Christian Clemenson facts for kids

Christian Clemenson (born March 17, 1958) is an American actor. He is famous for playing Jerry Espenson in the TV show Boston Legal. For this role, he won an Emmy Award in 2006. He has also been in many well-known movies. These include Apollo 13 and The Big Lebowski. Christian Clemenson also played Tom Burnett in the movie United 93. This film was about a plane that crashed after passengers tried to take control. He also played prosecutor William Hodgman in American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson.

Christian Clemenson's Early Life

Christian Clemenson was born and grew up in Humboldt, Iowa. His parents, Ruth and Ernest, owned a drug store. When he was a teenager, he delivered the Des Moines Register newspaper. This newspaper had a special program. It gave scholarships to smart "paper boys" to attend top schools. Christian was a straight-A student and won one of these scholarships. He went to Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

While at Phillips Academy, Christian took part in many school plays. After graduating in 1976, he went to Harvard College. He quickly started getting important roles in plays there. Critics at Harvard praised his acting. They said he was very talented and could make people laugh or show deep emotion. He even played a goddess in a puppet show!

During his summer breaks, Christian would go back to Humboldt. He acted in and later directed local plays at the Castle Theatre. After finishing college at Harvard College in 1980, he studied acting at the Yale School of Drama. He graduated in 1984 and then moved to Los Angeles to start his acting career.

Christian Clemenson's Acting Career

Christian Clemenson began his career playing many different characters in movies and on TV. He played a law student in The Paper Chase. He was also Alex Keaton's English teacher in Family Ties. He appeared as a security salesman on The Golden Girls. He also played a cop in The Big Lebowski and a flight surgeon in Apollo 13. He had a regular role as a lawyer named Socrates Poole in the TV series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

In 1999, Christian Clemenson appeared in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He played a demon named Balthazar. This role was very different from many of his earlier parts.

Christian Clemenson became very well-known for his role as Jerry Espenson on Boston Legal. Jerry Espenson was a lawyer with some unique habits. For this role, Christian won an Emmy Award in 2006. He was also nominated for the same award in 2007. He stayed with the show until it ended in 2008.

He also starred in the movie United 93. In this film, he played Tom Burnett. Tom Burnett was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93. This plane crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. The movie showed the passengers trying to fight back against the hijackers.

Christian Clemenson also had a recurring role on Veronica Mars. He played Abel Koontz in four episodes. Later, he joined CSI: Miami in 2009. He played Dr. Tom Loman, a medical examiner. He was a regular character on the show for three seasons. In 2016, he played Deputy District Attorney William Hodgman. This was in the TV series American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson.

Filmography

Film

Television