Peter Friedman | |
---|---|
![]() Friedman in 2010. | |
Born | New York City, U.S. | April 24, 1949
Alma mater | Hofstra University |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1972–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Peter Friedman (born April 24, 1949) is an American stage, film, and television actor. He made his Broadway debut in the Eugene O'Neill play The Great God Brown in 1972. His other Broadway credits include roles in The Rules of the Game (1974), Piaf (1981), The Heidi Chronicles (1989), and Twelve Angry Men (2004). He earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical nomination for his role as Tateh in Ragtime (1998).
Friedman gained prominence for his role as Frank Vernon in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023) for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award. His other television credits include The Affair (2015), The Path (2016–2018), and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2023). He is also known for his film roles in Safe (1995), The Savages (2007), I'm Not There (2007), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Side Effects (2013), and She Said (2022).
Born in New York City on April 24, 1949. Friedman graduated from Hofstra University. [1] Friedman is Jewish. [2]
Friedman has appeared in thirteen Broadway productions, starting in 1972 with The Great God Brown . He appeared in a Broadway revival of The Visit in 1973, as the Carpenter. [3] He appeared in Piaf in 1981 on Broadway, [4] and A Soldier's Play Off-Broadway, also in 1981. [5] He played the role of Humphrey Taylor in the Off-Broadway production of The Common Pursuit , from October 1986 to August 1987, [6] receiving a nomination for the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. [7] In his review for The New York Times , Frank Rich commented "The always impressive Mr. Friedman, as the embittered Wagnerian...allow us to empathize with characters who might otherwise be merely obnoxious or colorless." [8]
He appeared in both the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of The Heidi Chronicles in 1988 and 1989 in the role of Scoop Rosenbaum. [9] He received a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play for The Heidi Chronicles. [7] He appeared Off-Broadway in the Manhattan Theatre Club production of the Donald Margulies play The Loman Family Picnic, from October 1993 to January 1994. [10] The Best Plays of 1993-1994 commented "...Friedman inverting his usual dynamism to play the beleaguered father..." [11]
Early in his career he performed in several episodes of The Muppet Show in its first and third seasons, and spent a brief time on Sesame Street . [12] On television, Friedman starred as George Silver in Brooklyn Bridge (1991–1993) [13] and has made numerous guest appearances in such series as Miami Vice , NYPD Blue , Without a Trace , and Ghost Whisperer . Friedman's many feature film credits include Prince of the City (1981), [14] Daniel (1983), The Seventh Sign (1988), Single White Female (1992), and Blink (1993).
In 1995 Friedman earned a prominent role in the Todd Haynes drama film Safe starring Julianne Moore. The All Movie Guide reviewer wrote, "Avid filmgoers and adherents to the indie film movement that swept through America in the early to mid-'90s will invariably remember Peter Friedman as the sneaky, underhanded, New Age-espousing "self-help guru" who supposedly attempts to offer ailing Julianne Moore a hand up -- but only succeeds in draining her wallet -- in Todd Haynes' harrowing drama Safe (1995). In truth, that role represented just one of many memorable cinematic contributions for the prolific, highly versatile character actor, whose resumé reads like a best-of list of both independent film and Hollywood product." [1] He also acted in I'm Not Rappaport (1996), [15] I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), [16] Paycheck (2003), [17] Freedomland (2006), [18] The Savages (2007), [19] I'm Not There (2007), [20] and Breaking Upwards (2009). [21] [12]
He played the role of Jewish immigrant "Tateh" in the musical Ragtime in the pre-Broadway tryout (1996) and on Broadway (1998). [22] [23] He was nominated for the 1998 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for his role in Ragtime. [7] He acted in the miniseries Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder . [24] He appeared in a Law & Order episode titled "Attorney Client" as defense lawyer Harold Jensen, broadcast on May 8, 2002. [25] He appeared on Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Twelve Angry Men from October 2004 to March 2005. [26] For his role as "Frank" in Body Awareness , which ran Off-Broadway in 2008, Friedman received a nomination for the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. [7]
