Ron Livingston
{{Short description|American actor (born 1967)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ron Livingston
| image = SXSW-2024-alih-OB7A0752-Office Space Ron Livingston crop.jpg
| caption = Livingston in 2024
| birth_name = Ronald Joseph Livingston
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|6|5}}
| birth_place = Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
| alma_mater = Yale University
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1992–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Rosemarie DeWitt|2009}}
| children = 2
}}
Ronald Joseph Livingston (born June 5, 1967){{cite news |date=June 5, 2012 |title=Today in History |work=The Boston Globe |agency=The Associated Press |url=http://www.boston.com/news/history/articles/2012/06/05/today_in_history/ |url-status=dead |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402180317/http://www.boston.com/news/history/articles/2012/06/05/today_in_history/ |archive-date=April 2, 2015}} is an American actor. He is best known for playing Peter Gibbons in Office Space (1999) and Captain Lewis Nixon III in the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001). Livingston's other roles include the films Swingers (1996), Adaptation (2002), The Conjuring (2013), James White (2015), Tully (2018); and the television series Loudermilk (2017–2020), and Boardwalk Empire (2013).
Early life and education
Livingston was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Kurt Livingston, an aerospace electronics engineer, and Linda (née Rinas), a Lutheran pastor.{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-17242545.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106001445/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-17242545.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 6, 2013|title=Iowa briefs (third item)|date=September 11, 2001|access-date=October 24, 2013|publisher=Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque)|agency=Associated Press|quote=[Ron] Livingston, 34, grew up in Marion where his parents, Kurt and Linda Livingston, still live. His route to Hollywood went from Marion High School to Yale, where he studied English and theater.}}{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WT&p_theme=wt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EEC296D6A96EFBC&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=September 25, 2001 |work=The Washington Times |title='Practice' makes perfect : Ron Livingston joins top-rated ABC law team |via=Newsbank |access-date=October 25, 2013}}{{subscription required}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mariontoday.org/times/article.php?id=2533 |title=Remembering Rinas - Marion Times - Online at |publisher=Mariontoday.org |access-date=August 1, 2013}} He has two brothers and one sister. His younger brother, John, is also an actor. Both his sister, Jennifer Livingston, and brother-in-law, Mike Thompson, were TV news personalities at WKBT-DT in La Crosse, Wisconsin.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-18 |title=Married Wisconsin Anchors Leaving Station in May |url=https://adweek.it/3KRNOfF |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=adweek.it |language=en-US}}
Livingston attended Yale University, where he sang with The Whiffenpoofs and graduated in 1989, in the same class as Anderson Cooper.{{Cite web|title=Media Library - Yale Whiffenpoofs Alumni Association, Inc.|url=https://www.whiffalumni.com/whiffs/person.php?personID=645|access-date=2020-06-30|website=www.whiffalumni.com}}{{Cite web|title=Ron Livingston Went to Yale with Anderson Cooper - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=kp-fzB8eTYY|access-date=2021-01-26|website=www.youtube.com| date=September 26, 2018 }}
Livingston first acted at Theatre Cedar Rapids after being introduced to the group during a school job shadowing.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbvQObxB2o | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/uMbvQObxB2o| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|title=Ron Livingston speaks about Theatre Cedar Rapids | date=March 27, 2008|publisher=YouTube |access-date=August 1, 2013}}{{cbignore}} Livingston moved to Chicago and became involved in the local theatre scene.{{cn|date=January 2020}}
Career
=20th century=
Livingston's first film role was in 1992, in Dolly Parton's Straight Talk. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he was cast in supporting roles in Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade and The Low Life. In 1996, Livingston was cast in Swingers, his first major role.
In 1999, he starred as the male lead, Peter Gibbons, in the comedy cult classic Office Space, which co-starred Jennifer Aniston and was written and directed by Mike Judge.
=21st century=
He has also appeared in HBO's miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) as Captain Lewis Nixon III opposite Donnie Wahlberg and Damian Lewis. Livingston widened his variety of roles when he played a Hollywood agent in Adaptation (2002), a weaselly Ivy League upstart opposite Alec Baldwin's casino boss in The Cooler (2003) and teachers in Winter Solstice and Pretty Persuasion (both in 2005). He also appeared as sardonic writer Jack Berger, Carrie's short-term boyfriend in the fifth and sixth seasons of Sex and the City. He guest starred in the episode "TB or Not TB" of House. In 2006, he starred as FBI negotiator Matt Flannery in the Fox series Standoff, co-starring Rosemarie DeWitt, and he was an advertising spokesman for Sprint Nextel.
In summer 2007, Livingston appeared on the off-Broadway stage in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's In a Dark Dark House, produced by MCC Theater, with Frederick Weller and Louisa Krause. The show ran May–July at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City. In November 2007, the indie film Holly told the story of a Vietnamese girl trafficked into the sex trade in Cambodia. Livingston starred as Patrick, a shady card shark who becomes determined to save Holly from her ill-destined fate.
In 2009, he portrayed flight engineer Maddux Donner in the series Defying Gravity, which was cancelled after its first season.{{cite news |url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/10/22/set-visits-reveal-ghosts-of-defying-gravity-set-destruction |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025034333/http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/10/22/set-visits-reveal-ghosts-of-defying-gravity-set-destruction |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2009 |access-date=October 22, 2009 |title=Set visits reveal ghosts of Defying Gravity set destruction |date=October 22, 2009 |publisher=TVSquad| first=John| last=Lewinski}}
In 2010, Livingston co-starred in the Jay Roach comedy Dinner for Schmucks.{{cite news| url=https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/dinner-for-ron-livingston-1118010393/| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914020003/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118010393.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&query=dinner+for+schmucks| archive-date=September 14, 2012 | work=Variety | title='Dinner' for Ron Livingston | first=Tatiana | last=Siegel | date=October 25, 2009|access-date=November 24, 2019}} On February 26, 2013, Entertainment Weekly confirmed that he would be joining the cast of HBO's Boardwalk Empire for the fourth season.{{cite magazine|last=Hibberd |first=James |url= https://ew.com/article/2013/02/26/ron-livingston-boardwalk-empire/ |title=Ron Livingston joins 'Boardwalk Empire' season 4|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=February 26, 2013 |access-date=August 1, 2013}}
In 2013, Livingston co-starred in the indie comedy Drinking Buddies alongside Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson and Anna Kendrick. Drinking Buddies received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 82% based on 97 reviews.{{cite web |url= http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/drinking_buddies_2013/ |title= Drinking Buddies |publisher= Flixster | work = Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=November 2, 2013}}
Livingston starred in the Peter Farrelly–produced comedy television series Loudermilk on the Audience network. Livingston played the title role of Sam Loudermilk, a former music critic and recovering alcoholic who works as a substance abuse counsellor and support group leader, and who regularly doles out clever but acid-tongued critiques to his clients, his friends, and random people he encounters. The show premiered in October 2017 and was renewed in April 2018 for a second season that premiered in October 2018. In December 2018, Audience renewed the series for a third season.{{cite web |last1=Haring |first1=Bruce |title='Loudermilk' Second Season, East St. Louis Documentary Premiere Dates Set By AT&T Audience Network |url=https://deadline.com/2018/07/loudermilk-second-season-east-st-louis-documentary-premiere-dates-set-by-att-audience-network-1202434814/|website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=July 27, 2018 |date=July 27, 2018}} After Audience ceased operations, the third season premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2020–21.