Oliver Platt

Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is an American actor known for his work on stage and screen. He has been nominated for five Primetime Emmys, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and one Tony Award.

Following his acting debut in the 1988 film Married to the Mob, Platt gained prominence for his roles in Working Girl (1988), Flatliners (1990), Beethoven (1992), Indecent Proposal, Benny & Joon, The Three Musketeers (all 1993), A Time to Kill (1996), The Impostors, Bulworth, Dr. Dolittle (all 1998), Lake Placid, Three to Tango, and Bicentennial Man (all 1999). His other notable credits include Gun Shy, Ready to Rumble (both 2000), Don't Say a Word (2001), Pieces of April (2003), Kinsey (2004), The Ice Harvest, Casanova (both 2005), Frost/Nixon (2008), Year One, 2012 (both 2009), Please Give, Love & Other Drugs (both 2010), and X-Men: First Class (2011).

Platt is known for his work on television series such as The Big C (2010–2013), Fargo (2014) and The Good Wife (2015). He received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his portrayal of George Steinbrenner in the ESPN miniseries The Bronx Is Burning (2007) as well as nominations for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor for his roles in The West Wing (2001), Huff (2005; 2006), and Nip/Tuck (2008). He is known for his recurring role as Uncle Jimmy on Hulu's The Bear (2022–2026) and has played Dr. Daniel Charles on Chicago Med since 2015.

On stage, Platt made his Broadway debut in the Conor McPherson play Shining City (2006) for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor. He returned to Broadway playing Nathan Detroit in the 2009 revival of the Frank Loesser musical Guys and Dolls.

Early life and education Family Platt was born on January 12, 1960, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, to American parents Sheila Maynard, a clinical social worker and Nicholas Platt, a career diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Zambia and the Philippines. His older brother, Adam Platt, is a New York magazine restaurant critic. They returned to the United States when Platt was three months old.

Platt's paternal great-grandfather was artist and architect Charles A. Platt, and his maternal great-grandparents were equestrian Arthur Scott Burden (of the industrialist Burden family) and socialite Cynthia Roche. Platt is also a great-great-grandson of General Robert Shaw Oliver (through his mother). Platt's paternal great-great-grandfather was diplomat and lawyer Joseph Hodges Choate. Choate was the most successful lawyer in New York City during the Gilded Age and was later appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom by President William McKinley. His brother William Gardner Choate, who was also a prominent lawyer and federal judge, created Choate Rosemary Hall.

Early life Because of his father's career as a foreign service officer, much of Platt's childhood was spent in Asia and Washington, D.C. Platt attended twelve different schools, including the American School in Japan, and has said "Even now I find myself envying people who have neighborhoods and roots." Platt is also a fan of the Boston Red Sox. Platt majored in drama at Tufts University, where he met and became close friends with Hank Azaria. He spent three years working in theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, which he said had a "wealth of serious amateur theatre at that time…I played many roles, and it was the best training I could have had." Platt travelled with Shakespeare and Company, based in Lenox, Massachusetts, touring schools to earn his Equity card, before moving to New York. In 1998 Platt and Stanley Tucci played two deadbeat actors who improvise with unsuspecting strangers in The Impostors. Tucci and Platt developed the characters while working on a play at Yale University in 1988, with Tucci later completing the screenplay and directing the film. Platt described Hector as "pretty abrasive and obnoxious at times, but, I hope, he has a way of growing on you. I think David originally thought of him as a great white hunter sort of guy, but when I signed on for the role he sort of wrote him in a different direction." Platt starred as Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Wallace Benton, an "unlikely hero". The strong cast, which also included Bebe Neuwirth and Hope Davis, could not compensate for substandard writing and the series was soon canceled.

His role in the television series Huff as Russell Tupper from 2004 to 2006 was well-received, especially by creator Bob Lowry, who said, "Oliver plays an alcoholic, drug-addicted, sexaholic, workaholic, womanizing misogynist who is adorable. I don't know any actor who could do that. I originally saw Russell as a blond stud, but when I saw what Oliver could do, I realized how much better, richer, and less predictable he was than my idea of the character ... Oliver is very committed to the idea that story and dialogue be character-driven and unique".

In 2005, Platt acted in Harold Ramis's film The Ice Harvest as an unhappy businessman with a trophy wife and two stepchildren who becomes involved with a friend who has stolen $2 million from a Mafia boss. He also played a lard merchant named Papprizzio in Lasse Hallström's Casanova, who competes with Casanova (Heath Ledger) for marriage to Francesca (Sienna Miller).

Platt greets fans outside the Nederlander Theatre in Manhattan after a performance of Guys and Dolls on February 21, 2009. A Broadway production named Shining City was Platt's Broadway debut in 2006.

In 2007, Platt played the part of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in the ESPN mini-series The Bronx Is Burning. Platt signed onto the project after John Turturro was confirmed as Billy Martin, because "This thing lives or dies by that portrayal ... I think it's great casting. God knows he has the intensity." The production closed on June 14, 2009, after 113 performances.

Platt starred as White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser in Roland Emmerich's 2012, a disaster film released November 13, 2009. In August 2010, he was cast in the role of "The Man in Black" in 2011's X-Men spin-off, X-Men: First Class, directed by Matthew Vaughn. In 2012, he starred in the romantic comedy The Oranges alongside Hugh Laurie and Leighton Meester and appeared in the action film Chinese Zodiac. He provided the voice of Wiser the Owl in the 2013 animated film Dorothy of Oz. He appeared in Miramax's 2016 supernatural thriller, The 9th Life of Louis Drax.