From October to November 2009, Friedman played James, the husband of the teacher of a community acting class in Annie Baker's play Circle Mirror Transformation in the Peter J. Sharp Theater at Playwrights Horizons. The show also featured Heidi Schreck, Reed Birney, Deirdre O'Connell, and Tracee Chimo and was directed by Sam Gold. The cast received a 2010 Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble Performance. Friedman appeared in the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of Amy Herzog's After the Revolution in July and August 2010 as "Ben", and reprised his role in the Off-Broadway production at Playwrights Horizons from October to November 2010. [27] The New York Times reviewer wrote: "Mr. Friedman burrows deeply into Ben's anguish at being cut off by the daughter he raised to carry on the family tradition, the wound smarting all the more because he knows his own mistakes have caused the fissure." [28]
He played the role of "Doug" in the Off-Broadway play The Great God Pan from December 2012 to January 2013, and received a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. [29] The New York Times reviewer commented: "The recollections of his parents, small roles incisively portrayed by the reliable Becky Ann Baker and Peter Friedman..." [30] From August 2013 to September 2013 he played the role of "Meckel" in the Off-Broadway production (and New York premiere) of Lauren Yee's The Hatmaker's Wife. [31] Ben Brantley, in his review for The New York Times wrote: "Mr. Friedman brings unblushing good will and vivacity to assignments that include walking around with a clothespin on his nose..." [32] He appeared Off-Broadway in the musical Fly By Night as "Mr McClam" from May to June 2014. [33]
Friedman took roles in The Affair and Damages . He portrayed Hank Armstrong in the Hulu series The Path from 2016 to 2018 and he acted as Jim in the HBO series HighMaintenance also from 2016 to 2018. In 2017 he portrayed Polonius in the Public Theatre's production of Hamlet starring Oscar Isaac and Keegan-Michael Key. That same year he appeared Off-Broadway in the world premiere of The Treasurer at Playwrights Horizons [34] as The Son, for which he was nominated for a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Actor.
From 2018 to 2023, he played Frank Vernon, long-time confidant of Logan Roy and vice-chairman of Waystar Royco in the series Succession . [35] [36] He won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series along with the cast in 2022 and 2023. In 2022 he played Lanny Davis in the MeToo movement drama She Said (2022) for which he received favorable notices, with Jocelyn Noveck of The Associated Press describing him as "excellent". [37] On March 27, 2023, Friedman reprised his role of "Tateh" in a sold-out 25th Anniversary performance of Ragtime at the Minskoff Theater to benefit the Entertainment Community Fund. In 2023 he took a recurring role as George in the final season of the Amazon Prime Video comedy series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel .
In 2023 he portrayed a therapist in the Max Wolf Friedlich play Job . Friedman acted opposite Sydney Lemmon at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City. Sara Holden of Vulture praised Friedman writing, "Friedman is especially delightful to watch because he just seems so damn effortless... has a natural ease and appeal, a sense that he’s never pushing too hard". [38] Juan A. Ramirez of The New York Times wrote of Friedman's performance, "[He] imbues Loyd’s counterarguments with a genuine passion". [39] Freidman returned to the play in 2024 with the production transferring to the Connelly Theater in the East Village. [40]
In 1990, Friedman married Joan Allen. Though they divorced in 2002, they chose to live close to one another in order to share time with their daughter, Sadie (born February 1994). [41]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Christmas Evil | Mr. Grosch | |
1981 | Prince of the City | D.A. Goldman | |
1983 | Daniel | Ben Cohen | |
1988 | The Seventh Sign | Father Lucci | |
1992 | Single White Female | Graham Knox | |
1993 | Blink | Dr. Ryan Pierce | |
1995 | Safe | Peter Dunning | |
1996 | I Shot Andy Warhol | Alan Burke | |
1996 | I'm Not Rappaport | Young Nat's Father | |
2001 | Someone like You | Stephen | |
2003 | Paycheck | Attorney General Brown | |
2004 | King of the Corner | Arthur Wexler | |
2006 | Freedomland | Lt. Gold | |
2007 | The Savages | Larry | |
2007 | Spinning into Butter | Jay Salter | |
2007 | I'm Not There | Morris Bernstein / Barker | |
2008 | Synecdoche, New York | Emergency Room Doctor | |
2009 | The Messenger | Mr. Cohen | |
2009 | Breaking Upwards | Alan | |
2010 | Love & Other Drugs | California Man | |
2011 | Coming Up Roses | Charles | |
2013 | Side Effects | Banks Partner #1 | |
2022 | She Said | Lanny Davis | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | Great Performances | Marquis Miglioriti | Episode: "The Rules of the Game" |
1976 | Sesame Street | Additional role | Voice; 2 episodes |
1976–1978 | The Muppet Show | Additional roles | Voice; 9 episodes |
1983 | Rage of Angels | Larry | Television film |
1985 | Finnegan Begin Again | John Jewell | Television film |
