Who played Hawkeye Pierce in the M*A*S*H television series?

Alan Alda played Hawkeye Pierce in the M*A*S*H television series.

Alda portrayed Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, a gifted surgeon and one of the show’s central characters. Hawkeye is stationed with the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War, where his medical skill and irreverent humor contrast with the brutality of combat.

Alda appeared in all 256 episodes of the 11-season series. He was part of the original ensemble alongside Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Loretta Swit, Larry Linville, Gary Burghoff, and other actors who played the unit’s doctors, nurses, officers, and support personnel.

Over time, Alda became increasingly important behind the camera as well. He wrote and directed episodes and became a major creative voice as the series shifted from broad comedy toward more serious character drama. Hawkeye is sometimes confused with Trapper John, B. J. Hunnicutt, or Colonel Potter, but those characters were played by different actors.