Eric Bogosian ( hy, Էրիկ Բոգոսյան; ; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, monologuist,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

, and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

. Descended from

Armenian American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians ...

immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and

Woburn, Massachusetts Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of government, in which an elected mayor is ...

, and attended

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

. His numerous plays include '' subUrbia'' (1994) and Pulitzer Prize in Drama finalist ''

Talk Radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

'' (1987), which were adapted to film by

Richard Linklater Richard Stuart Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for films that revolve mainly around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies ' ...

and

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

, respectively. He also starred as Arno in the Safdie brothers' critically acclaimed film '' Uncut Gems'' (2019). Bogosian has appeared in a variety of plays, films, and television series throughout his career. His television roles include Captain Danny Ross in '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2006–2010), Lawrence Boyd on '' Billions'' (2017–2018), and Gil Eavis on ''

Succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

'' (since 2018). He has also been involved in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

ballet production, and has written several novels as well as the historical nonfiction ''

Operation Nemesis Operation Nemesis () was a program to assassinate both Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian genocide and officials of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic responsible for the massacre of Armenians during the September Days of 1918 in Baku. Maste ...

'' (2015).

Early life

Bogosian was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina (''née'' Jamgochian), a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. He spent his early childhood in

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Waterto ...

, home to a large

Armenian-American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenians, Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after A ...

community which included his grandparents, survivors of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. His family moved to nearby Woburn in 1960. He became interested in theater while attending Woburn Memorial High School, and would later base his play '' subUrbia'' on his youth in Woburn's Four Corners neighborhood. He attended the

before graduating from

Career

Bogosian is an author and actor known for his plays ''

'' and '' subUrbia'' as well as numerous one-man shows. In 1983, early in his career, Bogosian appeared in the music video for Jim Capaldi's song "That's Love". In recent years he has starred on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in Donald Margulies' '' Time Stands Still'', published three novels, and was featured on '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' as Captain Danny Ross.

Stage

Between 1980 and 2000, six major solos written and performed by Eric Bogosian were produced

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 th ...

, garnering him three

Obie Awards The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

as well as the Drama Desk award. His first two solos, ''Men Inside'' and ''funHouse'' were presented at the

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...

. His third, ''Drinking in America'', was produced by American Place Theater. ''Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll'', ''Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead'' and ''Wake Up and Smell the Coffee'' were all produced commercially Off-Broadway by Frederick Zollo. Eric is also the author of six produced plays, including 1987's ''

''. ''Talk Radio'' was a finalist for

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

, but lost to

Alfred Uhry Alfred Fox Uhry (born December 3, 1936) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has received an Academy Award, two Tony Awards and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing for ''Driving Miss Daisy''. He is a member of the Fellowship ...

's ''

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his r ...

''. In 2007, a Broadway revival of ''Talk Radio'' directed by Robert Falls starred

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood ...

. '' subUrbia'' was directed by Robert Falls and produced by Lincoln Center Theater in 1994. Other titles include ''Griller'' (

Goodman Theater Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the lan ...

); ''Humpty Dumpty'' (The McCarter); ''Red Angel'' (

Williamstown Theater Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. I ...

) and ''1+1'' (New York Stage and Film). Bogosian's one-person drama, ''Notes from Underground'' has had several productions, most recently starring

Jonathan Ames Jonathan Ames (; born March 23, 1964) is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, ''Bored to Death'' (HBO) and '' Blunt Talk'' (STARZ). In the late '90s and early 2000s, ...

Performance Space 122 Performance Space New York, formerly known as Performance Space 122 or P.S. 122, is a non-profitable arts organization founded in 1980 in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in an abandoned public school building. Origin The former eleme ...

. In addition to his many appearances in his solo work and starring in his play, ''Talk Radio'', Bogosian has also starred in

Stephen Adly Guirgis Stephen Adly Guirgis is a Pulitzer Prize Winning American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He is a member and a former co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company.Blake, Leslie (Hoban)"Comin' Uptown" ''Theater ...

' '' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot'' directed by

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles—typically lowlifes, eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical produc ...

(

LAByrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by ...

) and Donald Margulies' '' Time Stands Still'' directed by Daniel Sullivan (

Manhattan Theater Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...

/Broadway).

Film

Bogosian's play ''Talk Radio'' was adapted to film in 1988 by

, garnering Bogosian the prestigious

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fes ...

. The film version of ''subUrbia'' (1996) was directed by

. His play '' Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll'' was adapted to film in 1991. He has starred in several other films including '' Under Siege 2: Dark Territory'' and ''

Wonderland Wonderland may refer to: Places Municipalities * Wonderland, California, a ghost town in Plumas County * Wonderland, Ohio, a ghost town in Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Roads, streets, and trails * Wonderland Avenue, a roadway in Laurel Canyon, Los A ...

''. In addition, he has been featured in films by such directors as

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...

Taylor Hackford Taylor Edwin Hackford (born December 31, 1944) is an American film director and former president of the Directors Guild of America. He won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for '' Teenage Father'' (1979). Hackford went on to direct ...

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; hy, Աթոմ Եղոյեան, translit=Atom Yeghoyan; born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Egoyan m ...

and

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda, ...

Television

In television, Bogosian is best known for his starring role as Captain Danny Ross in the series '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent''. In addition, he has appeared as a guest star on dramas and in 1994 created with

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

the series ''

High Incident ''High Incident'' was a police drama television series produced by DreamWorks Television for the ABC network. The show was created by Steven Spielberg, Michael Pavone, Eric Bogosian, and Dave Alan Johnson. It aired from March 4, 1996, to May ...

'' for

ABC television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

. He portrayed Barney Greenwald, defense attorney, in the TV film ''The Caine Mutiny Court Martial''. He also appeared in the episode "His Story" on '' Scrubs'' as

Dr. Cox Percival Ulysses "Perry" Cox, M.D., is a fictional character played by John C. McGinley on the American television comedy-drama '' Scrubs''. Dr. Cox appeared in every episode except " My Last Words", " My Comedy Show", and " My Full Moon", all ...

's therapist and was recurring character Lawrence Boyd in '' Billions second season. In 1993, Bogosian played the role of Stan Paxton, Larry's ex standup partner in the series 'The Larry Sanders Show'. He has also appeared in HBO's show ''

'' as Senator Gil Eavis.

Books

Bogosian is the author of three novels published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

: ''Mall'', ''Wasted Beauty'', and ''Perforated Heart''. All of his dramatic work is in print, published by Theater Communication Group. In 2015, he published '' Operation Nemesis: The Secret Plot that Avenged the Armenian Genocide'', a history of

which involved a group of Armenian assassins who set out to avenge the deaths of the one and a half million victims of the

Dance

Bogosian founded the dance series at

The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was foun ...

. During his charter tenure there, he produced the first concerts in New York City by Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane, Karole Armitage and Molissa Fenley as well as dozens of other choreographers. In 2006, Bogosian acted as producer on the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company ...

's documentary, ''Bringing Back Balanchine''.

Collaborations

In addition to working with Jo Bonney and Tad Savinar, other notable collaborations include Michael Zwack (“I Saw the Seven Angels”); Joe Hannan (“The Ricky Paul Show”);

Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to: Name or surname * Glenn (name) * John Glenn, U.S. astronaut Cultivars * Glenn (mango) * a 6-row barley variety Places In the United States: * Glenn, California * Glenn County, California * Glenn, Georgia, a settleme ...

(“The New World”);

Robert Longo Robert Longo (born 1953) is an American artist, filmmaker, photographer and musician. Longo became first well known in the 1980s for his ''Men in the Cities'' drawing and print series, which depict sharply dressed men and women writhing in cont ...

(“American Vanity”);

Ann Magnuson Ann Magnuson (born January 4, 1956) is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer. She was described by ''The New York Times'' in 1990 as "An endearing theatrical chameleon who has as many characters at her fingertips as Lil ...

(sketches at

Folk City Gerdes Folk City, sometimes spelled Gerde's Folk City, was a music venue in the West Village, part of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, in New York City. Initially opened by owner Mike Porco as a restaurant called Gerdes, it eventually began to pres ...

) and Elliot Sharp (“This Is Now!”). For the past six years Bogosian has been filming th
100monologues.com
series with Travis Bogosian and Good Baby Films.

Awards

Bogosian has won the

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...

three times as well as the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. F ...

. He received the prestigious "Silver Bear" at the 1989

for his work on ''

''. He is a 2004

Guggenheim fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

and the recipient of two fellowships from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Personal life

In 1980, he married Jo Anne Bonney, with whom he has two sons, Harry and Travis Bogosian.

Filmography

Film

Television

Writing credits

* ''Men in Dark Times'' * ''Scenes from the New World'' * ''Sheer Heaven'' (1980) * ''Men Inside'' (1981) * ''The New World'' (1981) * ''FunHouse'' (1983) * ''Drinking in America'' (1986) (Winner of the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. The category was first presented at the 19 ...

) * ''

'' (1987) (also film version 1988) * ''Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll'' (1990) * ''Notes from the Underground'' (1993) * ''Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead'' (1994) * '' subUrbia'' (1994) (also film version 1996) * '' Griller'' (1998) * ''

Mall Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India ...

'' (2000) * ''Wake Up and Smell the Coffee'' (2000) * ''

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...

'' (2004) * ''Non-profit Benefit'' * ''Red Angel'' * '' Wasted Beauty'' (2005) * ''1+1'' (2008) * ''Perforated Heart'' (novel) (2009) * ''

'' (2015)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bogosian, Eric 1953 births 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Armenian-American male actors American male film actors American male novelists American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Armenian descent Living people Male actors from Massachusetts Performance art in New York City Oberlin College alumni Obie Award recipients People from Woburn, Massachusetts Novelists from Massachusetts National Endowment for the Arts Fellows American male dramatists and playwrights Franklin Furnace artists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Woburn Memorial High School alumni