1985 | Miami Vice | Morgan | Episode: "Nobody Lives Forever" |
1988 | Hothouse | David | 2 episodes |
1991 | The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd | Harry | Episode: "Here's a Little Touch of Harry in the Night" |
1991–1993 | Brooklyn Bridge | George Silver | 33 episodes |
1994–2009 | Law & Order | Various roles | 3 episodes |
1995 | The Heidi Chronicles | Scoop Rosenbaum | Television film |
1997 | In the Presence of Mine Enemies | Kohn | Television film |
2000 | Perfect Murder, Perfect Town | Peter Hofstrom | Miniseries |
2002 | Baby Bob | Peter | Episode: "The Tell-Tale Art" |
2002 | Two Against Time | Robert Portman | Television film |
2003 | NYPD Blue | Dr. Auken | Episode: "Your Bus, Ted" |
2003 | Without a Trace | Damon | Episode: "Prodigy" |
2006 | Heist | Rabbi | Episode: "Strife" |
2006 | Ghost Whisperer | Steve Burris | Episode: "A Grave Matter" |
2007 | Damages | District Attorney | Episode: "Because I Know Patty" |
2012 | Made in Jersey | Judge Henry Sohn | Episode: "Pilot" |
2012 | 666 Park Avenue | Samuel Steinberg | Episode: "Diabolic" |
2013 | Person of Interest | Lawrence Szilard | Episode: "God Mode" |
2014 | Submissions Only | Stuart Schulman | Episode: "Petite Sweet Ending in N" |
2015 | The Affair | Robert | 3 episodes |
2016–2018 | The Path | Hank Armstrong | 23 episodes |
2016–2018 | High Maintenance | Jim | 2 episodes |
2018–2023 | Succession | Frank Vernon | 32 episodes |
2023 | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | George | 6 episodes |
Year | Title | Role | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
1972 | The Great God Brown | Committeeman | Lyceum Theatre, Broadway |
1972 | Don Juan | Commander / Don Carlos | |
1973 | The Visit | Carpenter | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway |
1973 | Chemin De Fer | Auguste | |
1973 | Holiday | Seton Cram | |
1974 | Love for Love | Ben | Helen Hayes Theatre, Broadway |
1974 | The Rules of the Game | Marquis Migliorriti | |
1981 | Piaf | Papa Leplée | Plymouth Theatre, Broadway |
1981 | A Soldier's Play | Captain Charles Taylor | Theatre Four, Off-Broadway |
1986 | Execution of Justice | Douglas Schmidt | Virginia Theatre, Broadway |
1986 | The Common Pursuit | Humphry Taylor | Promenade Theatre, Off-Broadway |
1988 | The Heidi Chronicles | Scoop Rosenbaum | Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway |
1989 | Plymouth Theatre, Broadway | ||
1989 | The Tenth Man | Arthur Brooks | Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway |
1993 | The Loman Family Picnic | Herbie | New York City Center, Off-Broadway |
1996 | Ragtime | Tateh | Ford Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto |
1997 | Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Broadway | ||
2004 | Twelve Angry Men | Juror Ten | American Airlines Theatre, Broadway |
2008 | Body Awareness | Frank | Atlantic Theater Company, Off-Broadway |
2009 | Circle Mirror Transformation | James | Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway |
2010 | After the Revolution | Ben | |
2012 | The Great God Pan | Doug | |
2013 | The Hatmaker's Wife | Meckel | |
2014 | The Open House | Dad | Signature Theatre, Off-Broadway |
2014 | Fly by Night | Mr. McClam | Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway |
2017 | Hamlet | Polonius | The Public Theatre, Off-Broadway |
2017 | The Treasurer | The Son | Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway |
2018 | The Beast in the Jungle | Old John Marcher | Vineyard Theatre, Off-Broadway |
2023 | Job | Loyd | SoHo Playhouse, Off-Broadway |
2024 | Helen Hayes Theatre, Broadway [42] | ||
Year | Award | Category | Project | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | The Common Pursuit | Nominated | |
1989 | Outstanding Actor in a Play | The Heidi Chronicles | Nominated | ||
1998 | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Ragtime | Nominated | ||
2009 | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Body Awareness | Nominated | ||
2013 | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | The Great God Pan | Nominated | ||
2014 | Outstanding Ensemble Performance | The Open House | Won | ||
2015 | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Fly by Night | Nominated | ||
1998 | Tony Award | Best Lead Actor in a Musical | Ragtime | Nominated | [43] |
2022 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Succession | Won | [44] |
2024 | Won | [45] |
Donald Margulies is an American playwright and academic. In 2000, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Dinner with Friends.
Lynn Ahrens is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years. She won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for the Broadway musical Ragtime. Together with Flaherty, she has written many musicals, including Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, Ragtime, Seussical, A Man of No Importance, Dessa Rose, The Glorious Ones, Rocky, Little Dancer and, recently on Broadway, Anastasia and Once on This Island.
