Dennis Boutsikaris

Dennis Boutsikaris (; born December 21, 1952) is an American stage and film actor. A two-time Obie Award Winner, he has appeared on and off Broadway, being the first American to play Mozart in Amadeus. On television he is best known for his role on Better Call Saul as Rich Schweikart. He has also narrated over 200 audiobooks.

Early life and education Boutsikaris was born to William and Jane (née Burg) Boutsikaris in Newark, New Jersey. His father was a Greek-American Christian while his mother Jane was Jewish, with her parents immigrating from Minsk, Russian Empire. He grew up in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. He took up acting while a student at Governor Livingston High School. A graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, Boutsikaris toured the country with John Houseman's The Acting Company.

Career Boutsikaris' film credits include leading roles in *batteries not included, The Dream Team, Crocodile Dundee II, Boys on the Side and In Dreams, among many others. His more recent films include Cherry Crush, The Education of Charlie Banks, Calling It Quits, and Money Monster. He played Paul Wolfowitz in Oliver Stone's W. In 2012, he co-starred in The Bourne Legacy, the fourth installment of the successful Bourne franchise.

On television, he had the lead in the series Stat, The Jackie Thomas Show, and Misery Loves Company. He has also had recurring roles on Sidney Lumet's 100 Centre Street, Nurse, Trinity, ER, Law & Order and Showtime's Shameless. Boutsikaris appeared in an episode of the second season of the show Person of Interest, the second season of Blue Bloods, and in the pilot episode of State of Affairs. From 2015 to 2022, he played the role of lawyer Rich Schweikart in the American series Better Call Saul. In 2017, Boutsikaris was cast in the recurring role of Henry Roarke on the ABC thriller series Quantico. In 2017–2018 Boutsikaris played a recurring role as Malcolm Croft, a professor at MIT and Liam's mentor, in CBS's Salvation.

He has starred in over 20 TV movies, including Chasing the Dragon, And Then There Was One, Three Faces of Karen, Survival on the Mountain, Beyond Betrayal, and as Woody Allen in the miniseries Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story (with Patsy Kensit).

Theater On Broadway Boutsikaris became the first American to play Mozart in Amadeus, and was directed by Laurence Olivier in Filumena. He starred in the Off-Broadway production of Sight Unseen to great critical acclaim.

He has been seen on Broadway in Bent and Amadeus (as the first American to play Mozart) with Frank Langella. He was seen in the Delacorte Theatre's production of Julius Caesar as Cassius. He was in the original New York productions of The Boys Next Door, A Picasso, and the revival of That Championship Season.

Off-Broadway he is probably best known for playing Jonathan Waxman in the original production of Sight Unseen at the Manhattan Theatre Club and later at the Orpheum Theatre. For his performance he received an Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award nomination.. At the Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles he appeared in the premiere of David Mamet's The Old Neighborhood and in 2007 Jane Anderson's The Quality of Life with Laurie Metcalf and Jo Beth Williams. For that performance he received the Backstage West Garland Award for Best Actor and was nominated for Best Actor by the L.A. Critics Drama Circle and by the LA Alliance Ovation Awards.

In 2009 he was in the Broadway revivals of Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound, again with Laurie Metcalf. The former opened to wide critical acclaim and then closed one week later. The latter never opened.

He continued his association with Laurie Metcalf, appearing with her in The Other Place Off-Broadway.

Voice work He can be heard in over 200 audiobooks and has received eight Audie Awards and two Best Voices of the Year Awards from AudioFile Magazine. He was voted Best Narrator of the Year by Amazon for The Gene.

Awards Boutsikaris has received two Obie Awards: one in 1985 for Outstanding Performance in Nest of the Woodgrouse at the New York Shakespeare Festival, directed by Joseph Papp; and one in 1992 for Outstanding Performance in Sight Unseen at the Manhattan Theatre Club. He also received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Actor for Sight Unseen, as well as a Cable ACE nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Chasing the Dragon in 1995. He was nominated for a People's Choice Award as best Newcomer. He received the Best Actor Award at the Staten Island Film Festival and the Long island Film Festival for his role in Calling It Quits.

Personal life Boutsikaris was married to actress Deborah Hedwall.

Filmography Film

Television films