Eric Bogosian


Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and attended University of Chicago and Oberlin College. His numerous plays include subUrbia and the Pulitzer-nominated Talk Radio, both of which were adapted to film.
Bogosian has appeared in a variety of plays, films, and television series throughout his career. His television roles include Captain Danny Ross in , Lawrence Boyd on Billions, and Gil Eavis on Succession. He has also been involved in New York City ballet production, and has written several novels as well as the historical nonfiction Operation Nemesis.

Personal life

Bogosian was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. He spent his early childhood in Watertown, Massachusetts, home to a large Armenian-American community which included his grandparents, survivors of the Armenian Genocide. His family moved to nearby Woburn in 1960. He became interested in theater while attending Woburn Memorial High School, and would later base his play subUrbia on his youth in Woburn's Four Corners neighborhood.
He attended the University of Chicago before graduating from Oberlin College. In 1980, he married Jo Anne Bonney, with whom he has two sons, Harry and Travis Bogosian.

Career

Bogosian is an author and actor known for his plays Talk Radio and subUrbia as well as numerous one-man shows. In recent years he has starred on Broadway in Donald Margulies' Time Stands Still, published three novels, and was featured on as Captain Danny Ross.

Stage

Between 1980 and 2000, six major solos written and performed by Eric Bogosian were produced Off-Broadway, garnering him three Obie Awards as well as the Drama Desk award. His first two solos, Men Inside and funHouse were presented at the New York Shakespeare Festival. His third, Drinking in America, was produced by American Place Theater. Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee were all produced commercially Off-Broadway by Frederick Zollo.
Eric is also the author of six produced plays, including 1987's Talk Radio. Talk Radio was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, but lost to Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy. In 2007, a Broadway revival of Talk Radio directed by Robert Falls starred Liev Schreiber. subUrbia was directed by Robert Falls and produced by Lincoln Center Theater in 1994. Other titles include Griller ; Humpty Dumpty ; Red Angel and 1+1. Bogosian's one-person drama, Notes from Underground has had several productions, most recently starring Jonathan Ames at Performance Space 122.
In addition to his many appearances in his solo work and starring in his play, Talk Radio, Bogosian has also starred in Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Donald Margulies' Time Stands Still directed by Daniel Sullivan.

Film

Bogosian's play Talk Radio was adapted to film in 1988 by Oliver Stone, garnering Bogosian the prestigious Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear. The film version of subUrbia was directed by Richard Linklater. His play Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll was adapted to film in 1991. He has starred in several other films including and Wonderland. In addition, he has been featured in films by such directors as Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Taylor Hackford, Atom Egoyan and Agnieszka Holland.

Television

In television, Bogosian is best known for his starring role as Captain Danny Ross in the series '. In addition, he has appeared as a guest star on dramas and in 1994 created with Steven Spielberg the series High Incident for ABC television. He portrayed Barney Greenwald, defense attorney, in the TV film The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. He also appeared in the episode "His Story" on Scrubs as Dr. Cox's therapist and was recurring character Lawrence Boyd in Billions second season. In 1993, Bogosian played the role of Stan Paxton, Larry's ex standup partner in the series 'The Larry Sanders Show'. He has also appeared in HBO's show Succession'' as Senator Gil Eavis.

Books

Bogosian is the author of three novels published by Simon & Schuster: Mall, Wasted Beauty, and Perforated Heart. All of his dramatic work is in print, published by Theater Communication Group. In 2015, he published , a history of Operation Nemesis which involved a group of Armenian assassins who set out to avenge the deaths of the one and a half million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Dance

Bogosian founded the dance series at The Kitchen. During his charter tenure there, he produced the first concerts in New York City by Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane, Karole Armitage and Molissa Fenley as well as dozens of other choreographers. In 2006, Bogosian acted as producer on the New York City Ballet's documentary, Bringing Back Balanchine.

Collaborations

In addition to working with Jo Bonney and Tad Savinar, other notable collaborations include Michael Zwack ; Joe Hannan ; Glenn Branca ; Robert Longo ; Ann Magnuson and Elliot Sharp. For the past six years Bogosian has been filming the series with Travis Bogosian and Good Baby Films.

Awards

Bogosian has won the Obie Award three times as well as the Drama Desk Award. He received the prestigious "Silver Bear" at the 1989 Berlin Film Festival for his work on Talk Radio. He is a 2004 Guggenheim fellow and the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985Miami ViceZeke"Milk Run"
1985Tales from the DarksideJunkie"The Tear Collector"
1985The Twilight ZoneJackie Thompson"Healer"
1986Reading RainbowConan the Librarian"Alistair in Outer Space", voice
1986Crime StoryDee2 episodes
1992–93Law & OrderGary Lowenthal2 episodes
1993The Larry Sanders ShowStan Paxton"Larry's Partner"
2000Welcome to New YorkRobby"The Crier"
2001Third WatchLieutenant Lewis"The Self-Importance of Being Carlos"
2003ScrubsDr. Gross"His Story"
2006–10Captain Danny Ross61 Episodes
2006Love MonkeyPhil Leshing5 episodes
2014The Good WifeNelson Dubeck3 episodes
2015ElementaryCollin Eisely"A Stitch in Time"
2016–17The Get DownRoy Asheton7 episodes
2017–18BillionsLawrence Boyd10 episodes
2018–SuccessionGil Eavis5 episodes

Writing credits