Bronson Alcott Pinchot (; born May 20, 1959) is an American actor. He made his television debut as Dennis Kemper, one of the earliest regular gay characters on an American television series, on the 1985 NBC sitcom Sara. Pinchot is known for playing Balki Bartokomous on the ABC sitcom Perfect Strangers (1986–1993), for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Serge in the Beverly Hills Cop film series (1984–2024).
Pinchot has also performed in films including Risky Business (1983), The Flamingo Kid (1984), After Hours (1985), True Romance (1993) and The First Wives Club (1996), and in television series such as Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1994–1995), Clueless (1996), Ray Donovan (2015), Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020), Lodge 49 (2019) and The Residence (2025). In 2012, he starred in his own reality series, The Bronson Pinchot Project, on the DIY Network.
Pinchot has worked extensively as an audiobook narrator, with over 400 recordings as of 2024. In 2010, he was named as AudioFile magazine's Best Voice in Fiction & Classic and Audible's Narrator of the Year. Pinchot has also won six Audie Awards, including for Male Solo Narration for his rendering of Christopher Healy's The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw (2012).
Early life Pinchot was born in New York City on May 20, 1959. He grew up with his mother, two brothers, and a sister. His mother, Rosina, was a typist and house cleaner, while his father, a bookbinder born in New York and raised in Paris, abandoned the family. This abandonment plunged the family into poverty. Pinchot's paternal grandparents were Russian immigrants who settled in France following the Russian Revolution. Upon returning to the United States, his father changed the family surname from Poncharavsky to Pinchot.
When Pinchot was two and a half years old, the family moved to South Pasadena, California. In school, he faced bullying and was often mocked for his appearance, being called "ugly" and "fat". Pinchot excelled academically, graduating at the top of his class from South Pasadena High School. His achievements earned him a full scholarship to Yale University, where he lived at Morse College. Although he initially planned to study fine arts, he ultimately majored in theater studies, graduating with honors. After college, a casting director discovered Pinchot, which led to his film debut in Risky Business.
Career
Pinchot appeared in several feature films, such as Hot Resort, Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop, The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire, and It's My Party. He also played Dennis Kemper in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sara.The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present, Eighth Edition, Ballantine Books, Pinchot was hired to replace Fisher Stevens as Ben Jabituya in the 1986 film Short Circuit, but Pinchot eventually left the production in order to begin work on Perfect Strangers, and Stevens was subsequently rehired for the role.
Starting in 1986, Pinchot played Balki Bartokomous on the long-running ABC sitcom Perfect Strangers. When the show concluded filming its eight-season run in September 1992 (with the condensed final season airing during mid- 1993), Pinchot secured the starring role on a new sitcom for CBS, entitled The Trouble with Larry. The series premiered just three weeks after ABC's Perfect Strangers finale in August 1993, and one episode (which never aired) was directed by Mark Linn-Baker, Pinchot's co-star on Strangers. After three weeks of dismal ratings and poor reviews, The Trouble with Larry was canceled. Pinchot would subsequently be rehired by Perfect Strangers producers Tom Miller and Bob Boyett for roles on two more of their sitcoms: Step By Step where he played French hairdresser Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux in early 1997, and late the same year in Meego where he played an alien who crash-landed on Earth.
In 2008, Pinchot read the audio version of The Learners, author Chip Kidd's followup to The Cheese Monkeys. He also voiced Max, the fully restored Black 1964 VW Beetle, in the 2009 Volkswagen "Das Auto" campaign. Between 2009 and 2014, Pinchot narrated over 100 audiobooks. In 2010, Pinchot read the audio version of the novels Matterhorn and Blood Oath. For the Blackstone Audio collection Patricia Highsmith: Selected Novels and Short Stories, he provided a reading of several stories, including Strangers on a Train. Pinchot also narrated for Christopher Healy's children's series, The Hero's Guide. He was recognized for his work with a number of awards, including Audible.com's 2010 Narrator of the Year.
On February 12, 2012, Pinchot starred in a home restoration show on DIY Network titled The Bronson Pinchot Project. The program was based on his hobby of restoring old homes using salvaged materials. On March 8, 2018, it was announced that Pinchot would play George Hawthorne, the villainous, puritanical principal of Baxter High, who regularly clashes with Sabrina Spellman and her friends in the Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The series premiered in October 2018.
