Ronald Joseph Livingston (born June 5, 1967)[1] is an American actor. He is best known for playing Peter Gibbons in Office Space (1999) and Captain Lewis Nixon III in the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001). Livingston's other roles include the films Swingers (1996), Adaptation (2002), The Conjuring (2013), James White (2015), Tully (2018); and the television series Loudermilk (2017–2020), and Boardwalk Empire (2013).
Ron Livingston | |
|---|---|
 Livingston in 2024 | |
| Born | Ronald Joseph Livingston June 5, 1967 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and education
editLivingston was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Kurt Livingston, an aerospace electronics engineer, and Linda (née Rinas), a Lutheran pastor.[2][3][4] He has two brothers and one sister. His younger brother, John, is also an actor. Both his sister, Jennifer Livingston, and brother-in-law, Mike Thompson, were TV news personalities at WKBT-DT in La Crosse, Wisconsin.[5]
Livingston attended Yale University, where he sang with The Whiffenpoofs and graduated in 1989, together with Anderson Cooper.[6][7]
Livingston first acted at Theatre Cedar Rapids after being introduced to the group during a school job shadowing.[8] Livingston moved to Chicago and became involved in the local theatre scene.[citation needed]
Career
edit20th century
editLivingston's first film role was in 1992, in Dolly Parton's Straight Talk. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he was cast in supporting roles in Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade and The Low Life. In 1996, Livingston was cast in Swingers, his first major role.
In 1999, he starred as the male lead, Peter Gibbons, in the comedy cult classic Office Space, which co-starred Jennifer Aniston and was written and directed by Mike Judge.
21st century
editHe has also appeared in HBO's miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) as Captain Lewis Nixon III opposite Donnie Wahlberg and Damian Lewis. Livingston widened his variety of roles when he played a Hollywood agent in Adaptation (2002), a weaselly Ivy League upstart opposite Alec Baldwin's casino boss in The Cooler (2003) and teachers in Winter Solstice and Pretty Persuasion (both in 2005). He also appeared as sardonic writer Jack Berger, Carrie's short-term boyfriend in the fifth and sixth seasons of Sex and the City. He guest starred in the episode "TB or Not TB" of House. In 2006, he starred as FBI negotiator Matt Flannery in the Fox series Standoff, co-starring Rosemarie DeWitt, and he was an advertising spokesman for Sprint Nextel.
In summer 2007, Livingston appeared on the off-Broadway stage in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's In a Dark Dark House, produced by MCC Theater, with Frederick Weller and Louisa Krause. The show ran May–July at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City. In November 2007, the indie film Holly told the story of a Vietnamese girl trafficked into the sex trade in Cambodia. Livingston starred as Patrick, a shady card shark who becomes determined to save Holly from her ill-destined fate.
In 2009, he portrayed flight engineer Maddux Donner in the series Defying Gravity, which was cancelled after its first season.[9]
In 2010, Livingston co-starred in the Jay Roach comedy Dinner for Schmucks.[10] On February 26, 2013, Entertainment Weekly confirmed that he would be joining the cast of HBO's Boardwalk Empire for the fourth season.[11]
In 2013, Livingston co-starred in the indie comedy Drinking Buddies alongside Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson and Anna Kendrick. Drinking Buddies received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 82% based on 97 reviews.[12]
Livingston starred in the Peter Farrelly–produced comedy television series Loudermilk on the Audience network. Livingston played the title role of Sam Loudermilk, a former music critic and recovering alcoholic who works as a substance abuse counsellor and support group leader, and who regularly doles out clever but acid-tongued critiques to his clients, his friends, and random people he encounters. The show premiered in October 2017 and was renewed in April 2018 for a second season that premiered in October 2018. In December 2018, Audience renewed the series for a third season.[13] After Audience ceased operations, the third season premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2020–21.[14][15]
