Who is Bruce Davison? Everything to know about the actor and his character in NCIS season 23

Senior actor Bruce Davison appeared in the fall finale of NCIS season 23 as the team uncovered a mystery from the past. The emotional episode also gave closure to Parker about his mother’s end. Meanwhile, Davison’s character, State Trooper Lester Burm, was declared the perpetrator of multiple crimes.

A quick look at NCIS season 23 finds the season debuting on October 14, 2025. The first two episodes revolved around Parker’s chase to get to Carla Merino. The episodes hinted at Parker’s troubled young days while his sister Harriet was forced to get involved in his mission. In the end, Parker and his team got to Carla and rescued the mobster’s granddaughter.

The other episodes dealt with various crimes and storylines from Torres’s supernatural experiences to McGee getting kidnapped. Episode 5 found the team solve a 30-year-old murder case as the accused was found innocent and the real culprit was revealed in a crossover event with NCIS: Origins. Episode 8 saw the team check out the usage of an AI chatbot as per Vance’s orders. 

Elsewhere, Jimmy’s findings on Parker’s mother’s burial in NCIS season 23 episode 7 paved the way for the fall finale episode that brought forth Eleanor Parker’s true character and Lester Burm’s despicable actions.

NCIS season 23 episode 9: Analyzing Bruce Davison’s Lester Burm

The fall finale episode for the season had an emotional end for Parker’s past as he learned the truth about his mother’s passing. The episode also revealed retired Trooper Lester Burm, played by senior actor Bruce Davison, to be a twisted character. The story arc was teased in episode 7 when Jimmy revealed to Parker, who was already grieving his father’s murder, that his mother might have been a murder victim as well.

Titled Heaven and Nature, NCIS season 23 episode 9 delved fully into Parker’s past as he had snippets of memory about a girl named Lily. Parker always believed that his mother had left them. However, an exhumation of Eleanor’s grave and forensic analysis proved that the remains were not of Eleanor’s. Believing Eleanor Parker lost, the team’s search took them to a retired State Trooper, named Lester Burm, who had old photographs.

As Kasie and Jimmy rebuilt the dead body’s persona and restructured the face, Parker recognized the woman in Lester’s old photographs as his wife, Judy. He also recognized the little girl from his memories as Lester’s daughter, Lily.

Parker tracked down Lily who went about by a different name. Lily informed Parker how Bruce Davison’s Lester Burm was an abusive man. He assaulted his wife which Eleanor knew about. To help her friend Judy, Eleanor had tried to help them escape. However, Lester attacked them which injured Judy. While Eleanor could manage to run off with Lily, Lester set the car on fire and burned his wife inside it.

This built the claim that Eleanor had died of accident when it was actually Judy. In the meantime, Lester started tracking down his daughter. Lily told Parker that his mother had taken her to hide in a hotel near the lake but Lester came along and dragged Eleanor away. That was the last time Lily saw Eleanor.

Parker realized that Eleanor had died trying to save Lily from her father, and not abandoned her family, like he believed. As such, he got permission from Vance to drag the lake. They eventually found the proof of her death. 

With the case now clear, the team presumably had Davison’s Lester taken in custody for killing Judy and Parker’s mother, while Parker had a special burial service arranged for Eleanor in the new light of her brave actions in the NCIS season 23 fall finale.

A glimpse at Bruce Davison’s career

Philadelphia-born Bruce Allen Davison graduated in Acting from New York University as he found his passion accidentally. Davison started his movie career with 1969’s Last Summer. Some of his other notable movies include Suitable Flesh, The Manor, Wish Man, Itsy bitsy, Along Came the Devil, Insidious: The Last Key, Persecuted, Saving Lincoln, Return of the Killer Shrews, Hate Crime, Runaway Jury, High Crimes, The Crucible, Longtime Companion, The Ladies Club and many more.

Davison is also known for his television appearances starting with his 1970 appearances in Medical Center and NBC Experiment in Television. Some of his small screen projects include Ozark, The Fosters, Those Who Kill, Last Resort, Drop Dead Diva, Knight Rider, Close to Home, Kingdom Hospital, The Practice, Harry and the Hendersons, Hunter and many more.

Meanwhile, NCIS season 23 will return to air on CBS on February 24, 2026 at 8 pm ET.