Stephen Spinella (born October 11, 1956) is an American stage, television, and film actor.

Early life

Spinella was born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, Italy, to a father who was an American naval airplane mechanic. He grew up in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the late 1800s the area that is now Glendale was all dese ...

, and graduated from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...

with a degree in drama. He also attended

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

's Tisch School of the Arts' Graduate Acting Program, graduating in 1982. Spinella won consecutive Tony awards for Best Featured Actor and Best Actor in a Play for his performance as Prior Walter in '' Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' (1993) and '' Angels in America: Perestroika'' (1994) respectively. He was also nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for '' James Joyce's The Dead''.

Personal life

Spinella is

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

Work

Stage

* April 1985: ''

A Bright Room Called Day ''A Bright Room Called Day'' is a play by American playwright Tony Kushner, author of ''Angels in America''. Synopsis The play is set in Germany in 1932 and 1933, and concerns a group of friends caught up in the events of the fall of the Weimar R ...

'' – Baz (workshop production directed by

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

) * May 4, 1993 – December 4, 1994: '' Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' – Prior Walter/Man in Park * November 23, 1993 – December 4, 1994: '' Angels in America: Perestroika'' – Prior Walter * February 14, 1995 – September 17, 1995: '' Love! Valour! Compassion!'' – Perry Sellars * December 14, 1997 – August 30, 1998: ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, and M ...

'' – Alfieri * December 3, 1998 – March 21, 1999: ''

Electra Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...

'' – Servant to Orestes * January 11, 2000 – April 16, 2000: '' James Joyce's The Dead'' – Freddy Malins * December 4, 2002 – January 26, 2003: ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thr ...

'' – Simon Stimson * December 10, 2006 – 2007: '' Spring Awakening'' – Adult Men * May 15, 2009 – June 28, 2009: '' The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures'' – Pill * October 19, 2010 – November 7, 2010: ''An Iliad'' – The Poet * December 2, 2012 – December 23, 2012: '' Volpone'' – Volpone * April 21, 2014 – May 4, 2014: ''The Velocity of Autumn'' – Chris * April 17, 2018 – July 22, 2018: ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award f ...

'' – Roy M. Cohn * March 20, 2019 – present: ''

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' is a play written by Jack Thorne from an original story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne. Previews of the play began at the Palace Theatre, London, on 7 June 2016 as a two-part play, and it p ...

'' – Vernon Dursley/

Severus Snape Severus Snape is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series. He is an exceptionally skilled wizard whose sarcastic, controlled exterior conceals deep emotions and anguish. A Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraf ...

Lord Voldemort Lord Voldemort ( , in the films) is a sobriquet for Tom Marvolo Riddle, a character and the main antagonist in J. K. Rowling's series of '' Harry Potter'' novels. The character first appeared in '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's S ...

Film

* 1995: '' Virtuosity'' as Dr. Darrel Lindenmeyer * 1995: ''

Tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

'' as Frank * 1996: '' Faithful'' as Young Man at Rolls * 1997: '' The Jackal'' as Douglas * 1997: ''David Searching'' as Hummus Guy * 1997: '' Love! Valour! Compassion!'' as Perry Sellars * 1998: ''The Unknown Cyclist'' as Doug Stein * 1998: ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

'' as Carter Macleish * 1998: ''Out of the Past'' as Michael Wigglesworth (voice of) * 1999: '' Cradle Will Rock'' as Donald O'Hara * 1999: '' Ravenous'' as Knox * 2001: '' Bubble Boy'' as Chicken Man * 2004: '' House of D'' as Ticket Seller * 2004: '' Connie and Carla'' as Robert/Peaches * 2007: '' And Then Came Love'' as Stuart * 2008: ''Stone & Ed'' as Concierge * 2008: ''

Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

'' as Rick Stokes * 2010: ''

Rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

'' as Lieutenant Chad * 2012: '' Lincoln'' as Congressman Asa Vintner Litton * 2012: ''

House of Dust ''House of Dust'' is a 2014 supernatural thriller film directed by A.D. Calvo. The movie had its world premiere on May 20, 2014 and focuses on a group of college students that become possessed by the ghosts of former mental patients. Filming too ...

'' as Psychiatrist * 2018: '' Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' as Paul * 2019: '' Windows on the World'' as Albert * 2019: '' Bad Education'' as Thomas "Tom" Tuggiero

Television

* 1993: '' And the Band Played On'' as Brandy Alexander * 1997: '' What the Deaf Man Heard'' as Percy * 2000: ''

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 ...

'' as Andy Polone * 2001: '' The Education of Max Bickford'' as Rex Pinsker * 2002: ''

Alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the J ...

'' as Mr. Kishell; Boyd Harkin * 2002: '' Ed'' as Bob McCarthy * 2003: ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'' as Randall Schoonover * 2004: '' Huff'' as Mr. Heard * 2005: ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman ( Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler ( Debra Messi ...

'' as Bret * 2005: ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'' as Joel Kemper * 2006: '' Everwood'' as Father Patrick * 2006: '' 24'' as Miles Papazian, 10 episodes * 2006: '' Heroes'' as Oliver Dennison * 2006: ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'' as Malar Pascowitz * 2007: ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'' as Dr. Capler * 2008: ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a t ...

'' as Dr. Heller **" You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" (5x01) **" What More Do I Need?" (5x07) **" City on Fire" (5x08) **" Everybody Says Don't" (5x23) * 2008:

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...

(Season 2x19) as ADA Marc Odenthal * 2009: ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tri ...

'' as Eric (Season 3, Episode 4) * 2014: '' The Normal Heart'' as Sanford * 2015: ''

The Knick ''The Knick'' is an American medical period drama television series on Cinemax created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The series follows Dr. John W. Thackery (Clive Owen) and the staff at a fictionalized ve ...

'' as A.D. Elkins * 2018: ''

Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

'' (Season 6, Episode 10) Professor Merrick Hausmann * 2019: '' Tales of the City'' (episode: "The Price of Oil") as Chris * 2019: '' The Blacklist'' (Season 6, Episode 9: Minister D) as Jordan Loving

References

External links

* * *
Stephen Spinella
Downstage Center XM radio interview by the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

, December 2006 * Stephen Spinella interviewed i
Performance
Working in the Theatre seminar video by the

, September 1993 {{DEFAULTSORT:Spinella, Stephen 1956 births Living people American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male television actors American people of Italian descent Male actors from Arizona Drama Desk Award winners American gay actors People from Glendale, Arizona Tony Award winners University of Arizona alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors LGBT people from Arizona