Livingston also appears in the ABC drama A Million Little Things as Jon Dixon, whose suicide causes his group of friends to evaluate their own lives.[16]
Personal life
editLivingston and his Standoff co-star Rosemarie DeWitt began a relationship after meeting on the show.[17] After dating for three years, they married on November 2, 2009, in San Francisco.[18] He was previously engaged to actress Lisa Sheridan.[19]
In May 2013, Livingston and DeWitt announced they had adopted an infant girl born the previous month.[20] In December 2016, the couple announced they had adopted another child, a girl, who was born the previous year.[21][22]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Straight Talk | Soldier | |
| 1994 | Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade | Himself | Short film |
| 1995 | The Low Life | Chad | |
| 1996 | Swingers | Rob | |
| 1997 | Campfire Tales | Rick / RV Driver | Segments: "The Honeymoon" and "The Campfire" |
| The Small Hours | Steve | ||
| 1999 | Dill Scallion | Ron Statlin | |
| Office Space | Peter | ||
| The Big Brass Ring | Sheldon Buckle | ||
| Two Ninas | Marty Sachs | ||
| Body Shots | Trent | ||
| 2000 | Beat | Allen Ginsberg | |
| A Rumour of Angels | Uncle Charlie | ||
| 2002 | Buying the Cow | Tyler Carter Bellows | |
| Adaptation | Marty Bowen | ||
| 2003 | Pirates | Himself | Short |
| The Cooler | Larry Sokolov | ||
| 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out | Donnie Anderson | Television movie | |
| 2004 | Little Black Book | Derek | |
| 2005 | Winter Solstice | Mr. Bricker | |
| Pretty Persuasion | Mr. Anderson | ||
| The Life Coach | Ron | ||
| 2006 | Life Happens | Ben Dreamantowski | Short film |
| Relative Strangers | Richard Clayton | ||
| Holly | Patrick | ||
| 2007 | Music Within | Richard Pimentel | |
| 2008 | American Crude | Johnny | |
| The Spleenectomy | Dr. Bannister | Short film | |
| 2009 | The Time Traveler's Wife | Gomez | |
| 2010 | Dinner for Schmucks | Caldwell | |
| Going the Distance | Will Broderick | ||
| 2011 | Leave | Dr. Lieberman | |
| 10 Years | Paul | ||
| 2012 | Queens of Country | Rance McCoy | |
| The Odd Life of Timothy Green | Franklin Crudstaff | ||
| Game Change | Mark Wallace | Television movie | |
| 2013 | Touchy Feely | Adrian | |
| Drinking Buddies | Chris | ||
| The Pretty One | Charles | ||
| The Conjuring | Roger Perron | Nominated – Fright Meter Award for Best Supporting Actor | |
| The Sidekick | Captain Wonder | Short film | |
| Parkland | James Hosty | ||
| 2014 | Fort Bliss | Richard | |
| We Hate Paul Revere | Paul Revere | Television movie | |
| 2015 | James White | Ben | |
| Addicted to Fresno | Edwin | ||
| Vacation | Ethan | ||
| Digging for Fire | Bob | ||
| 2016 | The 5th Wave | Oliver Sullivan | |
| Shangri-La Suite | Elvis | ||
| 2017 | Shimmer Lake | Kyle Walker | |
| Lucky | Bobby Lawrence | ||
| Welcome to America | Himself | Short | |
| 2018 | Tully | Drew / husband | |
| The Long Dumb Road | Francois | ||
| The Professor | Henry | ||
| The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot | Flag Pin | ||
| 2020 | Holly Slept Over | Peter | |
| 2021 | The Tender Bar | Future JR | Voice |
| The Same Storm | Jim Lamson / Ben's Dad | ||
| 2022 | The Estate | James | |
| 2023 | The Flash | Henry Allen | |
| Sitting in Bars with Cake | Fred | ||
| The Featherweight | Bob Kaplan |
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | JAG | Corporal David Anderson | Episode: "Scimitar" |
| 1996 | Townies | Kurt Pettiglio | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Timecop | Eliot Ness | Episode: "Public Enemy" |
| Players | Jordan | Episode: "Con Law" | |
| 1998 | That's Life | Mitch | 6 episodes |
| 2000 | Then Came You | Max | Episode: "Then Came Cousin Aidan" |
| 2001 | Band of Brothers | Lewis Nixon | Miniseries; 10 episodes Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film |
| 2001–2002 | The Practice | A.D.A. Alan Lowe | 8 episodes |
| 2002–2003 | Sex and the City | Jack Berger | 8 episodes |
| 2005–2007 | American Dad! | Bob Memari | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2005 | House | Dr. Sebastian Charles | Episode: "TB or Not TB" |
| 2006 | Family Guy | Video Store Clerk | Voice, episode: "Stewie B. Goode" |
| Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King | Howard Fornoy | Episode: "The End of the Whole Mess" | |
| 2006–2007 | Standoff | Matt Flannery | 18 episodes |
