Lee Tergesen
| Lee Tergesen | |
|---|---|
 Lee Tergesen in 2012 | |
| Born |
Lee Allen Tergesen July 8, 1965 Ivoryton, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | 1 |
| Website |
www |
Lee Allen Tergesen (born July 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tobias Beecher in HBO's prison drama Oz and as Evan Wright in Generation Kill, as well as guest starring in many varied series.
Early life
Tergesen was born in Ivoryton, Connecticut and graduated from Valley Regional High School in nearby Deep River. He moved to New York at the age of 18 to try to become an actor. He graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA)'s two-year program in Manhattan, where, from 1986 to 1989, he worked at the Empire Diner. "I wasn't a great waiter. I was funny, but I gave a lot of attitude", he told Rosie Magazine in March 2002. He added: "The place is like a vortex for me". In 1989, the diner was where he met Tom Fontana, the future creator of Oz, who lived around the corner from the diner. He did some stage work during this time. "I was doing plays all the time, but there's no money in it", Tergesen said in a 1995 Los Angeles Times article. "After graduation, I thought I'd be making a living at it." He went to Los Angeles to help Tom Fontana move house. While dining at a restaurant on the day after arriving in Los Angeles, California, a casting director and friend of Fontana's asked Lee if he was an actor. "He told me there was a part in this movie and at that time, I couldn't imagine what it could be," Tergesen told the L.A. Times. The movie ended up being Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. "It was the beginning of me never having to do anything else but act", he told LT.com in 1990.
Career
Tergesen began his career with a bit role in the 1991 prime-time aired pilot, Acting Sheriff.[1] Tergesen then starred in Wayne's World (1992) and Wayne's World 2 (1993), the 1994 series Weird Science, and a recurring role in the first season of Homicide: Life on the Street. Tergesen's career took off in 1997 with his critically acclaimed portrayal of Tobias Beecher on HBO's Oz, a role he played until the series ended in 2003. His film credits include Point Break, Shaft, Monster, The Forgotten, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Cast A Deadly Spell and Wild Iris. He has made several appearances in TV shows such as ER, Rescue Me, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode 517, Criminal Minds episode 511, The 4400, House, Law & Order and two of its spin-offs, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
He played an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor in the second season of Desperate Housewives, becoming romantically involved with Bree Hodge. He appeared in the USA Network series Royal Pains and in Seasons 4–5 of the Lifetime Network series Army Wives. He played Evan Wright in the HBO mini-series Generation Kill.[2]
Personal life
He married Yuko Otomo in 2011; their daughter Lily was born December 5, 2012. He is the brother-in-law of actress Toni Lewis by her marriage to Lee's brother, Chris (who served as the music supervisor on Oz).
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Mind Benders | Crash Hopkins | Genie Joseph | |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Clemens | John Whitesell | TV Series (1 Episode) |
| 1991 | Point Break | Rosie | Kathryn Bigelow | |
| Session Man | Neal | Seth Winston | Short | |
| Cast a Deadly Spell | Larry Willis / Lilly Sirwar | Martin Campbell | TV Movie | |
| Acting Sheriff | Robbie | Michael Lembeck | TV Movie | |
| The Killing Mind | Ron Donoho | Michael Ray Rhodes | TV Movie | |
| 1992 | Wayne's World | Terry | Penelope Spheeris | |
| 1993 | Wayne's World 2 | Terry | Stephen Surjik | |
| Darkness Before Dawn | John Patterson | TV Movie | ||
| Wild Palms | Waiter | Peter Hewitt | TV Mini-Series | |
| 1993-97 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Officer Chris Thormann | Several | TV Series (7 Episodes) Nominated - Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series |
| 1994 | Philly Heat | Ivan Loki | John David Coles | TV Series (1 Episode) |
| 1994-98 | Weird Science | Chett Donnelly | Several | TV Series (88 Episodes) |
| 1995 | JAG | Gunnery Sergeant Gentry | Jim Johnston | TV Series (1 Episode) |
| 1996 | The Shot | Dan Bell | ||
| Hudson Street | Larry Fetchko | Lee Shallat-Chemel | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Duckman | Chett Donnelly | John Eng | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 1997 | George B. | Frank | Eric Lea | |
| Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show | Carter | Tom Spezialy | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Cracker | Dan Green | Kenneth Fink | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 1997-2003 | Oz | Tobias Beecher | Several | TV Series (56 Episodes) Nominated - Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Ensemble in a Cable Series |
| 1998 | Touched by an Angel | Blake Chapman | Michael Scott | TV Series (1 Episode) |
| 1999 | Inferno | Luke | John G. Avildsen | |
| Diamonds | Border Guard | John Asher | ||
| The Hoop Life | Photographer | Michael Kennedy | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Saturday Night Live | Tobias Beecher | Beth McCarthy-Miller | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 2000 | Shaft | Luger | John Singleton | |
| The Beat | Steve Dorigan | Several | TV Series (9 Episodes) | |
| 2001 | Perfume | Lawyer | Michael Rymer | |
| The Boys of Sunset Ridge | Ben Thorpe | Doug McKeon | ||
| Mergers & Acquisitions | Isaac | Mitchell Bard | ||
| Wild Iris | Lud van Eppy | Daniel Petrie | TV Movie | |
| Shot in the Heart | Frank Gilmore, Jr. | Agnieszka Holland | TV Movie | |
| 2002 | Bark! | Peter | Katarzyna Adamik | Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema - Best Actor |
| Third Watch | Jared McKinley | Félix Enríquez Alcalá | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Hack | Carl Ginley | Thomas Carter | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| ER | Demerol Junkie | Charles Haid | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 2003 | Monster | Vincent Corey | Patty Jenkins | |
