Alex Karpovsky
| Alex Karpovsky | |
|---|---|
 Karpovsky at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Supporting Characters | |
| Born |
Alexander Karpovsky September 23, 1975 Newton, Massachusetts[1] |
| Occupation | Actor, writer, film director, producer, film editor |
Alexander "Alex" Karpovsky (born September 23 1975) is an American director, actor, screenwriter, producer and film editor. He is best known for playing Ray Ploshansky on the HBO comedy-drama series Girls.
Life and career
Karpovsky grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He attended Boston University where he graduated in 1997 as a part of the University Professors Program.[1] He pursued a DPhil (PhD) in visual ethnography at the University of Oxford,[1][2] but dropped out after two years. On Marc Maron's WTF podcast, Karpovsky said his time at Oxford was "probably the best two years of my life."
His award-winning debut feature, The Hole Story, earned him a slot in Filmmaker magazine's 25 new faces of independent film. His subsequent feature-length films include Woodpecker (SXSW Film Festival, 2008), Trust Us, This Is All Made Up (SXSW Film Festival, 2009), Rubberneck (Tribeca Film Festival, 2012), and Red Flag (LA Film Festival, 2012),[3] the latter two of which were released as a double feature in New York City's Lincoln Center Theater.[4] Last year he directed an episode of Girls, which will air this spring.
Karpovsky also collaborates with Teddy Blanks. Known together as Spielbergs, they have co-directed numerous music videos and commercials as well as a segment for The New Yorker Presents, an upcoming Amazon show.
As an actor, he plays Ray Ploshansky in the HBO comedy series Girls and has portrayed characters in films that have been featured at Sundance, Cannes, SXSW, Berlinale, Los Angeles & Tribeca film festivals. Karpovsky also appears in the last two Coen Brothers films - Inside Llewyn Davis and Hail, Caesar!, which was released in February, 2016.
Karpovsky has read hundreds of stories for live and radio audiences, including NPR's Selected Shorts, The Paris Review, n+1, Grand Theft Auto IV, and This American Life. In 2015 he read Etgar Keret's memoir The Seven Good Years, published by Penguin Random House.
Personal life
In March 2016, Karpovsky endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President of the United States.[5]
Filmography
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea | (voice) | |
| 2016 | Hail, Caesar! | Mr. Smitrovich | Film |
| 2016 | Folk Hero & Funny Guy | Paul Scott | Film |
| 2015 | Tired Moonlight | Mike | Film |
| 2015 | 7 Chinese Brothers | Kaminsky | Film |
| 2015 | Actor Seeks Role | Paul | Short film |
| 2015 | Happy Baby | Ben Peterson | Film |
| 2015 | Bloomin Mud Shuffle | Chuck | Film |
| 2015 | Amy | Saddler | Short film |
| 2014 | Summer of Blood | Jamie | Film |
| 2014 | The Foxy Merkins | Merkin Dealer | Film |
| 2014 | Possibilia | Rick | Short film |
| 2012–present | Girls | Ray Ploshansky | Series regular |
| 2013 | Inside Llewyn Davis | Marty Green | Film |
| 2013 | We Could Be Your Parents | Bob | Short film |
| 2013 | Good Night | Jake | Film |
| 2013 | The Young Housefly | Housefly | Short film |
| 2012 | Supporting Characters | Nick Berger | Film |
| 2012–2015 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Officer Stephen Lomatin | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Marvin Seth & Stanley | Seth | Film |
| 2012 | Rubberneck | Paul Harris | Film |
| 2012 | Red Flag | Alex | Film |
| 2012 | Gayby | Peter | Film |
| 2012 | Sleepwalk with Me | Ian Gilmore | Film |
| 2011 | Almost in Love | Sasha | Film |
| 2011 | Wuss | Wally Combs | Film |
| 2011 | Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same | Rookie Agent | Film |
| 2010 | The Grownups | Paul | Short film |
| 2010 | Tiny Furniture | Jed | Film |
| 2010 | Bass Ackwards | Vlad | Film |
| 2010 | Lovers of Hate | Paul Lucas | Film |
| 2009 | Harmony and Me | Mean Man Mike | Film |
| 2009 | Beeswax | Merrill Graf | Film |
| 2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | The Crowd of Liberty City (voice) | Videogame |
| 2005 | The Hole Story | Alex | Film |
Writer/Director
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Girls (episode: "Love Stories") |
| 2012 | Red Flag[6] |
| 2012 | Rubberneck[7] |
| 2009 | Trust Us, This Is All Made Up[8] |
| 2008 | Woodpecker[9] |
| 2006 | The Hole Story[10] |
References
- 1 2 3 Laskowski, Amy (April 3, 2014). "Girls Actor Comes to Cinematheque Tomorrow". BU Today. Boston University. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Alex Karpovsky". alexkarpovsky.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- ↑ Neil Genzlinger, Film Festival Blooms With Ripe Perversity, The New York Times, April 22, 2012
- ↑ "Alex Karpovsky of Girls helms two new films, talks directing". UKScreen. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BDRIkOZgw3E/
- ↑ "RED FLAG - A GRAVE COMEDY FROM ALEX KARPOVSKY". redflagfilm.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- ↑ "RUBBERNECK — A Film By Alex Karpovsky & Garth Donovan". rubberneckfilm.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Trust Us, This Is All Made Up". trustusfilm.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Woodpecker: a film by alex karpovsky". woodpeckerfilm.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Alex Karpovsky". theholestoryfilm.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alex Karpovsky. |