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. By the mid-'80s roles were coming in fast. He was Tom Hanks' roommate in Volunteers, and in Terminator 2: Judgment Day he played John Connor's foster parent. He was Capt. Whitaker in Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men, and gave a good performance as Henry Hurt in Apollo 13. He had a great role as turncoat Secret Service agent Gibbs in Air Force One, and most recently has been doing a standout turn as George Mason in the TV series 24, a role that has brought him critical acclaim. Like many other actors, in the future he would like to take up directing.
Is an accomplished painter and sculptor. Both he and wife Sarah Clarke have played turncoat government agents assisting in a presidential assassination: Berkeley in the film Air Force One, and Clarke in the TV series 24. Characters he plays are frequently arrogant and unsympathetic and often killed off. He and Glenn Morshower both made guest appearances on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Las Vegas sheriffs. They also both had recurring roles on 24, and they also starred together in Air Force One. Characters he plays are frequently killed in plane crashes; in The Rookie, Air Force One, and 24 Appears with Carlos Bernard (who makes his film debut) in The Killing Jar. Bernard later played one of his subordinates on the TV series 24. A skilled make-up artist, he designed his own make up on 24 when his character was suffering from the deteriorating effects of radiation sickness.