Shea Whigham (born January 5, 1969) is an American actor best known for portraying Elias "Eli" Thompson in the drama series ''

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

''. He also appeared in the first season of ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

'' and the third season of '' Fargo'' and in numerous films, including '' Wristcutters: A Love Story'', '' Take Shelter'', ''

Silver Linings Playbook ''Silver Linings Playbook'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by David O. Russell. The film is based on Matthew Quick's 2008 novel '' The Silver Linings Playbook''. It stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawre ...

'', ''

American Hustle ''American Hustle'' is a 2013 American black comedy crime film directed by David O. Russell. It was written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell and inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It stars Christian Ba ...

'', '' The Wolf of Wall Street'', '' Kong: Skull Island'', '' First Man'', ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'', '' Joker'', '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'', '' Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning'' and '' Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning''. He has appeared as Agent Michael Stasiak in ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American Action film, action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heist film, heists, and spy film, spies. The franchise also inclu ...

'', ''

Fast & Furious 6 ''Fast & Furious 6'' (titled onscreen as ''Furious 6'') is a 2013 action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast Five'' (2011) and the sixth installment in the '' Fast & Furious'' franchise. The fil ...

'', and '' F9''.

Early life

Whigham was born in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

, the son of attorney Frank and school librarian Beth. The family moved to

Lake Mary, Florida Lake Mary is a suburban city that is located in the Greater Orlando, Greater Orlando metropolitan area in Seminole County, Florida, United States, and is located in Central Florida. The population was 16,798 at the 2020 census. It is the home of ...

, when Whigham was five years old. He attended Lake Mary High School. Whigham attended Tyler Junior College in

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

, and then transferred to the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

Purchase, New York Purchase is a hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set ...

, where he was part of a small acting program with only 31 students and a graduating class of eight seniors.

Career

After graduating, Whigham co-founded the theatre troupe the Rorschach Group with his college roommate

Kirk Acevedo Kirkland M. Acevedo (born November 27, 1971) is an American actor best known as Miguel Alvarez in '' Oz'', Joe Toye in '' Band of Brothers'', and FBI Agent Charlie Francis on '' Fringe''. His best-known films are '' The Thin Red Line'', '' D ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and served as an actor and artistic director with the troupe for three years. Whigham appeared in one 1997 episode of the television series '' Ghost Stories'' before he received a starring role in the 2000 film '' Tigerland''. He went on to appear in the television films ''Submerged'', ''R.U.S./H.'', and ''Paradise'' before acting in the 2003 film '' All the Real Girls''. Between 2004 and 2006, he appeared in the Japanese film ''Out of This World'', the drama television series ''

Medical Investigation ''Medical Investigation'' is an American medical drama television series that began September 9, 2004, on NBC. It ran for 20 one-hour episodes before its cancellation on March 25, 2005. The series was co-produced by Paramount Network Televisio ...

'', and the films ''Water'', '' Man of the House'', '' Faith of My Fathers'', ''

Lords of Dogtown ''Lords of Dogtown'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film that captures the rise of skateboarding culture in 1970s Santa Monica and Venice, California. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta, a key figure in the ska ...

'', ''Psychic Driving'', and ''South of Heaven''. Whigham appeared in '' Pride and Glory'' and co-starred in the horror film ''

Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

'', the thriller '' Creek'', and the science fiction film ''

Radio Free Albemuth ''Radio Free Albemuth'' is a dystopian novel by Philip K. Dick, written in 1976 and published posthumously in 1985. Originally titled ''VALISystem A'', it was his first attempt to deal in fiction with his experiences of early 1974. When his ...

''. He had a regular leading role on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, 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 based a ...

series ''

'' as Elias "Eli" Thompson, sheriff of

Atlantic County, New Jersey Atlantic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's 15th-most-populous county,True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

'' as the disillusioned former minister Joel Theriot. He appeared in two episodes of FX's '' Justified'' in 2015. Between 2012 and 2017, he had several movie roles, such as '' The Wolf of Wall Street'', ''

'', ''

Term Life ''Term Life'' is a 2016 American action drama film based on the graphic novel of the same name. It is directed by Peter Billingsley from a screenplay by A.J. Lieberman. The film stars Vince Vaughn, who also produces the film, Hailee Steinfeld, J ...

'', and '' Kong: Skull Island''. In 2018, he appeared in the films '' Sicario: Day of the Soldado'', '' First Man'', and '' Bad Times at the El Royale''. In 2019, he appeared in the Warner Bros./DC Comics psychological thriller '' Joker'' as GCPD Detective Burke. He also appeared in both seasons of HBO's '' Vice Principals'' as Ray Liptrapp; appeared in ''Fargo'' and the miniseries '' Waco''; and he starred in the television series ''Homecoming'' alongside

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles across various genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Award ...

for which he was nominated for a

Critics' Choice Television Award The Critics' Choice Television Awards were accolades that were presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fou ...

for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In 2020, he was cast as Pete Strickland on HBO's reimagining of '' Perry Mason'', a role for which he received attention for his moustache. He has appeared in several projects alongside actors

Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor. Shannon received two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations, for '' Revolutionary Road'' (2008), and '' Nocturnal Animals'' (2016). He received Screen Actors Guil ...

and Paul Sparks, both of whom starred on ''Boardwalk Empire'' and ''Waco''. Shannon and Whigham also appeared together in ''The Quarry'', '' Take Shelter'', '' Tigerland,'' and '' Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans''.

Personal life

Whigham has four children, including actress

Giorgia Whigham Giorgia Whigham (born August 18, 1997) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Kat in the first season of ''13 Reasons Why'', Amy Bendix in the second season of '' The Punisher'', Beth in the third season of '' Scream'', and ...

, with his wife Christine Whigham.https://mofopolitics.com/2016/12/06/giorgina-whigham-voted/

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whigham, Shea 1969 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Tallahassee, Florida State University of New York at Purchase alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Lake Mary, Florida Lake Mary High School alumni