Personal life Platt married Mary Camilla Bonsal Campbell on September 12, 1992, at the First Congregational Church in Kittery, Maine. They have three children. As of 1998, Platt had an open airline ticket when filming so he could return home frequently because his family did not accompany him to filming locations. Platt has a home in North Haven, Maine.

Filmography Film YearTitleRoleNotes 1988 Married to the Mob FBI Agent Ed Benitez Working Girl David Lutz 1989 Crusoe Mr. Newby 1990 Flatliners Randy Steckle Postcards from the Edge Neil Bleene 1992 Beethoven Harvey Diggstown Daniel Patrick O'Shannon 'Fitz' Fitzpatrick 1993 The Temp Hartsell Indecent Proposal Jeremy Benny & Joon Eric The Three Musketeers Porthos 1995 Tall Tale Paul Bunyan Funny Bones Tommy Fawkes The Infiltrator Yaron Svoray 1996 Executive Decision Dennis Cahill A Time to Kill Harry Rex Vonner 1998 Dangerous Beauty Maffio Venier Bulworth Dennis Murphy The Impostors Maurice Dr. Dolittle Dr. Mark Weller Simon Birch Ben Goodrich 1999 Lake Placid Hector Cyr Three to Tango Peter Steinberg Bicentennial Man Rupert Burns CinderElmo Fairy Godperson 2000 Ready to Rumble Jimmy 'The King' KingGun Shy Fulvio Nesstra 2001 Don't Say a Word Dr. Louis Sachs 2002 Liberty Stands Still Victor Wallace Ash Wednesday Moran Zig Zag Mr.Walters / The Toad 2003 Pieces of April Jim Burns Hope Springs Doug Reed 2004 Kinsey Herman B Wells 2005 The Ice Harvest Pete Van Heuten Casanova Paprizzio 2007 The Ten Marc Jacobson Martian Child Jeff 2008 Frost/Nixon Bob Zelnick 2009 Wonder Woman Hades (voice) Direct-to-DVD Year One High Priest 2012 Carl Anheuser 2010 Please Give Alex Love & Other Drugs Bruce Jackson Letters to Juliet Bobby Uncredited 2011 X-Men: First Class Man In Black Suit 2012 The Oranges Terry Ostroff CZ12 Lawrence Ginger & Rosa Activist 2013 Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Wiser The Owl (voice) The Tale of the Princess Kaguya Lord Minister of The Right Abe (voice)Gods Behaving BadlyApollo Lucky Them Giles 2014 Chef Ramsey Michel Kill the Messenger Jerome Ceppos Cut Bank Joe Barrett A Merry Friggin' Christmas Hobo Santa 2015 Frank and Cindy Frank Garcia One More Time Alan Sternberg 2016 The Cleanse Ken Roberts The Ticket Bob The 9th Life of Louis Drax Dr. Perez Shut In Dr. Wilson Rules Don't Apply Forester 2017 Max Gaines 2020 I'm Thinking of Ending Things The Voice (voice) 2024 Babes Bernie

Television YearTitleRoleNotes 1987 The Equalizer Norm Jameson Episode: "In the Money" 1988 Miami Vice 'Speed' Stiles Episode: "Baseballs of Death" 1990 Wiseguy Unknown Episode: "Changes Houses" 1995 The Infiltrator Yaron Television movie 2000–2001 Deadline Wallace Benton 13 episodes 2001–2005 The West Wing Oliver Babish 8 episodes 2003 Queens Supreme Judge Jack Moran 13 episodes 2004–2006 Huff Russell Tupper 25 episodes 2007–2008 Nip/Tuck Freddy Prune 4 episodes 2007 The Thick of It Malcolm Tucker Unsold TV pilot George Steinbrenner 8 episodes 2009–2011 Bored to Death Richard Antrem 6 episodes 2010–2013 The Big C Paul Jamison 40 episodes 2012–2018 American Experience Narrator (voice) 11 episodes 2014 Fargo Stavros Milos 5 episodes 2014–2017 Sofia the First Everburn (voice) 2 episodes 2015–2016 Chicago P.D. Dr. Daniel Charles 9 episodes 2015–2023 Chicago Fire 8 episodes Chicago Med 198 episodes 2015 The Good Wife R.D. 3 episodes Bessie Carl Van Vechten Television movie 2015–2017 Modern Family Martin 2 episodes 2016 American Dad! Documentary Narrator (voice) Episode: "Next of Pin" 2017 Chicago Justice Dr. Daniel Charles 2 episodes 2022–2026 The Bear Uncle Jimmy 27 episodes

Theatre YearTitleRoleVenue 2006 Shining City John Biltmore Theatre, Broadway 2009 Guys and Dolls Nathan Detroit Nederlander Theatre, Broadway

Video games YearTitleRole 2001 SSX Tricky Luther-Dwayne Grady 2006 Scarface: The World Is Yours

Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResult 2001 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series The West Wing 1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Supporting Actor – Comedy Dr. Dolittle 2005 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor The Ice Harvest New York Film Critics Online Award Best Supporting Actor Casanova Boston Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor - Television Huff Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series 2006 Tony Award Best Actor in a Play Shining City 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie 2008 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Nip/Tuck Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Frost/Nixon 2010 Gotham Independent Film Award Best Ensemble Cast Please Give Independent Spirit Awards Robert Altman Award 2023 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series The Bear 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series