Clark Gregg

Clark Gregg
Gregg in 2019
Born	Robert Clark Gregg Jr. (1962-04-02) April 2, 1962 (age 61) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University
Occupations	Actor director screenwriter
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	Jennifer Grey ​ ​ (m. 2001;div. 2021)​
Children	1

Robert Clark Gregg Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing the original character Phil Coulson in films and television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from 2008 to 2021. Gregg also voiced Coulson in the animated television series Ultimate Spider-Man (2012–2017) and the video games Lego Marvel Super Heroes (2013), Marvel Heroes (2013), and Lego Marvel's Avengers (2016).

Gregg is also known for his role as FBI Special Agent Mike Casper on the NBC political drama series The West Wing (2001–2004) and as Richard, the ex-husband of Christine Campbell, in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–2010).

He wrote the horror film What Lies Beneath (2000), and wrote and directed the black comedy Choke (2008) and the comedy-drama Trust Me (2013). He appeared in the films The Adventures of Sebastian Cole (1998), One Hour Photo (2002), We Were Soldiers (2002), In Good Company (2004), When a Stranger Calls (2006), 500 Days of Summer (2009), Much Ado About Nothing (2012), The To Do List (2013), Labor Day (2013), and Live by Night (2016).

Early life

Gregg was born April 2, 1962, in Boston, Massachusetts, ^[1] the son of Mary Layne (née Shine) and Robert Clark Gregg Sr., an Episcopal priest and Stanford University professor. ^[2] Because his family relocated frequently, he had lived in seven cities by the time he was 17. He attended high school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his father was a professor at nearby Duke University. ^{[3] [4]}

He attended Ohio Wesleyan University for two years before dropping out and moving to Manhattan. He worked various jobs, such as being a bar back, a security guard at the Guggenheim Museum, and a parking valet at a restaurant. ^[5] He later enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied drama and English, and graduated in 1986. ^[6]

Career

Gregg at the 2013 WonderCon

Gregg was a founding member, and later artistic director, of the off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company, which formed in 1983. Gregg has been featured in a number of supporting roles in films, such as Lovely & Amazing , The Human Stain , and In Good Company , and a number of guest spots on TV series, such as Will & Grace , Sports Night , Sex and the City and The West Wing . He also wrote the screenplay for the 2000 thriller What Lies Beneath . ^[6]

He is the director and screenwriter of the 2008 film Choke , based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel of the same name, starring Sam Rockwell. ^[7] Gregg consulted his father, a retired religion professor at Stanford, for the quotation from Saint Paul's letter to the Galatians which Gregg used in Choke. ^[8] Gregg's father is also the former chaplain at Stanford Memorial Church.

In 2008, Gregg appeared in the film Iron Man as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson. ^[9] In 2010, Gregg reprised his role as Agent Coulson for Iron Man 2 . Gregg had since signed up for a multiple film deal as the character with Marvel Studios. In 2011, he returned again as Coulson for Thor . ^[10] Gregg noted his being a part of the expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe as being very exciting; "Agent Coulson was one of the guys who wasn't really in the comic books, and he was a very kind of small role in Iron Man," he said, "and I was just very lucky that they chose to expand that character and chose to put him more into the universe of it. It's really a blast!" ^[11] Following on from his appearance in Thor, he again reprised his role in The Avengers . Gregg also stars in a series of Marvel short films that center around his character and can be seen on the Blu-ray releases of the films.

In October 2010, Gregg was part of the cast of a staged reading of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart alongside Dylan Walsh, Lisa Kudrow, and Tate Donovan, presented in Los Angeles on the occasion of the play's 25th anniversary (and preceding the play's 2011 Broadway premiere, which retained elements of this staged reading); the reading was directed by his then-father-in-law, Joel Grey. ^[12]

From 2013 to 2020, Gregg portrayed Agent Phil Coulson in the ABC television superhero drama series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , set within the MCU, alongside Ming-Na Wen and Chloe Bennet. ^[13] He also went on to direct episodes in seasons five ^[14] and six. ^[15]

On April 20, 2013, Trust Me , a film written, produced, and directed by Gregg, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. ^[16] The film found limited release in the United States in June 2014.

Gregg reprised his role as Agent Coulson in the 2019 superhero film Captain Marvel and the animated series What If...? , episodes "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" and "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?", released in 2021. ^[17]

In 2022, he joined the TNT series Snowpiercer for its fourth and final season. ^[18] However, the series was dumped by the network before it could air there and is in the process of moving elsewhere. ^[19]

Personal life

Gregg (left) with his then-wife, Jennifer Grey (right), at the November 30, 2010 Epic Mickey launch party in Manhattan.

