This lanky, long-faced character player of American stage, film, and TV has proven adept at playing guys of a relatively conservative and nervous bent. Often unsympathetic, Ruck was widely seen as the annoying tourist on the bus in Jan De Bont's blockbuster actioner "Speed" (1994). He was also quite convincing as the inexperienced captain of the new Enterprise in the opening sequence of "Star Trek: Generations" (1994). Perhaps his finest and most indelible screen role was that of Cameron, the cautious and depressive buddy of Matthew Broderick's title character, in John Hughes' "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986). He would rarely be so likable again.Ruck began his career on the Chicago stage appearing in various off-Loop productions in the early 1980s. He also worked in regional theater and off-Broadway before making his 1985 Broadway debut in Neil Simon's autobiographical "Biloxi Blues", co-starring Broderick. Ruck originated the role of Carney, the soldier who aspires to be the next Perry Como.
Segueing to the small screen in the mid-80s, Ruck appeared in several busted pilots, guest shots and TV-movies. He had stints as a regular in a series of unsuccessful TV comedies in the 90s including "Going Places" (ABC, 1990-91), as a socially maladjusted TV writer, "The Edge" (Fox, 1992-93), as an ensemble member for sketch comedy and "Daddy's Girls" (CBS, 1994), as Dudley Moore's son-in-law and "the world's most boring ophthalmologist". That last failure was followed by the short-lived "Muscle" (WB, 1995), a serialized sitcom in which he played a sex-obsessed shrink.
On the big screen, Ruck's pre-blockbuster feature credits included the road comedy "Three for the Road" (1987), "Three Fugitives" (1989) and "Young Guns II" (1990). The latter offered the atypical role of a soft-spoken, peaceful farmer who joins Billy the Kid to avenge the loss of his farm. Ruck resumed playing against more glamorous leads and impressive special effects as a supporting player in Jan De Bont's "Twister" (1996).
Profession(s):
Actor
Sometimes Credited As:
2003 Acted in the comedy "Cheaper by the Dozen," which starred Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt
1998 Appeared in the HBO mini series "From the Earth to the Moon"
1996 Cast in regular role on the ABC sitcom "Spin City"
1995 Played a regular role on "Muscle", a serialized sitcom on The WB TV Network
1994 Played Lenny, a dull opthamologist, on "Daddy's Girls", a short-lived sitcom
1986 First film lead, John Hughes' "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
1985 Broadway debut in the original production of Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues"
1984 TV-movie debut, "Hard Knox", an unsold pilot for a Robert Conrad military academy series
1983 Feature acting debut, "Class", a teen comedy starring Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy and Jacqueline Bisset
1980 Stage debut, "Album" at Chicago's Apollo Theater
1980 - 1984 Worked regularly in Chicago's off-Loop theater
1979 Moved to Chicago after college
Fell in live with acting in the sixth grade after participating in a reading of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
Acted off-Broadway in NYC
Debut as a TV regular, "Going Places", a sitcom about the lives of young singles
Cast as an ensemble member on "The Edge", a short-lived sketch comedy series
