John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...

'' (1997–2004) as the title character's cross-dressing brother, Steve Carey, as well as on four seasons of ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

'' (2014–2019), most notably as breakout character Twisty the Clown. His films include ''

Face/Off ''Face/Off'' is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by John Woo, from a screenplay by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary. It stars John Travolta as an FBI agent and Nicolas Cage as a terrorist, who undergo an experimental surg ...

'' (1997), ''

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

'' (2007), '' Gran Torino'' (2008), '' Shutter Island'' (2010), ''

Crazy, Stupid, Love ''Crazy, Stupid, Love.'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, written by Dan Fogelman and starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, John Carroll Lynch, Marisa Tomei and Kev ...

'' (2011), ''

Ted 2 ''Ted 2'' (stylized as ''ted2'') is a 2015 American fantasy comedy film. The sequel to ''Ted (film), Ted'' (2012), the film was co-produced and directed again by Seth MacFarlane, who co-wrote the script with returning writers Alec Sulkin and Wel ...

'' (2015), '' The Invitation'' (2015), ''

The Founder ''The Founder'' is a 2016 American Biographical film, biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel (filmmaker), Robert Siegel. Starring Michael Keaton as businessman Ray Kroc, the film depicts the story of h ...

'' (2016), and '' The Trial of the Chicago 7'' (2020). He made his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

with the 2017 film '' Lucky''.

Early life

Lynch was born in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

. He attended Regis Jesuit High School in Denver. He studied theater at The

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree in 1986.

Career

Lynch was a member of the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions among Sir Tyrone Gut ...

company. He starred in several productions, toured with the company and worked there for over eight seasons. Lynch made his feature film debut in '' Grumpy Old Men'' (1993). He gained notice in a supporting role as Norm Gunderson in the

Coen brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

' film '' Fargo'' (1996). His other notable films are ''

'' (1997), '' Bubble Boy'' (2001), '' Gothika'' (2003), '' Things We Lost in the Fire'' (2007), '' Gran Torino'' (2008), '' Shutter Island'' (2010), ''

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

'' (2011) and ''

'' (2011). He portrayed Arthur Leigh Allen in ''

'' (2007) and the first establisher of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

, Mac McDonald, in ''

'' (2016). Lynch has also had an extensive career in television. He appeared in ABC sitcom ''

'' as the title character's cross-dressing brother, Steve Carey. He has also been a regular cast member on series such as '' Close to Home'', ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate gr ...

'', ''

Body of Proof ''Body of Proof'' is an American medical drama, medical/crime drama, crime comedy-drama television series that ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from March 29, 2011, to May 28, 2013, and starred Dana Delany as medical examiner List of B ...

'' and seasons 4, 5, 7 and 9 of ''

''. In 2018, Lynch was cast in the lead role of Bud Carl in the

CBS All Access Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily ...

drama '' One Dollar''. The series was cancelled after one season. In 2020, Lynch plays the lead role of Rick Legarski in the ABC crime drama series '' Big Sky'', created by David E. Kelley. After his character was killed off, he resurfaced as Wolf Legarski, Rick's twin brother. He also co-starred in

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, playwright and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a writer for stage, television, and film, Sorkin is recognized f ...

's acclaimed film '' The Trial of the Chicago 7'', as activist

David Dellinger David T. Dellinger (August 22, 1915 – May 25, 2004) was an American pacifist and an activist for nonviolent social change. Although active beginning in the early 1940s, Dellinger reached peak prominence as one of the Chicago Seven, who were pu ...

Personal life

Lynch has been married to actress Brenda Wehle (also a former member of the Guthrie Theatre Company) since 1997.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, John Carroll 1963 births American male film actors American male television actors Catholic University of America alumni Living people Male actors from Boulder, Colorado Male actors from Denver Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors