Christopher Messina (born August 11, 1974)Hochberg, Mina.
Chris Messina stars in 'Ruby Sparks'
��. ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...

'' (Long Island, New York). August 8, 2012: “...the actor, who turns 38 Saturday ugust 11, 2012 After graduating from Northport ew YorkHigh School, he enrolled in Marymount Manhattan College on a theater scholarship. Seized by doubts about acting, he dropped out…. is an American actor, director, writer, and producer. He is best known for starring as Danny Castellano in the Fox/

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

romantic comedy series '' The Mindy Project'' (2012–2017), which earned him two nominations for the

Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series The Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series is one of the award categories presented annually by the Critics' Choice Television Awards (BTJA) (US) to recognize the work done by television actors. It was introduced in 201 ...

. He has appeared in films such as ''

Vicky Cristina Barcelona ''Vicky Cristina Barcelona'' is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson in lead roles. The plot centers on two American women, Vick ...

'' (2008), '' Julie & Julia'' (2009), ''

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

'' (2010), ''

Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of ...

'' (2012), '' Ruby Sparks'' (2012), '' Celeste and Jesse Forever'' (2012), ''

Cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate ...

'' (2014), ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...

'' (2020), and ''

I Care a Lot ''I Care a Lot'' is a 2020 American satirical black comedy thriller film written and directed by J Blakeson. The film stars Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, Chris Messina, Macon Blair, Alicia Witt, and Damian Young, with Isiah Whi ...

'' (2020). Messina wrote, executive produced, and starred in the comedy film '' Fairhaven'' (2012). He also directed and starred in the drama film '' Alex of Venice'' (2014). On television, Messina appeared in such roles as Ted Fairwell in the HBO drama series '' Six Feet Under'' (2005), Chris Sanchez in the

Audience Network Audience Network (also known as Audience from 2016 until 2020) was an American pay television channel that was owned by AT&T. It featured a mix of original and acquired series, specials, and feature films. The network operated as a commercial-fre ...

legal thriller series ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

'' (2011–2012), Reese Lansing in the HBO political drama series '' The Newsroom'' (2012–2014), Richard Willis in the HBO miniseries ''

Sharp Objects ''Sharp Objects'' is the 2006 debut novel by American author Gillian Flynn. The book was first published through Shaye Areheart Books on September 26, 2006, and has subsequently been re-printed through Broadway Books. The novel follows Camille P ...

'' (2018), as Nick Haas in the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

crime drama series '' The Sinner'' (2020) and as Angelo Lano in the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz cons ...

political miniseries '' Gaslit'' (2022).

Early life and education

Messina was raised in

Northport, New York Northport is a historic maritime village on the northern shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Initially designated Great Cow Harbour by 17th-century English colonists, the area was officially renamed Northport in 1837. ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

, where he studied theater in high school. He attended

Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...

, but dropped out after one semester.

Career

He studied acting privately with teachers around Manhattan, and started his career as an

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

actor. He has appeared in episodes of the television series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...

'', ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

'', and ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation * Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium ...

''. He had a recurring role in the fifth and final season of the HBO drama series '' Six Feet Under'' as Ted Fairwell. His film credits include ''

Rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a rounded end wooden, plastic, or metal bat. The players score by running arou ...

'', '' The Siege'', ''

You've Got Mail ''You've Got Mail'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play '' Parfumerie'' by Miklós László (which had earlier been adapted in 1940 as ''The S ...

'', and '' Towelhead''. He starred in an HBO pilot '' Anatomy of Hope'', directed by J. J. Abrams. Simon Callow also starred, but the pilot was not picked up to series. In October 2007, ''Daily Variety'' named him as one of ten actors to watch. He starred in ''

'', under the direction of John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle, for producer

M. Night Shyamalan Manoj Nelliyattu M. Night Shyamalan ( ; born August 6, 1970) is an Indian-American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for making original films with contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings. He was born in Mahé, India, and raise ...

and Universal Pictures. In April 2010, ''

Monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time ( serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., pol ...

'', directed by Dana Adam Shapiro and starring Messina and

Rashida Jones Rashida Leah Jones (; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress. Jones appeared as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series '' Boston Public'' (2000–2002), as Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' (2006–2009; 2011), and ...

, premiered at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

, where the film won the jury prize for Best New York Narrative. Messina joined the cast of ''

'' for its fourth and fifth seasons. He played a recurring character on HBO's '' The Newsroom''. Messina was a series regular on the Fox/Hulu sitcom '' The Mindy Project'', playing Dr. Danny Castellano, until his character was eventually phased out in seasons 4 & 5. He makes his return in three episodes, including the season and series finale, in season 6. In 2014, Messina played the role of a cheating spouse in the music video for

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

's "

I'm Not the Only One "I'm Not the Only One" is a song recorded by English singer Sam Smith from their debut studio album, ''In the Lonely Hour'' (2014). It was written by Smith with Jimmy Napes, who also produced the song along with Steve Fitzmaurice. Capitol Recor ...

". That same year, he directed the independent drama, '' Alex of Venice'', starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Don Johnson and Matthew Del Negro. He co-starred in

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...

's crime drama '' Live by Night'', which was released in December 2016. In 2018, Messina starred in a leading role alongside

Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...

in the HBO series ''

''. In 2020, Chris Messina starred as mob killer

Victor Zsasz Victor Zsasz ( or or , the last being the original Hungarian pronunciation), also known as Mr. Zsasz or simply Zsasz, is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.'' Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' #1. The character first appea ...

in ''

''. When asked how he felt about playing a twisted character, Messina replied, "I've played too many nice guys in my career. So it was like just really a lot of fun to let loose." In 2021, Messina portrayed attorney Dean Ericson in the black comedy thriller ''

''.

Personal life

Messina and his wife

Jennifer Todd Jennifer Todd (born October 3, 1969) is an American film and television producer. She has a first look film deal at MGM Studios and is partnered with Thomas Kail in an exclusive television deal with 20th Television. She co-produced the 89th and ...

have two sons, Milo and Giovanni, born in 2008 and 2009, respectively. He was previously married to actress

Rosemarie DeWitt Rosemarie Braddock DeWitt (born October 26, 1971) is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series '' Standoff'' (2006–07), co-starring with her future husband Ron Livingston, as well as Charmaine Craine on ''Un ...

for 12 years, divorcing in 2006.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Messina, Chris 1974 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors Living people Male actors from New York (state) Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Northport, New York American people of Italian descent