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Mandy Patinkin

Acting

Born November 30, 1952 · Chicago, Illinois, USA

Also known as Mandel Bruce Patinkin · Мэнди Пэтинкин · مندی پتینکین

Biography

Mandel 'Mandy' Bruce Patinkin (born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer known for his work in musical theatre, television, and film. As a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, he collaborates with Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber. His leading roles on stage and screen have received numerous accolades, including a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for seven Drama Desk Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He made his theatre debut in 1975, starring opposite Meryl Streep in the revival of the comic play Trelawny of the "Wells" at The Public Theatre's Shakespeare Festival. He played Che in the first Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita (1979), earning a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, as well as the roles of Georges Seurat/George in Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George (1984) for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He portrayed Lord Archibald Craven in the original Broadway cast of Lucy Simon's The Secret Garden (1991). On Broadway, he replaced Michael Rupert as Marvin in William Finn's Falsettos (1993). He starred as Burrs in The Wild Party (2000) and earned a second nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He had leading roles in television shows, playing Dr. Jeffrey Geiger in Chicago Hope (1994–2000); SSA Jason Gideon in the CBS crime-drama series Criminal Minds (2005–2007); Saul Berenson in the Showtime drama series Homeland (2011–2020); and Rufus Cotesworth in the Hulu mystery series Death and Other Details (2024). He earned seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his television work, winning Outstanding Leading Actor in a Drama Series for Chicago Hope in 1995. He had recurring roles in Dead Like Me (2003–2004,) and The Good Fight (2021). He also had film roles portraying Inigo Montoya in Rob Reiner's family adventure film The Princess Bride (1987) and Avigdor in Barbra Streisand's musical epic Yentl (1983), for which he earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination. Other film credits include Ragtime (1981); Maxie (1985); Dick Tracy (1990); True Colors (1991); Impromptu (1991); Wonder (2017); and Life Itself (2018). He also voiced roles in Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky (2003) and The Wind Rises (2013).

Awards & recognition

  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame · 2018
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 1995
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Musical · 2000 · nominated
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Musical · 1984 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

Broken Glass

1996as Dr Henry Hyman

On Broadway

2019as Self (archive footage)

Criminal Minds

2005as Jason Gideon

Wonder

2017as Mr. Tushman

Cholesterol: The Great Bluff

2016as Self - TV Spot Announcer (archive footage)

The Simpsons

1989as Hugh St. John Alastair Parkfield (voice)

Disclosure

2020as Avigdor (archive footage)

Benjamin Franklin

2022as Benjamin Franklin (voice)

Dead Like Me

2003as Rube Sofer

The Larry Sanders Show

1992as Mandy Patinkin

The Princess Bride

1987as Inigo Montoya

Homeland

2011as Saul Berenson

The Good Fight

2017as Hal Wackner

Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened...

2016as Self

Picket Fences

1992as Dr. Jeffrey Geiger

Brilliant Minds

2024as Dr. Noah Wolf

Sunday in the Park with George

1986as Georges Seurat / George

Law & Order

1990as Levi March / Glenn Fordyce

Taxi

1978as Alan

Life Itself

2018as Irwin Dempsey

Touched by an Angel

1994as The Driver / Satan

Six by Sondheim

2013as Self (archive footage)

Follies: In Concert

1986as Buddy Plummer

Ragtime

1981as Tateh

Three Rivers

The Colbert Report

2005as Self (uncredited)

Hercules

1998as Hippocrates (voice)

The Magician's Elephant

2023as Vilna Lutz (voice)

Squanto: A Warrior's Tale

1994as Brother Daniel

Daniel

1983as Paul Isaacson

Yentl

1983as Avigdor

The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs

2015as Narrator

American Experience

1988as Narrator (voice)

Night of the Juggler

1980as Allesandro the Cabbie

Death and Other Details

2024as Rufus Cotesworth

Ali and Nino

2016as Duke Kipiani

Wish I Was Here

2014as Gabe

The Doctor

1991as Murray

Smurfs: The Lost Village

2017as Papa Smurf (voice)

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

1999as Huxley

The Artist

2025as Norman Henry

Speaking in Strings

1999as Self

True Colors

1991as John Palmeri

Madonna: Truth or Dare

1991as Self

Dick Tracy

1990as 88 Keys

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015as Self

Everyone's Hero

2006as Stanley Irving (voice)

Impromptu

1991as Alfred De Musset

Alien Nation

1988as Samuel 'George' Francisco

Great Performances

1971as Buddy Plummer