{{cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |title="Loudermilk" Picked Up By Amazon's Prime Video, Including Unaired Season 3 |website=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2021/04/loudermilk-picked-up-amazon-prime-video-season-3-1234711562/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310210151/https://deadline.com/2021/03/loudermilk-picked-up-amazon-prime-video-season-3-1234711562/ |url-status=live |archive-date=2021-03-10 |date=March 10, 2021 |access-date=March 11, 2021}}{{cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |title='Loudermilk' Season 3 Premieres Today On Amazon Prime Video – Update |url=https://deadline.com/2021/04/loudermilk-picked-up-amazon-prime-video-season-3-1234711562/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |date=April 27, 2021 |access-date=May 6, 2021 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429162940/https://deadline.com/2021/04/loudermilk-picked-up-amazon-prime-video-season-3-1234711562/ |url-status=live}}
Livingston also appears in the ABC drama A Million Little Things as Jon Dixon, whose suicide causes his group of friends to evaluate their own lives.{{cite web |last1=Andreeva |first1=Nellie |title= A Million Little Things' New ABC Drama Series Recasts Role|url= https://deadline.com/2018/05/a-million-little-things-abc-drama-series-recast-anne-son-1202386968/ |website=Deadline|access-date=August 26, 2018 |date=July 27, 2018}}
Personal life
Livingston and his Standoff co-star Rosemarie DeWitt began a relationship after meeting on the show.{{cite web|url=https://people.com/celebrity/ron-livingston-gets-married/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115193017/http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:RosemarieDeWitt,00.html |archive-date=November 15, 2009 |title= Ron Livingston Gets Married|website=People|access-date=November 24, 2019}} After dating for three years, they married on November 2, 2009, in San Francisco.{{cite web| url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/ron-livingston-marries-former-costar-20091211 |title=Ron Livingston Marries Former Costar |publisher=Us Weekly |date=November 12, 2009 |access-date=October 25, 2013}} He was previously engaged to actress Lisa Sheridan.{{cite web|last=Kappes |first=Serena |url=https://people.com/tbd/celeb-spotlight-ron-livingston/ |title= Celeb Spotlight: Ron Livingston|website=People|date=July 19, 2006 |access-date=November 24, 2019}}
In May 2013, Livingston and DeWitt announced they had adopted an infant girl born the previous month.{{cite web|title=Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt Welcome Daughter Gracie James |url=https://people.com/parents/rosemarie-dewitt-ron-livingston-welcome-daughter-gracie-james/ |website=People |access-date=November 24, 2019 |date=May 23, 2013}}{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608013935/http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/05/23/rosemarie-dewitt-ron-livingston-welcome-daughter-gracie-james/ |date=June 8, 2013 }} In December 2016, the couple announced they had adopted another child, a girl, who was born the previous year.{{cite web|url=https://people.com/parents/rosemarie-dewitt-adopts-daughter-esperanza-mae/|title=Rosemarie DeWitt Reveals She Welcomed a Daughter Through Adoption: 'She's a Little Sweetheart'|website=People|first=Jen|last=Juneau|date=December 15, 2016|access-date=November 24, 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/816117/rosemarie-dewitt-and-ron-livingston-adopt-daughter-esperanza-mae|title=Rosemarie DeWitt and Ron Livingston Adopt Daughter Esperanza Mae|website=E! News|first=Zach|last=Johnson|date=December 15, 2016|access-date=January 10, 2017}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1992
| Soldier | |
| 1994
| Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade | Himself | Short film |
| 1995
| Chad | |
| 1996
| Swingers | Rob | |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Rick / RV Driver | Segments: "The Honeymoon" and "The Campfire" |
| The Small Hours
| Steve | |
| rowspan="5" | 1999
| Ron Statlin | |
| Office Space
| Peter | |
| The Big Brass Ring
| Sheldon Buckle | |
| Two Ninas
| Marty Sachs | |
| Body Shots
| Trent | |
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Beat | |
| A Rumour of Angels
| Uncle Charlie | |
| rowspan="2" | 2002
