Lee Tergesen
{{short description|American actor}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lee Tergesen
| image = File:Lee tergesen.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Tergesen {{circa}} 2008
| birth_name = Lee Allen Tergesen
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|07|08}}
| birth_place = Ivoryton, Connecticut, US
| death_date =
| death_place =
| yearsactive = 1980–present
| spouse =
{{unbulleted list
| {{Marriage|Tanya Lewis
|1994|1997|end=divorced}}
| {{Marriage|Leslie Howitt
|2001|2004|end=divorced}}
| {{Marriage|Yuko Otomo
|2011|}}
}}
| children =
| website = {{URL|http://www.leetergesen.com|leetergesen.com}}
}}
Lee Allen Tergesen ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɜːr|ɡ|ə|s|ən}};{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPD-7V8M6yE |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/WPD-7V8M6yE |others= Lee Tergesen |archive-date=2021-12-21 |via= YouTube| url-status= live |title= 'Generation Kill' star Lee Tergesen talks about his fans| publisher= Knoxville News Sentinel |date= July 11, 2008| access-date= April 21, 2020}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45dUfuMRmCs |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/45dUfuMRmCs |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live| title= Star of Desert Cathedral, Lee Tergesen at the 2015 LESFF| publisher= Lower East Side Film Festival |others= Lee Tergesen |date= June 20, 2015 |via= YouTube| access-date=April 21, 2020}}{{cbignore}} born July 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Chett Donnelly on USA Network's Weird Science (1994–1998), Tobias Beecher on HBO's Oz (1997–2003), Peter McMillan on the second season of Desperate Housewives (2006), and Evan Wright in the 2008 miniseries Generation Kill. Tergesen's film credits include Point Break (1991), Wayne's World (1992), Wayne's World 2 (1993), Shaft (2000), Monster (2003), The Forgotten (2004), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Red Tails (2012), and The Collection (2012).
Early life, family and education
Lee Allen Tergesen{{cn|date=November 2024}} was born in Ivoryton, Connecticut{{cite web |title=Alumnus Lee Tergesen to speak at AMDA NY Summer 2013 Graduation| date= 5 October 2013 |website= AMDA.edu| publisher= American Musical and Dramatic Academy |url=https://www.amda.edu/news/alumnus-lee-tergesen-to-speak-at-amda-ny-summer-2013-graduation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726001655/https://www.amda.edu/news/alumnus-lee-tergesen-to-speak-at-amda-ny-summer-2013-graduation|archive-date= 26 July 2017}} and graduated from Valley Regional High School in nearby Deep River.
He moved to New York City to become an actor. He graduated from the two-year program at American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in Manhattan.
Career
From 1986 to 1989, he worked at the Empire Diner. "I wasn't a great waiter. I was funny, but I gave a lot of attitude", he told Rosie magazine in March 2002. He added: "The place is like a vortex for me". He met Tom Fontana, the future creator of Oz, at the diner.
He performed on stage during this time. "I was doing plays all the time, but there's no money in it", Tergesen said in a 1995 Los Angeles Times article. "After graduation, I thought I'd be making a living at it."{{cite news| last= Mendoza| first= N. F. |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-30-tv-60431-story.html |title= With an Eye on... : Lee Tergesen knows first-hand how 'Weird' the path is to acting| work= Los Angeles Times| date= April 30, 1995| access-date= }} He went to Los Angeles to help Fontana move into his house. While dining at a restaurant on the day after arriving in LA, a casting director and friend of Fontana's asked Tergesen if he was an actor. "He told me there was a part in this movie and at that time, I couldn't imagine what it could be," Tergesen told the L.A. Times. The movie turned out to be Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. "It was the beginning of me never having to do anything else but act", he told LT.com in 1990.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
Tergesen landed a bit role in the 1991 pilot Acting Sheriff which aired during primetime.{{cite news| first=Michael|last=Starr|title=The edge of night; "Wanted" man in another gritty role|work=New York Post|page=73|date=August 27, 2005| access-date=2008-09-17|url=https://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=He+even+did+an+unaired+pilot+with+Robert+Goulet+called+%22Acting+Sheriff%22+%28Tergesen+says+Goulet+was+%22quite+good%22%29.+&btnG=Search&hl=en&um=1}} He then appeared in Wayne's World (1992){{cite web| url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/95193/waynes-world |title= Wayne's World| website= TCM.com| publisher= Turner Classic Movies| date= | access-date= June 2, 2019}} and Wayne's World 2 (1993),{{cite web| url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/95194/waynes-world-2 |title= Wayne's World 2| website= TCM.com| publisher= Turner Classic Movies| date= | access-date= June 2, 2019}} in the 1994 series Weird Science as Chester "Chett" Donnelly,{{cite web| url= http://www.tv.com/shows/weird-science/cast/ |title= Weird Science TV| website= tv.com| access-date= June 2, 2019}} and had a recurring role in the first season of Homicide: Life on the Street.
