Eric Stoltz

Not to be confused with Eric Stults.

Eric Stoltz
Stoltz promoting Caprica in April 2009
Born	Eric Cameron Stoltz (1961-09-30) September 30, 1961 Whittier, California, U.S.
Occupations	Actor director producer
Years active	1978–present

Eric Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask (1985), which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

He has appeared in a wide variety of films, from mainstream ones including Some Kind of Wonderful to independent films such as Pulp Fiction, Killing Zoe, and Kicking and Screaming. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in Pulp Fiction. In 2010, he portrayed Daniel Graystone in the science fiction television series Caprica and became a regular director on the television series Glee.

Early life and education

Stoltz was born in Whittier, California, the son of Evelyn (née Vawter), a violinist and schoolteacher, and Jack Stoltz, an elementary school teacher. He has two sisters, Catherine, an opera singer, and Susan, a writer.

Stoltz was raised in both American Samoa and Santa Barbara, California. He attended the University of Southern California, but dropped out after his junior year. He moved to New York in 1981 and studied acting with Stella Adler and Peggy Feury.

Career

1978–1999

In the 1970s, Stoltz joined a repertory company that performed ten plays at the Edinburgh Festival. He returned to the United States in 1979, when he entered USC as a drama student. He dropped out to pursue film and television roles.

In 1978, he was cast as Steve Benson in the television adaptation of Erma Bombeck's The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank.

Director Cameron Crowe and Stoltz became friends when the latter appeared in his first feature film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). Crowe wrote it and Stoltz had a minor role. According to Stoltz, Crowe promised Stoltz roles in all of his future films.

Stoltz was cast in each of Crowe's next four films, The Wild Life (1984), Say Anything... (1989), Singles (1992) and Jerry Maguire (1996).

In 1985, Stoltz received a Golden Globe nomination for starring performance as Rocky Dennis in Mask. Among his other roles in the 1980s, he appeared in the 1987 film Some Kind of Wonderful, written and produced by John Hughes.

Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly in Back to the Future. His view of the movie clashed, however, with that of the director, Robert Zemeckis. While the film was to become a sci-fi comedy (and box office smash hit), Stoltz had read the script from a more serious angle, apparently focusing on the tragic consequences of going back to live a life that was not one's own. Five weeks into shooting, Zemeckis replaced Stoltz with Michael J. Fox.

In 1989, Stoltz starred as the lead character of the sequel The Fly II. The movie was a hit, grossing aprox 38.9 million dollars worldwide.

During the 1990s, Stoltz went back and forth between stage, film and television, appearing in studio and independent films such as The Waterdance (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Grace of My Heart (1996) and Anaconda (1997).

During the 1990s, Stoltz produced the films Bodies, Rest & Motion (1993), Sleep with Me (1994) and Mr. Jealousy (1997).

He continued to appear on the New York stage, both on Broadway (Three Sisters, Two Shakespearean Actors, Arms and the Man, Our Town) and off-Broadway (The Importance of Being Earnest, The Glass Menagerie, Sly Fox). He was nominated for a Tony Award as Featured Actor for his performance as George Gibbs in the 1989 Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder's Our Town.

A performance of this production was featured on Great Performances: Live from Lincoln Center, which received a 1989 Emmy nomination.

On television, he had a recurring role as Helen Hunt's character's ex-boyfriend on Mad About You (five episodes, 1994–1998), spent a year on Chicago Hope (1994) and did some television and cable films such as Inside (1996) (directed by Arthur Penn) and The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999), with Helen Mirren. Stoltz received the Indie Supporter Award at the 1998 Los Angeles Film Festival.

2000–present

During the first part of the 2000s, he starred with Gillian Anderson in The House of Mirth (2000), based on the novel by Edith Wharton. From 2001 to 2002, he had a recurring role as the English teacher-poet August Dimitri in ABC's Once and Again, wherein Julia Whelan's character, a teenager, fell in love with his character. He directed an episode of the show in 2002.

