Bob Gunton
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Bob Gunton (born Robert Gunton, Jr. on November 15, 1945, in Santa Monica, California) is an American actor whose career spans Broadway, film, and television over more than four decades. After graduating from the University of California, Irvine, he served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971, receiving the Vietnam Service Medal and a Bronze Star for Valor, before pursuing a career in theatre.
In Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), Gunton provided the primary physical performance for Egon Spengler, credited on screen as "The Ghost Farmer." Because Harold Ramis, who originated the role, had passed away in 2014, director Jason Reitman cast Gunton as the on-set body stand-in; the visual effects team then digitally recreated Ramis's face over Gunton's performance from the neck up. Gunton wore no prosthetics or glasses during filming, only a pompadour wig and a reference dot for the VFX compositors. A separate stunt driver, Greg Schlosser, handled the driving sequences in the opening scene; Gunton performed all non-driving segments. Director Jason Reitman credited Gunton's performance and the authentic reactions of the surrounding cast as essential to the film's emotional success.
On Broadway, Gunton originated the role of Juan Peron in the premiere production of Evita, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, and later received a second Tony nomination for the title role in a 1989 revival of Sweeney Todd. He is perhaps best known on film as the cold Warden Samuel Norton in The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Other film credits include Demolition Man (1993) and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in Argo (2012). On television he has appeared in 24, Desperate Housewives, and as Leland Owlsley in Daredevil.