Geoffrey Paul Cantor is an American actor (director, writer, creative consultant, and acting coach). He is primarily known for his portrayal as

Mitchell Ellison Earth Lord Earth Sentry Earth Sentry (John Foster) was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, and first appeared in ''A-Next'' #2 (1999) in the Marvel Comics 2, MC2 universe. When John and his father Bill Foster (comics), Bill were investigati ...

on '' Daredevil'' and ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

''.

Early life and education

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 Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. They moved a few more times ( Newton Center, Massachusetts and

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.

) as his father completed his internship and residency, and settled in

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.community theatre Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside he ...

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 Pascack Hills High School (PHHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school, one of two secondary schools serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as part of the Pascack Valley Regional High School District in Bergen County, Ne ...

. While attending

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

, Cantor came to find acting the most rewarding and intriguing art form, particularly British theatre which he found the most inspirational. Cantor graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College with a degree in theater, and furthered his acting education at

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awa ...

and then at the

Royal Central School of Speech & Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Career

He made his TV acting debut in ''

Night Network ''Night Network'', ''Night Time'' and ''Night Shift'' were names given to the overnight (usually between 12 and 6am) schedule of the ITV (TV network), ITV network in the United Kingdom. The first ITV company began 24-hour broadcasting in 1986, w ...

'' before appearing in a variety of television shows such as ''

The Street The Street may refer to: Geographical *Wall Street in New York City's Financial District * The Street, Lawshall, Suffolk, England * The Street (Heath Charnock), a building and bridleway in Rivington, Lancashire, England Film and television * ''The ...

'', ''

The Kill Point ''The Kill Point'' is an American television series that follows a group of U.S. Marines recently returned from serving in Iraq as they come together to pull off a major bank heist of a Three Rivers Bank branch in Pittsburgh. The series, produced ...

'', ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'', ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

'', ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

'', ''

Deception Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...

'' and ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structu ...

'' 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 Benjamin "Ben" Urich is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character usually appears in comic books featuring Daredevil and Spider-Man. Urich is a chain-smoking, tough-as-nails investigative jo ...

. 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." Cantor would reprise the role in season 2 of ''Daredevil'', which sees Ellison take on a mentor role towards

Karen Page Karen Page is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She serves as the original love interest for Daredevil, under Matt Murdock's employ as his legal secretary. In 1999, Page was killed by Bullseye, a ...

, and as a guest star in ''

''. He also voiced the paparazzo Beverly Felton in the 2013 video game

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantor, Geoffrey Living people Male actors from California Male actors from New Jersey Amherst College alumni Jewish American male actors Pascack Hills High School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American Jews