Michael Stuhlbarg facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michael Stuhlbarg
Stuhlbarg in 2018
Born	(1968-07-05) July 5, 1968 (age 56) Long Beach, California, U.S.
Education	University of California, Los Angeles Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Mai-Linh Lofgren ​ (m. 2013)​

Michael Stuhlbarg (born July 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for playing many different kinds of characters in movies, TV shows, and plays. He has won several awards and has been nominated for important ones like the Primetime Emmy Awards and Tony Awards.

He became well-known for his role as Larry Gopnik in the 2009 comedy film A Serious Man. This movie was directed by the famous Joel and Ethan Coen. Since then, Stuhlbarg has played many real-life people in his roles. These include George Yeaman in Lincoln (2012) and Lew Wasserman in Hitchcock (2012). He also played Andy Hertzfeld in Steve Jobs (2015) and Edward G. Robinson in Trumbo (2015). Other notable roles include Abe Rosenthal in The Post (2017) and Stanley Edgar Hyman in Shirley (2020).

He has also had supporting roles in popular films like Hugo (2011), Men in Black 3 (2012), and Arrival (2016). He appeared in Call Me by Your Name and The Shape of Water (both 2017). Stuhlbarg joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Nicodemus West in Doctor Strange (2016) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

On television, he played Arnold Rothstein in HBO's Boardwalk Empire (2010–2013). He also played Richard A. Clarke in The Looming Tower (2018). For this role, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. He also appeared in Fargo (2017) and Your Honor (2020–2023). On stage, Stuhlbarg has performed in many plays. He was in the 2005 Broadway play The Pillowman, for which he won a Drama Desk Award. He was also nominated for a Tony Award. In 2024, he returned to Broadway in the play Patriots and received another Tony Award nomination.

Early Life and Education

Michael Stuhlbarg was born in Long Beach, California. His parents are Susan and Mort Stuhlbarg. His father was a salesman who became a successful maker of security products. Michael was raised in the Reform Jewish faith. He has said that his faith is more about a "spiritual resonance."

Stuhlbarg studied acting at The Juilliard School in New York City. He was part of the Drama Division from 1988 to 1992. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Juilliard in 1992. He also studied acting at the University of California, Los Angeles. He learned more about acting in Lithuania, Oxford, and London. He even studied mime with the famous Marcel Marceau. Michael Stuhlbarg is married to Mai-Linh Lofgren. They do not have children.

Starting His Acting Career

Stuhlbarg began his acting journey on stage in 1993. He played Charles VII of France in a play called Saint Joan. The next year, he played King Richard II in Richard II. A critic from The New York Times called him a "promising young actor."

In 1996, he won the Elliot Norton Award for his role in the play Long Day's Journey into Night. In 1997, he played several roles in Henry VIII, including Thomas Cranmer.

Stuhlbarg made his first movie appearance in the 1998 drama A Price Above Rubies. In 1999, he played Ernst Ludwig in the musical Cabaret. Ernst Ludwig is a German character who is later shown to be a Nazi. In 2001, he acted in the war drama The Grey Zone. He played a Jewish Hungarian man in a Nazi Germany Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. He had played this role before in a play.

After several other stage roles, Stuhlbarg gave a highly praised performance in the 2005 Broadway play The Pillowman. He won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for this role. He also received his first Tony Award nomination.

Big Roles in Movies and TV

In 2006, Stuhlbarg appeared in two plays. He also had a recurring role on the TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip from 2006 to 2007. In 2008, he played Prince Hamlet in a production of Hamlet.

In August 2008, Stuhlbarg was chosen for the main role in the Coen brothers' film A Serious Man. He played Larry Gopnik, a Jewish university professor. The movie came out in October 2009. Film critic Roger Ebert praised Stuhlbarg's performance. He said Stuhlbarg played Gopnik as a hopeful man. Stuhlbarg was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for this role.

Starting in 2010, Stuhlbarg played the crime boss Arnold Rothstein in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. He was on the show until 2013. The famous director Martin Scorsese directed the first episode of the show. Stuhlbarg also worked with Scorsese in the film Hugo (2011).

In 2012, Stuhlbarg appeared in the science fiction comedy Men in Black 3. He played Griffin, an alien with special abilities who helps the main characters. The director, Barry Sonnenfeld, was very impressed by Stuhlbarg's detailed notes for his character. Later that year, Stuhlbarg had a small role in Seven Psychopaths. He also appeared in Steven Spielberg's historical drama Lincoln. In this film, he played Democratic Congressman George Yeaman. His last film of 2012 was Hitchcock, where he played talent agent Lew Wasserman. In 2013, Stuhlbarg was in Woody Allen's film Blue Jasmine.