In 2003, he played his first leading TV role in Out of Order, which was canceled after five episodes. In 2004, he appeared in The Butterfly Effect as a child molester; the following year, he guest-starred in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace as Debra Messing's love interest. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his direction of the cable movie My Horrible Year! (2001). He also directed a short film entitled The Bulls as well as the highest-rated episode of Law & Order in 2005, entitled "Tombstone". He appeared in the music video of The Residents' "Give It to Someone Else", featured on The Commercial DVD.

He has contributed essays to the books City Secrets--New York as well as Life Interrupted by Spalding Gray and appears on the children's CD Philadelphia Chickens.

Beginning in 2007, Stoltz directed episodes of the drama series Quarterlife, which began airing as webisodes and were then picked up to air on the NBC network in 2008. Stoltz played a serial killer in need of medical attention in three episodes of the fifth season of Grey's Anatomy. He has also directed two episodes of Grey's Anatomy.

Stoltz starred as Daniel Graystone, inventor of the Cylons, in the science fiction television series Caprica, a prequel set 58 years before the Battlestar Galactica series.

He became a regular director of the series, Glee, directing a total of 12 episodes, including "Nationals", in which the Glee club finally wins the championship.

In 2011, Stoltz was seen back on the silver screen with the film Fort McCoy; he earned accolades for his leading role as a conflicted barber of German heritage forced to suppress his American patriotism after moving his family to a post–World War II military base housing a German POW camp.

Starting in 2014, Stoltz became the producing director of the CBS political drama series Madam Secretary. The following year he became one of its four executive producers, alongside Morgan Freeman and Barbara Hall and has directed more than 10 episodes, as well as starring alongside Téa Leoni in several episodes as her brother, Will Adams.

Personal life

Stoltz and Bridget Fonda began dating in 1990 (they had met four years before). The relationship ended after eight years.

Stoltz is a vegetarian.

Filmography

Actor

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Fast Times at Ridgemont High	Stoner Bud
1984	Surf II	Chuck
	Running Hot	Danny Hicks
	The Wild Life	Bill Conrad
1985	The New Kids	Mark
	Mask	Rocky Dennis	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
	Code Name: Emerald	Lt. Andy Wheeler
1987	Some Kind of Wonderful	Keith Nelson
	Lionheart	Robert Nerra
	Sister, Sister	Matt Rutledge
1988	Greasy Lake	The Narrator	Direct-to-video
	Manifesto	Christopher
	Haunted Summer	Percy Shelley
1989	The Rachel Papers	Guy at restaurant	Uncredited
	The Fly II	Martin Brundle
	Say Anything...	Vahlere
1990	Memphis Belle	Sgt. Danny "Danny Boy" Daly
1991	Money	Franck Cimballi
1992	The Waterdance	Joel Garcia
	Singles	The Mime
1993	Bodies, Rest & Motion	Sid	Producer
	Naked in New York	Jake Briggs
1994	Killing Zoe	Zed
	Pulp Fiction	Lance	Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
	Sleep with Me	Joseph	Producer
	Little Women	John Brooke
1995	Killing Time	Stop N Start Manager	Short film
	The Prophecy	Simon
	Rob Roy	Alan MacDonald
	Never Say Goodbye Aids Benefit by Yoko Ono	Man From Hamptons	Direct-to-video short film
	Fluke	Jeff Newman
	Kicking and Screaming	Chet
1996	Grace of My Heart	Howard Cazsatt
	2 Days in the Valley	Wes Taylor
	Jerry Maguire	Ethan Valhere
1996	Inside	Marty Strydom	Crime / Drama
1997	Keys to Tulsa	Richter Boudreau
	Anaconda	Dr. Steven Cale
	Mr. Jealousy	Lester Grimm, aka Vince	Executive producer
	Highball	Darien
1998	Hi-Life	Jimmy
	The Rocking Horse Winner	Uncle Joe	Short film
	A Murder of Crows	Thurman Parks III
2000	It's a Shame About Ray	Mr. Stoltz	Short film
	Jesus & Hutch	Jesus
	The Simian Line	Sam Donovan
	The House of Mirth	Lawrence Selden
2001	Things Behind the Sun	Dan
	Harvard Man	Teddy Carter
2002	The Rules of Attraction	Mr. Lawson
2003	Happy Hour	Levine
	When Zachary Beaver Came to Town	Otto
2004	The Butterfly Effect	Mr. Miller
	Childstar	Fresno Burnbaum
2005	Hello	Max	Short film
	The Honeymooners	William Davis
2006	The Lather Effect	Mickey
2007	The Grand Design	Josh	Short film (executive producer)
2009	Sparks	Joseph	Short film
2011	Fort McCoy	Frank Stirn	Producer
2014	5 to 7	Galassi
2015	Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant	Russ Peterson
2018	Her Smell	Howard
2019	Lucky Day	Voice of Authority	Voice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	James at 15	Jack	Episode: "Hunter Country"
	The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank	Steve Benson	TV movie
1979	A New Kind of Family	Burt	Episode: “Invasion of Privacy’’
	The Seekers	First Boy	TV movie
1980	The Waltons	Sr. Boy #1	Episode: "The Valediction"
	Eight Is Enough	Kurt Harper	Episode: "Finally Grad Night"
1981	Walking Tall	David Coombs	Episode: "The Killing of McNeal County's Children"
	Knots Landing	Luke	Episode: "Man of the Hour"
	The Violation of Sarah McDavid	Pete Brady	TV movie
1982	Paper Dolls	Steve Stratton
	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	Kevin	Episode: "Challenges"
1983	The Fall Guy	Little Juice Atkins	Episode: "One Hundred Miles a Gallon"
	Love, Sidney	Rick	Episode: "The Movie"
	A Killer in the Family	Ricky Tison	TV movie
	St. Elsewhere	Eddie Carson	Episodes: "Under Pressure" "Entrapment" "All About Eve"
1984	Things Are Looking Up	Neil 'Trout' Troutman	TV movie
1989	Great Performances	George Gibbs	Episode: "Our Town"
1990	American Playhouse	Younger Edward	Episode: "Sensibility and Sense"
1991	A Woman at War	Franz Bueller	TV movie
1992	The Heart of Justice	David Leader
1993	Foreign Affairs	Fred Turner
	Frasier	Don (voice)	Episode: "Miracle On Third Or Fourth Street"
1994	Roommates	Bill Thomas	TV movie
1994–1998	Mad About You	Alan Tofsky	6 episodes
1995	Fallen Angels	Nick Ballestier	Episode: "A Dime a Dance"
	Partners	Cameron	Episode: "How Long Does It Take to Cook a 22-Pound Turkey?"
1996	Don't Look Back	Jesse Parish	TV movie
	Inside	Marty Strydom
1997	Homicide: Life on the Street	Drew Kellerman	Episode: "Wu's on First?"
1998	Blackout Effect	John Dantley	TV movie
1998–1999	Hercules	Theseus (voice)/The Grim Avenger (voice)	Episodes: "Hercules and the Grim Avenger"
	Chicago Hope	Dr. Robert Yeats	Series regular
1999	The Passion of Ayn Rand	Nathaniel Branden	TV movie
	Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge	Prosecutor Bob Laurino
2000	Common Ground	Johnny Burroughs
	One Kill	Capt. Wallker Randall
	The Last Dance	Todd Cope
2001	My Horrible Year!	Uncle Charlie	TV movie (director)
2001–2002	Once and Again	August Dimitri	7 episodes (directed Episode 3.13 "Falling in Place")
2002	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Father Michael Sweeney	Episode: "Silence"
2003	Out of Order	Mark Colm	TV mini-series
2005	Will & Grace	Tom Cassidy	Episodes: "Friends with Benefits" "Kiss and Tell"
	The Triangle	Howard Thomas	Episodes: "Episode 1.1" "Episode 1.2" "Episode 1.3"
2007	Medium	Sonny Troyer	Episode: "We Had a Dream"
	Close to Home	Det. Chris Veeder	Episodes: "Drink the Cup" "Fall from Grace" "Eminent Domain"
2008	Blank Slate	Sean Sullivan	TV movie
2009	Grey's Anatomy	William Dunn	Episodes: "Wish You Were Here" "Sympathy for the Devil" "Stairway to Heaven"
2009–2010	Caprica	Daniel Graystone	Lead role (directed "Unvanquished")
2011	Leverage	Alan Scott	Episode: "The Long Way Down Job"
2013	Maron	Danny	Episode: "Projections"
2014	Blue	Arthur	WIGS Original Series
2014–2019	Madam Secretary	Will Adams	Episodes: "Catch and Release" "Invasive Species" (uncredited) "Tectonic Shift" "Ghosts"
2022	Bull	Matthew Price	2 episodes
2022	The Good Fight	Judge Meachem	Episode: "The End of STR Laurie"
2024	The Girls on the Bus	John Spencer

