Bradford Dillman, a Broadway and film actor known for his roles in the original Broadway production of “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and the movie “Compulsion,” died on Jan. 16 in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 87.

His manager, Ted Gekis, said the cause was complications of pneumonia.

Mr. Dillman began acting professionally in 1953 and had his breakthrough three years later in “Long Day’s Journey,” playing Edmund Tyrone, the peacekeeping younger brother in a deeply dysfunctional family. The director, José Quintero, picked him out of 500 applicants, The New York Times reported in 1959.

It was a very different role from the dark characters he would become known for, but it earned him a 1957 Theater World Award and a contract with 20th Century Fox.