Adam Arkin
{{Short description|American actor and director}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Adam Arkin 1999.jpg
| caption = Arkin in 1999
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|8|19}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| years_active = 1969–present
| occupation = {{Hlist|Actor|director}}
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
- {{marriage|Linda Arkin||end=divorce}}
- {{marriage|Phyllis Lyons|1999|2013|end=divorce}}
- {{marriage|Michelle Dunker|2017}}
}}
| children = 2
| father = Alan Arkin
| relatives = Matthew Arkin (brother)
David I. Arkin (paternal grandfather)
}}
Adam Arkin (born August 19, 1956){{cite web| url=http://www.veromi.net/Summary.asp?fn=Adam&mn=&ln=Arkin&dobmm=08&dobdd=19&doby=1956&city=&state=&age=&vw=&Search=&Input=&x=95&y=15| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102030330/http://www.veromi.net/Summary.asp?fn=Adam&mn=&ln=Arkin&dobmm=08&dobdd=19&doby=1956&city=&state=&age=&vw=&Search=&Input=&x=95&y=15| url-status=dead| archive-date=November 2, 2013| title=Veromi.net}} is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the role of Aaron Shutt on Chicago Hope. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony (Best Actor, 1991, I Hate Hamlet) as well as three primetime Emmys, four SAG Awards (Ensemble, Chicago Hope), and a DGA Award (My Louisiana Sky). In 2002, Arkin won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Special for My Louisiana Sky. He is also one of the three actors to portray Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck on Monk. Between 2007 and 2009, he starred in Life. Beginning in 1990, he had a recurring guest role on Northern Exposure playing the angry, paranoid Adam, for which he received an Emmy nomination. In 2009, he portrayed villain Ethan Zobelle, a white separatist gang leader, in Sons of Anarchy and Principal Ed Gibb in 8 Simple Rules (2003–2005). His brother Matthew is also an actor, as was his father, Alan Arkin.
Early life
Arkin was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to actor, director and writer Alan Arkin and his first wife Jeremy Yaffe.{{cite web| url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/21/Adam-Arkin.html| title=Adam Arkin Biography (1957-)| website=www.filmreference.com}} Arkin joined his parents singing in the children's music group the Baby Sitters, along with Lee Hays and Doris Willens.{{cite web |last=Swift |first=P.J. |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-baby-sitters-mn0001172029/biography |title=The Baby Sitters |website=AllMusic |access-date=August 24, 2020}}{{cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |author-link=Richie Unterberger |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/doris-willens-mn0001755253/biography |title=Doris Willens |website=AllMusic |access-date=August 24, 2020}} He graduated from Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York. Arkin is Jewish.{{Cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2009/11/10/adam_arkin_joins_sons_of_anarchy_in_the_role_of_a_white_separatist_and_nationalist/|title=Arkin digs into role on 'Sons of Anarchy'|first=Lynn|last=Elber|newspaper=Boston.com|date=November 10, 2009|via=The Boston Globe}}
Career
In 1975, Arkin guest-starred in an episode of the award-winning television show Happy Days (episode 35, season 2), and an episode of Barney Miller ("Grand Hotel"). In 1977, he starred as Lenny Markowitz, the central character in the series Busting Loose.{{cite news| title=The Son Also Rises: Adam Arkin, TV's Newest Star, Inherited His Dad's Funnybone| url=https://people.com/archive/the-son-also-rises-adam-arkin-tvs-newest-star-inherited-his-dads-funnybone-vol-7-no-9/| first=Sue Ellen| last=Jares| date=March 7, 1977| magazine=People}} He has since appeared in numerous television series, including: A Year in the Life (1988); The Twilight Zone (1986); Northern Exposure (CBS, 1990–1995), in which he played the mercurial barefooted chef Adam; and Chicago Hope (CBS, 1994–2000); two Law & Order episodes (as jewelry store owner George Costas in "Self Defense," Season 3, 1992, and as a district attorney named Charles Graham in "Red Ball," Season 16, 2005); Picket Fences (Season 2, Episode 13); The West Wing (1999) (as trauma specialist and psychiatrist Dr. Stanley Keyworth); Frasier (as an obsessive fan of Frasier, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series); Boston Legal; Baby Bob; Monk; and 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter (2002). In 2007, he starred in the NBC drama Life in the role of Ted Earley. He played a white separatist leader named Ethan Zobelle during the second season of the series Sons of Anarchy. In April 2008, Arkin guest-starred in the web series Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show.{{cite journal | title=Adam Arkin Talks The Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show| journal=The Deadbolt| url=http://www.thedeadbolt.com/news/104417/adamarkin_interview.php| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202060052/http://www.thedeadbolt.com/news/104417/adamarkin_interview.php| url-status=dead| archive-date=December 2, 2008| access-date=February 26, 2009}} In 2011, he appeared in a Season 7 episode of The Closer ("To Serve with Love"), and portrayed mob boss Theo Tonin on Justified as well as an FBI agent in The Chicago Code.
