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Geoffrey Cantor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Geoffrey Paul Cantor |
| Alma mater | Amherst College |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, acting coach |
| Years active | 1987–present |
Geoffrey Paul Cantor is an American actor and acting coach. He is primarily known for his portrayal as Mitchell Ellison on Daredevil and The Punisher .
Cantor was born on an Air Force base in California. When his father, an Air Force captain and flight surgeon, finished his service, the family moved to Philadelphia. They moved a few more times (Newton Center, Massachusetts and Cherry Hill, New Jersey) as his father completed his internship and residency, and settled in Bergen County. His father was (and is still) involved in community theatre and his mother is a painter. Both of them enjoyed the arts and this resulted in Cantor's appreciation as well, especially the theater. "We were sort of progressive, liberal, Jewish people. I grew up in a time when were sort of at the cutting edge of that." Cantor graduated from Pascack Hills High School. [1]
While attending Amherst College, Cantor came to find acting the most rewarding and intriguing art form, particularly British theatre which he found the most inspirational. [2] Cantor graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College with a degree in theater, and furthered his acting education at Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and then at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London, England.
Geoffrey was married to Cathleen Donnelly in August of 1992. They had two children together, Benjamin (June, 1994) and Talia (Feb, 1997). They separated in October of 2020, and were divorced in May of 2022.
He made his TV acting debut in Night Network before appearing in a variety of television shows such as The Street , The Kill Point , All My Children , Life on Mars , Law & Order: Criminal Intent , Deception and House of Cards [3] He gained sudden recognition in 2015 for his role in Daredevil as Mitchell Ellison, the editor-in-chief of the New York Bulletin and boss to Ben Urich. A comic book fan, Cantor thinks his knowledge of Daredevil may have helped him get the role, even though his character does not appear in the comic book series. Despite this Cantor found his work on Daredevil the same as any other job, "Daredevil happened while I was about to do a play. For me there is no real difference between the core of the work. The real difference is the end experience." [2] Cantor would reprise the role in season 2 of Daredevil, which sees Ellison take on a mentor role towards Karen Page, [4] and as a guest star in The Punisher . He also voiced the paparazzo Beverly Felton in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V .
Geoffrey's short film EnSuite, an official selection at festivals like the Newport Beach Film Festival, the New York Shorts International Film Festival, the Chain NYC Film Festival, and the Garden State Film Festival, won multiple awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Actor. His documentary, Talking OutLOUD: Teens & Suicide Loss, A Conversation, created for Rethink The Conversation and Coping After Suicide, had its debut in November of 2023, and won Best of the Fest at the Chain Film Festival. Talking OutLOUD is available free on YouTube and Vimeo.
For the stage, his most recent project, October 7, (director and dramaturg) was created from the testimony of survivors of that horrific day. October 7 played to packed houses at the Actors Temple Theater, and is now touring colleges around the country. In 2021, he co-wrote and directed the semi-immersive New York.Circa.1909 (Soho Playhouse) for the Olami Manhattan Theater Company. Other projects include Sweet Texas Reckoning, Stripped (which also he co-wrote), James Mclure's Lone Star and Laundry & Bourbon, For Our Daughters, Prey (NYfringe 2010), My Secret Public Seder (Original, written for the Bergen County JCCY), Winterglass (Original), and Cowboys II, by Sam Shepard.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–1988 | Night Network | Axeman / Himself | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Law & Order | Mirvis | Episode: "Terminal" |
| 2000–2001 | The Street | J.D. | 4 episodes |
| 2000 | Law & Order | Dr. Luther Wilding | Episode: "Collision" |
| 2001 | Third Watch | Lewis | Episode: "Act Brave" |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Ronald Hardin | Episode: "Anti-Thesis" |
| Ed | Opposing Lawyer | Episode: "Small Town Guys" | |
| 2003 | Queens Supreme | Haddad's Lawyer | Episode: "Permanent Markers" |
| Rubout | Steve / Raoul | TV movie | |
| Ed | Jim Adams | Episode: "Partners" | |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Will Timmons | Episode: "Pas de Deux" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Ronald Hardin | Episode: "Blue Wall" |
| 2006 | The Bedford Diaries | Episode: "The Passion of the Beaver" | |
| Law & Order | Adam Stein | Episode: "Fame" | |
| 2007 | The Sopranos | Eli Kaplan | Episode: "Chasing It" |
