REX LINN

2024 Hall of Fame

B.A. Media and Strategic Communications '81

Perhaps best known for playing Sgt. Frank Tripp on “CSI: Miami,” Oklahoma State University alumnus Rex Linn has dozens of film and television credits to his name.

 
He costarred alongside Jamie Foxx in “Django Unchained,” Kevin Costner in “Tin Cup” and Jackie Chan in “Rush Hour.” Linn was part of AMC’s critically acclaimed “Better Call Saul” and recently wrapped his seven-season role as Principal Petersen on CBS’s “Young Sheldon.” Yet, the 1981 College of Arts and Sciences grad didn’t even start acting until he was 34.

“In 1989, I had sold my house and broken up with my girlfriend, and my dad said, ‘If you’re going to pursue your dream of acting, now would be the time do it,’” Rex said. “I had been a banker. I was in the oil business. Then, I had a hunting guide service. For that decade, I had been talking about acting. ... So, I packed all my stuff in a U-Haul and headed west on I-40.”

Although Rex had some acting gigs while still in Oklahoma — including opposite “Jaws” actor Roy Scheider in the serial-killer film “Night Game” — his career really took off once he got to Los Angeles. Over the next 35 years, Rex racked up more than 100 acting credits, a feat he attributed to two key attributes: perseverance and work ethic.

“As simplistic as it sounds, that’s what I tell young actors when they ask me for advice,” Rex said. “You’ve got to work at your craft. You’ve got to be in the audition room and in acting class. That’s where you’re going to move forward.”  
In addition to the example set by his family, Rex credits his time at OSU for helping him develop a drive to succeed.

“I couldn’t wait to go to class, to study about the history of film and all the other things I got to do,” said Rex, who earned a degree in radio, television and film. “Because I was excited, I wanted to be prepared. That carried over into life, especially once I became an actor. Because I didn’t move to California until I was 34, I had to revisit that excitement I remember having. I look back at my time at Oklahoma State and I know it had a real influence on why I have a great work ethic.”

Raised in the Texas Panhandle town of Spearman before moving to Oklahoma City at age 12, Rex had expected to continue his family’s long tradition of attending the University of Texas. But after graduating from Casady High School, he “followed a girl” to OSU as a theatre major before moving to what is now the School of Media and Strategic Communications.

“It was an exciting time in Stillwater in the mid- and late-70s,” Rex said, adding that he was an OSU football walk-on. “I can’t imagine it being any better anywhere else in the country.”

Although it didn’t work out with the girlfriend and a knee injury ended his football career, Rex said he wouldn’t have had it any other way. The friends, mentors and experiences he gained at OSU set him up for a rich and successful life. Rex now splits his time between Nashville and Los Angeles, where this fall he began filming a new NBC show, “Happy’s Place,” alongside his girlfriend, Reba McEntire.