The Patriot Games cast is led by Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, with Anne Archer as Dr. Caroline "Cathy" Ryan, Thora Birch as Sally Ryan and Sean Bean as Sean Miller, the captured militant who swears revenge on Ryan. Patriot Games (1992), directed by Phillip Noyce, opened in US theaters on June 5, 1992, and TMDB lists 42 cast credits for the film. The supporting names include Patrick Bergin as Kevin O'Donnell, Samuel L. Jackson as Lt. Cmdr. Robby Jackson and Richard Harris as Paddy O'Neil. The notable change is at the top, because Ford took over Jack Ryan from Alec Baldwin, who played him in The Hunt for Red October and left when the shoot moved to November 1991. James Earl Jones returns as Adm. James Greer, and Paramount signed Ford to a three picture deal that began with this film. It works a little like a TV series swapping its lead actor between seasons while the boss down the hall stays put.
| # | Actor | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrison Ford | Jack Ryan |
| 2 | Anne Archer | Dr. Caroline "Cathy" Ryan |
| 3 | Thora Birch | Sally Ryan |
| 4 | Sean Bean | Sean Miller |
| 5 | Patrick Bergin | Kevin O'Donnell |
| 6 | Polly Walker | Annette |
| 7 | James Fox | Lord William Holmes |
| 8 | Samuel L. Jackson | Lt. Cmdr. Robby Jackson |
| 9 | James Earl Jones | Adm. James Greer |
| 10 | Richard Harris | Paddy O'Neil |
| 11 | J.E. Freeman | Marty Cantor |
| 12 | Alex Norton | Dennis Cooley |
| 13 | Hugh Fraser | Watkins |
| 14 | David Threlfall | Inspector Highland |
| 15 | Alun Armstrong | Owens |
| 16 | Berlinda Tolbert | Sissy |
| 17 | Gerald Sim | Lord Justice |
| 18 | Pip Torrens | First Aide |
| 19 | Thomas Russell | Ashley |
| 20 | Andrew Connolly | Charlie Dugan |
| 21 | Keith Campbell | Ned Clark |
| 22 | Jonathan Ryan | Jimmy Reardon |
| 23 | P.H. Moriarty | Court Guard |
| 24 | Bob Gunton | Interviewer |
Billing order from the film's credits (TMDB). Actors with a Cinvibe page and characters with a character page are linked.
Also in the cast: Ted Raimi (CIA Technician), Brenda James (Secretary), Karl Hayden (Paddy Boy), Claire Oberman (Lady Holmes), Oliver Stone (Young Holmes), Tom Watt (The Electrician), Tim Dutton (Constable), Martin Cochrane (Constable), Ellen Geer (Rose), John Lafayette (Winter), Shaun Duke (Ferro), Fritz Sperberg (Spiva), Allison Barron (CIA Analyst), Philip Levien (Dr Shapiro), Jesse D. Goins (FBI Agent Shaw), Michael Ryan Way (Avery), Peter Weireter (FBI Director’s Bodyguard (uncredited)), Roger Blake (Constable).
Harrison Ford plays Jack Ryan in Patriot Games (1992), the former Marine turned CIA analyst who stops an attack on Lord Holmes in London. The AFI Catalog reports that Ford had turned down Ryan for The Hunt for Red October, then liked this script, accepted a reported $9 million deal from Paramount after Alec Baldwin left, and signed to play Ryan in three films.
Anne Archer plays Dr. Caroline "Cathy" Ryan in Patriot Games (1992), the wife of Jack Ryan, who is with him and their daughter on the London visit. She is new to the role, because TMDB credits Gates McFadden as Caroline Ryan in The Hunt for Red October. Archer kept the part for Clear and Present Danger (1994), where TMDB lists her as Dr. Cathy Ryan.
Thora Birch plays Sally Ryan in Patriot Games (1992), the daughter traveling with Jack and Cathy Ryan when the London attack happens. The part was recast from The Hunt for Red October, where TMDB credits Louise Borras as Sally Ryan. Birch came back for Clear and Present Danger (1994), so she and Anne Archer carried the Ryan household across two films in a row.
Sean Bean plays Sean Miller in Patriot Games (1992), whose brother is the attacker Jack Ryan kills while stopping the assault on Lord Holmes. Miller is captured after the attack and swears to take revenge on Ryan, which drives the rest of the plot. TMDB bills Bean fourth, directly after the three actors playing the Ryan family.
Patrick Bergin plays Kevin O'Donnell in Patriot Games (1992), billed fifth on TMDB, directly after Sean Bean, and the AFI Catalog lists him in the principal cast under the same name. Much of the early story is set in London, and the AFI Catalog records that the production filmed in London and at Pinewood Studios before moving on to Annapolis, Langley and California.
Polly Walker plays Annette in Patriot Games (1992), credited sixth on TMDB and listed by the AFI Catalog among the principal cast. Her place in the order, between Patrick Bergin and James Fox, puts her inside the main ensemble rather than among the smaller speaking parts. Her work was part of a shoot that began on 2 November 1991 and ran across Britain and the United States.
James Fox plays Lord William Holmes in Patriot Games (1992), the British royal who is attacked in London, which sets the story moving when Jack Ryan steps in to stop it. The Holmes family runs across several credits on TMDB, with Claire Oberman as Lady Holmes and Oliver Stone credited as Young Holmes further down the billing.
Samuel L. Jackson plays Lt. Cmdr. Robby Jackson in Patriot Games (1992), credited eighth on TMDB, while the AFI Catalog lists the character simply as Robby. The production filmed at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, according to the AFI Catalog, which gave the story a real naval campus rather than a studio stand in for its Navy material.
James Earl Jones plays Adm. James Greer in Patriot Games (1992) and is the one actor among the twelve top billed who returns from The Hunt for Red October, where TMDB credits him as Vice ADM James Greer. He played Greer again in Clear and Present Danger (1994). The AFI Catalog notes the CIA let the crew film inside its headquarters lobby at Langley, a first for a feature film.
Richard Harris plays Paddy O'Neil in Patriot Games (1992), credited tenth on TMDB and listed by the AFI Catalog in the principal cast. Readers looking him up should note a separate, smaller credit further down the list, Karl Hayden as Paddy Boy, which is a different part. Harris is the last of the top ten names in the billing.
J.E. Freeman plays Marty Cantor in Patriot Games (1992), credited eleventh on TMDB, with the AFI Catalog spelling his name J. E. Freeman. Below him, the credits include several smaller CIA parts, among them Ted Raimi as CIA Technician and Allison Barron as CIA Analyst, which reflect the Langley side of a story built around a CIA analyst.
Alex Norton plays Dennis Cooley in Patriot Games (1992), credited twelfth on TMDB and listed by the AFI Catalog in its full cast credits. Below him, the billing includes several police roles, among them David Threlfall as Inspector Highland and constables played by Tim Dutton, Martin Cochrane and Roger Blake.
The Patriot Games cast was built around a change at the top, with Harrison Ford stepping into Jack Ryan after Alec Baldwin left the part. According to the AFI Catalog, Baldwin had been negotiating to return, but the shoot moved to November 1991 and clashed with his Broadway commitment to A Streetcar Named Desire. Paramount then offered Ford a reported $9 million deal, and he signed to star in three Ryan films with back end participation.
Ford had turned down Ryan for The Hunt for Red October, the AFI Catalog notes, but he liked this script. That screenplay, by Donald E. Stewart and W. Peter Iliff, adapts the 1987 novel by Tom Clancy.
Principal photography on Patriot Games (1992), directed by Phillip Noyce, began on 2 November 1991, and the actors worked across London, Annapolis, Langley and California. Think of a restaurant that keeps the menu but hires a new head chef (the dish has the same name, and the hands are different). The Patriot Games movie page covers the plot, runtime and release in full.
James Earl Jones is the only one of the twelve top billed actors who returns from The Hunt for Red October (1990), directed by John McTiernan, where TMDB credits him as Vice ADM James Greer. Everyone else at the top of the Patriot Games billing is new to the series, including the actors playing the Ryan family.
That family was recast in full. TMDB credits Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan, Gates McFadden as Caroline Ryan and Louise Borras as Sally Ryan in the first film, and here the parts go to Harrison Ford, Anne Archer and Thora Birch. So, the line up that starts here is the one that carries on, since Ford, Archer, Birch and Jones all appear again in Clear and Present Danger (1994), directed by Phillip Noyce. If you want the whole series, the Jack Ryan movies hub lays out each film in one place.
| Director | Phillip Noyce |
|---|---|
| Writers | Donald E. Stewart, W. Peter Iliff |
| Producers | Robert Rehme, Mace Neufeld |
| Music | James Horner |
| Cinematography | Donald McAlpine |
Harrison Ford played Jack Ryan in Patriot Games (1992). He took over the role from Alec Baldwin, who played Ryan in The Hunt for Red October and left after the shoot moved to November 1991, clashing with a Broadway commitment. Paramount signed Ford to a three picture deal that began with this film, and he played Ryan again in Clear and Present Danger.
Sean Miller, played by Sean Bean, is the villain driving Patriot Games. Miller is the brother of the attacker Jack Ryan kills while stopping the assault on Lord Holmes in London. He is captured and swears revenge on Ryan, which puts the Ryan family in danger for the rest of the film.
No, Alec Baldwin is not in Patriot Games. He was in talks to play Jack Ryan again, but the AFI Catalog reports that the move of the shoot to November 1991 clashed with his Broadway run in A Streetcar Named Desire. Harrison Ford took the role instead, and the only Jack Ryan film with Baldwin remains The Hunt for Red October.
Yes, Samuel L. Jackson is in Patriot Games, playing Lt. Cmdr. Robby Jackson. He is credited eighth on TMDB, after Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, Thora Birch, Sean Bean, Patrick Bergin, Polly Walker and James Fox, and just ahead of James Earl Jones as Adm. James Greer.
No, the whole cast did not return for Patriot Games, because only James Earl Jones came back among the twelve top billed actors, playing Adm. James Greer again after The Hunt for Red October. Jack, Cathy and Sally Ryan were all recast, with Harrison Ford, Anne Archer and Thora Birch replacing Alec Baldwin, Gates McFadden and Louise Borras. Ford, Archer, Birch and Jones then all came back for Clear and Present Danger (1994).
Anne Archer played Jack Ryan's wife, credited as Dr. Caroline "Cathy" Ryan, in Patriot Games. She replaced Gates McFadden, who played Caroline Ryan in The Hunt for Red October, and Archer returned as Dr. Cathy Ryan in Clear and Present Danger (1994), directed by Phillip Noyce.
The Sum of All Fears novel is Tom Clancy's 1991 Jack Ryan thriller, in which a nuclear attack is intended to provoke war between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The Jack Ryan final season is season 4, which premiered on Prime Video on June 30, 2023, and ended on July 14, 2023.
For a show like Jack Ryan, start with The Night Agent, our closest match among these six television recommendations for an inexperienced agent facing a political conspiracy.
Jack Ryan season 5 has not been announced as of November 7, 2026, and Amazon billed season 4 as the final season.
The Clear and Present Danger book is Tom Clancy's 1989 Jack Ryan novel about a covert American campaign against a Colombian drug cartel.