More Amazing Performances

Stuhlbarg at an awards event in 2016

In 2014, Stuhlbarg played Paul Marshall, the manager of chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer, in the film Pawn Sacrifice. In 2015, he played computer scientist Andy Hertzfeld in the film Steve Jobs. He also appeared in Trumbo, playing actor Edward G. Robinson, who faced challenges during a difficult time in Hollywood. That same year, he was in Miles Ahead.

In 2016, Stuhlbarg played a CIA agent in the science fiction drama Arrival. He worked with Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner in this film. In the same month, he played Nicodemus West in the superhero film Doctor Strange. His final film of 2016 was Miss Sloane. A critic from USA Today called his performance "superb."

In 2017, Stuhlbarg played Sy Feltz in the TV series Fargo. In November, he co-starred as Professor Samuel Perlman in the romantic drama Call Me by Your Name. His character gives a very touching speech to his son in the film. For Guillermo del Toro's fantasy drama The Shape of Water, Stuhlbarg played Dr. Robert Hoffstetler, a Soviet spy. He had to speak Russian for this role. His last film of 2017 was The Post, where he played The New York Times editor A. M. Rosenthal. Stuhlbarg appeared in three films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2017.

In 2018, Stuhlbarg appeared in the miniseries The Looming Tower as Richard A. Clarke, a counter-terrorism expert. He received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for this role. From 2020 to 2023, he played Jimmy Baxter, a mob boss, in the TV series Your Honor. In 2024, Stuhlbarg returned to Broadway in the play Patriots. He will also be in an upcoming spy thriller called The Amateur.

His Life Outside Acting

On March 31, 2024, Michael Stuhlbarg was attacked in Central Park, New York City. A man threw a rock at him, hitting him in the back of his neck. The man was arrested and charged with assault.

Films and TV Shows

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Movies

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1998	Price Above Rubies, AA Price Above Rubies	Young Hassid	Boaz Yakin
2001	Grey Zone, TheThe Grey Zone	Cohen	Tim Blake Nelson
2008	Afterschool	Mr. Burke	Antonio Campos
	Body of Lies	Ferris' Attorney	Ridley Scott
2009	Cold Souls	Hedge Fund Consultant	Sophie Barthes
	Serious Man, AA Serious Man	Larry Gopnik	Coen Brothers
2011	Hugo	Prof. René Tabard	Martin Scorsese
2012	Men in Black 3	Griffin	Barry Sonnenfeld
	Seven Psychopaths	Tommy	Martin McDonagh
	Lincoln	George Yeaman	Steven Spielberg
	Hitchcock	Lew Wasserman	Sacha Gervasi
2013	Blue Jasmine	Dr. Flicker	Woody Allen
2014	Cut Bank	Derby Milton	Matt Shakman
	Pawn Sacrifice	Paul Marshall	Edward Zwick
2015	Steve Jobs	Andy Hertzfeld	Danny Boyle
	Trumbo	Edward G. Robinson	Jay Roach
	Miles Ahead	Harper Hamilton	Don Cheadle
2016	Arrival	Agent Halpern	Denis Villeneuve
	Doctor Strange	Nicodemus West	Scott Derrickson
	Miss Sloane	Pat Connors	John Madden
2017	Call Me by Your Name	Prof. Samuel Perlman	Luca Guadagnino
	The Shape of Water	Dr. Robert Hoffstetler/Dimitri Mosenkov	Guillermo del Toro
	The Post	Abe Rosenthal	Steven Spielberg
2020	Shirley	Stanley Edgar Hyman	Josephine Decker
	Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams	Narrator (voice)	Luca Guadagnino	Documentary
2021	Beckett	Robert "Bob" Hanson	Ferdinando Cito Filomarino
2022	Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness	Nicodemus West	Sam Raimi
	Bones and All	Jake	Luca Guadagnino
2024	The Instigators	Mr. Besegai	Doug Liman
2025	The Amateur		James Hawes
2026	Untitled Alejandro González Iñárritu film	0TBA	Alejandro González Iñárritu	Filming
TBA	After the Hunt	Frederik Olsson	Luca Guadagnino	Post-production

TV Series

Stage Plays

Awards and Recognition

See also

In Spanish: Michael Stuhlbarg para niños