David Pittu

{{short description|American actor, writer and director (born 1967)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2016}}

{{infobox person

| name = David Pittu

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|4|4}}

| birth_place = Fairfield, Connecticut, U.S.

| occupation = {{flatlist|

• Actor
• writer
• director}}

| years_active = 1995–present

}}

David Jonathan Pittu ({{langx|ro|Pitu}}; born April 4, 1967) is an American actor, writer and director.

Pittu was born and grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut where, as a high school senior, he was a finalist in the NFAA's Arts Recognition Talent Search in Drama. He graduated from New York University 's Tisch School of the Arts in 1989.

Pittu's theater work includes plays and musicals, and he has received two Tony Award nominations. He was nominated for the 2007 Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Bertolt Brecht in Harold Prince's LoveMusik [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/lovemusik-455498#awards " Love/Musik Awards"] ibdb.com, retrieved February 10, 2017 and for the 2008 Best Featured Actor in a Play for his multiple-role turn in the Mark Twain comedy Is He Dead? adapted by David Ives and directed by Michael Blakemore.[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/is-he-dead-466223#awards " Is He Dead? Awards"] ibdb.com, retrieved February 10, 2017

He received the Daryl Roth 2010 Creative Spirit Award.Carrubba, Phillip. [http://www.oandmco.com/blog/entry/tony-award-nominee-david-pittu-received-2010-creative-spirit-award-given-by#sthash.q3yfU2Io.dpuf "Tony Award Nominee David Pittu Received 2010 Creative Spirit Award Given by Daryl Roth"] oandmco.com, August 18, 2010

He received the 2009 St. Clair Bayfield Award for his performance in Twelfth Night at the Delacorte Theatre in 2009, directed by Daniel Sullivan.[http://www.actorsequity.org/AboutEquity/EquityAwards/bayfield_award.asp "Awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119202939/http://www.actorsequity.org/AboutEquity/EquityAwards/bayfield_award.asp |date=January 19, 2016 }} actorsequity.org, retrieved February 10, 2017 Also under Sullivan's direction, he played Paul Wolfowitz and others, in David Hare's Stuff Happens in 2006 at the Public Theater, which received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble.Simonson, Robert. [http://www.playbill.com/article/stuff-happens-hares-modern-history-play-is-history-after-june-25-com-133389# " 'Stuff Happens', Hare's Modern History Play, Is History After June 25"] Playbill, June 25, 2006

He wrote and starred in What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling, a musical satire about a luckless, eternally "up-and-coming" composer-lyricist. Pittu also wrote the lyrics, with music by Randy Redd to What's That Smell, which premiered Off-Broadway at the

Atlantic Theater Company in September 2008.Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/article/bartlett-will-join-pittu-in-whats-that-smell-spoofing-musical-theatre-types-com-152559# "Bartlett Will Join Pittu in 'What's That Smell', Spoofing Musical Theatre Types"] Playbill, August 18, 2008 The play with music received two Lucille Lortel Award nominations including one for Best Off-Broadway Musical, and was included in both the Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times Top 10 Best Lists in Theater 2008.

Other notable theater work: David Ives' The Heir Apparent (2014 Off-Broadway, CSC, director John Rando);Isherwood, Charles. [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/theater/the-heir-apparent-by-way-of-david-ives.html "Theater Review. The Heir Apparent "] The New York Times, April 9, 2014 Bill Cain's Equivocation (2010, Off-Broadway Manhattan Theater Club) directed by Garry Hynes;Lipron, Brian Scott. [http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/03-2010/equivocation_25059.html "Reviews. Equivocation "] theatermania.com, March 2, 2010 Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia (2006, Broadway, Lincoln Center); Harold Pinter's Celebration and The Room (2005, Off-Broadway, Atlantic Theater Company);Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/article/nobel-prize-winner-pinters-celebration-and-the-room-open-in-nyc-com-129528# "Nobel Prize-Winner Pinter's 'Celebration' and 'The Room' Open in NYC"] Playbill, December 5, 2005 and Stephen Sondheim's Company, part of the Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration (2002).

His performance as Leo Frank in the National Tour of Jason Robert Brown's Parade, directed by Harold Prince, earned him the 2001 National Broadway Award (Best Actor in a Musical). He appeared in the Encores! staged concert productions Of Thee I Sing (2007, as the French ambassador); Bells Are Ringing (2010, as Sandor); It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman (2013, as Dr. Abner Sedgwick) and Girl From the North Country at the Public Theater (2018, as Reverend Marlowe).

His film credits include True Story, King Kong and Men in Black 3. For television he has appeared in House of Cards, PBS' Mercy Street, The Following, The Knick, Damages, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, Fringe, Sex and the City, as well as numerous appearances on all of the Law & Order series.

He is a narrator of audio books. He read Donna Tartt 's Pulitzer Prize winner The Goldfinch,Turits, Meredith. [http://bbook.com/books/hear-audio-book-review-goldfinch-donna-tartt/ "Audio Book Review"] bbook.com, retrieved February 10, 2017 which received two "Audie" Awards: Best Literary Fiction and Best Male Solo Performance, 2014.

In December 2022, Pittu was placed on two years' probation and ordered to do community service by a judge in Connecticut. He had been charged with animal cruelty for allegedly leaving a dog in a {{convert|117|F|C}} locked car.{{Cite web |last=Tepfer |first=Daniel |date=December 21, 2022 |title=Broadway actor David Pittu granted rehab in Fairfield animal cruelty case |url=https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Actor-gets-probation-in-dog-abuse-case-17669776.php }}

According to police, on Aug. 22, a manager of the Shoprite on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield notified police that a dog had been left in a locked car in the parking lot in front of the store. Police said witnesses told them the dog had been in the car for more than 40 minutes. Police said Pittu later acknowledged that he knew it had been too hot in the car to leave his dog, but they said he showed no remorse for having done so.https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Actor-gets-probation-in-dog-abuse-case-17669776.php