Arkin's film appearances include Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) and Hitch (2005). He also played the part of a divorce lawyer in A Serious Man (2009), directed by Ethan and Joel Coen.{{cite news| work=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/movies/27lidz.html| title=Biblical Adversity in a '60s Suburb| first=Franz| last=Lidz| date=September 23, 2009}}
Arkin has also done voice acting. He played a minor role in the radio dramatization of Star Wars as the voice of Fixer. For PBS, he voiced Meriwether Lewis in Ken Burns's The Voyage of the Corps of Discovery (1997). He also provided character voice work for the Emmy-winning series The National Parks: America's Best Idea.
He has performed in Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatre productions, including Brooklyn Boy by playwright Donald Margulies in both its South Coast Repertory world premiere and the Broadway production).{{cite news| title=Arkin, Reeve, Gross To Star in Premiere of Margulies' Brooklyn Boy in CA and Broadway| url=https://www.playbill.com/article/arkin-reeve-gross-to-star-in-premiere-of-margulies-brooklyn-boy-in-ca-and-broadway-com-121139| last=Jones| first=Kenneth| date=July 29, 2004| journal=Playbill}}
In addition, he is known for his directing work, including episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Boston Legal, The Riches, Dirt, Ally McBeal, Sons of Anarchy, The Blacklist, Justified, and Masters of Sex. He won an Emmy for directing the Showtime television film My Louisiana Sky. He also directed three episodes of the 2013 Cold War television drama The Americans, the final episode of the second season (2014) of Masters of Sex,{{cite web| url=https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/adam-arkin-masters-of-sex-directing-acting-1201292177/| title=Adam Arkin 'Masters' the Segue Between Acting and Directing| newspaper=Variety| last=Birnbaum| first=Debra| date=August 29, 2014| access-date=September 12, 2014}} and the final two episodes of the critically acclaimed second season of Fargo (2015), in which he also had a minor role.
He is a co-executive producer of the television series Get Shorty.{{cite news |last1=Stuever |first1=Hank |title=Epix's 'Get Shorty' reboot is excellent. Now to find where Epix is . . . |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/epixs-get-shorty-reboot-is-excellent-now-to-find-where-epix-is-/2017/08/11/871974ce-7ddd-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 11, 2017 |access-date=March 2, 2020}}
Personal life
He has a daughter, Molly, with his first wife, Linda.{{cite news| last=Miller|first=Gerri| title=Fall TV Preview: Adam Arkin| magazine=American Jewish Life Magazine| date=September 4, 2007| url=http://www.ajlmagazine.com/archivesblog/2007/09/fall-tv-preview-adam-arkin.html| access-date=September 7, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927015730/http://www.ajlmagazine.com/archivesblog/2007/09/fall-tv-preview-adam-arkin.html| archive-date=September 27, 2007| url-status=dead}} He was married to Phyllis Anne Lyons from 1999 to 2013, and they had one son together. Phyllis filed for divorce in August 2013.{{cite magazine| url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20724358,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811114200/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20724358,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=August 11, 2013| title=Adam Arkin and Phyllis Lyons to Divorce| date=August 8, 2013| magazine=People}}{{cite web| url=http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2009/11/10/adam_arkin_joins_sons_of_anarchy_in_the_role_of_a_white_separatist_and_nationalist/| title=Arkin digs into role on 'Sons of Anarchy'| first=Lynn|last=Elber| date=November 10, 2009| newspaper=The Boston Globe}} He married Michelle Dunker in 2017.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
Filmography
= Film =
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="2" | 1969 | The Monitors | Boy in Monitors Commercial | ||||
| People Soup | Adam | Short film | ||||
| 1970 | "Catch-22" | Yossarian | Maj film dir: Mike Nichols|
| 1971 | Made for Each Other | Teenage Guido "Gig" Panimba | |
