Christopher Abbott

Christopher Jacob Abbott (born February 10, 1986) is an American actor known for his work in film, television, and theater. In 2011, he made his first film appearance in Martha Marcy May Marlene and his Broadway debut in the revival of the play The House of Blue Leaves. He then gained recognition for his role as Charlie in the HBO series Girls. Abbott received a nomination for an Independent Spirit Award for the drama film James White and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his portrayal of Capt. Yossarian in the Hulu miniseries Catch-22 (2019). In 2026, he returned to Broadway, portraying Biff Loman in the revival of Death of a Salesman, for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

His other film roles include Sweet Virginia (2017), First Man (2018), Black Bear (2020), Possessor (2020), On the Count of Three (2021), Sanctuary (2022), Poor Things (2023), and Wolf Man (2025). He stars in the Netflix limited series adaptation of East of Eden (2026).

Early life and education Christopher Jacob Abbott was born on February 10, 1986, in Greenwich, Connecticut. His mother is Anna (née Servidio) and his father is Orville Abbott. He has an older sister, Christina.

Abbott's father was born in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean. His mother is of Italian descent. His maternal grandmother Angelina was born in Rosà, a town in the province of Vicenza in Italy. He also has distant Portuguese and Eastern European ancestry. In his early years he lived in Chickahominy, a working-class, heavily Italian American neighborhood in Greenwich, and grew up in Stamford.

In Connecticut, Abbott worked at a local video store and at his friend's wine store. He moved to New York City in 2006 to be closer to school and pursue acting.

Career

2008–2012: Early career Abbott began going to large open calls for plays while in school, which is how he got his two first acting jobs off-Broadway. The first play, Good Boys and True, opened in the spring of 2008 and was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Scott Ellis. It followed a scandal at a prep school. Abbott played the lead character's (Brian J. Smith) gay best friend, Justin. The second play, Mouth to Mouth, opened in the fall of 2008. The play depicted the limits of friendship and family, and was written by Kevin Elyot and directed by Mark Brokaw. Abbott played the sympathetic 15-year-old son of Laura (Lisa Emery). Abbott received positive reviews for both productions. Guest-starring roles in the comedy series Nurse Jackie and the police procedural series Law & Order: Criminal Intent followed.

Abbott made his feature film debut in the 2011 drama thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene opposite Elizabeth Olsen. Written and directed by Sean Durkin, the film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in January, and had a limited release in the United States on October 21, 2011. It was met with positive reviews. The same year, Abbott made his Broadway debut in the revival of the play The House of Blue Leaves opposite Ben Stiller and Edie Falco. Directed by David Cromer, the play opened in April 2011. Abbott played the part of the sullen, recently drafted son, Ronnie Shaughnessy, for which Abbott received positive reviews.

2012–2018: Girls and film roles In 2012, Abbott co-starred opposite Melanie Lynskey in the comedy-drama film Hello I Must Be Going. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and was released theatrically in the United States on September 7, 2012. Critic Roger Ebert praised the film and Abbott's performance. Abbott gained public recognition for his role as the docile boyfriend of Marnie (Allison Williams), Charlie Dattolo in the HBO comedy-drama series Girls. Created by Lena Dunham, the series premiered on April 15, 2012. Abbott quit the series after the show’s season-two finale, stating that the reason why he left was because he couldn't relate to the character. He returned to the series for the season 5 episode "The Panic in Central Park". Before leaving Girls in 2013, Abbott starred in a series of short films opposite model-actress Sheila Márquez for Free People and guest-starred in an episode of the comedy-drama series Enlightened opposite Luke Wilson.

After leaving the series, Abbott returned to the theatre in the fall of 2013 in the play Where We're Born by Lucy Thurber at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. The Jackson Gay-directed play featured Abbott opposite a cast that included Betty Gilpin. Abbott received positive reviews for his role as Tony. In 2014, Abbott co-starred in the drama film The Sleepwalker, co-written by his good friend Brady Corbet. It was met with mixed to positive reviews. Abbott also co-starred opposite Sam Rockwell and Nina Arianda in the 2014 production of Sam Shepard's play Fool for Love at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Abbott received positive reviews for his performance in the Daniel Aukin-directed play. In his second film of 2014, Abbott played the supporting role of Louis Servidio in J. C. Chandor's crime drama film A Most Violent Year. Starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, the film had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 6, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and received a limited release on December 31, 2014.

In the fall of 2015, Abbott played Elias Schreiber-Hoffman in the Annie Baker play John opposite Georgia Engel and Lois Smith. Directed by Sam Gold, the play took place at the Signature Theatre. Abbott's performance received positive reviews and the play was chosen as one of the best plays of 2015 by The New York Times. Abbott starred as the title character in the drama James White opposite Cynthia Nixon, directed by Josh Mond. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2015 and received a theatrical limited release on November 13, 2015. It was met with positive reviews and Abbott received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.

