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

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving 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" ...

'' (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. He is best known for starring as Danny Castellano in the series '' The Mindy Project'' (2012–2017), which earned him two nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. Messina's film appearances include '' Vicky Cristina Barcelona'' (2008), '' Julie & Julia'' (2009), ''

Devil A devil is the mythical 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 conce ...

'' (2010), ''

Argo In Greek mythology, the ''Argo'' ( ; ) was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The ''Argo'' carried the Argonauts on their quest fo ...

'' (2012), ''

Ruby Sparks ''Ruby Sparks'' is a 2012 American romantic fantasy comedy-drama film written by Zoe Kazan and directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton. It stars Paul Dano as an anxious novelist whose fictional character, Ruby Sparks, played by Kazan, ...

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

Cake Cake is a flour confection usually 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 elabor ...

'' (2014), ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

'' (2020), '' I Care a Lot'' (2020), '' Call Jane'' (2022), ''

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

'' (2023), and '' The Boogeyman'' (2023). 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 as Ted Fairwell in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

drama series '' Six Feet Under'' (2005), Chris Sanchez in the Audience Network 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 recognized at ...

'' (2011–2012), Reese Lansing in the HBO political drama series '' The Newsroom'' (2012–2014), Richard Willis in the HBO miniseries '' Sharp Objects'' (2018), Nick Haas in the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

crime drama series '' The Sinner'' (2020),

Angelo Lano Angelo Joseph Lano (born January 12, 1939) is a former American field agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1961–1990) in Washington DC, notable for his work heading the investigation of, and appearing as a witness for, the Watergate sc ...

in the Starz political miniseries '' Gaslit'' (2022), and as Nathan Bartlett in the

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

comedy thriller '' Based on a True Story'' (2023).

Early life and education

Messina was raised in

Northport, New York Northport is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Huntington, New York, Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, New York (state), New ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, 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 Manhattan. As of 2020, enrollment consisted of 1,571 undergraduate students with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. Columbia University Masters ...

, 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 tha ...

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 and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', ''

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 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

'', and '' Medium''. He had a recurring role in the fifth and final season of the

drama series '' Six Feet Under'' as Ted Fairwell. His film credits include '' Rounders'', '' The Siege'', '' You've Got Mail'', 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 American filmmaker. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received vario ...

and Universal Pictures. In April 2010, ''

Monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a social relation, relationship of Dyad (sociology), two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate Significant other, partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or #Serial monogamy ...

'', directed by Dana Adam Shapiro and starring Messina and Rashida Jones, premiered at the

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

, 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 and 5. He made 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's " I'm Not the Only One". 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, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

's crime drama '' Live by Night'', which was released in December 2016. In 2018, Messina starred in a leading role alongside Amy Adams in the HBO series '' Sharp Objects''. In 2020, Chris Messina starred as mob killer Victor Zsasz 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 '' I Care a Lot''.

Personal life

He was married to actress Rosemarie DeWitt for 12 years, divorcing in 2006. Messina and his second 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 Acad ...

have two sons.

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