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Who Plays Mike On 'Designated Survivor'? LaMonica Garrett Has Played Similar Roles Before

by Chrissy Bobic

When it comes to Designated Survivor, the star is going to be Kiefer Sutherland (or the adorable daughter who bears a notable resemblance to a young Sally from Mad Men), but there are plenty of other characters to take notice of. So when Mike, the secret service agent, set out to find the new president's son and the kid seemed to recognize him, it brought a new level of interest to the guy. So, who plays Mike on Designated Survivor? LaMonica Garrett isn't new to the acting game by any means, nor is he new to being a regular cast member on a fast-paced dramatic thriller of a TV show, and the fact that they gave him so much screen time during the series premiere of Designated Survivor shows just how important his character is going to be. If only to provide us with someone who isn't out to steal President Kirkman's new job or repeatedly tell him to step down.

Before Garrett was working as a secret service agent ABC's new Fall drama, Designated Survivor, he was playing a deputy sheriff for three seasons on FX's Sons of Anarchy, and before that, he played a marine captain on NCIS and in the mini-series Political Animals, he played a secret service agent. More recently, he an FBI agent on ABC's Revenge. So not only is he no stranger to playing law enforcement or the secret service in general, but he's also worked with ABC before.

On the series premiere of Designated Survivor, the first scene gives us Tom Kirkman sitting in the private room where he is to watch the State of the Union address with his wife, talking to his daughter on the phone like the perfect and not at all dorky dad he seems to be. Suddenly, the televised speech goes off the air and shortly after, the secret service burst in, along with agent Mike Ritter who is the one to inform Tom that he is now the president of the United States.

Later, Mike is tasked with tracking down Tom's teenage son, Leo, who is (surprise) not hanging out at his friend's house, as he'd told his parents he would be. Instead, he's busy selling what looks to be Ecstasy to a peer at a club. When the police, along with some secret service agents, burst in, the crowds thin out and scramble to get away, but when Mike shouts Leo's name, the kid turns around with a confused, "Mike?" Does this mean that Leo somehow knows him from some other place or that Mike is closer to the family than we know yet? But how does a Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs get to know a secret service agent on such a level that his family is also on a first name basis with him?

Obviously we don't know yet how Leo and Mike know each other or what (if any) significance Garrett's character is going to play throughout the first season of Designated Survivor, but he's obviously in place in every other scene for a reason, and (spoiler alert), according to IMDB, Garrett will be in at least five of the six episodes scheduled so far this season. So if you're wondering who plays Mike on Designated Survivor, just know that as an actor, the guy apparently knows what he's doing as a person in authority of the law. Basically, he's an honorary secret service agent at this point.