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Dean Butler

Dean Butler

Actor · Born May 20, 1956 (70) · Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

Dean Butler was born on May 20, 1956 in Prince George, BC, Canada. He is a producer and actor best known to audiences for his portrayal of Almanzo Wilder from 1979 to 1983 on the iconic pioneer drama, Little House on the Prairie. He co-starred in the feature film, Desert Hearts, played Moondoggie in the syndicated The New Gidget, and Buffy's dad, Hank Summers, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On Broadway Dean played Rapunzal's Prince in the original company of Into the Woods, toured internationally as Tony in West Side Story, and appeared with Carol Burnett in a regional production of Company. Since 2011 Dean has been the Senior Producer of the Emmy nominated Feherty series on Golf Channel. He lives in Los Angeles and is married to actress, Katherine Cannon.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
May 20, 1956 (70)
From
Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Works as
Actor
Titles
13 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 12% in 30 days

What are Dean Butler's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
33%
Society
26%
Self
24%
Survival
12%
Ideas
5%

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 2

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 5 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

2 analyzed roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
2
Tense
2
Warm
2
Hopeful
2
Romantic
1
Other
4

How their films linger

Feel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Dean Butler's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Dean Butler's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

27 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director · Producer · as Self - Narrator (voice)

  • Little House on the Prairie: A Merry Ingalls Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    as Almanzo James Wilder

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer(1997)

    Show 4 episodes · as Hank Summers

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows

  • JAG(1995)

    Show 1 episode · as Navy Appellate Court Judge #2

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows

  • The Final Goal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Actor

  • TekWar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

  • Juana la Cubana (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Actor

  • Diagnosis Murder(1993)

    Show 1 episode · as Sly

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • Renegade(1992)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows

  • Shades of L.A. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Private Affairs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    as Matthew

  • The New Gidget (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Show 44 episodes · as Jeff 'Moondoggie' Griffin

  • Desert Hearts(1985)

    as Darrell

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Gidget's Summer Reunion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    as Jeff 'Moondoggie' Griffin

  • Murder, She Wrote(1984)

    Show 1 episode · as Howard Griffin

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • Who's the Boss?(1984)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all shows

  • Little House: The Last Farewell(1984)

    as Almanzo Wilder

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Little House: Bless All the Dear Children(1984)

    as Almanzo Wilder

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Little House: Look Back to Yesterday(1983)

    as Almanzo Wilder

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • The Kid with the 200 I.Q.(1983)

    as Steve Bensfield

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • Hotel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 2 episodes · Actor

  • Here's Boomer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Forever (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    as Michael Wagner

  • The Love Boat(1977)

    Show 1 episode · as Stan Barber

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all shows

  • Battle of the Network Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Little House on the Prairie(1974)

    Show 68 episodes · as Almanzo James Wilder

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • The Streets of San Francisco (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 78th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 27 titles from 1972 to 2015.

Biggest box office

Desert Hearts (1985)

$2.5M worldwide

Highest rated

Little House: The Last Farewell (1984)

Midcredits 92nd

Most popular right now

Desert Hearts (1985)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting25 of 27: 25 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score67thDirecting1 of 27: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting1 of 27: 1 only writing, 0 with another roleProducing1 of 27: 0 only producing, 1 with another role

By decade

1970s5 · acting1980s12 · acting1990s8 · 7 acting · 1 crew2010s2 · 1 acting · 1 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Dean Butler's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 86th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 85th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

49thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser6
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · actor

The Kid with the 200 I.Q. (1983)

57th percentile spread · 31% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)

Midcredits 93rd · 88% liked

Reviewers score the acting 66/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 50. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Dean Butler work with?

People who share at least 2 of Dean Butler's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Victor French shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers