Joseph Patrick Breen (born October 26, 1960) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director.

Early life

Breen was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, on October 26, 1960.

Career

He has acted primarily on TV but has also appeared in numerous films, as well as on Broadway and

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

. In 2010, he starred on Broadway in ''

Next Fall ''Next Fall'' is a play written by Geoffrey Nauffts. The play is about two gay men in a committed relationship with a twist, with one, Luke, being devoutly religious and the other, Adam, an atheist. The play revolves around their five-year relatio ...

''. He is currently playing Andrew Munsey, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, on the CBS drama '' Madam Secretary''. He voiced all the characters in

Britt Allcroft Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft, 14 December 1943) is a British writer, producer, director and voice actress. She is the creator of the children's television series ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' (later re-titled ''Thomas & Friend ...

's television series ''

Magic Adventures of Mumfie ''Magic Adventures of Mumfie'' is a British animated children's television series and movie, inspired by the works of Katharine Tozer (1907-1943) with an original music score containing more than 22 songs. The series was created by Britt Allcrof ...

'', and was originally hired to voice Splatter and Dodge in ''

Thomas and the Magic Railroad ''Thomas and the Magic Railroad'' is a 2000 children's fantasy adventure film written and directed by Britt Allcroft and produced by Allcroft and Phil Fehrle. It is the only theatrical live-action/animated ''Thomas & Friends'' film in the franc ...

'', but the roles were instead recast to

Neil Crone Neil Crone (born May 29, 1960) is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer and motivational speaker. He is known for portraying Fred Tupper in ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'', Jerry Whitehall in '' Cube 2: Hypercube'' and the voices of Gordon, Diesel ...

and

Kevin Frank Kevin Walter Frank (born January 13, 1957) is a Canadian actor, director, television host and writer. He is best known as the host of television game shows ''The Next Line'', ''Kidstreet {{Infobox television , image = Kidstreet.png , runt ...

. Breen appeared regularly in

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

's adaptation of ''

A Series of Unfortunate Events ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After th ...

'', which premiered in 2017.

Personal life

In a July 2012 interview with ''

Metro Weekly ''Metro Weekly'' is a free weekly magazine for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Washington, D.C., United States. It was first published on May 5, 1994. ''Metro Weekly'' includes national and local news, interviews w ...

'' Patrick Breen stated, "I identify as one of the LGBT people" and agreed with the interviewer who referred to Breen coming out as bisexual.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage work

*''

Brighton Beach Memoirs ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the first chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy. It precedes '' Biloxi Blues'' and ''Broadway Bound''. Productions ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' had a pre-Broadway ...

'' (1983) *''

The Substance of Fire ''The Substance of Fire'' is a play by Jon Robin Baitz. Overview Isaac Geldhart is a survivor of the Holocaust. He arrived in New York City an orphan, reinvented himself as a bon vivant, married well, and found fame and fortune as a champion of a ...

'' (1991) *''

Fuddy Meers ''Fuddy Meers'' is an American play by David Lindsay-Abaire. It tells the story of an amnesiac, Claire, who awakens each morning as a blank slate on which her husband and teenage son must imprint the facts of her life. One morning Claire is abduc ...

'' (1999) *''

'' (2009, Off Broadway; 2010, Broadway) *''

The Normal Heart ''The Normal Heart'' is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer. It focuses on the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay founder of a promi ...

'' (2011, Broadway) *''The Perplexed'' (2020, Broadway)

References

External links

*
Profile
tvguide.com
Profile
starpulse.com * * 1960 births Living people Writers from Brooklyn People from Staten Island American male television actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male voice actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Bisexual male actors Bisexual writers American LGBT actors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American LGBT writers LGBT screenwriters LGBT dramatists and playwrights LGBT people from New York (state) American male screenwriters Male actors from New York City American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) American bisexual actors {{US-actor-stub