In 2016, Abbott co-starred in the comedy war film Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, opposite Tina Fey and Martin Freeman, released on March 4, 2016. Abbott also returned for an episode of Girls, in the series' fifth season. The episode was critically acclaimed and lauded as one of the series' best episodes ever. In the summer of 2016, Abbott co-starred opposite Marisa Tomei in the Trip Cullman production of Tennessee Williams' play The Rose Tattoo at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, for which Abbott received positive reviews. Abbott co-starred opposite Olivia Cooke in the American independent drama film Katie Says Goodbye, which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

Abbott starred alongside Joel Edgerton and Riley Keough in Trey Edward Shults's horror film It Comes at Night, which was released on June 9, 2017. He co-starred in Jamie M. Dagg's 2017 thriller Sweet Virginia, opposite Jon Bernthal, Imogen Poots and Rosemarie DeWitt. He also co-starred opposite Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman in the television series The Sinner, which debuted in 2017. Abbott also starred opposite Mia Wasikowska in Nicolas Pesce's film Piercing (2018), based on the novel of the same name.

In 2019, he portrayed Capt. Yossarian in the Hulu miniseries Catch-22, based on the novel of the same name, which earned him a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television at the 77th Golden Globes.

2020–present: Recent projects In 2020, he starred in two films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival: Black Bear, a psychological drama opposite Aubrey Plaza and Sarah Gadon, and the horror film Possessor, directed by Brandon Cronenberg. In 2021, Abbott starred in John Michael McDonagh's The Forgiven, followed by Zachary Wigon's second feature film Sanctuary in 2022 and Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things in 2023. In 2023, Abbott returned to TV in the role of Stan in the Apple TV+ anthology series The Crowded Room, alongside Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried.

In March 2022, he joined Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Kraven the Hunter as the film's main villain, which was reported to be the Foreigner. Principal photography began on March 20, 2022. In May 2022, he signed to star in Justin Anderson's directorial debut Swimming Home, an adaptation of the Booker Prize-nominated novel of the same name by Deborah Levy. He has also voiced Reed, an art dealer, in the adult animated music television series Entergalactic, based on the album of the same name by American musician and actor Kid Cudi. The series premiered September 30, 2022, on Netflix.

In July 2023 it was announced that he would return to the stage playing Danny in the Off-Broadway revival of the John Patrick Shanley play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. The play ran from October 20, 2023 to January 13, 2024. In December 2023, Abbott had a meniscus tear during a performance, after which he had surgery. He performed the rest of the show's run on crutches.

In September 2024, it was reported that Abbott would join Florence Pugh in the Netflix adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden, in the role of Adam Trask.

In 2026, he starred as Biff Loman in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman opposite Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf, and Ben Ahlers. The production was directed by Joe Mantello and played at the Winter Garden Theatre for a 22-week engagement, with previews beginning March 6, 2026. For this role, Abbott received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

In August 2026, it was announced that Abbott was cast to play Charles Xavier / Professor X in the Marvel Cinematic Universe starting with the untitled X-Men reboot directed by Jake Schreier, which has a planned 2028 release.

Personal life Abbott lives in New York with his partner, actress Aubrey Plaza. Their daughter was born in July 2026.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2011 Martha Marcy May Marlene Max 2012 Hello I Must Be Going Jeremy Art Machine Cap'n Tar 2013 All That I Am Christian 2014 The Sleepwalker Andrew A Most Violent Year Louis Servidio 2015 James White James White Criminal Activities Warren 2016 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Fahim Ahmadzai Katie Says Goodbye Bruno 2017 Sweet Virginia Elwood It Comes at Night Will 2018 Tyrel Johnny Piercing Reed First Man David Scott Vox Lux The Journalist 2020 Black Bear Gabe Possessor Colin Tate The World to Come Finney 2021 On the Count of Three Kevin The Forgiven Tom Day 2022 Sanctuary Hal 2023 Poor Things Gen. Alfred 'Alfie' Blessington 2024 Swimming Home Joe It Doesn't Matter Chris Bring Them Down Michael Kraven the Hunter The Foreigner 2025 Wolf Man Blake Lovell / Wolf Man The Testament of Ann Lee Abraham

Television Year Title Role Notes 2009 Nurse Jackie Andy Singer Episode: "Pill-O-Matix" 2010 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Kyle Wyler Episode: "Lost Children of the Blood" 2012–2016 Girls Charlie Dattolo Recurring role; 13 episodes 2013 Enlightened Travis Episode: "Higher Power" 2017 The Sinner Mason Tannetti Main role (season 1) 2019 Catch-22 John Yossarian Miniseries; 6 episodes 2022 Entergalactic Reed Voice role; television special Ramy Silvak Episode: "That's What She Said" 2023 The Crowded Room Stan Camisa Miniseries; 5 episodes 2026 Adam Trask Miniseries; post-production

Theatre

Awards and nominations