Michael Kostroff | |
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Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | May 22, 1961
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1980–present |
Michael Kostroff (born May 22, 1961) is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program The Wire as defense attorney Maurice Levy. [1] [2] Kostroff starred in the fifth season of the series and appeared in all four earlier seasons as a guest star.
Kostroff is best known for his five seasons playing drug lawyer Maury Levy on the HBO series The Wire , and from his recurring appearances on shows including The Blacklist , Billions , The Good Wife , and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as his role as Marshall Pike on the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance . He was the executive producer and creator of So Random! . He played Peter Madoff, brother of Bernie Madoff (Robert De Niro), in HBO's The Wizard of Lies , and Shepsie Tirschwell in David Simon's 2020 miniseries The Plot Against America .
From 2002 to 2003, Kostroff performed in the first national tour of Mel Brooks' Broadway hit The Producers , and from 2003 to 2004, he played the comic villain Thénardier in the touring company of Les Misérables, a role he reprised for its 25th anniversary tour in 2010.
Kostroff is the author of four books: Letters from Backstage (a chronicle of his time on the road with two Broadway tours); [3] The Stage Actor's Handbook: Traditions, Protocols, and Etiquette for the Working and Aspiring Professional; Audition Psych 101 (based on his workshop of the same name); and Advice from 'The Working Actor' (a textbook based on the “Working Actor” advice column in the weekly publication Backstage; Kostroff was also one of the writers of that column).
He also volunteered on the Barack Obama campaign. [4]
Kostroff is the brother of Nina Kostroff Noble, a television producer who was an executive producer of The Wire.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | Return from the River Kwai | Radio Man | Unreleased in the US [5] |
1997 | Liar Liar | Tom the Attorney | |
1998 | Blunt | Det. Prang | |
2008 | Eagle Eye | Jeweler | |
2011 | Hit List | Mr. Weller | |
2014 | Best Man in the Dark | Ricky Feruci | |
2016 | Norman | Steve Goldfarb | |
Hard Sell | Mr. Harrison | ||
2017 | Molly's Game | Louis Butterman | |
2018 | Most Likely to Murder | Uncle Fred | |
2019 | The Sunlit Night | Critic #3 | |
Standing Up, Falling Down | Rabbi | ||
2022 | Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game | Chairman Warner | |
2023 | Maybe I Do | Manny | |
Chupa | Taylor |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | The Dream Merchants | Brooklyn A.D. | Mini-series; 2 episodes |
1992 | Knots Landing | Orderly #1 | Episode: "Dedicated to the One I Love" |
1994 | The Steven Banks Show | Pepper | Episode: "Miss Janie Regrets" |
1995 | Partners | Harried Man | Episode: "City Hall" |
General Hospital | Francis | Unknown episodes | |
1997–1998 | NewsRadio | Carl | Episode: "Planbee" Episode: "Who's the Boss: Part 2" |
1998 | Dharma & Greg | Lou | Episode: "Much Ado During Nothing" |
1999 | Ladies Man | Alan | Episode: "No Cinco, Seis!" |
Port Charles | Johnny LaLa | Unknown episodes | |
2000–2001 | The Geena Davis Show | Mr. Kern | Episode: "Motherly Advice" Episode: "Momma Bear" Episode: "White Moms Can't Jump" |
2001 | Providence | Floral Designer | Episode: "You Can Count on Me" |
Men, Women & Dogs | Steve | Episode: "Sick as a Dog" | |
Felicity | Bill | Episode: "A Perfect Match" | |
2001–2003 | The King of Queens | Mr. Thompson | Episode: "No Retreat" Episode: "Food Fight" Episode: "Affidavit Justice" |
2002 | Malcolm in the Middle | Toadie | Episode: "Company Picnic: Part 1" Episode: "Company Picnic: Part 2" |
2002–2008 | The Wire | Maurice Levy | Recurring (seasons 1-4)/main cast (season 5); 21 episodes |
2004 | The West Wing | Richard Squire | Episode: "A Change Is Gonna Come" |
8 Simple Rules | Photographer | Episode: "A Very C.J. Christmas" | |
2005 | ER | Community Theater Director | Episode: "The Show Must Go On" |
The Inside | Rick Byers | Episode: "The Perfect Couple" | |
2005–2006 | Boston Legal | N/A Dr. David Cannon | Episode: "The Ass Fat Jungle"; uncredited Episode: "Helping Hands" |
Veronica Mars | Mr. Pope | Episode: "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang" Episode: "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner" Episode: "The Quick and the Wed" | |
2006 | Charmed | Mr. Metcalf | Episode: "Payback's a Witch"; uncredited |
Commander in Chief | Reporter Cy | Episode: "State of the Unions" | |
The Closer | Dr. Aaron Sands | Episode: "Heroic Measures" | |
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | David Langenfeld | Episode: "Nevada Day: Part 1" Episode: "Nevada Day: Part 2" | |
2007 | In Case of Emergency | Mr. Hunt | Episode: "Stuck in Amber" |
The Wedding Bells | Milton Crest | Episode: "Partly Cloudy, with a Chance of Disaster" | |
Life | McAllister | Episode: "A Civil War" | |
2008 | Without a Trace | Dr. Cappell | Episode: "Hard Reset" |
Eli Stone | Judge Timothy Nelson | Episode: "Help!" | |
Dan's Detour of Life | Dan Ford | Lead role; unsold pilot | |
2009–2010 | Sonny with a Chance | Marshall Pike | Recurring role; 15 episodes |
2009 | Brothers & Sisters | Realtor | Episode: "From France with Love" |
2010 | Cold Case | Wilson Katz (1974) | Episode: "The Runaway Bunny" |
The Middle | Steve | Episode: "TV or Not TV" | |
Party Down | Jeff Gold | Episode: "Jackal Onassis Backstage Party" | |
Sons of Tucson | Mr. Shuldiner | Episode: "Chicken Pox" | |
Weeds | Stroller Salesman | Episode: "A Yippity Sippity" | |
2011–2021 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Evan Braun | Recurring role; 8 episodes |
2012 | NYC 22 | Brandon Ken | Episode: "Self Cleaning Oven" |
Damages | Judge Richard Gearheart | Recurring role; 5 episodes | |
Made in Jersey | Hank | Episode: "Ridgewell" | |
2013 | Blue Bloods | Mr. Wojcik | Episode: "Framed" |
Banshee | Wicks Vanderwick | Episode: "Wicks" | |
2013–2016 | The Good Wife | Charles Froines | Episode: "The Bit Bucket" Episode: "Parallel Construction, Bitches" Episode: "All Tapped Out" Episode: "Landing" |
2014 | The Actress | Dr. Hersham | Episode: "The Dermatologist" |
Black Box | Jacob Myers | Episode: "Jerusalem" | |
F to 7th | Mike | Episode: "Deny, Deny, Deny" Episode: "Down to Zero" | |
Louie | Subway Man | Episode: "Pamela: Part 1" | |
Gotham | Officer Tannenbaum | Episode: "Pilot" | |
2015 | The Blacklist | Det. Martin Wilcox | Episode: "Ruslan Denisov" Episode: "The Deer Hunter" Episode: "The Major" Episode: "Tom Keen" |
Deadbeat | Barrold Weinbergerstein | Episode: "Last Dance with Edith Jane" Episode: "The Blowfish Job" Episode: "The Polaroid Flasher" | |
Elementary | Perry Franklin | Episode: "The Best Way Out Is Always Through" | |
2016 | Bosch | Hank Myers | Episode: "Victim of the Night" |
Vinyl | Allen Charnitski | Episode: "E.A.B." | |
Luke Cage | Dr. Noah Burstein | Recurring role; 4 episodes | |
Madam Secretary | Ambassador Chuck Willis | Episode: "Tectonic Shift" | |
2017 | The Wizard of Lies | Peter Madoff | TV movie |
2017–2018 | The Deuce | Rizzi | Recurring role; 8 episodes |
2018 | Instinct | John Raymond | Episode: "Blast from the Past" |
NCIS: Los Angeles | Robert Fenton | Episode: "A Diamond in the Rough" | |
Indoor Boys | Richard | Recurring role; 3 episodes | |
2018–2021 | Billions | Mick Nussfaur | Episode: "Hell of a Ride" Episode: "Maximum Recreational Depth" Episode: "Victory Smoke" |
2020 | Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector | Dr. Allen Trask | Episode: "Game On" |
The Plot Against America | Shepsie Tirchwell | Main cast; 6 episodes | |
The Baker and the Beauty | Eli Weiss | Episode: "Get Carried Away" | |
The George Lucas Talk Show | Himself | Episode: "Stu-D2 1138 on the Binary Sunset Sith" | |
2021 | Prodigal Son | Dr. Raymond Stengel | Episode: "Sun and Fun" |
2022 | 9-1-1: Lone Star | Dr. Patt | Episode: "Down to Clown" |
Animal Kingdom | David | 2 episodes | |
Law & Order | Evan Braun | Episode: "Gimme Shelter - Part Three" | |
NCIS | Felix Lassiter | Episode: "Love Lost" | |
2023 | Platonic | Frank Schaeffer | 2 episodes |
Carol & the End of the World | (voice) | Episode: "The Distraction" | |
2024 | The Rookie | Rafael | Episode: "Trouble in Paradise" |
Year | Artist | Title |
---|---|---|
2008 | Demi Lovato | "La La Land" |
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