| rowspan="2" | 1974 | Moe and Joe | Ralph | rowspan="3" | Television film | |||
| It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy | Ken Walters | |||||
| 1975 | All Together Now | Jerry | ||||
| 1976 | Baby Blue Marine | Rupe | ||||
| 1979 | Tom Edison: The Boy Who Lit Up the World | Cole Bogardis | Television film | |||
| rowspan="3" | 1981 | Under the Rainbow | Henry Hudson | ||||
| Chu Chu and the Philly Flash | Charlie | |||||
| Full Moon High | Tony Walker | |||||
| 1985 | The Fourth Wise Man | Joseph | Television film | |||
| 1987 | Personal Foul | Jeremy | ||||
| 1988 | Necessary Parties | Mr. Dunfee | rowspan="4" | Television film | |||
| rowspan="3" | 1990 | Heat Wave | Art Berman | ||||
| Babies | David | |||||
| A Promise to Keep | Louis Colt | |||||
| 1991 | The Doctor | Dr. Eli Blumfield | ||||
| 1993 | Wrestling Ernest Hemingway | Bookstore Manager | Uncredited | |||
| 1995 | In the Line of Duty: Hunt for Justice | Agent Gabriel Valentino | rowspan="2" | Television film | |||
| 1997 | Not in This Town | Brian Schnitzer | ||||
| rowspan="3" | 1998 | Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | Will Brennan | Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Horror | |||
| With Friends Like These... | Steve Hersh | |||||
| Thirst | Bob Miller | Television film | ||||
| rowspan="2" | 1999 | Lake Placid | Kevin | Uncredited | |||
| A Slight Case of Murder | Detective Fred Stapelli | Television film | ||||
| rowspan="3" | 2000 | Dropping Out | Scott Kayle | ||||
| Hanging Up | Joe Marks | |||||
| East of A | Sylvester | |||||
| 2001 | Mission | Vissarion Belinsky | ||||
| 2001 | Off Season | Richard Frangello | rowspan="2" | Television film | |||
| rowspan="2" | 2002 | Roughing It | Henry | ||||
| Stark Raving Mad | Don Partridge | Uncredited | ||||
| rowspan="4" | 2005 | Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School | Gabe Difranco | ||||
| Hitch | Max | |||||
| Chloe | The Father | Short film | ||||
| Kids in America | Ed Mumsford | |||||
| 2006 | Murder on Pleasant Drive | John David Smith | Television film | |||
| 2007 | Graduation | Dean Deeley | ||||
| rowspan="2" | 2009 | Just Peck | Michael Peck | ||||
| A Serious Man | Don Milgram | Nominated—Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast | ||||
| rowspan="2" | 2010 | Tell Tale | Husband | Short film | |||
| Who Gets the Parents | Gene | Television film | ||||
| rowspan="2" | 2011 | Summer Eleven | Ron | ||||
| Smothered | Alan | Television film | ||||
| 2012 | The Sessions | Josh | ||||
| 2013 | In Security | Broomhall | ||||
| 2014 | 10 Cent Pistol | Nir Zir | ||||
| 2021 | Pig | Darius |
= Television =
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="5" | 1975 | Happy Days | Bo | Episode: "Fonzie Joins the Band" |
| We'll Get By | Richard | Episode: "Family Portrait" | |
| Barney Miller | Howard Smith | Episode: "Grand Hotel" | |
| Harry O | Eric Kershaw | Episode: "Portrait of a Murder" | |
| Hawaii Five-O | Alex Scofield | Episode: "A Touch of Guilt" | |
| 1976 | Visions | Bernie Heller | Episode: "The Great Cherub Knitwear Strike" |
| 1977 | Busting Loose | Lenny Markowitz | 21 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 1978 | The Love Boat | Alex Lambert | Episode: "Heads or Tails" |
| Captain Kangaroo | Genie of the Banana | Episode: "10 January 1978" | |
| Pearl | Pvt. Billy Zylowski | 3 episodes | |
| 1979 | $weepstake$ | Joey | Episode: "Lynn and Grover and Joey" |
| rowspan="2" | 1982 | Teachers Only | Michael Dreyfuss | 8 episodes |
| The Love Boat | Jonathan Stevens | Episode: "Salvaged Romance" | |
| 1985 | St. Elsewhere | Doug Zageck | Episode: "Fathers and Sons" |
| 1986–87 | L.A. Law | Richard Kendall | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 1986 | The Twilight Zone | Michael Wright | Episode: "A Matter of Minutes" |
| All Is Forgiven | Phil Douglas | Episode: "Past Perfect" | |
| Tough Cookies | Danny Polchek | 6 episodes | |
| 1986 | A Year in the Life | Jim Eisenberg | 3 episodes |
| 1987–88 | A Year in the Life | Jim Eisenberg | 22 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 1989 | Hard Time on Planet Earth | Harry Newcomb | Episode: "Losing Control" |