| The Kill Point | Abe Shelton | 8 episodes | |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Dukay's Attorney | Episode: "Endgame" | |
| 2007–2008 | All My Children | Carl | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Guiding Light | Mr. Combs | 1 episode |
| Brotherhood | Milton | Episode: "The Chimes at Midnight" | |
| Law & Order | Jim Dooley | Episode: "Zero" | |
| 2008–2009 | Life on Mars | Ed Redlich | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Mercy | Dr. Pell | Episode: "Can We Get That Drink Now?" |
| The Broadroom | Gus | Episode: "Alice in Imposter Land" | |
| Bored to Death | Mr. Eaton | Episode: "The Case of the Beautiful Blackmailer" | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Ed Mangini | Episode: "Crush" | |
| 2010 | The Stay-At-Home Dad | Gay Dad | webseries |
| 2011 | Untitled Jersey City Project | Ed Smith | 3 episodes |
| Pan Am | Mr. Claymore | Episode: "The Genuine Article" | |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Ethan Lowe | Episode: "Cadaver" | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Victor | Episode: "Mask" | |
| 2012 | Smash | Bobby Raskin | Episode: "Chemistry" |
| The Big C | Fred Bobick | Episode: "Family Matters" | |
| Damages | Clark Reinsdorf | 2 episodes | |
| Person of Interest | Sebastian Alta | Episode: "Critical" | |
| 2013 | Deception | Tom Vanderfield | 5 episodes |
| Zero Hour | Professor Chalis | Episode: "Sync" | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Gene Fierstein | Episode: "Rapist Anonymous" | |
| 2014 | The Americans | Thane Rosenbloom | Episode: "Arpanet" |
| The Following | Detective | Episode: "Silence" | |
| Good Medicine | Party Clown | Episode: "Tina" | |
| Believe | Dr. Taussig | 2 episodes | |
| Forever | Alienist | Episode: "Skinny Dipper" | |
| 2014–2015 | The Blacklist | Phil Ryerson | 3 episodes |
| 2014–2016 | House of Cards | Ben Goldstein | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Karl Manhair, Postal Inspector | Karl Manhair | 6 episodes |
| Elementary | Maurice Antonov | Episode: "Evidence of Things Not Seen" | |
| 2015–2018 | Daredevil | Mitchell Ellison | 16 episodes |
| 2016 | Feed the Beast | Christian | 5 episodes |
| Sublets | Eddie Falcon | Episode: "No Exit" | |
| Madam Secretary | Tom Murphy | Episode: "South China Sea" | |
| The Daily Show | Dr. Jerry Baxter | Episode: "Common" | |
| 2017 | The Wizard of Lies | SEC Agent Ostrow | TV movie |
| The Punisher | Mitchell Ellison | 2 episodes | |
| Civil | Bobby Fletcher | TV movie | |
| 2018 | The Tick | Agent Adams | 3 episodes |
| Maniac | Frank | 4 episodes | |
| 2019 | Bumbld | Yosef | Episode: "Adulting" |
| The Deuce | Health Commissioner | Episode: "Finish It" | |
| 2019-2020 | The Resident | Zip Betournay | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | Foundation | Ambassador Thanwall | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Harlan Coben's Shelter | Barry "Mr. V" Vollmer | 2 episodes |
| 2025 | Zero Day | Hector Franklin | 1 Episode |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Anima | Cam | |
| 1999 | Speed of Life | Carter | |
| 2001 | Double Whammy | Maitre'd | |
| 2002 | Crazy Little Thing | Todd | |
| Garmento | Fred Macmoudi | ||
| 2005 | One Last Thing... | Raul | |
| The Notorious Bettie Page | Director at Audition | ||
| 2007 | Suburban Girl | Library Curator | |
| Heavy Petting | Stefan Roche | ||
| 2009 | Public Enemies | Harry Suydam | |
| 2010 | When in Rome | Dr. Moscowitz | |
| Christopher Dispossessed | Stephen | Short | |
| Fair Game | Ari Fleischer | ||
| 2012 | Man on a Ledge | Gordon Evans | |
| Men in Black 3 | Technician | Uncredited | |
| Thanks for Sharing | Addict #4 | ||
| 2013 | Syrup | Executive #2 | |
| Bert and Arnie's Guide to Friendship | Gerry the Editor | ||
| 2014 | Beach Pillows | Larry Fumuso | |
| We'll Never Have Paris | Neighbor | ||
| Creamen | Mr.Popivanov (voice) | Short | |
| Bird People | Allan | ||
| The Longest Week | Intellectual #1 Subway | ||
| 2015 | A Warrior's Tail | Semi-Baron Fafl (English voice) | |
| Fishbowl | Gerry Saxon | ||
| 411 | Arthur | Short | |
| 2016 | Hail, Caesar! | Sid Siegelstein | |
| Bling | Additional Voices | ||
| 2017 | Ironwood | Professor Gerry Williams | |
| This isn't happening | Edgar | Short | |
| On the Way North | The Bearded Man | Short | |
| Anna & The Asteroid | Homeless Man | Short | |
| 2018 | Hot Air | Stanley | |
| 2019 | Telephone | Dr. Rand | Short |
| 2020 | Brighton Beach | Miroslav Roach, ESQ | |
| An American Pickle | David Greenbaum | ||
| Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story | Peter Vecsey | ||
| 2021 | The Girl Who Got Away | Terry Caldwell | |
| 2022 | Call Jane | Dr. Falk | |
| 2023 | Creep Box | Caul | |
| 2024 | Hans | Short | |
| 2025 | The Dinner Plan | Wally |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Manhunt | Innocent | |
| 2010 | Alan Wake | Clay Steward, Alvyn Derleth, Mr. Jones | |
| 2011 | Saints Row: The Third | Radio Voices | |
| 2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | Beverly Felton |