Top 15 Actors Perfect for the Role of Harvey Bullock in the DCU

Harvey Bullock is Gotham’s gruff conscience: a rumpled trench coat with a badge, a coffee that’s more bourbon than brew, and a moral compass that spins yet somehow still points toward justice when it matters. He’s cynical but not heartless, streetwise but not corrupt beyond repair, and he carries decades of Gotham’s grime in every sigh. Casting him in the DCU means finding an actor who can sell world-weariness, bite off hardboiled one-liners, and still reveal flashes of unexpected warmth.

The ideal Bullock isn’t a superhero; he’s the guy who shows up anyway. You want someone who can spar with Gordon, side-eye Batman, and still drag a perp down the station stairs even with a bum knee. Below are fifteen actors who could nail that blend of busted knuckles, black humor, and battered soul—and make Gotham feel even more alive the second they lumber onto the screen.

David Harbour

Harbour brings an instantly lived-in presence, the kind that makes a precinct feel real the moment he parks in a no-parking zone. From the weary protectiveness he radiates in ‘Stranger Things’ to his knack for grizzled gallows humor, he’s practically built for Bullock’s blend of big heart and bad habits.

He’d ground the DCU’s Gotham with a blue-collar authenticity, the cop who has opinions about every diner in the Narrows and a tab at all of them. Harbour could make Bullock’s skepticism toward capes feel principled, not petty, and play the slow-burn trust that eventually forms with Batman.

Jon Bernthal

Bernthal is a master of bruised intensity, the kind that turns silence into a threat and a smirk into a confession. He’s played men who live on the edge so convincingly in ‘The Punisher’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ that grimy heroism feels like a second skin.

As Bullock, he’d bring a restless energy—always two bad decisions and one good instinct away from disaster. Bernthal’s version would clash perfectly with pristine Bat-methods, then begrudgingly watch the kid in a cape save the day and grunt that he had it handled.

Holt McCallany

McCallany does quiet steel better than almost anyone. His work in ‘Mindhunter’ showed a seasoned pro who reads a room in a heartbeat, and that’s pure Bullock: the detective who’s seen every lie and knows who told it first.

He’d give the role a slow, heavy gravity—less explosive than others, more inexorable. McCallany’s Bullock would be the guy everyone underestimates until they realize he’s already solved the case, he just hasn’t bothered to tell you yet.

Stephen Graham

Graham radiates combustible, cornered-dog energy in ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’, and Bullock thrives on exactly that volatility. He can switch from bark to bite in a breath and still sell the melancholy beneath the bluster.

In Gotham, he’d feel like a cop who grew up three blocks from his beat and never left. Graham’s Bullock would be an unpredictable foil for the more buttoned-up Gordon, a wild card whose instincts are messy but usually right.

Michael Chiklis

Chiklis practically invented a certain kind of bulldog cop for a generation with ‘The Shield’, and he’s already dipped a toe into Gotham’s murk on ‘Gotham’. He can make tough choices feel inevitable, not sensational, and that fits Bullock’s pragmatism.

He’d bring thick-necked authority and the sense that the other detectives defer to him because he’s earned it. Chiklis could play Bullock as a man who hates capes on principle but will back Batman when the city’s on the line.

Shea Whigham

Whigham has a gift for low-key, seen-it-all skepticism, from ‘Boardwalk Empire’ to ‘Joker’. He’s the guy who notices the unusual scuff on the evidence bag and the uneaten cannoli on the stakeout desk—and knows what both mean.

As Bullock, Whigham would lean into the weary craft of detective work. His take would be less brawler, more bloodhound: grumbles, notes on napkins, and the kind of shrug that says he solved it two scenes ago.

Titus Welliver

With ‘Bosch’, Welliver proved he can carry the weight of a city’s sins between shoulder blades. He brings gravelly credibility and a moral code that bends without breaking—Bullock’s sweet spot.

In the DCU, Welliver would make every interrogation feel like a chess match and every alleyway like old territory. His Bullock would be stone-faced until the crack of a dry joke, the kind that hints at a heart he pretends not to have.

Liev Schreiber

Schreiber’s presence is heavyweight and unhurried; he commands space just by leaning against a doorframe. From ‘Ray Donovan’ to ‘Spotlight’, he’s mastered the art of stoic damage, which maps perfectly onto Bullock’s stubborn decency.

He’d be the Bullock who knows where all the bodies are buried—because he dug a few holes himself to protect a witness or a partner. Schreiber’s quiet menace would make even Batman think twice before grandstanding.

Brendan Gleeson

Gleeson can pivot from mordant wit to bruised tenderness in a blink, as seen in ‘The Guard’ and ‘Calvary’. He’d make Bullock’s sarcasm a shield and his empathy a secret weapon.

In Gotham, Gleeson would feel like institutional memory in a trench coat: every precinct tradition, every hard lesson, every vanished partner. His Bullock would mentor by insult, protect by grumble, and love the city despite itself.

Josh Brolin

Brolin’s flinty stoicism in ‘Sicario’ and his coiled danger in ‘No Country for Old Men’ prove he can play a man who draws lines in the sand and refuses to budge. That stubbornness is Bullock to the bone.

He’d be all squared shoulders and clipped sentences, a cop who treats Batman like a tactical complication. Brolin’s Bullock would make the case file the Bible and still break a rule when a kid’s life is on the line.

Christopher Meloni

Meloni brings a rare combination of intensity and mischief—ferocious in ‘Law & Order: SVU’, feral in ‘Happy!’. Bullock needs both: the ability to scare a confession and then crack a joke that diffuses the room.

His version would be kinetic and unpredictable, the partner who kicks the door too early but somehow gets the job done. Meloni could sell Bullock’s soft spots without sanding down the edges.

Walton Goggins

Goggins does charmingly dangerous like few others, from ‘Justified’ to ‘The Shield’. He’d make Bullock’s moral gray look sleek without losing the grime, a cop who smiles in the smoke of a blown stakeout.

In the DCU, Goggins would be the sly operator who knows every back channel. His Bullock would clash with Gordon’s straight-arrow approach and trade cutting banter with Batman that fans would quote for years.

Frank Grillo

Grillo is pure asphalt—tough, fast, and built for impact. In ‘Kingdom’ and ‘The Purge: Anarchy’, he’s shown he can play battered resilience with a chip on his shoulder and a plan in his pocket.

As Bullock, he’d bring an action-forward edge without losing the detective’s brain. Grillo’s take would sprint through alleys, then deadpan through paperwork, a working-class hero who doesn’t have time for bat-shaped theatrics.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Morgan’s swaggering gravitas in ‘The Walking Dead’ and his haunted charisma in ‘Watchmen’ make him a tailor-made Bullock. He can purr a threat or bark a laugh and both feel honest.

He’d lean into Bullock’s contradictions: a cynic who believes, a brawler who listens, a cop who plays dirty to keep the city clean enough to survive another night. Morgan’s version would be instantly iconic.

Michael Rooker

Rooker specializes in lovable scoundrels and hardcases with stubborn hearts, from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ to ‘The Walking Dead’. That’s Bullock’s DNA, scruffy and strangely endearing.

He’d be the loudest guy in the squad room and the first one out the door when someone needs backup. Rooker’s Bullock would turn side-eye into punctuation and carry Gotham’s weight like an old friend’s arm over his shoulder.

Share your dream casting for Bullock in the DCU in the comments—who did we miss, and who’s your number one pick?