Director

Film

Year	Title	Notes
2005	The Bulls	Short film
2007	The Grand Design
2017	Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk	Independent film
	Class Rank

Television

Year	Title	Notes
2001	My Horrible Year!	TV movie
2002	Once and Again	Episode: "Falling in Place"
2005	Law & Order	Episode: "Tombstone"
2007	Boston Legal	Episodes: "Dumping Bella" "The Object of My Affection"
2008	Quarterlife	Episodes: "Anxiety" "Home Sweet Home"
	Grey's Anatomy	Episodes: "Brave New World" "These Ties That Bind"
2009	Nip/Tuck	Episode: "Lola Wlodkowski"
2009–2011	Private Practice	Episodes: "Do the Right Thing" "Eyes Wide Open" "War" "If You Don't Know Me By Now"
2010	Huge	Episode: "Talent Night"
	Caprica	Episode: "Unvanquished"
2010–2014	Glee	Episodes: "Duets" "Blame It on the Alcohol" "Prom Queen" "The Purple Piano Project" "Mash Off" "Yes/No" "Big Brother" "Prom-asaurus" "Nationals" "Makeover" "Guilty Pleasures" "Opening Night"
2011	Off the Map	Episode: "On the Mean Streets of San Miguel"
2012	Californication	Episode: "Love Song"
	White Collar	Episode: "Ice Breaker"
	Made in Jersey	Episode: "Ridgewell"
2013	Nashville	Episodes: "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight" "Take These Chains from My Heart" "Hanky Panky Woman"
2014	How to Get Away with Murder	Episode: "He deserved to die"
	Black Box	Episodes: "Jerusalem" "Forget Me"
	Believe	Episode: "Perception"
2014–2019	Madam Secretary	Episodes: "Just Another Normal Day" "Collateral Damage" "Whisper of the Ax" "There But For the Grace of God" "The Doability Doctrine" "The Greater Good" "Vartius" "The Linchpin" "The Race" "Article 5" "Off the Record" "Refuge" "E Pluribus Unum" "Requiem" "Winter Garden" "Strategic Ambiguity" "The Great Experiment" "Hail to the Chief" "Leaving the Station"
2020–2022	Bull	Episodes: "Prison Break" "The Bad Client" "A Friend in Need" "Gone" "False Positive" "Goodbye"

He has directed many shows on The Learning Channel, TLC Network.

Producer

Films

Year	Title	Notes
1993	Bodies, Rest & Motion
1994	Sleep with Me
1997	Mr. Jealousy	Executive producer
2005	The Bulls	Short film (executive producer)
2006	The Lather Effect	Associate producer
2007	The Grand Design	Short film (executive producer)
2011	Fort McCoy
2017	Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk

Television

Year	Title	Notes
2014–2019	Madam Secretary	Co-executive producer (Seasons 1-2) Executive producer (Seasons 3-6)
2020–2022	Bull	Executive producer (Seasons 5-6)

External links

• Eric Stoltz at IMDb