| 2009 | Defying Gravity | Maddux Donner | 1 season |
| WWII in HD | Charles Scheffel | Voice, 5 episodes | |
| 2011 | Issues | The Nothing | |
| 2013 | Boardwalk Empire | Roy Phillips | 6 episodes Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
| 2015 | Adventure Time | Morty Rogers | Voice, episode: "Chips & Ice Cream" |
| Saints & Strangers | John Carver | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| 2016–2021 | Search Party | Keith | 12 episodes |
| 2017 | Dice | Sydney Stein | 2 episodes |
| Kings of Con | Lyle | 1 episode | |
| 2017–2020 | Loudermilk | Sam Loudermilk | lead role, 3 seasons |
| 2018–2023 | A Million Little Things | Jonathan Dixon | recurring role |
| 2018 | The Romanoffs | Alex Myers | Episode: "Bright and High Circle" |
| 2021 | Creepshow | Mac Kamen | Voice, episode: "The Things in Oakwood's Past" |
| 2022–2023 | Pantheon | Dr. Peter Waxman | Voice, 16 episodes |
References
edit- ^ "Today in History". The Boston Globe. The Associated Press. June 5, 2012. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ "Iowa briefs (third item)". Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque). Associated Press. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
[Ron] Livingston, 34, grew up in Marion where his parents, Kurt and Linda Livingston, still live. His route to Hollywood went from Marion High School to Yale, where he studied English and theater.
- ^ "'Practice' makes perfect : Ron Livingston joins top-rated ABC law team". The Washington Times. September 25, 2001. Retrieved October 25, 2013 – via Newsbank.(subscription required)
- ^ "Remembering Rinas - Marion Times - Online at". Mariontoday.org. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
- ^ "Married Wisconsin Anchors Leaving Station in May". adweek.it. March 18, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
- ^ "Media Library - Yale Whiffenpoofs Alumni Association, Inc". www.whiffalumni.com. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
- ^ "Ron Livingston Went to Yale with Anderson Cooper - YouTube". www.youtube.com. September 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ^ "Ron Livingston speaks about Theatre Cedar Rapids". YouTube. March 27, 2008. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
- ^ Lewinski, John (October 22, 2009). "Set visits reveal ghosts of Defying Gravity set destruction". TVSquad. Archived from the original on October 25, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ Siegel, Tatiana (October 25, 2009). "'Dinner' for Ron Livingston". Variety. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ Hibberd, James (February 26, 2013). "Ron Livingston joins 'Boardwalk Empire' season 4". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
- ^ "Drinking Buddies". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
- ^ Haring, Bruce (July 27, 2018). "'Loudermilk' Second Season, East St. Louis Documentary Premiere Dates Set By AT&T Audience Network". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 10, 2021). ""Loudermilk" Picked Up By Amazon's Prime Video, Including Unaired Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 27, 2021). "'Loudermilk' Season 3 Premieres Today On Amazon Prime Video – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 27, 2018). "A Million Little Things' New ABC Drama Series Recasts Role". Deadline. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
- ^ "Ron Livingston Gets Married". People. Archived from the original on November 15, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ "Ron Livingston Marries Former Costar". Us Weekly. November 12, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ Kappes, Serena (July 19, 2006). "Celeb Spotlight: Ron Livingston". People. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ "Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt Welcome Daughter Gracie James". People. May 23, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2019.Archived June 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Juneau, Jen (December 15, 2016). "Rosemarie DeWitt Reveals She Welcomed a Daughter Through Adoption: 'She's a Little Sweetheart'". People. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Zach (December 15, 2016). "Rosemarie DeWitt and Ron Livingston Adopt Daughter Esperanza Mae". E! News. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
External links
edit
- Ron Livingston at IMDb
- Ron Livingston at the TCM Movie Database