| The Handler | Detective | Mick Jackson | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Keith Ramsey | Constantine Makris | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Queens Supreme | Tommy Ryan | John Patterson (2) | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 2004 | The Forgotten | Al Petalis | Joseph Ruben | |
| A Thief of Time | Randall Elliot | Chris Eyre | TV Movie | |
| The 4400 | Oliver Knox | David Straiton | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 2005 | Extreme Dating | Hack | Lorena David | |
| The Exonerated | Walter Rhodes | Bob Balaban | TV Movie | |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Martin Hawkins | Duane Clark | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Law & Order | Attorney Heller | Constantine Makris (2) | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Rescue Me | Sully | Jace Alexander & John Fortenberry | TV Series (3 Episodes) | |
| Wanted | Marshal Eddie Drake | Several | TV Series (12 Episodes) | |
| 2006 | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning | Holden | Jonathan Liebesman | |
| Southern Comfort | Blue | Greg Yaitanes | TV Movie | |
| The Unit | Alex Deckard | Terrence O'Hara | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Waterfront | Ed Bianchi | TV Series (1 Episode) | ||
| Desperate Housewives | Peter McMillan | Several | TV Series (5 Episodes) | |
| 2007 | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Daniel Royer | Yves Simoneau | TV Movie Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries |
| A.M.P.E.D. | Brian Spicer | Robert Lieberman & Frank Spotnitz | TV Movie | |
| Masters of Horror | Layne | Tom Holland | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Josh Lemle | Jean de Segonzac | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Cane | Lamont Samuels | Christian Duguay | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 2008 | Pineapple | Bruce | Damian Skinner | |
| Generation Kill | Evan Wright | Susanna White & Simon Cellan Jones | TV Mini-Series Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | |
| Life on Mars | Lee Crocker | Michael Katleman & Darnell Martin | TV Series (2 Episodes) | |
| 2009 | Cupid | Clint | Michael Grossman | TV Series (1 Episode) |
| The Closer | Detective Nick Carey | Michael M. Robin | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Kings | Minister of Health | Tucker Gates | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Royal Pains | Zack Kingsley | Eric Laneuville | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Criminal Minds | Dale Shrader | Félix Enríquez Alcalá (2) | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| House | Roy | Greg Yaitanes (2) | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| The New Adventures of Old Christine | Todd Watski | Andy Ackerman | TV Series (2 Episodes) | |
| 2010 | Helena from the Wedding | Alex | Joseph Infantolino | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Billy Skags | Peter Leto | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Lie to Me | Gordon Cook | Daniel Sackheim | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Castle | Marcus Gates | Bill Roe | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 2010-11 | Army Wives | Officer Clayton Boone | Several | TV Series (10 Episodes) |
| 2011 | Silver Tongues | Gerry | Simon Arthur | |
| 2ND Take | Bobby | John Suits | ||
| Law & Order: LA | Patrick Denton | Helen Shaver | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 2012 | Red Tails | Jack Tomlinson | Anthony Hemingway | |
| No One Lives | Hoag | Ryuhei Kitamura | ||
| The Collection | Lucello | Marcus Dunstan | ||
| A Gifted Man | Paul Curtis | Constantine Makris (3) | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| The River | Russ Landry | Rob Bailey & Michelle MacLaren | TV Series (2 Episodes) | |
| The Big C | Kirby | Several | TV Series (5 Episodes) | |
| 2013 | Person of Interest | Detective Petersen | Fred Toye | TV Series (1 Episode) |
| Drop Dead Diva | Sid Penar | Michael Grossman (2) | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Copper | Philomen Keating | Ken Girotti & Larysa Kondracki | TV Series (2 Episodes) | |
| Longmire | Ed Gorski | Several | TV Series (5 Episodes) | |
| Red Widow | Mike Tomlin | Several | TV Series (8 Episodes) | |
| 2014 | Into the Dark | 33963 | Lukas Hassel | Short |
| The Following | Kurt | Adam Davidson | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Forever | Hans Koehler | Brad Anderson | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Hawaii Five-0 | Gordon Bristol | Peter Weller | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| The Blacklist | Frank Hyland | Michael W. Watkins | TV Series (2 Episodes) | |
| Alpha House | Eugene Drake | Several | TV Series (3 Episodes) | |
| American Horror Story | Vince | Several | TV Series (3 Episodes) | |
| The Americans | Andrew Larrick | Several | TV Series (8 Episodes) | |
| 2015 | Tooken | Bryan Millers | John Asher (2) | |
| Castle | Marcus Gates | Rob Bowman | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Defiance | General Rahm Tak | Several | TV Series (7 Episodes) | |
| 2016 | Equity | Randall | Meera Menon | |
| Desert Cathedral | Peter Collins | Travis Gutiérrez Senger | ||
| NCIS: New Orleans | Mike Spar | Dennis Smith | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| Outcast | Blake Morrow | Howard Deutch | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| The Get Down | Inspector Moach | Ed Bianchi (2) | TV Series (1 Episode) | |
| 2017 | The Yellow Birds | Jim Murphy | Alexandre Moors | |
| God's Good Mystery of the Disappearing Recliner | The Man | Elisabeth Gray | Short | |
References
- ↑ Starr, Michael (August 27, 2005). "The edge of night; "Wanted" man in another gritty role". New York Post. p. 73. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
|section=ignored (help) - ↑ Lee Tergesen, Generation Kill, leetergesen.com; accessed September 28, 2016.
External links
- Official website
- Lee Tergesen at the Internet Movie Database
- Lee Tergesen Fan Site
- Lee Tergesen Info: The Annotated and Illustrated Site