# Ken Olin

Kenneth Edward Olin (born July 30, 1954) is an American actor, television director, and producer. As an actor, Olin is known for his role as Michael Steadman in the ABC drama series Thirtysomething (1987–1991), for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama nomination in 1990. Olin later began working behind the scenes, as a director and producer. His credits as a producer include Alias (2001–2006), Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011), and This Is Us (2016–2022). Olin is married to actress Patricia Wettig.

## Career
### Acting

Olin made several guest appearances on episodic primetime TV in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His first series regular role was on the short-lived NBC comedy-drama Bay City Blues in 1983. He later joined the cast of NBC police drama Hill Street Blues playing Detective Harry Garibaldi from 1984 to 1985, and from 1985 to 1986 co-starred on the CBS prime time soap opera Falcon Crest as Father Christopher Rossini. Olin also guest-starred on Murder, She Wrote and Hotel before he was cast as Michael Steadman, one of the lead roles in the ABC drama series Thirtysomething. Debuting in 1987, the series received critical acclaim, setting a new bar for realism in the realm of prime-time drama. For his performance, Olin was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1990.
In 1996, Olin played a leading role in the short-lived CBS crime drama EZ Streets. From 1998 to 1999, he played the leading role in another short-lived CBS series, medical drama L.A. Doctors. He appeared along with wife Patricia Wettig in the 1995 television film Nothing But the Truth, and well as in Telling Secrets (1993) with Cybill Shepherd, The Advocate's Devil (1997) alongside Mariska Hargitay, and Evolution's Child (1999). His film credits include roles in Ghost Story (1981), Queens Logic (1991), and 'Til There Was You (1997).
From 2007 to 2011, Olin had a recurring role opposite wife Patricia Wettig in the ABC drama series Brothers & Sisters. From 2015 to 2017, he had a recurring role in the CBS drama series, Zoo. In 2020, ABC ordered a sequel for Thirtysomething and Olin was set to return alongside Mel Harris, Timothy Busfield and Patricia Wettig; however, the project remains in development limbo.

### Producing and directing

Olin directed six episodes of Thirtysomething. He also directed television movies The Broken Cord (1992), Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992), In Pursuit of Honor (1995) and Phenomenon II (2003), as well as White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994) for Buena Vista Pictures. He directed episodes of L.A. Doctors, Judging Amy, Felicity, The West Wing, 23 episodes of Alias, 20 episodes of Brothers & Sisters, Sleepy Hollow, and 20 episodes of This Is Us.
Olin has been an executive producer on several television dramas, starting with the ABC action drama Alias (2001-2006). From 2006 to 2011, he was a producer on ABC's family drama Brothers & Sisters, and also appeared on a recurring basis. His wife, Patricia Wettig, was also a regular cast member on the show. In the summer of 1990, Olin directed Wettig in a production of "My Mother Said I Never Should" at the Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar College.
His other credits include Breaking News (2002), The Mob Doctor (2012-2013) and Sleepy Hollow. In 2016, he began producing NBC's family drama This Is Us, which received four Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series nominations during its run.

## Personal life

Olin was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of a former Peace Corps official and pharmaceutical company owner. He was raised in Highland Park, Illinois. He graduated from The Putney School in Putney, Vermont, in 1972. He then matriculated into the 1976 class at the University of Pennsylvania. He is married to thirtysomething co-star, Patricia Wettig, with whom he has a son, Clifford, and a daughter, Roxanne, who appeared on The City.

## Filmography
### as Actor

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | The Paper Chase | Timothy | "The Man Who Would Be King" |
| 1979 | Women at West Point | Board Member | TV movie |
| 1981 | Ghost Story | Young Sears James | |
| 1983–84 | Bay City Blues | Rock Padillo | series regular (8 episodes) |
| 1984 | Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac | David Frank | TV movie |
| 1984–85 | Hill Street Blues | Detective Harry Garibaldi | recurring role (29 episodes) |
| 1985–86 | Falcon Crest | Father Christopher | series regular (17 episodes) |
| 1986 | There Must Be a Pony | Jay Savage | TV movie |
| 1986 | Murder, She Wrote | Perry Revere | "Deadline for Murder" |
| 1987 | Tonight's the Night | Henry Fox | TV movie |
| 1987 | I'll Take Manhattan | Nat Lammerman | Miniseries |
| 1987 | Hotel | Mark Fredricks | "Class of '72" |
| 1987 | The Hitchhiker | Steve | "Best Shot" |
| 1987–91 | thirtysomething | Michael Steadman | series regular (85 episodes) Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama (1990) Nominated – Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series (1991) |
| 1988 | A Stoning in Fulham County | Jim Sandler | TV movie |
| 1988 | Police Story: Cop Killer | Officer Manny Mandell | TV movie |
| 1990 | Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston | Charles Stuart | TV movie |
| 1991 | Queens Logic | Ray | |
| 1993 | Telling Secrets | Detective Jay Jensen | TV movie |
| 1995 | Nothing But the Truth | Doctor Peter Clayman | TV movie |
| 1995 | Dead by Sunset | Brad Cunningham | Miniseries |
| 1996–97 | EZ Streets | Detective Cameron Quinn | series regular (12 episodes) |
| 1997 | 'Till There Was You | Gregory | |
| 1997 | The Advocate's Devil | Abe Ringel | TV movie |
| 1998–99 | L.A. Doctors | Dr. Roger Cattan | series regular (24 episodes) |
| 1999 | Evolution's Child | James Mydell | TV movie |
| 1999 | Y2K | Nick Cromwell | TV movie |
| 2001 | Say Uncle | unknown role | TV movie |
| 2001–02 | Alias | David McNeil | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Breaking News | Richard Sloan | "Pilot" |
| 2005 | The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie | Ken Olin | |
| 2007–2011 | Brothers & Sisters | David Caplan | recurring role (30 episodes) |
| 2012 | Americana | Martin Garano | TV movie |
| 2013 | Criminal Minds | Bruce Morrison | "All That Remains" |
| 2015–17 | Zoo | Professor Robert Oz / Robert Oz | recurring role (10 episodes) |
| 2018 | The Cloverfield Paradox | Radio Voice (Voice Role) | |
| 2020 | thirtysomething(else) | Michael Steadman | TV movie |

### as Director

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1989–91 | thirtysomething | 6 episodes * "No Promises" (1989) "Courting Nancy" (1989) "Pilgrims" (1989) "The Other Shoe" (1990) "Guns and Roses" (1990) "Second Look" (1991) |
| 1998–1999 | L.A. Doctors | 4 episodes * "Maybe It's You" (1998) "True Believers" (1999) "O Captain, My Captain" (1999) "Forty-Eight Minutes" (1999) |
| 1992 | The Broken Card | TV movie |
| 1992 | Doing Time on Maple Drive | TV movie |
| 1994 | White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf | |
| 1995 | In Pursuit of Honor | TV movie |
| 1996 | EZ Streets | "Every Picture Tells a Story" |
| 1999 | Judging Amy | "Witch Hunt" |
| 1999–2000 | Felicity | 2 episodes * "Family Affairs" (1999) "True Colors" (2000) |
| 2000 | Freaks and Geeks | "The Diary" |
| 2000 | The West Wing | 3 episodes * "Take Out the Trash Day" (2000) "The White House Pro-Am" (2000) "In This White House" (2000) |
| 2001–05 | Alias | 23 episodes Nominated – OFTA Television Award for Best Direction in a Drama Series (2002) * "So It Begins" (2001) "Doppleganger" (2001) "Mea Culpa" (2001) "Page 47" (2002) "Q & A" (2002) "Rendezvous" (2002) "The Enemy Walks In" (2002) "The Indicator" (2002) "Passage: Part 1" (2002) "Passage: Part 2" (2002) "Double Agent" (2003) "A Dark Turn" (2003) "Second Double" (2003) "The Two" (2003) "Repercussions" (2003) "Conscious" (2003) "Crossings" (2004) "Hourglass" (2004) "Resurrection" (2004) "Authorized Personnel Only: Part 1" (2005) "Authorized Personnel Only: Part 2" (2005) "The Orphan" (2005) "Prophet Five" (2005) |
| 2002 | Breaking News | 2 episodes * "Pilot" (2002) "Hi, Noonan" (2002) |
| 2003 | The Wonderful World of Disney | "Phenomenon II" |
| 2006 | Introducing Lennie Rose | TV movie |
| 2006–2011 | Brothers & Sisters | 20 episodes * "Patriarchy" (2006) "Family Portrait" (2006) "Mistakes Were Made: Part 2" (2006) "Matriarchy" (2007) "Unaired Pilot" (2007) "Home Front" (2007) "Domestic Issues" (2007) "Prior Commitments" (2008) "Troubled Waters: Part 1" (2009) "Troubled Waters: Part 2" (2009) "Mexico" (2009) "The Road Ahead" (2009) "Breaking the News" (2009) "The Wig Party" (2009) "Time After Time: Part 1" (2010) "Time After Time: Part 2" (2010) "On the Road Again" (2010) "A Righteous Kill" (2010) "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (2011) "Walker Down the Aisle" (2011) |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | "Pilot" |
| 2012 | The Mob Doctor | 2 episodes * "Protect and Serve" (2012) "Fluid Dynamics" (2012) |
| 2013–14 | Sleepy Hollow | 4 episodes * "Blood Moon" (2013) "The Sin Eater" (2013) "Bad Blood" (2014) "This Is War" (2014) |
| 2015 | The Slap | 4 episodes * "Harry" (2015) "Manolis" (2015) "Connie" (2015) "Ritchie" (2015) |
| 2015 | The Man in the High Castle | "The Illustrated Woman" |
| 2016–2022 | This Is Us | 32 episodes * "The Big Three" (2016) "The Big Day" (2017) "Jack Pearson's Son" (2017) "Moonshadow" (2017) "A Father's Advice" (2017) "Still There" (2017) "Number One" (2017) "Number Two" (2017) "The Car" (2018) "The Wedding" (2018) "Nine Bucks" (2018) "Vietnam" (2018) "Sometimes" (2018) "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" (2018) "Songbird Road: Part Two" (2019) "Her" (2019) "Strangers" (2019) "The Dinner and the Date" (2019) "So Long, Marianne" (2019) "New York, New York, New York" (2020) "Strangers: Part Two" (2020) "Forty: Part One" (2020) "Forty: Part Two" (2020) "Honestly" (2020) "In the Room" (2021) "I've Got This" (2021)" "The Adirondacks" (2021) "The Challenger" (2022) "Katoby" (2022) "The Train" (2022) "Us" (2022) |
| 2017 | The Arrangement | "Pilot" |
| 2019 | Grand Hotel | "Pilot" |
| 2024 | Tracker | 4 episodes * "Klamath Falls" (2024) "Missoula" (2024) "Springland" (2024) "The Storm" (2024) |

### as Producer

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1995 | Kansas | TV movie (Executive Producer) |
| 2002 | Breaking News | TV movie (Executive Producer) |
| 2002–2006 | Alias | Executive Producer (83 episodes) Co-Executive Producer (22 episodes) Nominated – Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama (2004) |
| 2003 | The Wonderful World of Disney | "Phenonmenon II" (Executive Producer) |
| 2006 | Introducing Lennie Rose | TV movie (Executive Producer) |
| 2006 | Enemies | "Pilot" (Executive Producer) |
| 2006–2011 | Brothers & Sisters | Executive Producer (106 episodes) |
| 2007 | Brothers & Sisters: Family Album | TV movie (Executive Producer) |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | "Pilot" (Executive Producer) |
| 2012–13 | The Mob Doctor | Executive Producer (7 episodes) |
| 2013–14 | Sleepy Hollow | Executive Producer (20 episodes) |
| 2016–2022 | This Is Us | Executive Producer (105 episodes) Nominated – Black Reel Award for Outstanding Drama Series (as Producer) (2018) Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series (as Producer) (2017-2019) Nominated – Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama (2019) |
| 2017 | The Arrangement | "Pilot" (Executive Producer) |
| 2019 | Grand Hotel | "Pilot" (Executive Producer) |