‘Burn Notice’ Turns 15: Where’s the Cast Now?
A decade and a half later, we’re still feeling the Burn! Premiering on June 28, 2007, USA’s Burn Notice starred Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, a spy who became a private investigator in Miami while he figured out why his CIA bosses had him blacklisted. Gabrielle Anwar was Fiona, Michael’s trigger-happy ex-girlfriend; Bruce Campbell played his Navy SEAL friend Sam; and Sharon Gless played his meddlesome mom, Madeline.
The spy drama aired seven seasons — plus a TV movie — but even after it ended, some of its stars stayed in business with creator Matt Nix, as you’ll see below. Here’s intel on the cast’s post-Burn careers.
Jeffrey Donovan (Michael Westen)
Following Burn Notice, Donovan played mobster Dodd Gerhardt on the FX anthology Fargo and starred as con artist Charlie Haverford on the Hulu drama Shut Eye. He also appeared in the films Sicario, Day of the Soldado, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile; and Lucy in the Sky. Now he’s busy starring as Detective Frank Cosgrove on NBC’s Law & Order.
Gabrielle Anwar (Fiona Glenanne)
Anwar has only racked up two screen credits since Burn Notice went off the air. One was her role as Victoria Belfrey/Lady Tremaine in the ABC fantasy drama Once Upon a Time; the other was as KJ Apa’s onscreen mom in Netflix’s 2019 rom-com film The Last Summer. But she recently shot a lead part in the film Awaken, which is billed as an “intense, cautionary cinematic fable, deeply relevant to our times.”
Bruce Campbell (Sam Axe)
After Burn Notice, Campbell returned to the Evil Dead franchise, playing the title part in the Starz horror-comedy Ash vs. The Evil Dead. More recently, he voiced characters in Disney Channel’s Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure and Netflix’s The Last Kids on Earth and had a cameo in the Marvel blockbuster Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Sharon Gless (Madeline Westen)
In Fox’s 2016 series The Exorcist, Gless played Chris MacNeil, the role Ellen Burstyn played in the 1973 horror film classic. She later recurred as Ellen Strucker, Stephen Moyer’s onscreen mother, in the Fox superhero series The Gifted, another show created by Matt Nix. And she guest-starred as surgeon Zsa Zsa Harper-Jenkinson in the BBC medical drama Casualty. Coming up, Gless will appear in the Pierce Brosnan thriller film Fast Charlie, which filmed in New Orleans this spring.
Coby Bell (Jesse Porter)
After Burn Notice, Bell continued playing football coach Jason Pitts on The Game, a role he started played from the comedy’s 2006 premiere to its final episode on BET in 2015. Like Gless, Bell also appeared in The Gifted, playing the series-regular role of mutant hunter Jace Turner. Between 2019 and 2020, he recurred on the CBS procedural SEAL Team as Warrant Officer Glen Mack. And since 2021, he’s been starring as Captain Larry James on the CW action series Walker.
Paul Tei (Barry)
Tei recurred as coroner Jim Shakowski in the Netflix crime drama Bloodline and voiced various characters in the Netflix animated series Legend Quest. These days, he’s the artistic director of the Mad Cat Theatre company, based in Miami, Burn Notice’s home base.
Seth Peterson (Nate Westen)
Peterson’s post-Burn jobs include the 2013 B-movie Unlucky Charms, a part in a 2014 installment of the horror podcast We’re Alive, and a guest-starring role in a 2015 episode of the Fox procedural Bones. His last credited screen role came in the 2017 straight-to-video thriller Intent.
Lauren Stamile (Agent Pearce)
Stamile reunited with Nix when she starred as Dr. Bridget O’Neil in his USA drama Complications, which aired for one season in 2015. Her recurring parts, meanwhile, include roles on Scandal, Chicago Fire, Blindspot, and 9-1-1. She also had one-off appearances on American Horror Story, Good Girls, and Veronica Mars.
Conversation13 Comments
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I just finished rewatching season 7 and the last episode makes me cry my eyes out, even though I know every episode of Burn Notice by heart. This show was introduced to me by a good friend that I grew up with when he came home on leave. He served several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, but took his own life in 2011. In 2011, my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and she loved this show, and I bought her every season on DVD, but sadly, she died just 3 days before the last season began, and was never able to finish watching the show. I wish she could have stayed around long enough to watch the last season, because she would have loved it... especially the last episode. It's such a huge bonus that the cast are all awesome genuine people in real life as well. This is the most respectable and awesome show and cast, and no show will ever replace Burn Notice in my heart. This is an extremely special show and it will always be a part of me! 🙂
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P
I remember the last episode of Burn notice, it was so hard to watch because I knew that was it. It was like going through withdrawal and it was hard not getting my fix of Michael and Fi. Love me some Burn notice.
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BRING BACK BURN NOTICE
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I think Jeffrey Donovan, with his expertise in karate and action roles, is so under rated in the industry. I saw him in a movie with Liam Neeson called Honest Thief and was so livid that Liam acts in the real action role and Donovan was a desk police sergeant!! It showed how much past his prime Liam Neeson is for such roles.
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C
Gotta give Anwar credit that was missed, she also played in at least one episode of ... Cant remember the title, its that train show where the outside world is frozen, the remaining people are on the train? Oh i think its called Snow Piercer.. I only watched one episode but Anwar was in the one i watched so not sure if she was a regular or not
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Oh! That's not Anwar, but a beautiful actress named Katie McGuinness
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C
Will there ever a burn notice years later series?
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P
Rewatching Burn Notice on Pluto TV. Really enjoyed the cast and storylines. They were/are very good together.
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G
I am only on seson 4 but I LOVE BURNNOTICE!!!! its such a good show. sad that they are not making any more episodes
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O
Time for a re-boot!
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How can you forget Lauren Stamile's role in Community
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M
Sharon Gless also wrote a book titled; Apparently There Were Complaints: A Memoir
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Yes! I got a signed copy! It's coming up soon in my read list.
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