Tracy Letts
{{short description|American actor and screenwriter}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tracy Letts
| image = TracyLetts-byPhilipRomano.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Letts in 2022
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|7|4}}
| birth_place = Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Playwright|screenwriter| actor}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Carrie Coon|2013}}
| years_active = 1988–present
| children = 2
| parents = Billie Letts
Dennis Letts
| awards = Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Tony Award for Best Play
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play
}}
Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for August: Osage County (2007), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. As an actor, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the Broadway revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2013).{{cite web|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2008-Drama|title=The 2008 Pulitzer Prize Winners – Drama|publisher=pulitzer.org}}
As a playwright, Letts is known for having written for the Steppenwolf Theatre, Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre. His works include Killer Joe, Bug, Man from Nebraska, August: Osage County, Superior Donuts, Linda Vista, and The Minutes. Letts adapted three of his plays into films, Bug and Killer Joe, both directed by William Friedkin, and August: Osage County, directed by John Wells. His 2009 play Superior Donuts was adapted into a television series of the same name. As a stage actor, Letts has performed in various classic plays with the Steppenwolf Theatre since 1988. He made his acting Broadway debut as George in the revival of Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which earned him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He continued acting on the Broadway stage in The Realistic Joneses, All My Sons, and The Minutes.
In film and television, he is known for his portrayal of Andrew Lockhart in seasons 3 and 4 of Showtime's Homeland, and pyramid-scheme con-artist Nick on the HBO comedy Divorce. In 2017, Letts starred in three critically acclaimed films: Azazel Jacobs' The Lovers, Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird, and Steven Spielberg's The Post. Lady Bird earned Letts a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In 2019, he portrayed Henry Ford II in James Mangold's Ford v Ferrari and Mr. Dashwood in Gerwig's Little Women, the two also receiving Best Picture nominations.
Early life
Letts was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to author Billie Letts ({{nee|Gipson}}) and college professor and actor Dennis Letts.{{cite web|url=http://www.readersread.com/features/billieletts2.htm|title=Interview with Billie Letts|work=readersread.org}}{{cite news | agency=Associated Press | title=Dennis Letts, 73, a Professor Who Became Broadway Actor, Dies | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/theater/25letts.html?_r=1&em&ex=1204606800 | work=The New York Times | date=2008-02-25 | access-date=2008-07-03}} He has two brothers, Shawn, a musician, and Dana. Letts was raised in Durant, Oklahoma, and graduated from Durant High School in the early 1980s. He moved to Dallas, where he waited tables and worked in telemarketing while beginning his acting career. He appeared in Jerry Flemmons' O Dammit!, which was part of a new playwrights' series sponsored by Southern Methodist University.
Letts moved to Chicago at the age of 20, working for the next 11 years at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Famous Door. He is still an active member of Steppenwolf. He was a founding member of Bang Bang Spontaneous Theatre, whose members included Greg Kotis, Michael Shannon, Paul Dillon, and Amy Pietz.{{cite news | title=Tracy Letts's Productions at Steppenwolf | url=http://www.steppenwolf.org/ensemble/members/productions.aspx?id=41 | work=Steppenwolf Theatre Company | year=2008 | access-date=2008-07-03}} In 1991, Letts wrote the play Killer Joe. Two years later, the play premiered at the Next Lab Theater in Evanston, Illinois, followed by the 29th Street Rep in New York City. Since then, Killer Joe has been performed in a number of countries in 12 languages.{{cite news | author=Carlton Stowers | title=Sweet Revenge | url=http://dallasobserver.com/2003-11-27/news/sweet-revenge | work=The Dallas Observer | date=27 November 2003| access-date=2008-07-03}}
His mother, Billie Letts, has said of his work, "I try to be upbeat and funny. Everybody in Tracy's stories gets naked or dead." Letts's plays have depicted people struggling with moral and spiritual questions. He says he was inspired by the plays of Tennessee Williams and the novels of William Faulkner and Jim Thompson. Letts states that he considers sounds to be effective "storytelling tools" for theater.{{cite web | author=Aifen Wang | title=In-your-face Theatre with In Your Face Sound Design | url=http://www.stageresearch.com/showcases/indexArchived.aspx?0612_showcase.html | publisher=Stage Research | year=2008 | access-date=2008-07-03 | archive-date=2008-06-12 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612070557/http://www.stageresearch.com/showcases/indexArchived.aspx?0612_showcase.html | url-status=dead }}
Career
= Theatre =
During the late 1980s through the late 2000s, Letts acted in many of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's productions, starring in Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile (1994).
In 2012, Letts gained attention for his Broadway debut performance in the revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Booth Theatre.{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf-with-tracy-letts-and-amy-morton-will-arrive-on-broadway-in-september-com-193689|title=Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, with Tracy Letts and Amy Morton, Will Arrive On Broadway in September|last=Gans|first=Andrew|date=May 17, 2012|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}} He received positive reviews and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/theater/theaterspecial/whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf-at-the-tonys.html|title='Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' at the Tonys|last=Schuessler|first=Jennifer|date=2013-06-06|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-03-17|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}
In 2019, Letts appeared in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons with Annette Bening at Roundabout Theatre Company's American Airlines Theatre. The show officially opened on April 22, 2019 and closed on June 23, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadway.com/shows/all-my-sons/|title=All My Sons|website=Broadway.com|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}}
Letts has written over ten plays.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} His most famous, August: Osage County, premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on June 28, 2007. It had its Broadway debut at the Imperial Theatre on December 4, 2007; the production transferred to Broadway's Music Box Theatre on April 29, 2008. The Broadway show closed on June 28, 2009, after 648 performances and 18 previews. The show went on to receive seven Tony Award nominations, winning six, including Best Play.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2008/06/the_tony_awards_complete_list.html|title=Tony Winners: 'In the Heights,' 'August: Osage County'|website=www.vulture.com|date=16 June 2008 |access-date=2019-03-17}} The play won Letts the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2008. Letts has also been a finalist for the Pulitzer drama prize for his plays Man from Nebraska and The Minutes; the Pulitzer committee described The Minutes as a "shocking drama set in a seemingly mundane city council meeting that acidly articulates a uniquely American toxicity that feels both historic and contemporary."[http://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/tracy-letts-0 "Finalists Tracy Letts"] pulitzer.org, retrieved April 16, 2018{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/business/media/pulitzer-prize-winners.html|title=2018 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Full List|work=The New York Times |date=16 April 2018 |access-date=2018-04-16|language=en}} Letts starred in the Broadway production of The Minutes, his first time acting in one of his own plays.{{cite web |last1=McKinley |first1=Jesse |title=Tracy Letts Can't Fight With His Playwright |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/theater/tracy-letts-the-minutes.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=31 July 2024 |date=26 February 2020}}
= Television =
Early in his acting career, in the 1990s through the mid 2000s, Letts acted in TV shows including Prison Break, The District, Strong Medicine, Profiler, Judging Amy, The Drew Carey Show, Seinfeld, Early Edition, and Home Improvement.
In 2013–14, Letts joined the cast of Showtime's Homeland as US Senator Andrew Lockhart. He was nominated with the rest of the cast for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble.
In 2016, Letts joined HBO's marital comedy-drama Divorce.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/divorce-renewed-season-3-hbo-1203018852/|title='Divorce' Renewed for Season 3 at HBO With New Showrunner, Smaller Episode Count|last=Otterson|first=Joe|date=2018-11-02|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}}
In 2018, Letts was cast in the second season of USA Network's anthology crime drama series The Sinner, opposite Bill Pullman and Carrie Coon.{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/05/the-sinner-season-2-photos-cast-tracy-letts-emmys-1201966068/|title='The Sinner' Season 2 Reveals First-Look Photos and Who's Joining Carrie Coon in the Mystery Crime Series|last=Nguyen|first=Hanh|date=2018-05-18|website=IndieWire|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}} He played Jack McKinney in HBO's 2022 series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
= Film =
Letts has starred in Adam McKay's 2015 ensemble piece, The Big Short,{{Cite web|url=https://oscar.go.com/news/nominations/the-big-short-gets-5-oscar-nominations-including-best-picture|title=The Big Short Gets 5 Oscar Nominations Including Best Picture|website=oscar.go.com|access-date=2019-03-17}} 2016's Wiener-Dog, Christine, and Elvis & Nixon; and James Schamus's film adaptation of the Philip Roth novel, Indignation,{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/indignation-film-review-sundance-1201687679/|title=Sundance Film Review: 'Indignation'|last=Debruge|first=Peter|date=2016-01-25|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}}{{Citation|title=Indignation (2016)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/indignation|work=Rotten Tomatoes|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}} as well as the true-story crime thriller adaptation Imperium.{{Citation|title=Imperium (2016)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/imperium|work=Rotten Tomatoes|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}}
Letts then appeared in the 2017 films The Lovers, The Post,{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/post-16-films-stars-real-life-inspirations-1054331/item/fritz-beebe-portrayed-by-tracy-letts-1066929|title=Fritz Beebe, portrayed by Tracy Letts - 'The Post': 16 of the Film's Stars and Their Real-Life Inspirations|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=22 December 2017|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}} and Lady Bird.{{Citation|title=Lady Bird (2017)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lady_bird|work=Rotten Tomatoes|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2017/12/13/16772210/sag-awards-nominations-lady-bird-three-billboards|title=SAG Awards Nominations: 'Lady Bird' Cleans Up, 'Phantom Thread' Flops|last=Surrey|first=Miles|date=2017-12-13|website=The Ringer|access-date=2019-03-17}}
In 2019, Letts portrayed Henry Ford II in James Mangold's sports drama film Ford v Ferrari, and played Mr. Dashwood in Little Women, a film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/2020-oscar-nominations-list-academy-awards-nominees-1203461985/|title=Oscar Nominations 2020: The Complete List|date=2020-01-13|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2020-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113151810/https://variety.com/2020/film/news/2020-oscar-nominations-list-academy-awards-nominees-1203461985/|archive-date=January 13, 2020|url-status=live}}
Letts has written screenplays for three feature films based on his plays: Bug (directed by William Friedkin), Killer Joe (also directed by Friedkin); and August: Osage County (directed by John Wells). He also wrote the screenplay for the 2021 Netflix feature film The Woman in the Window, starring Amy Adams, based on the eponymous psychological thriller by A.J. Finn.
Personal life
File:Tracy Letts and Carrie Coon at the premiere of August- Osage County, Toronto Film Festival 2013 -a.jpg at the premiere of August: Osage County, Toronto Film Festival 2013]]
He married actor Carrie Coon in September 2013.{{Cite web |last=Fierberg |first=Ruthie |date=August 18, 2017 |title=Why Tony Nominee Carrie Coon and Pulitzer Prize Winner Tracy Letts Got Married in a Hospital |url=https://playbill.com/article/why-tony-nominee-carrie-coon-and-pulitzer-prize-winner-tracy-letts-got-married-in-a-hospital |access-date=March 16, 2024}} They have two children, born in 2018{{Cite web |title=Carrie Coon and Husband Tracy Letts Expecting Their First Child |url=https://people.com/parents/carrie-coon-pregnant-expecting-first-child-tracy-letts/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=It's a Boy! The Post Stars Carrie Coon and Tracy Letts Welcome Son Haskell |url=https://people.com/parents/carrie-coon-tracy-letts-welcome-son-haskell/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}} and 2021.{{Cite news |last=Hogan |first=Michael |date=2021-08-15 |title=Actor Carrie Coon: 'My husband says I have ice-water in my veins' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/aug/15/carrie-coon-the-nest-ghostbusters-afterlife-fargo-jude-law |access-date=2024-03-16 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}{{Cite web |title=How Carrie Coon Hid Her Pregnancy on 'The Gilded Age' (Exclusive) |url=https://www.etonline.com/how-carrie-coon-hid-her-pregnancy-on-the-gilded-age-exclusive-178143 |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=Entertainment Tonight |language=en-US}} Letts was previously engaged to actor Sarah Paulson,{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/fashion/sarah-paulson-opens-up-about-dating-older-women-holland-taylor.html?_r=0|title=Sarah Paulson Opens Up About Acting, Marcia Clark and Dating Older Women|last=Schulman|first=Michael|date=March 2, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 9, 2018|archive-date=August 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821202257/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/fashion/sarah-paulson-opens-up-about-dating-older-women-holland-taylor.html?_r=0|url-status=live}} {{closed access}} and was in a relationship with actor Holly Wantuch until her sudden death in 1998.{{cite web | last=Weber | first=Bruce | title=For an Okie Playwright and Actor, A Life With Drama of Its Own | website=The New York Times | date=2004-04-14 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/14/theater/for-an-okie-playwright-and-actor-a-life-with-drama-of-its-own.html | access-date=2024-12-11}} He has been sober since 1993.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsCQg8JM5Rw| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/ZsCQg8JM5Rw| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|title=The Interview Show | Tracy Letts| date=26 January 2018|accessdate=Oct 17, 2021|via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}
Work as an author
=Theatre=
=Screenwriter=
| class = "wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Notes |
|---|
| 2006
| Bug | Adaptation of his play |
| 2007
| Cop Show | Short film |
| 2011
| Adaptation of his play |
| 2013
| Adaptation of his play |
| 2021
| |
Work as an actor
=Theatre=
| class = "wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Theatre |
|---|
| 1988
| | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 1991–1995
|Bang Bang Spontaneous Theatre | Various characters | Chicago, No Exit Cafe |
| 1994
| Freddy | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 1999
| Walker | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2001
| John Williamson | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2002
|The Dazzle | | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2002
|Miracle on 34th Street | Lawyer | Chicago Center for Performing Arts |
| 2003
|Homebody/Kabul | | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2004
| Norman | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2005
|Last of the Boys | | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2005
| Kenneth Tynan | Off-Broadway, Barrow Street Theatre |
| 2005
|The Pain and the Itch | Cash | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2006
| Tupolski | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2006
|The Well-Appointed Room | Stewart | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2007
| Robert | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2009
| Walter "Teach" Cole | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2010
| Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | George | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2012
|Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | George | Broadway, Booth Theatre |
| 2014
| Bob Jones | Broadway, Lyceum Theatre |
| 2019
| Joe Keller | Broadway, American Airlines Theatre |
| 2020
| Mayor Superba | Broadway, Cort Theatre |
| 2022
| Mayor Superba | Broadway, Studio 54{{Cite web|title=Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Finalist 'The Minutes' Sets Post-COVID 2022 Broadway Reopening, Plans Venue Switch|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/tracy-letts-pulitzer-finalist-the-minutes-sets-post-covid-2022-broadway-reopening-plans-venue-switch/ar-BB1b3I6x|access-date=2021-01-11|website=www.msn.com}} |
=Film=
| class = "wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1988
| Paramedics | Van Owner | |
| 1992
| Sean | |
| rowspan="2"|1998
| Chicago Cab | Sports Fan | |
| U.S. Marshals
| Sheriff Poe | |
| 1999
| Zack | |
| 2007
| Cop Show | Michael Cooke | Short film |
| 2015
| Lawrence Fields | |
| rowspan="5"|2016
| Danny | |
| Christine
| Michael Nelson | |
| Elvis & Nixon
| John Finlator | |
| Indignation
| Hawes D. Caudwell | |
| Imperium
| Dallas Wolf | |
| rowspan="3"|2017
| Michael | |
| Lady Bird
| Larry McPherson | |
| The Post
| Fritz Beebe | |
| rowspan="2"|2019
| |
| Little Women
| Mr. Dashwood | |
| 2020
| Franklin "Small Frank" Price (voice) | |
| rowspan="2" |2021
| Dr. Landy | Uncredited |
| Ghostbusters: Afterlife
| Jack | Uncredited |
| 2022
| Don Wilson | |
| 2023
| Bill Verne | |
| rowspan="2" | 2024
| McVeigh |
| Saturday Night |
| rowspan="2" | TBA
| | Post-production |
| Untitled Kathryn Bigelow film
| | Post-production |
=Television=
| class = "wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1995
| Henry | Episode: "Jill's Surprise Party" |
| 1996–1997
| Jonathan / Marksman | 2 episodes |
| 1997
| Seinfeld | Counterguy | Episode: "The Strike" |
| 1998
| Lomax | Episode: "Drew and the Conspiracy" |
| 1999
| Mr. Kleinman | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2000
| Profiler | Mr. Adams | Episode: "Train Man" |
| 2001
| Ken | Episode: "Wednesday Night Fever" |
| 2001
| Brad Gilroy | Episode: "Melt Down" |
| 2006
| Peter Tucci | 2 episodes |
| 2013–2014
| Homeland | Senator/Director Andrew Lockhart | 17 episodes |
| 2016–2019
| Divorce | Nick | 17 episodes |
| 2017
| Vasile (voice) | Episode: "No Exit" |
| 2018
| Jack Novack | 7 episodes |
| 2022–2023
| Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | 9 episodes |
| 2024
| Mitch Grossman | 5 episodes |
| 2024
| Himself (voice) | Episode: "Desperately Seeking Lisa" |
| 2025
| {{TBA}} | Upcoming series |
| 2025
| | Upcoming series |
| TBA
| Cyrus Trask | Upcoming series |
Awards and nominations
Theatre awards
| class = "wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result ! Ref. |
|---|
| 2004
| rowspan=2| Pulitzer Prize | rowspan=2| Drama | Man from Nebraska | {{nom}} |
| 2008
| rowspan=3| August: Osage County | {{won}} |
| 2008
| {{won}} |
| 2008
| {{won}} |
| 2013
| Best Leading Actor in a Play | rowspan=2| Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | {{won}} |
| 2013
| {{won}} | |
| 2018
| Drama | rowspan=2| The Minutes | {{nom}} |
| 2022
| {{nom}} | |
Film and television awards
| class = "wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Nominated Work ! Result ! Ref. |
|---|
| 2013
| rowspan=2| Screen Actors Guild Awards | rowspan=2| Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | rowspan=2| Homeland | {{nom}} | |
| 2014
| {{nom}} | |
| 2014
| Writers Guild of America Awards | rowspan=5| August: Osage County | {{nom}} | |
| 2014
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | {{nom}} | |
| 2014
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Adapted Screenplay | {{nom}} | |
| 2014
| Phoenix Film Critics Society | Best Adapted Screenplay | {{nom}} | |
| 2014
| Seattle Film Critics Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | {{nom}} | |
| 2018
| Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | {{nom}} | |
| 2022
| {{nom}} | |
| 2024
| Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | {{nom}} |
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
{{cc}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{IMDb name|504832}}
- {{iobdb name|3074}}
- {{people.com}}
- [http://writetv.okstate.edu Write TV public television interview with Tracy Letts]
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Tracy Letts
|list =
{{DramaDesk PlayActor 2001–2025}}
{{PulitzerPrize DramaAuthors 2001-2025}}
{{TonyAward PlayLeadActor 2001–2025}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
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