Peter MacNicol facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peter MacNicol
MacNicol at Eagle Base in 2001
Born	(1954-04-10) April 10, 1954 (age 71) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Other names	Peter Johnson
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1978–present
Spouse(s)	Martha Cumming ​ ​ (m. 1986)​

Peter MacNicol, born on April 10, 1954, is an American actor. He is known for his many roles in movies and TV shows. He won a special award called the Theatre World Award for his first big play on Broadway in 1981.

You might recognize him from movies like Dragonslayer (1981) where he played Galen, or as Stingo in Sophie's Choice (1982). He was also Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II (1989) and Gary Granger in Addams Family Values (1993). Later, he appeared as Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) and David Langley in Bean (1997).

In 2001, Peter MacNicol won an Emmy Award for his role as the unique lawyer John Cage in the TV show Ally McBeal. He also played attorney Alan Birch in Chicago Hope, X the Eliminator in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and Dr. Larry Fleinhardt in Numbers. Other TV roles include Tom Lennox in 24, Dr. Stark on Grey's Anatomy, and Jeff Kane on Veep. He also voiced Nigel the Advisor in Tangled: The Series and the Mad Hatter in the Batman: Arkham video games.

Early life and education

Peter MacNicol was born in Dallas, Texas, on April 10, 1954. He was the youngest of five children. His mother, Barbara Jean, was a homemaker. His father, John Wilbur Johnson, was a business executive who later became a priest. Peter MacNicol went to MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas.

Acting career highlights

Peter MacNicol started his acting career in theater. He performed at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis from 1978 to 1979. He was in plays like Hamlet. In 1980, he made his first appearance in New York in an off-Broadway play called Crimes of the Heart. This play later moved to Broadway in 1981, and he won the Theatre World Award for his performance.

Early film and TV roles

His role in Crimes of the Heart helped him get noticed by a casting agent. This led to his first movie role in Dragonslayer in 1981. He then starred in Sophie's Choice in 1982, playing a young writer. He also appeared in Ghostbusters II as Dr. Janosz Poha and in Addams Family Values as camp director Gary Granger.

From 1992 to 1993, MacNicol was in the TV comedy The Powers That Be. He played Bradley Grist, a press secretary. He also had a guest role in the popular show Cheers in 1993.

Notable TV series roles

In 1994, Peter MacNicol joined the cast of the medical drama Chicago Hope as Alan Birch. Later, in 1997, he became a main actor in Ally McBeal. He played the quirky lawyer John Cage. This role earned him an Emmy Award in 2001 for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

From 2005 to 2010, he starred in the crime drama Numbers. He played Dr. Larry Fleinhardt, a smart physicist. During this time, he also took a short break to play Tom Lennox in the sixth season of the action show 24. He later returned as Tom Lennox in the movie 24: Redemption.

Voice acting and recent work

Peter MacNicol has also done a lot of voice acting for animated shows and video games. He has voiced several famous supervillains from comic books. These include Dr. Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat in The Batman and Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus in The Spectacular Spider-Man. He also voiced the Mad Hatter in the Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Batman: Arkham Knight video games.

He played Dr. Stark, a pediatric surgeon, on Grey's Anatomy from 2010 to 2011. More recently, he was nominated for an Emmy for his guest role as Jeff Kane in the TV series Veep. He also voiced Nigel the Advisor in Tangled: The Series from 2017 to 2020.

Personal life

Peter MacNicol has been married to Martha Cumming since 1986.

Filmography

Film roles

Television roles

Video game roles

See also

In Spanish: Peter MacNicol para niños