| Tyler Carter Bellows | |
| Adaptation
| Marty Bowen | |
| rowspan="3" | 2003
| Pirates | Himself | Short |
| The Cooler
| Larry Sokolov | |
| 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out
| Donnie Anderson | Television movie |
| 2004
| Derek | |
| rowspan="3" | 2005
| Mr. Bricker | |
| Pretty Persuasion
| Mr. Anderson | |
| The Life Coach
| Ron | |
| rowspan="3" | 2006
| Life Happens | Ben Dreamantowski | Short film |
| Relative Strangers
| Richard Clayton | |
| Holly
| Patrick | |
| 2007
| Richard Pimentel | |
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| American Crude | Johnny | |
| The Spleenectomy
| Dr. Bannister | Short film |
| 2009
| Gomez | |
| rowspan="2" | 2010
| Caldwell | |
| Going the Distance
| Will Broderick | |
| rowspan="2" | 2011
| Leave | Dr. Lieberman | |
| 10 Years
| Paul | |
| rowspan="3" | 2012
| Rance McCoy | |
| The Odd Life of Timothy Green
| Franklin Crudstaff | |
| Game Change
| Mark Wallace | Television movie |
| rowspan="6" | 2013
| Adrian | |
| Drinking Buddies
| Chris | |
| The Pretty One
| Charles | |
| The Conjuring
| Roger Perron |Nominated – Fright Meter Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| The Sidekick
| Captain Wonder | Short film |
| Parkland
| |
| rowspan="2"| 2014
| Richard | |
| We Hate Paul Revere
| Paul Revere | Television movie |
| rowspan="4" | 2015
| Ben | |
| Addicted to Fresno
| Edwin | |
| Vacation
| Ethan | |
| Digging for Fire
| Bob | |
| rowspan="2" | 2016
| Oliver Sullivan | |
| Shangri-La Suite
| Elvis | |
| rowspan="3" | 2017
| Kyle Walker | |
| Lucky
| Bobby Lawrence | |
| Welcome to America
| Himself | Short |
| rowspan="4" | 2018
| Tully | Drew / husband | |
| The Long Dumb Road
| Francois | |
| The Professor
| Henry | |
| The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot
| Flag Pin | |
| 2020
| Peter |
| rowspan="2"| 2021
| Future JR | Voice |
| The Same Storm
| Jim Lamson / Ben's Dad | |
| 2022
| James | |
| rowspan="3"| 2023
| |
| Sitting in Bars with Cake
|Fred | |
| The Featherweight
| Bob Kaplan | |
| class="wikitable"
|+Key | style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Not yet released}} |Denotes works that have not yet been released |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| style="width:50px;"| Year
! style="width:250px;"| Title ! style="width:150px;"| Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
|---|
| 1995
| JAG | Corporal David Anderson | Episode: "Scimitar" |
| 1996
| Townies | Kurt Pettiglio | Series Regular |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Timecop | Episode: "Public Enemy" |
| Players
| Jordan | Episode: "Con Law" |
| 1998
| Mitch | 6 episodes |
| 2000
| Max | Episode: "Then Came Cousin Aidan" |
| 2001
| Miniseries; 10 episodes |
| 2001–2002
| A.D.A. Alan Lowe | 8 episodes |
| 2002–2003
| 8 episodes |
| 2005–2007
| Bob Memari | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2005
| House | Dr. Sebastian Charles | Episode: "TB or Not TB" |
| rowspan="2" | 2006
| Video Store Clerk | Voice, episode: "Stewie B. Goode" |
| Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King
| Howard Fornoy | Episode: "The End of the Whole Mess" |
| 2006–2007
| Standoff | Matt Flannery | 18 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2009
| Maddux Donner | 1 season |
| WWII in HD
| Charles Scheffel | Voice, 5 episodes |
| 2011
| Issues | The Nothing | |
| 2013
| Roy Phillips | 6 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| Morty Rogers | Voice, episode: "Chips & Ice Cream" |
| Saints & Strangers
| Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2016–2021
| Keith | 12 episodes |
| rowspan="2"| 2017
| Dice | Sydney Stein | 2 episodes |
| Kings of Con
| Lyle |1 episode |
| 2017–2020
| Sam Loudermilk | lead role, 3 seasons |
| 2018–2023
| Jonathan Dixon | recurring role |
| 2018
| Alex Myers | Episode: "Bright and High Circle" |
| 2021
| Mac Kamen | Voice, episode: "The Things in Oakwood's Past" |
| 2022–2023
| Pantheon | Dr. Peter Waxman | Voice, 16 episodes |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Ron Livingston}}
- {{IMDb name|515296}}
- {{Tcmdb name}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Ron}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male stage actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:Male actors from Iowa
Category:Actors from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Category:People from Marion, Iowa