He portrayed Tobias Beecher on HBO's Oz in 1997,{{cite web|title=Oz Season 1|url= http://www.metacritic.com/tv/oz |publisher= | website= Metacritic.com |access-date=June 2, 2019}} a critically acclaimed role he played until the series ended in 2003. His film credits include Shaft, Monster, The Forgotten, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Cast A Deadly Spell and Wild Iris. He has made several appearances in TV shows such as ER, Rescue Me, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Criminal Minds, The 4400, House, Law & Order and two of its spin-offs, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He played a murderous Navy SEAL, Andrew Larrick, in Season 2 of The Americans on the FX television network.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
He played an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor in the second season of Desperate Housewives, becoming romantically involved with Bree Van de Kamp. He appeared in the USA Network series Royal Pains and in Seasons 4–5 of the Lifetime series Army Wives. He played Evan Wright in the HBO mini-series Generation Kill.Lee Tergesen, [http://leetergesen.com/generationkill.shtml Generation Kill], leetergesen.com; accessed September 28, 2016.
He has appeared on stage in the Off-Broadway productions of Long Lost (2019) by Donald Margulies and Rapture, Blister, Burn in 2012 at Playwrights Horizons, among others.{{cite web| url= http://iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/18065 |title= Lee Tergesen| website= iobdb.com| publisher= Internet Off-Broadway Database| access-date= June 2, 2019}}
Personal life
Awards and nominations
{{refimprove|section|date=November 2024}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Association ! Category ! Nominated work ! Result |
|---|
| 1997
|Online Film & Television Association |Best Drama Series |{{nom}} |
| 1998
|Online Film & Television Association |Best Ensemble in a Cable Series |Oz |{{nom}} |
| 2002
|Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema |Golden Wave for Best Actor |{{won}} |
| 2007
|Online Film & Television Association |Best Ensemble of a Motion Picture or Miniseries |
| 2008
|Online Film & Television Association |Best Ensemble of a Motion Picture or Miniseries |
| 2017
|Best Shorts Competition |Award of Excellence for Actor Supporting |Norman Pinksi Come Home |{{won}} |
| 2017
|IndieFEST Film Awards |Award of Merit for Supporting Actor |Norman Pinski Come Home |{{won}} |
Filmography
=Film=
{{cite web| url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/190259%7C194189/lee-tergesen#filmography |title= Lee Tergesen Filmography| website= TCM.com| publisher= Turner Classic Movies| date= | access-date= June 2, 2019}}{{cite web| url= https://www.allmovie.com/artist/lee-tergesen-p70291/filmography |title= Tergesen Filmography| website= allmovie.com| access-date= June 2, 2019}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1987
|Mind Benders |'Crash' Hopkins | |
| 1991
|"Rosie" | |
| 1991
|Neal |Short |
| 1992
|Terry | |
| 1993
|Terry | |
| 1997
|George B. |Frank | |
| 1999
|Luke | |
| 2000
|Detective Luger | |
| 2001
|{{sortname|The|Boys of Sunset Ridge|nolink=1}} |Ben Thorpe (age 33) | |
| 2001
|Mergers & Acquisitions |Isaac | |
| 2002
|Peter | |
| 2003
|Vincent Corey | |
| 2004
|{{sortname|The|Forgotten|The Forgotten (2004 film)}} |Al Petalis | |
| 2005
|Extreme Dating |Hack | |
| 2006
|{{sortname|The|Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning}} |Holden | |
| 2008
|Pineapple |Bruce | |
| 2010
|Alex Javal | |
| 2011
|Gerry | |
| 2011
|2ND Take |Bobby | |
| 2012
|Colonel Jack Tomlinson | |
| 2012
|Hoag | |
| 2012
|{{sortname|The|Collection|The Collection (film)}} |Lucello | |
| 2014
|Peter Collins | |
| 2015
|Bryan Millers | |
| 2016
|Randall | |
| 2017
|{{sortname|The|Yellow Birds|The Yellow Birds (film)}} |Jim Murphy | |
| 2017
|Norman Pinski Come Home |Dr. Vanderwal |Short |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1990
|Clemens |Episode: "Prescription for Death" |
| 1991
|Ron Donoho |TV film |
| 1991
|Robbie |Unsold TV pilot |
| 1991
|Larry Willis / Lilly Sirwar |TV film |
| 1993–1997
|Chris Thormann |Recurring role (seasons 1, 3, 5) |
| 1994
|Up All Night |Chett Donnelly |Episode: "Zapped Again!/H.O.T.S." |
| 1994
|Philly Heat |Ivan Loki |TV series |
| 1994–1998
|Chester 'Chett' Donnelly |Main role |
| 1995
|JAG |Gunnery Sergeant Gentry |Episode: "Brig Break" |
| 1996
|Larry Fetchko |Episode: "In the Line of Duty" |
| 1996
|Chester 'Chett' Donnelly (voice) |Episode: "Color of Naught" |
| 1997
|Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show |Carter |Episode: "Honey, the House Is Trying to Kill Us" |
| 1997
|Dan Green |Episode: "Sons and Lovers" |
| 1997–2003
|Oz |Recurring role (season 1), main (seasons 2–6) |
| 1998
|Blake Chapman |Episode: "Lady of the Lake" |
| 1999
|Tobias Beecher |Episode: "Jerry Seinfeld/David Bowie" |
| 2000
|{{sortname|The|Beat|The Beat (TV series)}} |Steve Dorigan |Recurring role |
| 2001
|Lud Van Eppy |TV film |
| 2001
|Frank Gilmore Jr. |TV film |
| 2002
|Jared McKinley |Episode: "Sex, Lies & Videotape" |
| 2002
|Hack |Carl Ginley |Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2003
|Tommy Ryan |Episode: "One Angry Man" |
| 2003
|Keith Ramsey |Episode: "Baggage" |
| 2004
|{{sortname|A|Thief of Time}} |Randall Elliot |TV film |
| 2004
|{{sortname|The|4400}} |Oliver Knox |Episode: "Becoming" |
| 2005
|{{sortname|The|Exonerated}} |Walter Rhodes |TV film |
| 2005
|CSI: Crime Scene Investigation |Martin Hawkins |Episode: "Compulsion" |
| 2005
|'Sully' Sullivan |Episodes: "Voicemail", "Harmony", "Balls" |
| 2005
|Attorney Heller |Episode: "Ghosts" |
| 2005
|Eddie Drake |Main role |
| 2006
|Peter McMillan |Guest role (season 2) |
| 2006
|{{sortname|The|Unit}} |Alex Deckard |Episode: "Extreme Rendition" |
| 2006
|Southern Comfort |'Blue' |TV film |
| 2007
|Layne |Episode: "We All Scream for Ice Cream" |
| 2007
|Josh Lemle |Episode: "30" |
| 2007
|Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee |Daniel Royer |TV film |
| 2007
|Cane |Lamont Samuels |Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2007
|Brian Spicer |TV film |
| 2008
|TV miniseries |
| 2008
|Lee Crocker |Episodes: "The Real Adventures of the Unreal Sam Tyler", "The Man Who Sold the World" |
| 2009
|Clint |Episode: "The Great Right Hope" |
| 2009
|{{sortname|The|New Adventures of Old Christine}} |Todd Watski |Episodes: "Notes on a 7th Grade Scandal", "The Old Maid of Honor" |
| 2009
|{{sortname|The|Closer}} |Detective Nick Carey |Episode: "Products of Discovery" |
| 2009
|Zack Kingsley |Episode: "The Honeymoon's Over" |
| 2009
|Roy |Episode: "Instant Karma" |
| 2009
