount Network series is far from the actor's first rodeo when it comes to TV. Tangradi's first screen acting role came in 2005; like many actors starting in the business, his first role was on the procedural "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Tangradi plays a leather jacket-wearing detective in the Season 4 episode "Gone," working with scene partners Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, and Jamey Sheridan as the detectives try to solve a murder.
From there, he appeared briefly in two episodes of the NBC series "Third Watch," followed by appearances in two episodes of NBC's flagship procedural "Law & Order." In the Season 15 episode "Publish and Perish," he has a cameo appearance, and in the Season 16 episode "Acid," he plays a different character named Chris Robinson. In 2007, Tangradi appeared in CBS' procedural "Without a Trace" and ABC's bank robbery drama "The Nine," with a one-episode appearance in each.
Tangradi starred in Jeremy Saulnier's low-budget debut, Murder Party
Bill Tangradi's first significant film role came in Jeremy Saulnier's Halloween-set 2007 film "Murder Party." It's a bloody satire in which an unassuming man (Chris Sharp) accepts an invitation to a party, unaware that his hosts intend to kill him. The film is essentially an eight-person play, with Tangradi playing Zycho, an ambiguously Eastern European pierogi salesman-turned-drug dealer. For an actor accustomed to playing cops in TV shows, the "Murder Party" role lets Tangradi flex as an unsavory, edgy character who gets plenty of screentime. Saulnier went on to become a reputable thriller director, known for writing and directing "Blue Ruin" and "Green Room," as well as several Season 3 episodes of "True Detective." His grisly debut remains a cult favorite (via Talk Film Society), retroactively making it Tangradi's first high-profile project.
In the rest of Tangradi's early days, in 2008, he found roles in "Medium" in the supernatural drama series' fourth season premiere, as a cop in a Season 4 episode of CBS' crime series "Numb3rs"; and as Gary for one episode in Season 2 of CBS' short-lived sci-fi drama "Jericho." 2009 brought Tangradi minor, single-episode roles in far more prestigious series: "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," "iCarly," and "Castle." He would go on to play a police officer in "The Good Wife" and a drug dealer in "Weeds," both in one-episode appearances. He was also featured in an episode of "Person of Interest" and then in "True Blood."
The Yellowstone actor went on to have small parts in Argo and the Twilight saga
After eight years of minor, primarily single-episode roles in television — mostly in dramas or police procedurals — Bill Tangradi had an eventful 2012. Back to back, the "Murder Party" actor appeared in Ben Affleck's best picture-winning "Argo" and the hotly anticipated "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2."
In "Argo," Tangradi can be seen in the film's tense opening sequence, depicting Iranian militants storming the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. He plays Alan Golacinski, an officer prepping a room full of security personnel to hold off the rioters. Then, trying to resolve the situation peacefully, he ventures outside, only to be beaten and forced at gunpoint to let the crowd into the embassy.
Tangradi also played a role in the teen vampire sensation "Twilight" when he appeared in the series' climactic final installment, "Breaking Dawn — Part 2." Sporting a defined beard and the characteristic pale skin and red vampire eyes, Tangradi plays Randall, one of the many vampires who come to the aid of the Cullen family against the Volturi. Tangradi expressed enthusiasm for the role in the "Twilight" saga on the red carpet. "Breaking Dawn — Part 2" was a massive financial success, grossing just shy of $1 billion worldwide, and it is, to date, Tangradi's most notable film.
After Twilight, Tangradi juggled film and TV and worked with Matthew McConaughey
After appearing in "Breaking Dawn — Part 2," he continued working in one-off roles. After an episode of "Criminal Minds" and "The Mindy Project," Bill Tangradi graduated to a four-episode role in "Justified" as Cyrus in Seasons 5 and 6.
After "Justified," Tangradi scored a relatively significant villainous role as a Confederate Lieutenant in the Civil War drama "Free State of Jones," where he shared the screen with Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey. Critic Godfrey Cheshire with RogerEbert.com called Tangradi's performance a "stand-out." At a premiere of the film, Tangradi told The Hollywood Reporter, "I just hope that this film just creates a conversation, that it creates a discourse — an ongoing discourse about race in America, about the role of sovereignty in America and an individual's will to try and affect change, no matter what your race is."
Before appearing on "Yellowstone," he moved up the call sheet to play Nathan in the Guy Pearce historical Western drama "Brimstone." He then appeared in "Twin Peaks: The Return" in the third and fifth episodes as Jake, a hitman hired to kill Dougie Jones (Kyle MacLachlan). Almost anticipating his turn in "Yellowstone," Tangradi played Officer Rudolph in the Western police drama "Longmire" in the episode "Thank You, Victoria" before nabbing a more prominent role in the Western revenge drama "Desolate."