Gregg married actress Jennifer Grey on July 21, 2001; the couple co-starred in the Lifetime TV movie Road to Christmas . They have a daughter Stella, born December 3, 2001. ^[20] Gregg and Grey were two of the demonstrators at the 2017 Women's March held on January 21, 2017 in Washington, D.C. ^[21] On July 3, 2020, Grey and Gregg announced they had separated amicably on January 18, 2020, and were in the process of divorcing. ^[22] Their divorce ruling was issued in November and that became official finalized on February 16, 2021. ^[23]

Gregg is a sober alcoholic and describes himself as a member of a Jewish family (his former wife's faith). ^{[24] [25]}

He has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. ^{[26] [27]}

Gregg is a cousin of New York City government official and former mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia. ^[28]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Things Change	Stage Manager
1989	Fat Man and Little Boy	Douglas Panton
1991	Lana in Love	Marty
1994	Ride Me	Jake Shank
	I Love Trouble	Darryl Beekman, Jr.
	Clear and Present Danger	Staff Sergeant
1995	The Usual Suspects	Dr. Walters
	Above Suspicion	Randy
1997	The Spanish Prisoner	FBI Sniper
	The Last Time I Committed Suicide	Cop No. 1
	Six Ways to Sunday	Benjamin Taft
1998	The Adventures of Sebastian Cole	Hank / Henrietta Rossi
1999	Magnolia	WDKK Floor Director
2000	State and Main	Doug Mackenzie
	What Lies Beneath	None	Screenwriter
2001	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Supernerd
	Lovely & Amazing	Bill
2002	One Hour Photo	Det. Paul Outerbridge
	We Were Soldiers	Capt. Tom Metsker
2003	Northfork	Mr. Hadfield	Uncredited
	11:14	Officer Hanna
	The Human Stain	Nelson Primus
2004	Spartan	Miller
	In Enemy Hands	Executive Officer Teddy Goodman
	In Good Company	Mark Steckle
2006	When a Stranger Calls	Ben Johnson
	Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas	Publisher
	Hoot	Chuck Muckle
2007	In the Land of Women	Nelson Hardwicke
	The Air I Breathe	Henry
2008	Choke	Lord High Charlie	Also screenwriter and director
	Iron Man	Agent Phil Coulson
2009	500 Days of Summer	Vance
2010	Iron Man 2	Agent Phil Coulson
2011	Thor
	Mr. Popper's Penguins	Nat Jones
	The Consultant	Agent Phil Coulson	Short film
	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer
2012	The Avengers
	Much Ado About Nothing	Leonato
	Brightest Star	Mr. Markovic
2013	The To Do List	Judge George Klark
	Labor Day	Gerald Wheeler
	Trust Me	Howard Holloway	Also screenwriter, producer, and director
2014	Very Good Girls	Edward Berger
2015	Thrilling Adventure Hour Live	Mason Grantz
2016	Live by Night	Chief Inspector Calvin Bordurant
2018	Spinning Man	Paul
2019	Captain Marvel	Agent Phil Coulson
2020	Run Sweetheart Run	James R. Fuller
2021	Moxie	John
	Being the Ricardos	Howard Wenke
2022	The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11	Bruce Edwards Ivins	Documentary
2024	Thelma	Alan
TBA	G20		Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Lip Service	Stage Manager	Television film
1991	Law & Order	Patrick Dunne	Episode: "Life Choice"
	Shannon's Deal	Mercer	2 episodes
	A Woman Named Jackie	Ken O'Donnell	Miniseries
1993	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles	Dickinson	Episode: "Princeton, February 1916"
1994	The George Carlin Show	Dad	Episode: "George Does A Bad Thing"
1995	Tyson	Kevin Rooney	Television film
	The Commish	Tom Cannon	2 episodes
	Central Park West	Manager	Episode: "Behind Your Back"
1996	Touched by an Angel	Don Dudley	Episode: "Lost and Found"
2000	Sports Night	The Stranger / Calvin Trager	2 episodes
	Sex and the City	Harris Bragen	Episode: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
	The Practice	Julie McGrath's Brother	Episode: "Brother's Keepers"
2001–2004	The West Wing	FBI Special Agent Michael Casper	8 episodes
2002	My Sister's Keeper	Harvey	Television film
	Live from Baghdad	Eason Jordan	Television film
2003	Will & Grace	Cam	Episode: "May Divorce Be with You"
2004	The Shield	William Faulks	2 episodes
2005	CSI: NY	D.A. Allen McShane	Episode: "The Fall"
2006	The Road to Christmas	Tom Pullman	Television film
2006–2010	The New Adventures of Old Christine	Richard Campbell	Main role
2012–2017	Ultimate Spider-Man	Phil Coulson (voice)	Main role; 29 episodes
2013	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Himself	Episode: "Clark Gregg Wears a Navy Blazer & White Collared Shirt"
2013–2020	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	Phil Coulson / Pachakutiq / Sarge [29]	Main role; 136 episodes Also directed episodes: "Fun & Games" & "Missing Pieces"
2015	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Double Agent	Himself	"The Mastermind Is Revealed"
2016	Lip Sync Battle	Himself	Episode: "Clark Gregg vs. Hayley Atwell"
	BattleBots		Episode: "The Gears Awaken"
	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Academy	Himself	Episodes: "Recruitment", "Commencement"
	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot	Phil Coulson	Episode: "Vendetta"
2019	SMILF	Mr. Daddy	Episode: "Single Mom is Losing Faith"
2020	The Conners	Ron	2 episodes
2021	What If...?	Phil Coulson (voice)	2 episodes: "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?", "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?"
2023	Florida Man	Deputy Sheriff Ketcher	7 episodes
	How I Met Your Father	Nick Foster	3 episodes
	Painkiller	Arthur Sackler	6 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Notes
2013	Lego Marvel Super Heroes	Phil Coulson
	Marvel Heroes
2016	Lego Marvel's Avengers

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2000	Film Independent Spirit Award	Best Supporting Male	The Adventures of Sebastian Cole	Nominated
	National Board of Review Award	Best Acting by an Ensemble	State and Main	Won
2001	Online Film Critics Society Award	Best Ensemble Cast Performance		Won
	Florida Film Critics Circle Award	Best Ensemble Cast		Won
2006	Women's Image Network Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	The New Adventures of Old Christine	Won
2008	Sundance Film Festival Award	Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic	Choke	Nominated
		Special Jury Prize: Dramatic, Work by an Ensemble Cast		Won
2013	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actor	The Avengers	Won

References

1. "Clark Gregg". Hollywood.com; retrieved January 13, 2012.
2. "Priestly passions: Dean Robert Gregg talks about what's dear to his heart". Stanford University. November 5, 1997. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
3. Dickson, Robert (December 1, 2011). "CAUGHT ON FILM". Carrborocitizen.com. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
4. Ryan, Mike (May 1, 2012). "Clark Gregg, 'Avengers' Star, On Agent Coulson And Why He Hates The Los Angeles Lakers". HuffPost. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
5. "Park City '08 Interview - "Choke" Director Clark Gregg". Indie Wire. January 3, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
6. Alfuso, Renee (Spring 2014). "No Cape? No Problem". NYU Alumni Magazine. New York University (22). Retrieved May 13, 2014.
7. lovebomb (January 27, 2010). "Forums | The Cult". Chuckpalahniuk.net. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
8. DVD commentary for Choke, 2008; and Robert C. Gregg Archived January 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , Stanford Department of Classics bio page. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
9. Bloom, Julie (2010). "Clark Gregg". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
10. Marc Graser (January 18, 2010). "Gregg pulls double duty". Variety . Retrieved January 18, 2010.
11. Edward Douglas (April 27, 2010). "Exclusive: Clark Gregg on His Marvel Universe Future". Superhero Hype! . Retrieved May 8, 2010.
12. Gans, Andrew (May 6, 2010). "Dylan Walsh, Tate Donovan, Jon Tenney and More Join Cast of Normal Heart Reading". Playbill . Archived from the original on May 9, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
13. "NYCC: Coulson Lives In Whedon's "S.H.I.E.L.D." (Updated with Photos)". Comic Book Resources . October 13, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
14. Avila, Mike (January 4, 2018). "Director Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Clark Gregg Goes Behind The Camera On Marvel's Flagship Series". Syfy Wire. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
15. Nolfi, Joey (July 21, 2018). "Clark Gregg returning to Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to direct season 6 opener". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
16. "Trust Me First Clip". Filmofilia. April 17, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
17. Bucksbaum, Sydney (August 24, 2021). "Clark Gregg talks returning to Marvel in 'What If...?' — and Phil Coulson's new crush on Thor". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
18. Mitovich, Matt (March 28, 2022). "Snowpiercer Adds Clark Gregg to Cast for Season 4, Names New Showrunner". TVLine. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
19. Andreeva, Nellie (January 13, 2023). "'Snowpiercer' Season 4 Won't Air On TNT, Final Season Shopped By Tomorrow Studios Along With Potential Offshoots". Deadline. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
20. "Briefly". USA Today . December 6, 2001, p. LIFE, 5D
21. Friedman, Megan; Matthews, Lyndsey (January 21, 2017). "Celebrities Hit the Streets for Women's Marches Around the World". Elle . Retrieved January 29, 2017.
22. Merrett, Robyn (July 3, 2020). "Clark Gregg and Jennifer Grey Split After 19 Years Together: 'We Remain Close'". People . Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
23. Fernandez, Alexia (November 18, 2020). "Jennifer Grey Retains Dirty Dancing Earnings in Divorce Settlement with Ex Clark Gregg". People . Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
24. Reddit AMA (June 5, 2014). "I Am Clark Gregg", reddit.com; accessed June 6, 2014.
25. "Interfaith Celebrities: Jennifer Grey Dances Again, Stuff His Dad Says". InterfaithFamily. September 14, 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
26. "Instagram". Archived from the original on December 26, 2021.
27. Martin, Damon (December 18, 2013). "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' star Clark Gregg earns his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" Archived June 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine , Fox Sports. Accessed May 9, 2022
28. Dorman, Caitlin (April 22, 2021). "Who are celebrities endorsing for New York City mayor?". City & State NY. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
29. "Clark Gregg Teases New Mysterious Role For 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' Season 6". Marvel Entertainment. Retrieved February 5, 2019.

External links

• Clark Gregg at IMDb
• Clark Gregg at the Internet Broadway Database
• Clark Gregg on Twitter