|Dale Shrader |Episode: "Retaliation" |
| 2010
|Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |Billy Skags |Episode: "Savior" |
| 2010
|Gordon Cook |Episode: "Black and White" |
| 2010, 2015
|Marcus Gates |Episodes: "3XK", "Reckoning" |
| 2010–2011
|Officer Clayton Boone |Recurring role (seasons 4–5) |
| 2011
|Patrick Denton |Episode: "Big Rock Mesa" |
| 2012
|{{sortname|A|Gifted Man}} |Paul Curtis |Episode: "In Case of Letting Go" |
| 2012
|{{sortname|The|River|The River (U.S. TV series)}} |Russ Landry |Episodes: "Peaches", "Dr. Emmet Cole" |
| 2012
|{{sortname|The|Big C|The Big C (TV series)}} |Kirby |Recurring role (season 3) |
| 2013
|Mike Tomlin |Main role |
| 2013
|Sid Penar |Episode: "The Real Jane" |
| 2013
|Philomen Keating |Episodes: "I Defy Thee to Forget", "A Morning Song" |
| 2013
|Detective Peterson |Episode: "The Crossing" |
| 2013–2014
|Ed Gorksi |Recurring role (seasons 1–3) |
| 2014
|{{sortname|The|Following}} |Kurt |Episode: "Sacrifice" |
| 2014
|{{sortname|The|Americans|The Americans}} |Andrew Larrick |Recurring role (season 2) |
| 2014
|Hans Koehler |Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014
|{{sortname|The|Blacklist|The Blacklist (TV series)}} |Frank Hyland |Episodes: "Lord Baltimore", "Dr. Linus Creel" |
| 2014
|Gordon Bristol |Episode: "Ka No'eau" |
| 2014
|Colonel Eugene Drake |Episodes: "The Contest", "Shelter in Place", "The Nuptials" |
| 2014
|American Horror Story: Freak Show |Vince |Episodes: "Bullseye", "Test of Strength", "Blood Bath" |
| 2015
|General Rahm Tak |Recurring role (season 3) |
| 2016
|Mike Spar |Episode: "Father's Day" |
| 2016
|Leo |Episode: "Museebat" |
| 2016
|{{sortname|The|Strain|The Strain (TV series)}} |Tardi |Episodes: "First Born", "Gone But Not Forgotten", "The Battle of Central Park" |
| 2016
|Cray Fielder |Episode: "Folie a Deux" |
| 2016
|Patrick O'Malley |Episode: "Condone Untidiest Thefts" |
| 2016–2017
|{{sortname|The|Get Down}} |Inspector Moach |Episodes: "Seek Those Who Fan Your Flames", "Only from Exile Can We Come Home" |
| 2016–2017
|Blake Morrow |Guest role (seasons 1–2) |
| 2016–2017
|Bailey Markham |Episodes: "In My Best Interest", "The Kind of Man You Are", "We're in This Together" |
| 2017
|Michael Slater |Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2017–2018
|Gone |Mel Foster |Recurring role |
| 2018
|Stanley |Episode: "Black 22" |
| 2018
|{{sortname|The|Purge|The Purge (TV series)}} |Joe Owens |Main role |
| 2018
|2 episodes |
| 2019
|Bull |Prosecutor |Episode: "Into the Mystic" (season 4) |
| 2019
|'Mr. Shadow' |Episode: "She Was Killed by Space Junk" |
| 2021
|Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |Erik Garrison |Episode: "What Can Happen in the Dark" |
| 2022
|Deputy Barnes |Episode: "D.W.B" |
| 2022
|A Friend of the Family |Mr. Horstman |Episode: "Son of Perdition" |
| 2024
|Quinn |Episodes: "Loyalty", "Dropping Bombs", "Fear No Evil" |
| 2024
|Ashton Shaw, Colter's father | |
| 2025
|FBI |Marshal Brad Kimble |Episode: "Unearth" |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.leetergesen.com/}}
- {{IMDb name|0855564|Lee Tergesen}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tergesen, Lee}}
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American people of Norwegian descent
Category:American people of Swedish descent
Category:Male actors from Connecticut