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Why You Recognize Law & Order Guest Star Mike Vogel
With more than two decades worth of film and TV credits to his name, it's not surprising Law & Order guest star Mike Vogel may look familiar.
Mike Vogel played a crooked cop-turned-killer on the latest episode of Law & Order, and if the Season 24 guest star looked familiar, there’s a good reason for that.
With a chameleon-like ability to transform from one complex character to another, Vogel has a diverse list of acting credits in both television and film.
Over the last two decades, he has played everyone from a straight-laced investment banker to a former operator with the U.S. Special Forces, and a crush-worthy soccer coach.
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What else has Mike Vogel appeared in?
If you recognized Vogel, you may have seen him in horror TV series like Bates Motel or Under the Dome, or know him for his lead role in the NBC military-based drama show The Brave. Vogel has also appeared in films like The Help, Cloverfield, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Grind, Poseidon, and Blue Valentine.
Vogel may have gotten his start in the family plumbing business, but it wasn’t long before the Pennsylvania native’s good looks and acting talents got him noticed both on the runway and in Hollywood, according to a 2015 Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise story. “I started modeling initially and started training and within six months I booked Grounded for Life, at 21. It was my first television series,” he told the paper.
Vogel was a recurring cast member on that family-centered sitcom that premiered in 2001, playing Dean Piramatti. The comedy also starred Donal Logue, Megyn Price, Lynsey Bartilson and Kevin Corrigan.
After Grounded for Life, Vogel landed roles in films like 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and 2005's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, in which he played soccer coach Eric. Then came Rumor Has It (2005), Poseidon (2006), Cloverfield (2008), and Blue Valentine (2010).
In 2011, Vogel portrayed Johnny Foote, the sweet and wealthy husband of Celia Rae Foote (Jessica Chastain) in the critically acclaimed movie The Help, which explored race relations in Mississippi in the 1960s.
Two years later, he took on the role of Zack Shelby, a handsome deputy hiding his own criminal exploits, on the show Bates Motel, which starred Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga.
Fans may also recognize Vogel from his three-season run as former Special Forces operator Dale “Barbie” Barbara on Under the Dome.
After the show wrapped up in 2015, Vogel moved on to The Brave, NBC’s action-packed drama following a group of elite undercover military soldiers. He starred as Captain Adam "Top" Dalton on that series.
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More recently, the married father, who now resides on a farm in Tennessee, appeared as John F. Kennedy in American Horror Story: Double Feature, and as straight-laced investment banker Cooper Connelly on Sex/Life.
“I come home more tired after an emotional day of acting than I’ve ever had after anything physical that I’ve ever done,” Vogel told the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise. “I find it to be a lot of hard work. And I love hard work, so for me, it’s enjoyable.”
Who did Mike Vogel play on Season 24 of Law & Order?
In Season 24's “Bad Apple” episode of Law & Order, Vogel played the pivotal role of Miles Brandt, a highly-decorated narcotics officer at Lt. Jessica Brady’s (Maura Tierney) former precinct.
When Brandt’s partner was found dead in a park with a gunshot wound to the back, he was among the NYPD team working to help track down the killer. But Brady soon started to suspect that Brandt — who had a reputation for pocketing drug money for himself — may have been behind the fatal shooting.
Brandt was exposed in a carefully crafted sting operation, but the officers in his precinct, including the top brass, weren’t willing to put their own careers and reputations on the line to testify against one of their own.
Although she was conflicted, Brady eventually made the decision to take the stand herself to tell jurors about Brandt’s habit of skimming off the top, and his partner’s opposition to it. With her help, Brandt was convicted of murder and sent off to prison, but her decision to take the stand put her at odds with others at her former precinct.
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The "Bad Apple" episode was Law & Order Season 24's fall finale. But don't worry, the season picks up again on Thursday, January 16, at 8/7c p.m. on NBC. And until then, fans can stream episodes on Peacock.
