Rex Maynard Linn (born November 13, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known domestically for playing the role of Sgt. Frank Tripp in the CBS drama CSI: Miami and more recently for playing Kevin Wachtell in the television series Better Call Saul. Internationally he is best known for playing Richard Travers in the 1993 action thriller film Cliffhanger.
Early life and education Linn was born on November 13, 1956, in Spearman, Texas. He lived in Spearman, Texas up until August 1969 when his parents relocated the family to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where his father practiced law. There he attended Heritage Hall School and later Casady School, an independent school affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and was employed part-time at the Oklahoma City Zoo. In November 1975, after seeing Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Linn announced he was an actor.
In his high school production of Fiddler on the Roof, after Linn demolished a set during a number, his drama coach ordered him off the set and advised him to direct his energy to some other field of endeavor, ending Linn's high school acting career. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1980.
Career
After graduation, Linn worked his way up to vice president of energy lending for the Lakeshore Bank, remaining with it until July 5, 1982, when the bank went insolvent. Linn was able to persuade a talent agent to take a chance on him and represent him in the Oklahoma market. At the same time, he accepted a job with an oil company, overseeing field operations in western Oklahoma, all the while auditioning for film and TV commercial parts. After shooting some commercials, he started landing small roles in various projects. During this time, he was given the opportunity to act in his first film, Dark Before Dawn, which was being produced by his best friend, Edward K. Gaylord II.
In 1989, he was cast in his first substantial role, as serial killer Floyd Epps, in Night Game, starring Roy Scheider. Following this film, and a part as the sheriff in a 1990 episode of The Young Riders (titled "Hard Time"), he decided it was time to head west. He began with small roles in theatrical films such as My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991), Thunderheart (1992), Sniper (1993), and Cliffhanger (1993), and guest shots on TV series including Northern Exposure, Raven, and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.. Since Cliffhanger, he has appeared in more than 35 films, with that number growing annually. Linn's most recent movie credit is in the political thriller, An Acceptable Loss (2018), where he starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis.
On June 29, 1994, Linn was honored with a star on Carpenter's Square Theatre Walk of Fame in Oklahoma City. In 1994, he played a detective in Clear and Present Danger. He was a celebrity co-host of the Oklahoma Film Society Real to Reel 2005: "Classic Monster Mash". He has narrated three audio books, One Ranger (2005), A Man Called Cash (2005), and Missing Persons (2006), as well as a documentary for the Oklahoma University InvestEd program, Anatomy of Fraud – Catching a Con in Pottawatomie County in 2004. A similar documentary, Anatomy of a Fraud: Catching a Con in Logan County, also to be narrated by Linn, was described as being "in production" in 2005.
He currently is reported to be living in Sherman Oaks, California, with his dogs, Jack and Choctaw. Linn is a University of Texas Longhorns fan, even taking the day off from his CSI: Miami work to attend the 2005 Rose Bowl game when his beloved team played and won the 2005 national championship against the University of Southern California.
He is a former chairman of the Oklahoma City chapter of Ducks Unlimited. In 1986, he won the state duck-calling competition, and came fourth in the national competition.
Linn is an active supporter of children's charities and the arts. On May 12, 2007, he was a celebrity award presenter at the National Association of Police Organizations TOP COPS award ceremony in Washington, D.C.
He had recurring roles in several TV series such as Sgt. Frank Tripp on CSI: Miami, a role for which he was tricked into reading during the first season and which he held, as a series regular, until the end of the series. He had a minor role in the webisode series The Walking Dead: Torn Apart playing as Mike Palmer, a father hiding in a neighborhood in Georgia during a zombie apocalypse. It aired on AMC.com on October 3, 2011. From 2017 to 2024, he's played Principal Tom Peterson on Young Sheldon on CBS. In 2024, he began a recurring role in the situation comedy Happy's Place as Emmett, the love interest of the lead character played by his real-life fiancee Reba McEntire. In the spring of 2026, NBC announced that the show would be renewed for a third season.
Personal life Linn has been dating country singer and actress Reba McEntire since late 2020. They first met on the set of the Kenny Rogers vehicle The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991) and reconnected almost 30 years later when McEntire guest-starred as June on Young Sheldon. They became engaged in December 2024.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1989 Night Game Epps 1992 Thunderheart FBI Agent #11993 Sniper Colonel Weymuth Uncredited Cliffhanger Richard Travers1994 Iron Will Joe McPherson Wyatt Earp Frank McLaury Clear and Present Danger Washington Detective Drop Zone Bobby 1995 Cutthroat Island Mr. Blair1996 Tin Cup Dewey The Long Kiss Goodnight Man in Bed Ghosts of Mississippi Martin Scott1997 Breakdown Sheriff Boyd The Postman Mercer1998 The Odd Couple II Jay Jay Rush Hour Agent Dan Whitney1999 Blast from the Past Dave Instinct Guard Alan 2001 Ghosts of Mars Yared 2002 The Salton Sea Detective Bookman2003 The Hunted Powell Cheaper by the Dozen Coach Bricker 2004 After the Sunset Agent Kowalski2005 The Zodiac Jim Martinez American Gun Earl2006 Two Tickets to Paradise Karl Abominable Farmer Hoss 2008 Appaloosa Sheriff Clyde Stringer2012 Atlas Shrugged: Part II Kip Chalmer Django Unchained Tennessee Henry 2013 Devil's Knot Chief Inspector Gitchell2014 Zombeavers Smyth A Million Ways to Die in the West Sheriff / Narrator2018 Under the Silver Lake Manager An Acceptable Loss The President
Television Year Title Role Notes 1987 Unsolved Mysteries Terry Conner 1 episode 1988 Bonanza: The Next Generation Cease Television film 1989 Oklahoma Passage Quantrill Miniseries1990 The Young Riders Sheriff 1 episode Cop Rock Deputy / Officer Cerruto 2 episodes1991 Northern Exposure Martin1 episode Doogie Howser, M.D. Billy Guns of Paradise Grant Page Episode: "Unfinished Business" The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw Henry Television film 1992 FBI: The Untold Stories Christopher Wilder1 episode 1994 The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Mountain McClain 1996–1997 3rd Rock from the Sun Chuck / Webber 2 episodes 1997 Nash Bridges Alan Tully 1 episode 1995–2000 JAG Submarine Skipper, Lt. Mark "Falcon" Sokol Recurring role 1998 Vengeance Unlimited J.J. 1 episode1999 The Jack Bull Shelby Dykes Television film Walker, Texas Ranger Lester Stahl / Sheriff Leland Stahl 1 episode Y2K Nuclear Plant Foreman Television film Snoops Jasper1 episode2000 The PretenderAgent Ellis Talbot Profiler 2000–2001 The Fugitive Karl Vasick Recurring role 2001 Crossfire Trail Luke Taggart Television film 2002–2012 CSI: Miami Sgt. Frank Tripp Main role 2007 Saving Grace Wiley 1 episode 2008 Trial by Fire Chief Bill Berry Television film 2014 The Lottery General Alan Langdon Recurring role2015 State of Affairs Senator Burke4 episodes The Brink Rear Admiral McBride Key & Peele Detective 1 episode 2015–2016 Nashville Bill Lexington 3 episodes 2016–2022 Better Call Saul Kevin Wachtell Recurring role 2016 The Ranch Coach Shaw 1 episode 2017–2018 Lethal Weapon Nathan RiggsRecurring role 2017–2024 Young Sheldon Principal Tom Petersen2018 Waco Dick DeGuerin Miniseries The Kominsky Method Ed 1 episode 2019 The L Word: Generation Q Jeff Milner 2 episodes 2022 Roar Sheriff 1 episode 2022–2023 Big Sky Buck Barnes Recurring role 2023 Reba McEntire's The Hammer Bart Crawford Television film 2024–present Happy's Place Emmett Main role2026Georgie and Mandy's First MarriagePrincipal Tom PetersenEpisode: "A New Scoreboard and a Horse's You Know What"
References
External links
Rex Linn Bio at CBS - CSI: Miami