Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. As an actor he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the Broadway revival of '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (2013). As a playwright, Letts is known for having written for the Steppenwolf Theatre, Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre. His works include: '' Killer Joe'', '' Bug'', ''

Man from Nebraska ''Man From Nebraska'' is a play by American playwright Tracy Letts, which premiered in 2003 in Chicago. ''Man From Nebraska'' is about a man's loss of faith and his journey to regain it. Productions The play had its world premiere at Steppenwolf ...

'', '' August: Osage County'', '' Superior Donuts'', ''Linda Vista'', and '' The Minutes''. Letts adapted three of his plays into films, '' Bug'' and '' Killer Joe'', both directed by William Friedkin, and '' August: Osage County'', directed by John Wells. His 2009 play '' Superior Donuts'' was adapted into a television series of the same name. As a stage actor, Letts has performed in various classic plays with the Steppenwolf Theatre since 1988. He made his acting Broadway debut as George in the revival of

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as '' The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (196 ...

's play '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'', which earned him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He continued acting on the Broadway stage in '' The Realistic Joneses'', '' All My Sons,'' and ''The Minutes''. In film and television, he is known for his portrayal of Andrew Lockhart in seasons 3 and 4 of Showtime's ''Homeland'', and pyramid-scheme con-artist Nick on the HBO comedy ''

Divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

''. In 2017, Letts starred in three critically acclaimed films: Azazel Jacobs' ''

The Lovers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', Greta Gerwig's '' Lady Bird'', and

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 ...

's '' The Post''. The latter two films were nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categ ...

. ''Lady Bird'' earned Letts a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In 2019, he portrayed

Henry Ford II Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), sometimes known as "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford I. He was president ...

James Mangold James Allen Mangold (born December 16, 1963) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the films ''Cop Land'' (1997), '' Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), '' Walk the Line'' (2005), '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007), '' The Wolverine'' (2013) and '' Logan' ...

's ''

Ford v Ferrari ''Ford v Ferrari'' (titled ''Le Mans '66'' in some European countries) is a 2019 American sports drama film directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. It stars Matt Damon and Christi ...

'' and Mr. Dashwood in Gerwig's ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the live ...

'', the two also receiving Best Picture nominations.

Early life

Letts was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

, to author Billie Letts (née Gipson) and college professor and actor Dennis Letts. He has two brothers, Shawn, a musician, and Dana. Letts was raised in Durant, Oklahoma and graduated from Durant High School in the early 1980s. He moved to

Dallas 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 ...

, where he waited tables and worked in telemarketing while beginning his acting career. He appeared in Jerry Flemmons' ''O Dammit!'', which was part of a new playwrights' series sponsored by

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , p ...

. Letts moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

at the age of 20, working for the next 11 years at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Famous Door. He is still an active member of Steppenwolf. He was a founding member of Bang Bang Spontaneous Theatre, whose members included Greg Kotis, Michael Shannon,

Paul Dillon Paul Dillon is an American character actor who began his career in show business in Chicago. His film career began in 1994 with the film ''Blink'' in which he played the role of Neal Booker. He played Paddy O'Brien in '' Austin Powers: Interna ...

, and Amy Pietz. In 1991, Letts wrote the play '' Killer Joe''. Two years later, the play premiered at the Next Lab Theater in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

, followed by the 29th Street Rep 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 ...

. Since then, ''Killer Joe'' has been performed in a number of countries in 12 languages. His mother, Billie Letts, has said of his work, "I try to be upbeat and funny. Everybody in Tracy's stories gets naked or dead." Letts's plays have depicted people struggling with moral and spiritual questions. He says he was inspired by the plays of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

and the novels of William Faulkner and Jim Thompson. Letts states that he considers sounds to be effective "storytelling tools" for theater.

