John Glover

Actor

John Glover is an actor, known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series "Smallville."

Growing up in Salisbury, Maryland, he is the son of Cade and John Soursby Glover, Sr., a television salesman. John attended Wicomico High School and acted at Towson University. He began his career at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, and later studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse under Milton Katselas.

He started his television career, by playing a mentally disturbed kidnapper who kidnapped Joanne, the lead character in “Search for Tomorrow.” One of his early film performances was a small but pivotal role as a U.S. diplomat in “White Nights.” His other roles include Alan Raimy in “52 Pick-Up,” Bryce Cummings in “Scrooged,” Tony Gateworth in Masquerade, Daniel Clamp in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, a Mobster in Payback, an advertising spokesman in “RoboCop 2,” Derek Mills in “Night of the Running Man,” the Riddler in “Batman: The Animated Series,” Doctor Jason Woodrue in “Batman & Robin,“ Verad in the “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” episode "Invasive Procedures", the Devil in the series “Brimstone,” and a recurring role in “The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd” as Cousin Jerry, from Bal'mer, a relative whom no one seemed to know.

In 1985, he appeared in the TV movie “An Early Frost”, the first TV film to confront the issue of AIDS, and received an Emmy nomination for his performance as a gay AIDS patient. He also received an Emmy nomination for his guest appearance in series like "Frasier," "LA Law" and "Crime & Punishment."

Taking his villainous streak to the extreme, Glover portrayed Satan in "Brimstone." Other television credits include television movies “Apology” with Lesley Ann Warren, "The Tempest," "Dead By Midnight," "Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker," "An Enemy of the People," "A Season of Giants" and "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" On ABC's “Brothers & Sisters” he played Henry (the boyfriend of Saul Holden) in 2009. In “Heroes” he had a brief appearance as Samson Gray, the father of Sylar. He received another Emmy nod for his role in "Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder" and a CableAce nomination for his work in "Traveling Man."

Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Lionel Luthor on “Smallville” from 2001 to 2008 where he first appeared as a guest actor in the show's first season and then appeared as a full cast member from seasons two to seven. He later returned in 2010 and 2011 for the tenth and final season as a parallel universe version of the character.

Always returning to his first love, the stage, he received a Tony Award and an Obie Award for Best Actor in "Love! Valour! Compassion!,” which he reprised in the film version. He was also awarded the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor for his work in "The Traveler."

In 2013, John starred in the horror anthology “Sanitarium” and also guest-starred in an episode of “Agent Carter.” Glover has done various voice-over work for several projects related to “Tron: Legacy:” the villainous character Abraxas in “Tron: Evolution,” and Dyson in “Tron: Uprising.” In 2014, he guest-starred on “The Blacklist” in the episode titled "Berlin".

Returning to the DC Universe in 2019's “Shazam!,” he played both the young and old versions of Dr. Thaddeus Sivana's stern and abrasive father.

Aside from his theatrical endeavors, Glover is also actively involved with the Alzheimer's Association. His inspiration for joining this cause was his own father's experience with Alzheimer's disease.