Christopher David Noth ( ; born November 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

Detective Mike Logan on '' Law & Order'' (1990–95),

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

on ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

'' (1998–2004), and Peter Florrick on ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in l ...

'' (2009–16). Noth reprised his role of Mike Logan on ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

'' (2005–08), and reprised his role of Big in the films ''

'' (2008) and ''

Sex and the City 2 ''Sex and the City 2'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Michael Patrick King. It is the sequel to the 2008 film ''Sex and the City'', based on the 1998–2004 television series. Sarah Jessica Parker, ...

'' (2010). He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television for ''

'' in 1999 and for ''

'' in 2010. Noth starred in the first two seasons of the 2021 revival of '' The Equalizer'', on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, and appeared in '' And Just Like That...'', the revival of ''

''.

Early life

Noth was born November 13, 1954, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, the youngest of three boys, to news reporter Jeanne Parr (1924–2016). Parr was one of the first female

correspondents A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

for CBS News, and host of her own CBS talk show ''The Jeanne Parr Show''. His father was Charles James Noth (1922–1966), a marketing-company vice president and insurance agent who was a naval aviator in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and served as

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

on the during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Charles came from a wealthy family in Chicago, and his mother had

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

ancestry that traces back to

Knockbride Knockbride is a parish in County Cavan, Ireland located outside the town of Bailieborough. There are two Roman Catholic churches namely West Knockbride and East Knockbride. There is also a Church of Ireland church and parish and a Presbyterian ...

in County Cavan. Noth's family settled in Stamford, Connecticut, when he was five. Noth grew up in Connecticut while his parents worked in New York City. His parents separated when he was 9 or 10, and his father died in a car accident in 1966 when he was 11. According to Noth, "losing my father left a crater in my life" and he found father figures in many teachers and certain friends of his mother's. While Parr was working as a CBS news reporter in New York during the 1960s, Noth often got into trouble. He was into vandalism and was smoking marijuana and driving at a very young age. During Parr's brief second marriage, the family moved to southern California in 1969, returning to New York in the early 1970s. Noth said that he started taking

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

with friends at age 15, once walking into someone else's house in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws ...

while high and jumping naked off their pier into the water. After Noth took a neighbor's car for a joyride and it rolled into another neighbor's house, his mother sent him to an all-boys boarding school ( Storm King School) where he spent his freshman year (1968-1969) . Noth persuaded his mother to let him leave Storm King School to attend an experimental coed school called The Barlow School in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later or ...

, instead. Poet-dissenter Peter Kane Dufault taught American history at the school. Noth said Dufault was the best teacher he ever had, "He opened up a way of life to me, a life of the imagination; he showed us ... that life can be developed and explored through poetry". For Noth, this school with young artist teachers "for many of us, not relating to our parents, it became our real home", and although "the academics were a little shaky", this art school, with no grades, completely changed his life to focus on the arts. By 1973, he was "totally into being a hippie" with long hair. After graduation, he moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

with his girlfriend when he was eighteen, and worked at a school for the mentally disabled. Noth attended Marlboro College in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, originally intending to be a writer or poet. He received a classically oriented education and studied English literature and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

. Although the college did not have a theatre department, he discovered acting after joining the repertory theatre company to get out of Latin class. He first appeared on stage in the play ''

She Stoops To Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18t ...

,'' where he enjoyed the audience's unexpected laughter. After acting in a production of ''

The Zoo Story ''The Zoo Story'' is a one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee. His first play, it was written in 1958 and completed in just three weeks. The play explores themes of isolation, loneliness, miscommunication as anathematization, social di ...

'' by Edward Albee, his goals were set on becoming a stage actor. After graduation, he was eager to perform in The New York Repertory Theatre but found that there was not much work for young actors in New York after arriving in late 1978. The first and only job he could get was as a daytime bartender at the Only Child Restaurant, not realizing there was a brothel above the basement pub. He was accepted into the

Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of th ...

to study with acting teacher Sanford Meisner. He stayed in maid's rooms for little or no money in exchange for cleaning the house on a weekly basis. The school did not allow students to work in the theatre, and Noth was expelled after a photo appeared of him in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' acting in a 1979

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...

play about an

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

bombing victim. * * He also studied script analysis with

Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher.
''

Career

Theatre

Noth "did

off-off Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...

and was a bad waiter in a dozen different restaurants for five years." He was fired from a number of restaurants, once for forgetting to return Governor

Hugh Carey Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He was a seven-term U.S. representative from 1961 to 1974 and the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Democratic Part ...

's credit card with the bill, and settled into cater-waitering bar mitzvahs and weddings. Noth got his

Actors' Equity The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book ...

membership while at the Circle Rep Lab. In

Circle Repertory Company The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by direc ...

's 1980 production of ''Innocent Thoughts, Harmless Intentions'' he played soldier James "Duke" Wade in an Alaskan army outpost in 1951–52, part of what the '' CS Monitor'' called a "convincing squad of Actors' Equity

enlisted men An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

" in a play that was "impressively acted". He auditioned for

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and was accepted by both. He chose the shorter three-year degree at

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

, where he got a scholarship. Noth acted in 25 or more plays while studying at Yale School of Drama, attending classes during the day and acting in plays at night. Noth's first-year acting project at Yale was the

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

play ''

The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (russian: На дне, translit=Na dne, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902 under the direction of Konstantin ...

'' in 1982–1983. In 1984,

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is curren ...

of ''The New York Times'' wrote that of the supporting cast, only Noth's and

Ray Aranha Ray Aranha (May 1, 1939 – October 9, 2011) was an American actor, playwright, and stage director. Career Born in Miami, Florida, Aranha appeared in and written numerous stage productions. In 1974, he won a Drama Desk Award for Outstandin ...

's performances "leaves firm impressions" in the world premiere of the

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

political satire ''A Play of Giants'' at

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented stude ...

, where Noth played a sculptor creating a portrait of African dictators gathered at a

U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

Embassy. In 1985, Noth acted in Keith Reddin's ''Rum and Coke'' at Yale Repertory Theatre, a play about the orchestration of the

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fin ...

. By Noth's third year, he signed with an agent who saw him in a YSD production of

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

's '' The Hostage''. Noth was also in Anton Chekhov's '' Three Sisters'' and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Pericles, Prince of Tyre ''Pericles, Prince of Tyre'' is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. It was p ...

'' at YSD. After graduating with an MFA in 1985, Noth told his agent he would not do television and went on the theater circuit. His preference to work in theater informed his decision to live in New York instead of Los Angeles. However, roles were slow to come and he decided he could do television to survive. In 1986, while working on the TV series ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'' in L.A., Noth heard that

Zoe Caldwell Zoe Ada Caldwell, (14 September 1933 – 16 February 2020) was an Australian actress. She was a four-time Tony Award winner, winning Best Featured Actress in a Play for '' Slapstick Tragedy'' (1966), and Best Actress in a Play for '' The Pri ...

would be directing ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' at the American Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, Connecticut and successfully auditioned for the title role. The play was performed for student groups in the spring season that year and Noth felt the enthusiastic response of students from the

inner cities The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists someti ...

's soliloquies made it one of his greatest experiences. In the 1988/89 season of

Milwaukee Repertory Theater Milwaukee Repertory Theater ("Milwaukee Rep") is a theater company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded as the Fred Miller Theatre Company, the group is housed in the Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex, which includes the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, ...

, he played a murderous bandit in the experimental Chilean play ''The Torch''. In April 1989, Noth played "

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

--out of place, angry with the world" Frank Shabata in Darrah Cloud's adaption of the

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including '' O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and '' My Ántonia''. In 192 ...

novel ''

O Pioneers! O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...

'' in the Other Season at

Seattle Repertory Theatre Seattle Repertory Theatre (familiarly known as "The Rep") is a major regional theatre located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. It is a member of Theatre Puget SoundWomen's Project. He also appeared in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

play '' Arms and the Man'' at the

Roundabout Theatre The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizab ...

in 1989 as Sergius Saranoff. ''The New York Times'' wrote that Noth's acting "captures the strutting buffoon in the character" but lost "the more pitiable side", while ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' wrote if "Noth's swaggering Sergius were any more Sergius-like, he would burst out of his uniform". Noth acted in plays for La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum. In 1997, Noth played an opera composer in the Romulus Linney play ''Patronage'' at

Ensemble Studio Theatre The Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) is a non-profit membership-based developmental theatre located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays. Overview The E ...

's 20th Annual Festival of New One-Act Plays. ''The New York Times'' wrote "the actors are so good that they may have put more flesh on the characters than even Mr. Linney intended" and that Noth and co-star Dana Reeve were "amusingly synchronized as they purred in unison...to the strains of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

". Linney became friends with Noth when they worked together on ''Patronage'' and Noth encouraged him to write a play about

Delmore Schwartz Delmore Schwartz (December 8, 1913 – July 11, 1966) was an American poet and short story writer. Early life Schwartz was born in 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, where he also grew up. His parents, Harry and Rose, both Romanian Jews, separated when ...

as Noth "is a poet himself and loves the poetry of Delmore Schwartz", according to Linney. Noth performed in the 2002

staged reading A stage reading, also known as a staged reading, is a form of theatre without sets or full costumes. The actors, who read from scripts, may be seated, stand in fixed positions, or incorporate minimal stage movement. There is an overlap with t ...

of Linney's play ''Klonsky and Schwartz'' at the

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awa ...

's annual Playwrights Conference and helped

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the on ...

the play at the 2003

Last Frontier Theatre Conference Renamed in 2021, the Valdez Theatre Conference is an annual conference on American Theatre held in Valdez, Alaska that focuses on playwrighting. Continually held each year since 1993, the conference puts out a call for play submissions, requestin ...

. In 1998, while working on ''Sex and the City'' before its TV debut, Noth did his first

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

as fortune-hunter Morris Townsend in the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

production of ''

The Heiress ''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry Jame ...

'', an adaptation of the

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

novel '' Washington Square'', opposite Amy Irving in the title role. In 2000, Noth made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in a revival of

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and e ...

's 1960 play '' The Best Man'' at

Virginia Theatre The August Wilson Theatre (formerly the Guild Theatre, ANTA Theatre, and Virginia Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 245 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, the theater was designed b ...

as the conniving Senator Joseph Cantwell. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that Noth "plays the role capably but without the seething edge required" and ''The New York Times'' wrote Noth "never gives Cantwell the all-consuming, compulsive drive" and the "variations on Nixonian tics..have the imposed feeling of a director's suggestions." A few months later ''The New York Times'' wrote the cast's performances improved significantly with Noth improving the most, having "achieved a fine balance between

editorial cartoon A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine a ...

and neurotic case study as the Nixonian man who would be president." The revival went on to win a Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding revival of a play and was nominated for

Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play The Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival. The award is given to the best non-musical play that has appeared on Broadw ...

. In the 2002 premiere of

Christopher Shinn Christopher Shinn (born 1975) is an American playwright. His play ''Dying City'' (2006) was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and ''Where Do We Live'' (2004) won the 2005 Obie Award, Playwriting. Early life Shinn was born in Ha ...

's play ''What Didn't Happen'' at

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

, Noth's portrayal of Peter was described as "an enjoyably robust portrait" by ''The New York Times'' and "an endearing, minor-key star turn" by ''

''. Noth played Colonel Thayer in a 2005 staged reading of a revival of another Gore Vidal play, the 1961 drama ''On the March to the Sea'', presented by Theater Previews at Duke at Duke University. According to reviews of his portrayal, "Noth effectively conveys a jaded, command soldier tired of war, sometimes ruthless, yet often philosophical and sympathetic", a contradictory character "beautifully evoked" as "fully and pitiably human" and comparable to

Stanley Kowalski Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. In the play Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella ( DuBois), and is employed ...

in his "deliberate malice"; although Noth "followed the script" when it occasionally turned

melodramatic A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

. Noth received glowing reviews as

petty criminal A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

"Teach" in

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...

's play ''

American Buffalo American Buffalo may refer to: *American Buffalo (play), ''American Buffalo'' (play), a play by David Mamet *American Buffalo (film), ''American Buffalo'' (film), a 1996 film of Mamet's play directed by Michael Corrente *American Buffalo (coin), a ...

'' at the 2005 Berkshire Theatre Festival. In 2008, Noth portrayed Paul Zara in Beau Willimon's Off-Broadway debut play ''

Farragut North Farragut North station is an underground Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., on the Red Line. Farragut North serves downtown Washington and is located just north of Farragut Square. It lies at the heart of the business district on ...

'' staged by the

Atlantic Theatre Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their ac ...

. The play had its world premiere in the week after the

2008 United States presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator f ...

and ''The New York Times'' critic

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...

wrote that he "enjoyed Mr. Noth’s weary, bluff, stiff-jointed Paul". In 2009, Noth reprised the role in the play's West coast debut at the

Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located ...

opposite

Chris Pine Chris Pine (born August 26, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' reboot film series (2009–present), Steve Trevor in the DC Extended Universe films ''Wonder Woman'' (2017) and '' Wo ...

. The director of the film ''Sex and the City 2'' demanded Noth lose the weight he gained for his role in the play before filming of the movie began. In 2011, Noth starred in a Broadway revival of the 1972 play ''

That Championship Season ''That Championship Season'' is a 1972 play by Jason Miller. It was the recipient of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. Plot synopsis The setting is 1972 at the Coach's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. O ...

'', playing Phil Romano. In 2019 Noth appeared with

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Described as "one of the best actresses in the world", she is known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. She is the recipient of sev ...

in an Off-Broadway production of

Florian Zeller Florian Zeller (; born 28 June 1979) is a French novelist, playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, and film director. He won the Prix Interallié for his 2004 novel ''The Fascination of Evil'' and several awards for his plays. He wrote and ...

's ''The Mother''.

Film and television

Noth played small parts in films, including '' Smithereens'' (1982) and '' Baby Boom'' (1987) before his first starring role in the low-budget 1988 film '' Peluru dan Wanita (Bullets & Women)'' in Indonesia. Noth joined the cast of ''

'' in the sixth season in 1986, where he was billed as "Christopher Noth." He also appeared in '' Another World''. Noth filmed a pilot for the legal/police drama series '' Law & Order'' in 1988, playing

homicide detective Mike Logan. In 1990,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

began airing ''Law & Order''. Noth was fired from the show in 1995, due largely to creative friction with series creator

Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. He is al ...

. He reprised the role of Mike Logan in 1998 for the ''Law & Order'' TV movie, '' Exiled: A Law & Order Movie''. In 1995, Noth had a supporting role in a CBS miniseries adaptation of the

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy '' The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxe ...

novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever'' where he and

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...

portrayed lovers who are

medical residents Residency or postgraduate training is specifically a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician (one who holds the degree of MD, DO, MBBS, MBChB), veterinarian ( DVM or VMD) , dentist ( DDS or DMD) or podiatrist ( ...

in a San Francisco hospital. Noth appeared in a 1997 episode of the TV series ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced ...

''. In the 1997 television mini-series ''

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and di ...

'' on

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

he portrayed

Craig Wadsworth Craig Wharton Wadsworth (January 12, 1872 – May 20, 1960) was a diplomat, steeplechase rider, and member of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. Early life He was born in Philadelphia to Gen. Craig Wadsworth (1841–1872) and Evelyn Willing ( né ...

, a member of the

1st United States Volunteer Cavalry The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

. From 1998 to 2004, Noth took the role of

Carrie Bradshaw Caroline Marie "Carrie" Bradshaw is a fictional character from the HBO franchise ''Sex and the City'', portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker. Candace Bushnell created Carrie as a semi-autobiographical character for her column "Sex and the City" in ...

's on-again, off-again boyfriend "

" on HBO's ''

''. The role established Noth as a romantic comedian and he reprised it for the 2008 ''

'' film and its 2010 sequel. He had a small role as Helen Hunt's husband in the film ''

Cast Away ''Cast Away'' is a 2000 American survival drama film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, and Nick Searcy. Hanks plays a FedEx troubleshooter stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in ...

'' (2000) starring

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

. In 2001, he played an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent on a three-episode arc of ''

Crossing Jordan ''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its dete ...

''. From 2005 to 2008, Noth returned to the role of Mike Logan on ''

'', joining the show in its fifth season following a guest appearance on a fourth season episode. On this spin-off of the original ''Law & Order'', Noth's detective team alternated episodes with

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...

and Kathryn Erbe's characters.Stated in interview on ''

Inside the Actors Studio ''Inside the Actors Studio'' is an American talk show that airs on Ovation. The series premiered in 1994 on Bravo where it aired for 22 seasons and was hosted by James Lipton from its premiere until 2018. It is taped at the Michael Schimmel C ...

'' In the 2005

rom-com Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film, '' The Perfect Man'', Noth's portrayal of the romance expert from whom

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...

's lead character models a secret admirer for her mother was described as "appealing in a thinly written role" by ''Variety''. In the

series ''

'' (2009–2016), Noth portrayed Peter Florrick, disgraced and resurrected politician husband of the title character portrayed by

Julianna Margulies Julianna Margulies (; born June 8, 1966) is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama series '' ER'' (1994–2009) ...

. Noth was not a full-time regular on the series, leaving him time to do plays and indie films. In 2009, Noth guest-starred as an authoritarian military man in the film '' My One and Only'' starring

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger (; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid ...

as woman searching for a spouse. In 2012, Noth narrated ''I Didn’t Do It'' a 6-part crime documentary series about

wrongful convictions A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...

produced by Toronto's Lively Media for

Discovery Canada Discovery Channel (often referred to as simply Discovery) is a Canadian specialty television channel owned by CTV Speciality Television Inc. (a joint venture between Bell Media/ESPN Inc. (80%) and Warner Bros. Discovery (which owns the remaining ...

and

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

and portrayed tycoon

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

, who helped finance the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

'', in the Encore channel miniseries '' Titanic: Blood and Steel''. In 2013, he portrayed Anthony Romano, a financier of '' Deep Throat'', in the movie '' Lovelace''. In 2014, Noth played the son-in-law of an ageing man, Fred, portrayed by

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

in the film '' Elsa & Fred''. In the 2015 movie '' After the Ball'', Noth played a head of a Montreal fashion company. In 2016, Noth joined the third season of the FX/

Fox 21 Television Studios The second incarnation of Touchstone Television (formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios) was an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Disney Media Networks' Walt Disney Television owned by The Walt Disney Company. It ...

produced series ''

Tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to re ...

'' in the regular role of U.S. General William Cogswell who offers military support to the interim president of a fictional Middle Eastern country that is trying to start a

social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

. A review of Noth's first ''Tyrant'' episode likened General Cogswell to his Peter Florrick character in ''The Good Wife''. In an interview before the episode aired, Noth said he was "pretty much done with parts that resemble Mr. Big or Peter Florrick", he was turning to darker roles after years of playing (mostly) good guys on his three hit TV shows. Noth portrayed a sleazy lawyer in the 2016 film '' White Girl''. In the 2016 film '' Chronically Metropolitan'' Noth's portrayal of a philandering professor/novelist was praised by ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' for "infusing his familiar-feeling character with intriguing nuances" and as "very good" by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. In 2017, Noth played

agent Don Ackerman on the Discovery Channel's series '' Manhunt: Unabomber'', about the hunt for the serial killer

Ted Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...

and was the narrator for the "Sharks and the City: New York" episode of Discovery channel's ''

Shark Week Shark Week is an annual, week long TV programming block at the Discovery Channel, which features shark-based programming. Shark Week originally premiered on July 17, 1988. Featured annually, in July or early August, it was originally devoted to c ...

''. Noth also portrayed FBI agent Frank Novak in '' Gone'', a 12-episode procedural drama produced by

NBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

. The ''New York Post'' wrote in its review of the show that "Noth, who's always reliable, is fine here, but doesn’t have much to do other than set up each storyline and then bark lots of orders." In 2018, Noth played the character Jack Robertson in the '' Doctor Who'' episode "

Arachnids in the UK "Arachnids in the UK" is the fourth episode of the eleventh series of the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. It was written by showrunner and executive producer Chris Chibnall, directed by Sallie Aprahamian, and first ...

" and returned to the show in 2021 New Year's Day special, "

Revolution of the Daleks "Revolution of the Daleks" is a special episode of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', first broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2021. It was written by Chris Chibnall, and directed by Lee Haven Jones. The episode foll ...

". In 2021, Noth played the lead role of William Bishop in

reboot crime drama series '' The Equalizer'', which was written by Andrew W. Marlowe and

Terri Edda Miller Terri Edda Miller (sometimes Terri Miller or Terri E. Miller; born May 13, 1966) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. Biography Miller's first job in Hollywood was as an intern in Broadcast Standards at ABC, a network that she ...