In 1999, he spent a great deal of time in Harford, Pennsylvania, restoring the circa 1839 mansion built by Joab Tyler (father of historian William Seymour Tyler) and later inhabited by former Pennsylvania state Senator Edward E. Jones. Pinchot purchased six properties in the small rural town of 1,300 residents "in an effort to revive the town's 19th-century aesthetic". In 2015 he filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, claiming liabilities between $100,000 and $500,000. All of his properties in Harford were subsequently put up for sale. Pinchot told the Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice, "I have two skills: I can make old houses beautiful and I can make people laugh. Other than that I'm a waste of space. Well, I'm a dedicated son and brother, but I have no head for businesses." By April 2017, he owned two tiny homes, one measuring 77 square feet, the other 153 square feet.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1983Risky BusinessBarry1984Beverly Hills CopSergeBetween Two Women, photographer, 19861984The Flamingo KidAlfred Schultz1985Hot ResortBrad1985After HoursLloyd1989Second SightBobby McGee1992Blame It on the BellboyBellboy1993True RomanceElliot Blitzer1993Jungledyret HugoHugo (voice)English version1994Beverly Hills Cop IIISerge1995NapoleonBirdo (voice)American version1996It's My PartyMonty Tipton1996Courage Under FireBruno1996The First Wives ClubDuarto Feliz1996Jungledyret Hugo 2 - den store filmhelt (1996)Hugo (voice)English version1997Babes in ToylandRodrigo (voice)1998Slappy and the StinkersRoy1998Quest for CamelotGriffin (voice)1998Beach MovieRonalda.k.a. Boardheads1999Out of the ColdMax Kaplan1999The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in For Love or MummyStanley2001Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's AdventureFrancois (voice)Direct-to-video2001Putting It Together: Direct from BroadwayThe Narrator2002Winning Girls Through Psychic Mind ControlDevon Sharpe2003Straight No ChaserJosh PetersShort2004Second Best'Doc' Klingenstein2005Diamond ZeroBergerac De La HousseyAKA: IceMaker2007The WagerColin Buchanan2007Mr. Art CriticM.J. Clayton2008From a Place of DarknessCarl2008The Tale of DespereauxTown Crier (voice)2009Hooking UpMr. Kimbal (voice)2009Good Clean FunDean Vernon2010Pure Country 2: The GiftJoseph2011You and ITorrino2012Virgin AlexanderBim Norse2013Kung-Fu and TittiesThe Beaver2015The StrikeCarlo Lombardi2017Double PlayBob2024Beverly Hills Cop: Axel FSerge
Television Year Title Role Notes1985SaraDennis Kemper13 episodes1985Amazing StoriesDirectorEpisode: "Mummy Daddy"1986Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry OsgoodCharles DickensTelevision film1986Between Two WomenPhotographerTelevision film1986–1993Perfect StrangersBalki Bartokomous / Mama / Cousin Bartok150 episodes1990ABC TGIFBalkiPromotional programming1990The Great American Sex ScandalSanford Lagelfost / Jorge Jimenez / Arthur Lloyd / MagdaTelevision film1992Eek! The CatAdditional voices1992Disney's Christmas Fantasy On IceUncle Bronny / Jack FrostTelevision special1993The Trouble with LarryLarry Burton7 episodes1994/1995Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of SupermanKyle Griffin / The Prankster2 episodes1995The LangoliersCraig ToomeyMiniseries; 2 episodes1995Dumb and DumberDymbster (voice)2 episodes1995The Adventures of HypermanValerie Knockisblokov (voice)Episode: "Cosmo Not/The Brain Game"1996High SocietyArthur ZipkinEpisode: "Nip and Tuck"1996DuckmanDr. Henri Ducharme (voice)Episode: "A Room with a Bellevue"19963rd Rock from the SunRoy AlbrightEpisode: "Ab-dick-ted"1996Bruno the KidGeneral Armando Castrato (voice)36 episodes1996Adventures from the Book of VirtuesThe Man / The Dog (voices)Episode: "Work"1996CluelessMr. Pomormo / Ka-feen2 episodes19961997Aaahh!!! Real MonstersDietrich DuchumpDeitrich Dunlap (voices)"Amulet of Enfarg/Bad Hair Day""The Lips Have It/Escape Claws"1997MeegoMeego13 episodes1997High IncidentMatt ShukatEpisode: "Show Me the Money"1997The Angry BeaversTruman / Brat (voices)Episode: "House Broken/Stinky Toe"1997I Am WeaselOscar / Guard / Old Wardrobe Man (voices)Episode: "I Are Big Star"1997Step by StepJean-Luc Rieupeyroux / Black Bart24 episodes1997Merry Christmas, George BaileyMr. CarterTelevision film19972000Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every ChildSonny the Toad / Killer Whale / Reindeer (voices)"Thumbelina""The Snow Queen"1998Hey Arnold!Ronnie Matthews / Director / Chauffeur (voices)2 episodes1999The Wild ThornberrysFranz Fensterkopf (voice)2 episodes2000Buzz Lightyear of Star CommandShakey / Science (voices)Episode: "Haunted Moon"2002Breaking NewsPhillipEpisode: "Spin Art2003All Grown Up!Pepe (voice)Episode: "Chuckie's in Love"2005The Surreal LifeHimselfSeason 5 Castmember2005Law & Order: Criminal IntentDr. Greg RossEpisode: "Beast"2007Six DegreesThomas JohnsonEpisode: "Ray's Back"2007Law & Order: Special Victims UnitDr. Henry CarlisleEpisode: "Alternate"2008The Young and the RestlessPatrick Dalton6 episodes2010Hawaii Five-0BastilleEpisode: "Mana'o"2011The Problem SolverzAI (voice)Episode: "Videogamez"2011Shake It UpKashlack HessenhefferEpisode: "Vatalihootsit It Up"2012–2013The Bronson Pinchot ProjectHimself (host)20 episodes2014NCISGeorge BurtonEpisode: "Parental Guidance Suggested"2015The Mysteries of LauraHead Chef J.T. ThompsonEpisode: "The Mystery of the Frozen Foodie"2015Ray DonovanFlip Brightman2 episodes2017The Untitled Action Bronson ShowHimselfSeason 1 Episode 32018–2020Chilling Adventures of SabrinaGeorge HawthorneRecurring role, 8 episodes2019A Million Little ThingsBergeEpisode: "Twelve Seconds"2019Lodge 49Dr. Kimbrough3 episodes2020Project Blue BookDavid DubrovskyEpisode: "Close Encounters"2021Black MondayDouglas Blackmore Episode: "Four!"2022NCIS: HawaiʻiDarrin Schwartz Episode: "Nurture"2022The Mysterious Benedict SocietyYanisEpisode: "Commitment to All Things Cozy"2023 Our Flag Means DeathNed LoweEpisode: "Calypso's Birthday"2025 The ResidenceDidier Gotthard 8 episodesTBADougray Dillon TBD episodes
Music videos Year Title Role Artist 1984 "Neutron Dance" Theater Manager The Pointer Sisters
Awards and nominations