Jerome Herbert "Chip" Zien is an American actor. He is best known for creating the lead role of the Baker in the original Broadway production of the musical Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim. He appeared in all of the "Marvin Trilogy" musicals by William Finn: In Trousers, March of the Falsettos, Falsettoland and Falsettos. In 2023, he returned to Broadway in the lead role of the Older Rabbi Cycowski in Harmony.
John Patrick Shanley is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film Moonstruck. His play, Doubt: A Parable, won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Play; he wrote and directed the film adaptation and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Will Eno is an American playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. His play, Thom Pain was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2005. His play The Realistic Joneses appeared on Broadway in 2014, where it received a Drama Desk Special Award and was named Best Play on Broadway by USA Today, and best American play of 2014 by The Guardian. His play The Open House was presented Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre in 2014 and won the Obie Award for Playwriting as well as other awards, and was on both TIME Magazine and Time Out New York 's Top Ten Plays of 2014.
LaChanze Sapp-Gooding, known professionally as LaChanze, is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson in The Color Purple. In 2023, LaChanze received two more Tony Awards, this time as a producer. She served as co-producer on Kimberly Akimbo, which won the Tony for Best New Musical and Topdog/Underdog, which won for Best Revival of a Play.
Jon Robin Baitz is an American playwright, screenwriter and television producer. He is a two time Pulitzer Prize finalist, as well as a Guggenheim, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellow.
Boyd Payne Gaines is an American actor. During his career, he has won four Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Gaines is best known for playing Mark Royer on One Day at a Time (1981–1984).
Jay Olcutt Sanders is an American film, theatre and television actor and playwright. He frequently appears in plays off-Broadway at The Public Theatre. He has received a Drama Desk Award and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award.
Dinner with Friends is a play written by Donald Margulies. It premiered at the 1998 Humana Festival of New American Plays and opened Off-Broadway in 1999. The play received the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Jean Isabel Smith, credited professionally as J. Smith-Cameron, is an American actress. She gained prominence for her roles as Janet Talbot in the Sundance TV series Rectify (2013–2016) and Gerri Kellman in the HBO series Succession (2018–2023), the latter of which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Michael John Rupert is an American actor, singer, director and composer. In 1968, he made his Broadway debut in The Happy Time as Bibi Bonnard for which he received a Tony Award nomination and the Theater World Award. Later, he starred as the title role in Pippin for three years on Broadway starting in 1974. He originated the role of Marvin in the William Finn musicals March of the Falsettos, Falsettoland and Falsettos. In 2007, he originated the role of Professor Callahan in the Broadway cast of Legally Blonde. Rupert has been the nominee and recipient of several Tony and Drama Desk awards. He won a Tony for his performance in Sweet Charity in 1986.
Derek McLane is an American set designer for theatre, opera, and television. He graduated with a BA from Harvard College and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
Lester Rawlins was an American stage, screen, and television actor. He graduated from the Carnegie Mellon College of Drama in 1950 with a BFA.
Robert Petkoff is an American stage actor known for his work in Shakespearean productions and more recently on the New York City musical theater stage. Petkoff has performed on Broadway, the West End, regional theatre, and done work in film and television. Petkoff was featured as "Perchik" in the Tony award-nominated 2004 revival cast of Fiddler on the Roof but is perhaps best known for his role as "Tateh" in the 2009 revival of Ragtime on Broadway. Petkoff has also provided the voices for over two dozen audiobooks, winning awards for his reading of Michael Koryta's So Cold the River. Married to actress Susan Wands, Petkoff has lived in New York City for the last twenty years, and often performs in benefit concerts for theater-district-related charities.
Marylouise Burke is an American actress. Her roles have included the 2004 Alexander Payne film Sideways, in which she played Phyliis, the mother of the lead character. On stage, she has appeared off-Broadway in Fuddy Meers in 1999, winning the Drama Desk Award for Featured Actress in a Play, and in Kimberly Akimbo in 2003, receiving a Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actress in a Play nomination. She also played the role of Jack's mother in the 2002 Broadway revival of Into the Woods.
Jeffry Denman is an American actor, director, choreographer and author.
Ragtime is a musical with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Terrence McNally. It is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow.
Amy Herzog is an American playwright. She is known for her poignant and character-driven plays that explore themes of family dynamics, personal relationships, and the complexities of human experience. She has received a Drama Desk Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award.
Circle Mirror Transformation is a play by Annie Baker, centered on drama classes at a community center in Vermont. The play opened Off-Broadway in 2009 and received the Obie Award for Best New American Play.