. The same year, Noth reprised his role as Mr. Big in '' And Just Like That...'', the ''Sex and the City'' continuation, where he was killed off, leading to a subsequent

Peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...

advertisement in the role. By the end of the year, he was fired and the ad was pulled due to allegations of sexual assault.

Personal life

Noth is co-owner of

The Cutting Room The Cutting Room is a music venue in New York City that was open at 19 West 24th Street from late 1999 through January 2009 for music of all varieties and reopened at the beginning of 2013 in a new location at 44 East 32nd Street. It was co-owned ...

, a New York lounge and music venue that opened in late 1999, with Steve Walter. He also co-owned the New York nightclub

The Plumm The Plumm was a nightclub that opened on April 28, 2006, near the Meatpacking District of Manhattan. It was co-owned by Noel Ashman, Chris Noth, Samantha Ronson, Joey McIntyre, Damon Dash, Jesse Bradford, Simon Rex, and Rodney Afshari among oth ...

with Noel Ashman and other investors including

David Wells David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered on ...

and Damon Dash. Noth became majority-stake owner of Ambhar Tequila in 2018. Noth had a relationship with model

Beverly Johnson Beverly Ann Johnson (born October 13, 1952) is an American model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. Johnson rose to fame when she became the first African-American model to appear on the cover of American ''Vogue'' in August 1974. In 1975, Jo ...

from 1990 to 1995. Johnson filed a restraining order against Noth, accusing him of physical, verbal, and racial abuse. He began a relationship with Tara Lynn Wilson, a Canadian model, actress, and former beauty queen after meeting her in 2001 or 2002. They had a son Orion in January 2008. The couple became co-owners of the

tea house A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment wh ...

Once Upon a Tea Cup in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

, and another location in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

. They were married on April 6, 2012. Onscreen caption: "Tara Lynn Wilson". Noth announced the birth of their second son Keats in February 2020. Noth moved with his family to the Los Angeles suburb of

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

. He owns an apartment in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

that he had since 1994 and another in a Lenox Hill co-op since 2017. The family has a summer house in the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

on the edge of

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...

Sexual misconduct allegations

On December 16, 2021, Noth was accused of sexual assault by two women, who used the names Lily and Zoe, with one woman alleging that Noth cheated on his wife when he assaulted her. Both women, who do not know each other and contacted ''

'' months apart, were much younger than Noth at the time of the alleged incident. The incidents allegedly occurred in Los Angeles in 2004, and in New York in 2015. He denied the allegations, claiming the incidents were consensual and that he did not cross the line of " no means no". The next day, actress and screenwriter

Zoe Lister-Jones Zoe Lister-Jones (born September 1, 1982) is an American actress, and filmmaker who co-starred as Jen Collins Short in the CBS sitcom ''Life in Pieces'' from 2015 to 2019. She is also known for her roles in the television shows ''Delocated'' (20 ...

alleged that Noth was "consistently sexually inappropriate" when she worked with him on a 2005 episode of ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', was "a sexual predator", and was drunk while filming his scenes. Subsequently, he was dropped by A3 Artists Agency. On December 18, another woman accused Noth of sexual assault, in New York in 2010, saying that when she was eighteen he forcibly kissed her and removed her tights in an effort to digitally penetrate her. Noth's publicist denied the incident happened and said Noth did not know the woman. On December 23, 2021, singer-songwriter Lisa Gentile accused Noth of sexually assaulting her in New York in 2002. She said he forcibly kissed her and grabbed and squeezed her breasts. In the wake of the allegations, a $12-million deal for Entertainment Arts Research Inc. to buy Noth's tequila brand Ambhar was canceled, a

commercial starring Noth and

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...

was pulled from the air, and he was dismissed part way through the second season from his role as William Bishop, who was killed off-screen on '' The Equalizer''. A second appearance as Big in ''And Just Like That''s season finale was also scrapped.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Citations

General and cited references

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noth, Chris 1954 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Actors from Madison, Wisconsin American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American people of Canadian descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent Living people Male actors from New York City Male actors from Wisconsin Marlboro College alumni Nightclub owners Theatre World Award winners Yale School of Drama alumni Yale University alumni