Justin Kirk - Biography

Justin Kirk (born May 28, 1969) is an American stage and film actor. He is known for playing Prior Walter in Mike Nichols's screen adaptation of Angels in America (for which he received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series) and for his portrayal of Andy Botwin in Showtime's Weeds.

Early life and education

Kirk was born in Salem, Oregon, son of a Russian-Jewish mother and a Danish-English father. He grew up in Union, Washington, where he attended a grade school on a Native American reservation. He moved to Minneapolis when he was 12 years old, and then to New York City after graduating from high school. Kirk played guitar in several New York bands in the early '90s, most notably The Dimestore Darlings. He also completed a two-year conservatory acting program at Circle in the Square.

Acting career

His first role on Broadway was a play called Any Given Day, which was performed at the Longacre Theatre. He also appeared in Love! Valour! Compassion! both on-screen and on stage, for which he received an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance in the Ensemble. In addition he won a Back Stage West Garland Award for Outstanding Performance on his role of a piano prodigy in Old Wicked Songs, staged at New York's Promenade Theater and Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse.

Kirk's other films include Chapter Zero, The Eden Myth, Puccini for Beginners, Flannel Pajamas, and Call o' the Glen. He made his television series debut in Jack & Jill.

Kirk currently stars as Andy Botwin on the Showtime television series Weeds alongside Elizabeth Perkins and Mary-Louise Parker. This marks the second time that Kirk has worked with Mary-Louise Parker, who was also featured in Angels in America. He was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2007.

He currently lives part-time in New York City, and part-time in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Television

• New York News (1 episode, 1995)
• The Pretender (1 episode, 1998)
• Jack & Jill (32 episodes, 1999–2001)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1 episode, 2001)
• Angels in America (6 episodes, 2003)
• ' (1 episode, 2005)
• Jack & Bobby (1 episode, 2005)
• Without a Trace (1 episode, 2005)
• Everwood (1 episode, 2006)
• Weeds (2005–present)
• Modern Family (3 episodes, 2010-present)

Films

• Love! Valour! Compassion! (1997)
• 99 Threadwaxing (1998)
• The Eden Myth (1999)
• Chapter Zero (1999)
• Half Baked (1999)
• Teddy Bears' Picnic (2002)
• Outpatient (2002)
• Flannel Pajamas (2006)
• Ask the Dust (2006)
• Hollywood Dreams (2006)
• Puccini for Beginners (2006)
• Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (2007) (voice)
• Against the Current (2009)
• Four Boxes (2009)
• The Presence (2009)
• See You in September (2010)
• Elektra Luxx (2010)
• Vamps (2011)

External links