Career

Theatre

Acting

During the late 1980s through the late 2000s, Letts acted in many of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's productions, starring in Steve Martin's ''

Picasso at the Lapin Agile ''Picasso at the Lapin Agile'' is a full-length play written by American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician Steve Martin in 1993. Description The play features the characters of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso, who meet at a bar ...

'' (1994). In 2012, Letts gained attention for his Broadway debut performance in the revival of

's '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' at the Booth Theatre. He received positive reviews and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. In 2019, Letts appeared in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's '' All My Sons'' with Annette Bening at Roundabout Theatre Company's American Airlines Theatre. The show officially opened on April 22, 2019 and closed on June 23, 2019.

Writing

Letts has written over ten plays. His most famous, '' August: Osage County'', premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on June 28, 2007. It had its Broadway debut at the Imperial Theatre on December 4, 2007; the production transferred to Broadway's Music Box Theatre on April 29, 2008. The Broadway show closed on June 28, 2009, after 648 performances and 18 previews. The show went on to receive seven

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

nominations, winning six, including Best Play. The play won Letts the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2008. Letts has also been a finalist for the Pulitzer drama prize for his plays ''

'' and '' The Minutes''; the Pulitzer committee described ''The Minutes'' as a "shocking drama set in a seemingly mundane city council meeting that acidly articulates a uniquely American toxicity that feels both historic and contemporary."

Television

Early in his acting career, in the 1990s through the mid 2000s, Letts acted in TV shows including ''

Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenced ...

'', '' The District'', '' Strong Medicine'', '' Profiler'', ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'', '' The Drew Carey Show'', '' Seinfeld'', '' Early Edition'', and ''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

''. In 2013–14, Letts joined the cast of Showtime's '' Homeland'' as US Senator Andrew Lockhart. He was nominated with the rest of the cast for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble. In 2016, Letts joined HBO's marital comedy-drama ''

''. In 2018, Letts was cast in the second season of

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

's anthology crime drama series '' The Sinner'', opposite Bill Pullman and Carrie Coon. He played Jack McKinney in HBO's 2022 series '' Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty''.

Film

Acting

Letts has starred in Adam McKay's 2015 ensemble piece, ''

The Big Short ''The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine'' is a nonfiction book by Michael Lewis about the build-up of the United States housing bubble during the 2000s. It was released on March 15, 2010, by W. W. Norton & Company. It spent 28 weeks on ' ...

'', 2016's '' Wiener-Dog'', ''

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'', and '' Elvis & Nixon''; and James Schamus's film adaptation of the

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

novel, ''

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'', as well as the true-story crime thriller adaptation '' Imperium''. Letts then appeared in the 2017 films ''

'', '' The Post'', and '' Lady Bird''. In 2019, Letts portrayed

's sports drama film ''

'', and played Mr. Dashwood in ''

'', a film adaptation of

Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Little Men'' (1871) and '' Jo's Boys'' (1886). Raised in ...

's novel of the same name.

Writing

Letts has written screenplays for three feature films based on his plays: '' Bug'' (directed by William Friedkin), '' Killer Joe'' (also directed by Friedkin); and '' August: Osage County'' (directed by John Wells). He also wrote the screenplay for the 2021

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 ...

feature film '' The Woman in the Window'', starring Amy Adams, based on the eponymous psychological thriller by A.J. Finn.

Personal life

Letts was once engaged to actress Sarah Paulson. He married actress Carrie Coon in September 2013. They have two children, born in 2018 and 2021. He has been sober since 1993.

Work as an author

Theatre

Screenwriter

Work as an actor

Theatre

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Theatre awards Film and television awards

References

External links

* * * *
''Write TV'' public television interview with Tracy Letts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letts, Tracy 1965 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American male screenwriters 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Drama Desk Award winners People from Durant, Oklahoma Male actors from Tulsa, Oklahoma Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Tony Award winners 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Writers from Tulsa, Oklahoma 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights Steppenwolf Theatre Company players Screenwriters from Oklahoma 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state)