Xander Berkeley was born on December 16, 1955, in Brooklyn, New York, though he lived most of his life in New Jersey. He began acting as a child at a local experimental theater and made his first big-screen appearance in Mommie Dearest (1981). By the mid-'80s roles were coming in fast. He was Tom Hanks' roommate in Volunteers (1985), and in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) he played John Connor's foster parent. He was Capt. Whitaker in Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men (1992), and gave a good performance as Henry Hurt in Apollo 13 (1995). He had a great role as turncoat Secret Service agent Gibbs in Air Force One (1997), and most recently has been doing a standout turn as George Mason in the TV series "24" (2001), a role that has brought him critical acclaim. Like many other actors, in the future he would like to take up directing.