Michael Jonathan Zegen (born February 20, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' Rescue Me'' (2004–2011), ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

'' (2011–2014), and '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' (2017–present).

Personal life

Zegen was born to a teacher mother and a lawyer father, and lived in

Glen Rock, New Jersey Glen Rock is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 12,133, reflecting an increase of 532 (+4.6%) from the 11,601 counted in the 2010 census,Ridgewood Ridgewood may refer to: Geography Australia *Ridgewood, Western Australia Canada * Ridgewood, Ontario *Ridgewood, Edmonton, Alberta United Kingdom *Ridgewood, East Sussex United States *Ridgewood Heights, California * Ridgewood, Illinois *Ridge ...

when he was five. He has two brothers. He is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. His mother was born in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in a

displaced persons' camp Displaced may refer to: * Forced displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNH ...

, and his maternal grandparents were

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

survivors from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He attended Ridgewood High School, where he was active in the school's theater program. Zegen is a 2001 graduate of

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. History Sk ...

Career

His role on ''Rescue Me'' began as a recurring character in seasons 1–3, playing the nephew of series lead

Tommy Gavin Thomas Michael "Tommy" Gavin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the FX television series '' Rescue Me''. He is portrayed by Denis Leary. For his portrayal, Leary was nominated for the Golden Globe Award (2005) and the Primetime Em ...

( Denis Leary). In seasons 5–6, he was promoted to the main cast when his character began probationary firefighter school to become a firefighter. In 2010, Zegen was cast as gangster Bugsy Siegel for the second, third, and fifth season of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series, ''

''. In 2011, Zegen, along with

James Ransone James Finley Ransone III (born June 2, 1979) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of the drama series ''The Wire'', United States Marine Corps Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the war drama min ...

, was cast in supporting roles in the HBO comedy series '' How To Make It In America''. In mid-2011, Zegen was cast in a recurring guest role in the second season of the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...

series '' The Walking Dead''. In 2014 he created the role of Liam off-Broadway in the dark comedy '' Bad Jews''. Zegan made his Broadway debut in

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, and M ...

in 2015. In 2017, Zegen played Joel Maisel in '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel''. For the role he has won two Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series awards from the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

. He returned to Broadway in 2021 to star in ''Trouble in Mind'' by Alice Childress.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zegen, Michael 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Jewish American male actors Living people Skidmore College alumni American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Male actors from New Jersey People from Glen Rock, New Jersey People from Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood High School (New Jersey) alumni 1979 births 21st-century American Jews