Michael Cumpsty (born 28 February 1960) is a British actor. He has been acting since childhood. He has worked extensively performing Shakespeare, as well as both musicals and dramas on Broadway. He also performs in films and on television.
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Michael Cumpsty | |
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Born | (1960-02-28) 28 February 1960 (age 62) Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1989–present |
Partner | John Dias |
Cumpsty was born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire,[1] and moved to South Africa with his family when he was 9.[2] Cumpsty attended Haileybury College in Hertfordshire and received a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982.[3][4]
On the Broadway stage he appeared in dramas, including La Bête (1991),[5] Timon of Athens (1993),[6] The Heiress (1995),[7] Copenhagen (2000),[8] and The Constant Wife (2005).[9] He appeared on Broadway in the play End of the Rainbow in 2012 and received a Tony Award nomination for Featured Actor for his performance.[6][1] He appeared in the Los Angeles production of the play, which ran in March and April 2013 at the Ahmanson Theatre.[10] He appeared in the Roundabout Theatre production of Machinal as the "husband" from December 2013 to 2 March 2014.[11]
In Broadway stage musicals, he played John Dickinson in the revival of 1776 (1997),[12] and Julian Marsh in the revival of 42nd Street (2001).[13][6] He played the role of Jules in the revival of Sunday in the Park With George in 2008.[14]
In off-Broadway work, he co-directed a Classic Stage Company production of Richard III in 2007, as well as played the title role.[15] Other Shakespeare roles include the title role in Timon of Athens in 1996, Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well in 1993, Laertes in Hamlet in 1990, Time/Lord in The Winter's Tale in 1989, and Escalus in Romeo and Juliet in 1988, all at the Public Theater.[16] He played the title role in the Classic Stage Company production of Hamlet in 2005, winning the Obie Award.[16]
Cumpsty's television credits include daytime soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children, recurring roles on the primetime dramas L.A. Law in 1991 as a "killer litigator".[17] and Star Trek: Voyager, and guest appearances on Matlock,[18] and Law & Order.
Cumpsty's feature films include State of Grace (1990),[19] Fatal Instinct (1993),[20] Starting Out in the Evening (2007),[21] The Ice Storm (1997),[22] Eat Pray Love (2010)[23] and The Visitor (2007).[24]
Cumpsty appeared at the Two River Theater in Much Ado About Nothing in October 2011,[25] in Present Laughter in 2013, and directed the Wendy Wasserstein play Third in 2014.[26][27] He appeared in Absurd Person Singular as "Ronald" in January and on 1 February 2015.[2] He said of the Two River Theater: "It’s similar to off-Broadway, but at a much nicer theater. And it’s different from Broadway because it’s not commercial so there’s less pressure. It’s exhilarating, too. The run is short (three or four weeks) then it’s gone. It’s kind of special..."[2] He further said that he likes "language oriented work" and mentioned as examples Copenhagen and the plays of Tom Stoppard.[2]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1990 | State of Grace | Frankie's Man | |
1993 | Fatal Instinct | Laura's Husband | |
1997 | The Ice Storm | Philip Edwards | |
1999 | The 24 Hour Woman | Suzanne Pincus' Publicist | |
2006 | The Ex | Jack Connor | |
Flags of Our Fathers | Secretary Forrestal | ||
2007 | The Visitor | Charles | |
Starting Out in the Evening | Victor | ||
2010 | Eat Pray Love | Swami Dhavalachandra | |
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps | Churchill Schwartz Partner | ||
2011 | Downtown Express | Vadim | |
2013 | Burning Blue | Admiral Stephensen | |
2014 | Seduction Theory | The Father | (Short) |
2016 | Collateral Beauty | Chairman of the Board | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | One Life to Live | Sebastian | (TV Series), 1 episode |
1990 | The Kennedys of Massachusetts | Billy Hartington | (TV Mini-Series), 3 episodes: "Episode #1.1", "Episode #1.2" and "Episode #1.3" |
Great Performances | Laertes | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Hamlet" | |
1991-1992 | L.A. Law | Frank Kittredge | (TV Series), 17 episodes |
1992-1993 | Bob | Mr. Terhorst (voice-role) | (TV Series), 7 episodes |
1993 | Crossroads | Bailey | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Harvest" |
1995 | Star Trek: Voyager | Lord Burleigh | (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Cathexis" and "Persistence of Vision" |
Matlock | Cameron Ivers | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Scam" | |
Pointman | Det. Gordon Hagarty | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Models" | |
1996 | Mistrial | Terry Lynch | (TV Movie) |
1997 | Night Sins | Dr. Garrett Wright | (TV Movie) |
1999 | Law & Order | Tom Willis | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Hate" |
The Lady in Question | Klaus Gruber | (TV Movie) | |
2001 | The Lullaby of Broadway: Opening Night on 42nd Street | Julian Marsh | (TV Movie) |
2004 | All My Children | Alan Singer | (TV Series), 5 episodes |
2007-2011 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Mark Schaeffer (2007) / Bing Cullman aka Arnold Binder (2011) | (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Rocket Man" and "Trophy Wine" |
2007-2010 | American Experience | James Callender (2007) / Prosecutor Roger Robb (2009) / John Randolph (2010) | (TV Series documentary), 3 episodes: "Alexander Hamilton", "The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer" and "Dolley Madison" |
2009 | Mercy | Father Gus | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Hope You're Good, Smiley Face " |
2011 | Nurse Jackie | Lou Babiak | (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Mitten" and "Rat Falls" |
2011-2012 | Boardwalk Empire | Father Ed Brennan / Father Brennan | (TV Series), 6 episodes |
2012 | Made in Jersey | Barry Gilchrist | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Farm" |
2014 | The Good Wife | Eric Napier | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Shiny Objects" |
2015 | The Knick (TV Series) | Judge Parkinson Bothamly | (TV Series), 2 episodes: "The Best with the Best to Get the Best" and "Wonderful Surprises" |
Madam Secretary | Max Quinn | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Spartan Figures" | |
Elementary | Arlen Schrader | (TV Series), 1 episode: "When Your Number's Up" | |
2016 | The OA | Dr. Leon Citro | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Forking Paths" |
Red Oaks | Priest | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Old Flames" | |
2017 | The Blacklist: Redemption (TV Series) | Robert Wilmont | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Kevin Jensen" |
2019 | The Enemy Within | Dennis Gordon | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Ambassador's Wife" |
2020 | Tommy | Lovell | (TV Series), 3 episodes: "Vic", "This Is Not a Drill" and "Cause of Death" |
2022 | Severance | Mr. Graner | (TV Series) |
His boyfriend, John Dias, is the artistic director of the Two River Theater Company in Red Bank, New Jersey, and they moved to New Jersey in 2010.[25]
General | |
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National libraries |