Peter MacNicol (born April 10, 1954) is an American actor. He received a Theatre World Award for his 1981 Broadway debut in the play '' Crimes of the Heart''. His film roles include Galen in ''

Dragonslayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classific ...

'' (1981), Stingo in '' Sophie's Choice'' (1982), Janosz Poha in ''

Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, and A ...

'' (1989), camp organizer Gary Granger in '' Addams Family Values'' (1993), and David Langley in ''

Bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

'' (1997). MacNicol won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2001 for his role as the eccentric lawyer

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading f ...

in the FOX comedy-drama '' Ally McBeal'' (1997–2002). He is also known for his television roles as attorney Alan Birch in the medical drama ''

Chicago Hope ''Chicago Hope'' is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charitable hospital in Chicago, Illino ...

'' (1994–98), X the Eliminator on '' Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law'' (2000–2007), physicist Dr. Larry Fleinhardt on the CBS crime drama '' Numbers'' (2005–10),

Tom Lennox The following is a list of characters in the American serial drama television series '' 24'', '' 24: Live Another Day'', and '' 24: Legacy'' by season and event. The list first names the actor, followed by the character. Some characters have their ...

in the sixth season of action-thriller '' 24'' (2007), Doctor Octopus in '' The Spectacular Spider-Man'' (2008–09), Dr. Stark on '' Grey's Anatomy'' (2010–11), Jeff Kane on the

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where s ...

series ''

Veep ''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom '' The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep ...

'' (2016–19), and Nigel the Advisor on '' Tangled: The Series'' (2017–20). He also voiced the Mad Hatter in the '' Batman: Arkham'' video game series.

Early life

MacNicol was born and raised in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, the youngest of five children of Barbara Jean (née Gottlich), a homemaker, and John Wilbur Johnson, a Norwegian-American corporate executive who became an Episcopal priest later in life. He is a graduate of MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas.

Career

MacNicol performed for two seasons from 1978 at the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

, including in productions of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' and ''

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...

''. He made his New York debut in the 1980 off-Broadway play, '' Crimes of the Heart''. The production eventually moved to Broadway in 1981, and he won the Theatre World Award. It was also during this production that a casting agent noticed him and called him in to read for his eventual role in '' Sophie's Choice''. In 1981 he landed the starring role in his first film, ''

'', opposite Sir

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He w ...

. In 1987, MacNicol starred in the Trinity Repertory Company's original production of the stage adaptation of

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the lit ...

's '' All the King's Men'', which first appeared at the

Dallas Theater Center The Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas, United States. It produces classic, contemporary and new plays and was the 2017 Tony Award recipient for Best Regional Theater. Dallas Theater Center produces its original w ...

. The adaptation was developed in consultation with the author. Among his other stage credits is the Broadway production of ''Black Comedy/White Lies''. He has appeared in repertory theater, including the New York Shakespeare Festival in which he played title roles in ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...

'' and ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'', and appeared in ''Twelfth Night'', ''Rum and Coke'' and ''Found a Peanut''. In film, he played the naive Southern writer who fell in love with Meryl Streep in '' Sophie's Choice'', the museum curator Janosz Poha in ''

'', and camp director Gary Granger alongside future '' Numbers'' co-star David Krumholtz in '' Addams Family Values''. Other film credits include ''

Housesitter ''Housesitter'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Oz, written by Mark Stein, and starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. The premise involves a woman with con-artist tendencies who worms her way into the life of a rese ...

'' and ''

American Blue Note ''American Blue Note'' is a 1989 drama film directed by Ralph Toporoff, who wrote the screenplay with Gilbert Girion. It stars Peter MacNicol, Carl Capotorto, Tim Guinee Timothy S. Guinee (born November 18, 1962) is an American stage, televisi ...

''. From 1992 to 1993 he starred opposite John Forsythe, Holland Taylor,

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Scree ...

and

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances ...

as press secretary Bradley Grist in the short-lived political comedy '' The Powers That Be''. In 1994 MacNicol played the role of Alan Birch for the first season and under half of the second season of ''

'' once creator David E. Kelley departed. He later rejoined Kelley in 1997 by taking a role on another TV series, '' Ally McBeal'', as a main guest star from Season 1 to Season 4 and a recurring character in Season 5. MacNicol is well known for his '' Ally McBeal'' performance as eccentric attorney

, for which he won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2001. He also starred in the drama '' Numbers'' as physicist Dr. Larry Fleinhardt, and had a role as

in the sixth season of the hit FOX show '' 24''. MacNicol reprised his role as Lennox in the film '' 24: Redemption''. He also played a hotel receptionist in a ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'' episode, "Look Before You Sleep". MacNicol has lent his voice to several comic book

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are of ...

s: Dr. Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat in ''

The Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman or The Batman may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Characters * Batman (Terry McGinnis) * Batman (Thomas Wayne) * Batman (Earth-Two) * Bat ...

'', David Clinton / Chronos in ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics univers ...

'', Professor Ivo in '' Young Justice'', Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus in '' The Spectacular Spider-Man'', X The Eliminator in '' Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' and the Mad Hatter in the video games '' Batman: Arkham City'', '' Batman: Arkham Origins'', and '' Batman: Arkham Knight''. He also voiced

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

in '' G.I. Joe: Renegades''. MacNicol played Dr. Stark, a pediatric surgeon, on '' Grey's Anatomy''. MacNicol was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding guest actor in the fifth season of ''

''; however, this was rescinded after he appeared for only ten seconds in a fifth episode of the season's ten-episode run, hence disqualifying him as a part-time "guest" and joining him in the ranks of

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian. He was a cast member of '' Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a str ...

and

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series '' Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

whose nominations were also revoked. He was later nominated in the same category for the seventh season of ''Veep''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macnicol, Peter 1954 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Irish descent American people of Jewish descent American people of Norwegian descent Male actors from Dallas Male actors from Texas Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors