Finn Wittrock

Finn Wittrock
Wittrock at the 2015 PaleyFest
Born	Peter Wittrock (1984-10-28) October 28, 1984 Lenox, Massachusetts, United States
Alma mater	Juilliard
Occupation	Actor screenwriter
Years active	2003–present
Spouse(s)	Sarah Roberts (m. 2014)

Peter "Finn" Wittrock^[1] (born October 28, 1984) is an American actor and screenwriter. He began his Hollywood career in guest roles on several television shows before making his feature film debut in Twelve (2010). After studying theatre at The Juilliard School, he was a regular in the soap opera All My Children from 2009 to 2011, while performing in several theatrical productions. In 2011, he performed in playwright Tony Kushner's Off-Broadway play The Illusion and made his Broadway debut in 2012 as Happy Loman in the revival of Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, directed by Mike Nichols.

In 2014, he gained recognition for his roles in the HBO television film The Normal Heart, Noah, Unbroken and garnered a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his role as Dandy Mott in the FX series American Horror Story: Freak Show. In 2015, he portrayed model Tristan Duffy and actor Rudolph Valentino in the fifth installment of American Horror Story, subtitled Hotel, and starred in the ensemble cast of the dramedy The Big Short.

Early life

Wittrock was born in Lenox, Massachusetts, the son of Kate Claire Crowley, a professor of occupational therapy at the University of Southern California, and Peter L. Wittrock, an actor. He has a brother named Dylan.^[2]

As a child, he grew up at the Shakespeare & Company theatre, where his father worked, and would often act as a pageboy or messenger.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]} As a teenager, he attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts where he would act, make films, and be a part of movement classes for actors.^[9] After graduating from high school, he got accepted into The Juilliard School but turned them down, hoping to get work in Los Angeles. He acted in some episodes for television but would often face rejection.^[8] Wittrock auditioned for Juilliard the next year and was accepted again. He attended the school, where he was a member of the Drama Division's Group 37 (2004–2008). He was an active participant in the drama department and starred in several theatrical productions. He also won the Juilliard Journal Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Juilliard’s newspaper, The Juilliard Journal, and was the recipient of the Drama Division's Stephanie Palmer McClelland Scholarship.^[10] He graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2008.^[11]

Career

2003–10: Career beginnings

At the end of high school, he appeared in guest stints on the police procedural series Cold Case and medical drama ER. He also made an appearance on CSI: Miami and in the Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown High (2004) during his time at drama school. After graduating from Juilliard, he portrayed Romeo in Washington, D.C.'s regional theatre, the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Romeo and Juliet ^[12] as well as playing the role of Eugene Marchbanks in the 2008 production of Candida at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. ^[13] He later portrayed the role of Damon Miller in the long-running series All My Children (2009–11), portrayed Troilus in the 2009 Off-Broadway play The Age of Iron^[14] and appeared in the teen drama film Twelve (2010).

2011–13: Stage roles

In 2011, Wittrock starred in the Off-Broadway play The Illusion by famous playwright Tony Kushner. Director Mike Nichols came to see the play and later told Wittrock to audition for producer Scott Rudin for their upcoming revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.^[15] He got the part of Harold "Happy" Loman and made his Broadway debut in 2012 opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman. The Nichols-directed play won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play^[16] and Wittrock won a Theatre World Award^[17] and the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Performer.^[18] Later that year, he starred in a production of The Deep Blue at the Williamstown Theatre Festival directed by Bob Balaban.^[19] He also appeared on series such as Harry's Law, Criminal Minds and played the role of gigolo Chance Wayne in the David Cromer-directed production of Tennessee Williams' play Sweet Bird of Youth at The Goodman Theatre^[20]

In 2013, he starred in the play adaptation of the film The Guardsman at The Kennedy Center, directed by Gregory Mosher.^[21] He also guest-starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and on several episodes of the series Masters of Sex.

2014–present: American Horror Story and breakthrough

In 2014, Wittrock first collaborated with director Ryan Murphy in the HBO television film The Normal Heart, based on the play of the same name. He also appeared in the films Winter's Tale and director Darren Aronofsky's Noah, playing a young Tubal-cain. He next collaborated with Murphy playing the integral part of Dandy Mott on American Horror Story: Freak Show, the fourth season of the FX anthology series American Horror Story. For his performance, Wittrock received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.^[22] Wittrock rounded out 2014 by starring as World War II Air Force bombardier Francis "Mac" McNamara in Angelina Jolie's biographical war drama film Unbroken, which revolves around the life of USA Olympian and athlete Louis "Louie" Zamperini.

In 2015, Wittrock marked his third collaboration with Murphy as model Tristan Duffy and actor Rudolph Valentino in the fifth installment of American Horror Story, subtitled Hotel.^[23] Also in 2015, he co-starred in Adam McKay's drama film The Big Short.^[24] He will appear in the upcoming musical La La Land, directed by Damien Chazelle.^[25]

Personal life

On October 18, 2014, Wittrock married his longtime girlfriend and fellow Juilliard graduate Sarah Roberts in a private ceremony.^[26][27]

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Finn Wittrock at the Internet Movie Database