| MacGyver | Tony Parisio | Episode: "The Invisible Killer" | |
| 1989–1990 | Knots Landing | Mark Baylor | 6 episodes |
| 1990–1995 | Northern Exposure | Adam | 10 episodes Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Specialty Player Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series |
| rowspan="3" | 1991 | China Beach | Joe Arneburg | 3 episodes |
| Nurses | Peter Teller | Episode: "Love, Death, and the Whole Damn Thing" | |
| The Hidden Room | Episode: "Dream of the Wolf" | ||
| 1992 | Law & Order | George Costas | Episode: "Self Defense" |
| rowspan="2" | 1993 | Tribeca | Bob | Episode: "Stepping Back" |
| Big Wave Dave's | Marshall Fisher | 6 episodes | |
| 1994 | Picket Fences | Attorney Robert Biel | 2 episodes |
| 1994–2000 | Chicago Hope | Dr. Aaron Shutt | 138 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1995–98) |
| 1996 | Picket Fences | Edward | Episode: "The Z Files" |
| 1997 | MADTv | Host | Episode: "2.19" |
| 1997 | Perversions of Science | Paul Danko | Episode: "Dream of Doom" |
| 2000–2002 | The West Wing | Dr. Stanley Keyworth | 4 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2001 | The Chris Isaak Show | Jimmy Vane | Episode: "Hurricane" |
| Frasier | Tom | Episode: "The Two Hundredth" Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | |
| 2002 | Monk | Dale 'The Whale' Biederbeck | Episode: "Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale" |
| 2002–2003 | Baby Bob | Walter Spencer | 14 episodes |
| 2003 | The Practice | Atty. Albert Ginsberg | Episode: "The Chosen" |
| 2004–2005 | 8 Simple Rules | Principal Ed Gibb | 12 episodes |
| 2005 | Law & Order | Charlie Graham | Episode: "Red Ball" |
| rowspan="2" | 2006 | Commander in Chief | Carl Brantley | 2 episodes |
| Boston Legal | A.D.A. Douglas Kupfer | 3 episodes | |
| 2007–2009 | Life | Ted Earley | 32 episodes |
| 2009 | Sons of Anarchy | Ethan Zobelle | 11 episodes (season 2) |
| rowspan="2" | 2011 | The Chicago Code | FBI Division Chief Cuyler | 2 episodes |
| The Closer | Steven Hirschbaum | Episode: "To Serve With Love" | |
| 2012 | The Newsroom | Adam Roth | Episode: "The Blackout, Part 2: Mock Debate" |
| 2012–2014 | Justified | Theo Tonin | 3 episodes; also director (5 episodes) |
| 2013 | Family Tools | Mr. Baynor | Episode: "Pilot" |
| rowspan=2 | 2014 | Masters of Sex | Shep Tally | 3 episodes |
| The Bridge | Federal Investigator | 3 episodes | |
| rowspan=2 | 2015 | State of Affairs | Victor Gantry | 6 episodes |
| Fargo | Hamish Broker | 3 episodes; also director (2 episodes) | |
| rowspan="3" | 2016 | How to Get Away with Murder | Wallace Mahoney | 4 episodes |
| Modern Family | Reece | Episode: "Man Shouldn't Lie" | |
| The Carmichael Show | Grant | Episode: "Maxine's Dad" | |
| 2017–2019 | Get Shorty | Co-Executive Producer/director | 7 episodes |
| rowspan=2 | 2019 | Santa Clarita Diet | Evan | Episode: "The Cult of Sheila" |
| The Act | Detective | Episode: "Bonnie & Clyde" | |
| rowspan=3 | 2020 | Tommy | {{n/a}} | director; Episode: 10 "Packing Heat" |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dr. Julius Adler | Season 21, Episode 8: We Dream of Machine Elves | |
| neXt | {{n/a}} | director; Episodes: "file #7"/"file #10" | |
| rowspan="2" | 2021 | Rebel | Mark Duncan | Recurring role and also executive producer |
| Big Shot | Tim | 3 episodes | |
| rowspan="2"| 2022 | Benjamin Franklin | Elkanah Watson | Documentary Voice |
| The Offer | {{n/a}} | director; 4 episodes | |
| 2023 | The Night Agent | {{n/a}} | director; 4 episodes |
| 2025 | Poker Face | {{n/a}} | director; 2 episodes; also executive producer (season 2) |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0035060}}
- {{tcmdb name|id=5436|name=Adam Arkin}}
- [http://www.broadway.com/buzz/11139/adam-arkin/ Interview at Broadway.com]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkin, Adam}}
Category:Male actors from Brooklyn
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male stage actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American television directors
Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Category:Jewish American male actors
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors