Devin D. Ratray (born January 11, 1977) is an American actor.[1] He is known for his role as Buzz McCallister in the Home Alone franchise, as well as the films Nebraska, Blue Ruin and Kimi. His television work includes The Tick and Better Call Saul.
Devin Ratray | |
|---|---|
 Ratray during the filming of Courting Condi in December 2007 | |
| Born | January 11, 1977 (age 47) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1986–present |
Early life
editRatray was born in New York City, the son of Ann Willis and Peter Ratray, both actors. He graduated from New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in 1994.[2]
Career
editRatray started acting at the age of nine in the movie Where Are the Children? (1986). He starred as a child actor in various other programs and movies until his acting pinnacle in 1990 as Buzz McCallister, the mean older brother of Macaulay Culkin's character Kevin in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), a role he later reprised in Home Sweet Home Alone (2021).
Ratray landed minor roles in Little Monsters (as Ronnie Coleman, the bully), Dennis the Menace (as Mickey, the boyfriend of one of Dennis's babysitters) and an episode as Martin in The Enforcers (1996). Another film role was The Prince and Me as the computer-obsessed roommate of Eddy, the royal Prince of Denmark. He was a regular improv actor on MTV's Damage Control, notably as a director of an erotic film called Crazy Motor Hos, in which he was dressed as a naval captain. Ratray appeared in the September 29, 2006 episode of Law & Order, "Avatar", as the mentally ill murderer Richard Elam. He later portrayed an antagonist in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He was a lisping doctor in the movie Slippery Slope (2006). He performed as Jimmy Link in Serial (2007). Ratray appeared in the 2009 film Surrogates as Bobby Saunders. Variety said "Ratray gets good mileage out of his role as a computer whiz too proud of his corpulent geekiness to consider a more glamorous substitute." In 2009, he was also a guest star on the fifth season of Supernatural in the episode "The Real Ghost Busters".
In late 2007, a documentary film crew followed Ratray's attempts to win the heart of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He used 'love disks' – love letters set to music and images – to serenade her, and traveled from New York, to Alabama, Denver, Palo Alto and Washington, DC to court her. The resulting film, Courting Condi, was due for international release in fall 2008.
In 2012, Ratray played a mutual funds manager trapped in a Wall Street elevator with eight strangers, in the suspense thriller Elevator.
In 2013, Ratray played Cole in the film Nebraska, Ben Gaffney in the film Blue Ruin, and made an appearance in the film R.I.P.D.
Ratray also appeared in the 2019 film Hustlers, alongside Jennifer Lopez and in 2022, he appeared in the Steven Soderbergh film Kimi, alongside Zoe Kravitz.
He played Alfred Hawthorne Hill in the Better Call Saul episode Breaking Bad.
Personal life
editAllegations of domestic violence and rape
editOn December 8, 2021, Ratray allegedly strangled his girlfriend while in a hotel room in Oklahoma.[3] He was "booked for domestic assault and battery by strangulation, a felony, as well as misdemeanor domestic assault and battery."[4] After an argument over his girlfriend failing to charge fans for his autograph, the duo returned to the hotel and "Ratray then pushed his girlfriend onto the room's bed, pressed one of his hands against her throat, pressed his other hand over her mouth and applied pressure, according to the affidavit."[5] It was alleged that as Ratray assaulted his girlfriend, he told her, "This is how you die".[5]
In August 2022, police announced that Ratray was under investigation for an alleged rape that occurred in September 2017. The alleged victim, who had been friends with Ratray for 15 years, came forward after hearing about the 2021 domestic assault allegations, accusing Ratray of drugging her drink.[6][7]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Where Are the Children? | Neil Keeney | |
| 1988 | The River Pirates | Bubba | |
| 1988 | Zits | Oscar Opily | |
| 1989 | Little Monsters | Ronnie Coleman | |
| 1989 | Worth Winning | Howard Larimore Jr. | |
| 1990 | Home Alone | Buzz McCallister | |
| 1992 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Buzz McCallister | |
| 1993 | Dennis the Menace | Mickey | |
| 1997 | Strong Island Boys | Cal | |
| 2001 | The Bill | Thug | Short film |
| 2004 | The Prince and Me | Scotty | |
| 2006 | Slippery Slope | Hospital Assistant | |
| 2007 | Serial | Jimmy Link | |
| 2007 | The Cake Eaters | JJ | |
| 2009 | The 2 Bobs | Horizontal Bob | |
| 2009 | The Winning Season | Security Officer | |
| 2009 | Surrogates | Bobby | |
| 2009 | The Flying Scissors | The Rock | |
| 2009 | Breaking Point | Kevin | |
| 2011 | True Bromance | Himself | also Writer |
| 2011 | Elevator | Martin Gosling | |
| 2013 | Side Effects | Banks Patient #3 | |
| 2013 | Blue Ruin | Ben Gaffney | |
| 2013 | Nebraska | Cole | |
| 2013 | R.I.P.D. | Pulaski | |
| 2015 | 3rd Street Blackout | Adam Dodario | |
| 2015 | Construction | Ray | |
| 2016 | The Lennon Report | Phil Bernstein | |
| 2016 | Masterminds | Runny | |
| 2017 | Life Hack | Larry | |
| 2017 | Rough Night | Bud | |
| 2019 | Hustlers | Stephen | |
| 2021 | Hollywood.Con | Andy Slimmick | |
| 2021 | Home Sweet Home Alone | Officer Buzz McCallister | |
| 2021 | Construction | Ray | |
| 2022 | Kimi | Kevin |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium | IRA | Television film |
| 1989 | Heartland | Gus Stafford | Main role; 10 episodes |
| 1991 | Perfect Harmony | Shelby | Television film |
| 1995–2006 | Law & Order | Richard Elam / Mitchell Pauley | Guest role; 2 episodes |
| 1996 | New York Undercover | Martin | Episode: "The Enforcers" |
| 2002 | Third Watch | Mike | Episode: "Ladies' Day" |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Kenny Miles | Episode: "In the Dark" |
| 2006 | Conviction | Pete Garrison | Episode: "Denial" |
| 2009 | The Superagent | Energetic Announcer | Television film |
| 2009 | Supernatural | Damien / "Dean" | Episode: "The Real Ghostbusters" |
| 2010 | Odd Jobs | Joe Bannon | Television film |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Eldon Balogh | Episode: "Possessed" |
| 2012 | The Good Wife | Kevin Costas | Episode: "Two Girls, One Code" |
| 2013 | Person of Interest | Beat Cop | Episode: "The Crossing" |
| 2014 | An American Education | Ron Gelman | Television film |
| 2015 | Elementary | Gordon Meadows | Episode: "The View From Olympus" |
| 2015 | Agent Carter | Sheldon McFee | Recurring role; 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Louie | Mike | Episode: "The Road: Part 1" |
| 2017 | Blue Bloods | Matthew Kindler | Episode: "Shadow of a Doubt" |
| 2017 | Girls | Party Guest | Episode: "Full Disclosure" |
| 2017–2018 | Mosaic | Detective Nate Henry | Recurring role; 6 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | The Tick | Tinfoil Kevin | Recurring role; 16 episodes |
| 2018 | Hawaii Five-0 | Harris Stubman | Episode: "Kopi Wale No I Ka L'a A 'Eu No Ka Ilo" |
| 2018 | The Good Fight | Kevin Costas | Episode: "Day 485" |
| 2018 | Chicago Med | Tommy Burke | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Russian Doll | Deli Customer | Episode: "The Great Escape" |
| 2022 | Better Call Saul | Alfred Hawthorne Hill | Episode: "Breaking Bad" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | The Local Pedestrian Population | Also motion capture |
Producer
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Courting Condi | Documentary film |
References
edit- ^ Cammila Collar (2015). "Devin Ratray". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
- ^ Hansen, Carrie (2021-12-24). "Devin Ratray Arrested: Actual Truth Behind Home Alone, Buzz's Arrest". Vizaca. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
- ^ Tapp, Tom (2021-12-23). "'Home Alone' Actor Devin Ratray Arrested For Allegedly Assaulting Girlfriend While Attending Fan Convention". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ "'Home Alone' Star Devin Ratray Arrested on Domestic Violence Charges". Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ a b "'This is how you die.' Actor who played Buzz in 'Home Alone' faces charges for allegedly trying to strangle girlfriend while in Oklahoma City". 22 December 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (2022-08-24). "'Home Alone' Actor Devin Ratray Under Investigation for Rape". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2022-08-25. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
- ^ Melas, Chloe (2022-08-24). "Devin Ratray, 'Home Alone' actor, under investigation for alleged rape". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-01.