# Luke Kirby

Luke Farrell Kirby (born June 29, 1978) is a Canadian actor. He played the role of Lenny Bruce in the Amazon Prime Video comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

## Early life

Kirby was born in Hamilton, Ontario to American parents. His mother is from Brooklyn, New York City, and his father grew up "along the eastern seaboard." His parents moved from New York City to Canada in 1974. He studied drama at the National Theatre School of Canada, a theatre conservatory focusing on classical works, and graduated in 2000.

## Career

Kirby has performed since his teens, after he was accepted at The National Theatre School of Canada. He graduated in May 2000, and after two auditions began working on two separate projects: the CBS/Alliance mini-series Haven, and director Léa Pool's feature Lost and Delirious (2001).
Soon after, he portrayed Morgan in the Factory Theatre's production of Geometry in Venice in Toronto, a performance that brought him a Best Actor nomination at the Dora Mavor Moore Awards. This was quickly followed by the role of Patroclus in Theatre for a New Audience's 2001 production of Troilus and Cressida, directed by Peter Hall in New York City.
In 2006, Kirby performed in the Women's Project Theater production of Jump/Cut. His other theatre credits include Judith Thompson's premiere of Habitat at Canadian Stage, and Daniel Brooks premiere of The Good Life at the Tarragon Theatre (both in Toronto). His latest theatre venture was in New York City, where he had the lead role in Defender of the Faith (Irish Repertory Theatre).
Kirby's first feature film role was that of Jake Hollander in Lost and Delirious (2001), followed by Halloween: Resurrection (2002), where he played Jim. His other film credits include lead roles in Peter Wellington's feature Luck and Mambo Italiano directed by Émile Gaudreault. Mambo Italiano received a gala presentation at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival to a standing ovation, and earned Kirby a Canadian Comedy Award Nomination. He then played a part written for him in the feature film Shattered Glass, produced by Cruise/Wagner. In 2007, he had the lead role of Ray Dokes opposite Rachael Leigh Cook and Keith Carradine in the Canadian feature All Hat. In 2009, he appeared opposite Lindsay Lohan in Labor Pains.
In television, one of Kirby's favourite roles was in the TMN/Showcase mini-series Slings & Arrows, featuring Canadian actors and directed by his friend Peter Wellington. Kirby was nominated for a Gemini Award for his role in Sex Traffic, a mini-series for Channel 4 and CBC that aired in the fall of 2004 under British director David Yates. That year, Kirby received a second Gemini nomination for his guest-star role in the dramatic series The Eleventh Hour. In the fall of 2005, he was a series regular in HBO's Tell Me You Love Me, directed by Patricia Rozema, whose first season aired in September 2007. He starred as Jimmy Burns in the 2009–2010 Canwest Global series Cra$h & Burn.
In 2017, Kirby joined the cast of the award-winning Amazon Prime Video comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, portraying comedian Lenny Bruce, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
From December 2019 through January 2020, Kirby starred in the off-Broadway play Judgment Day at New York's Park Avenue Armory.

## Filmography
### Film

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released. |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Lost and Delirious | Jake Hollander | |
| 2002 | Halloween: Resurrection | Jim | |
| 2003 | Mambo Italiano | Angelo Barberini | |
| 2003 | Shattered Glass | Rob Gruen | |
| 2003 | Luck | Shane Bradley | |
| 2004 | Window Theory | Brad | |
| 2004 | The Human Kazoo | Zacharia | Short film |
| 2005 | The Greatest Game Ever Played | Frank Hoyt | |
| 2007 | All Hat | Ray Dokes | |
| 2007 | The Stone Angel | Leo | |
| 2009 | Labor Pains | Nick Steinwald | |
| 2011 | Take This Waltz | Daniel | |
| 2012 | The Samaritan | Ethan | |
| 2013 | The Boston Post | Sam | Short film |
| 2013 | Empire of Dirt | Russell | |
| 2014 | True Man | Client | Short film |
| 2015 | Touched with Fire | Marco | |
| 2015 | Sure Thing | Bill | Short film |
| 2017 | A Dog's Purpose | Jim Montgomery | |
| 2017 | Another Kind of Wedding | Misha | |
| 2018 | Little Woods | Bill | |
| 2019 | Glass | Pierce | |
| 2020 | Percy | Peter Schmeiser | |
| 2021 | No Man of God | Ted Bundy | |
| 2022 | The Independent | Lucas Nicoll | |
| 2023 | Boston Strangler | F. Lee Bailey | |
| 2023 | Dark Harvest | Officer Jerry Ricks | |
| 2024 | Out of My Mind | Chuck | Post-production |

### Television

Key :
| † | Denotes television programs that have not yet aired. |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Give Me Your Soul... | Narrator | Television documentary |
| 2001 | Haven | Daniel Weinzweig | Television movie |
| 2003–2005 | Slings & Arrows | Jack Crew | Main role (season 1), guest role (season 2) |
| 2004 | Sex Traffic | Callum Tate | Television miniseries |
| 2005 | Bury the Lead | Josh Casey | Episode: "Hit Delete" |
| 2005 | It's Me...Gerald | Dr. Dan | Episode: "How Do You Know You've Hit Bottom?" |
| 2006 | Northern Town | Brian | Main role |
| 2007 | Tell Me You Love Me | Hugo | 8 episodes |
| 2009 | Flashpoint | Evan Hewson | Episode: "Last Dance" |
| 2009 | Law & Order | Bobby Amato | Episode: "The Drowned and the Saved" |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Andre Haslum | Episode: "Folie a Deux" |
| 2009–2010 | Cra$h & Burn | Jimmy Burn | Main role |
| 2012–2014 | Republic of Doyle | Clyde Cowley | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Elementary | Aaron Ward | Episode: "The Rat Race" |
| 2012 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Braden Leddy | Episode: "Vanity's Bonfire" |
| 2013 | Person of Interest | Chris Beckner | Episode: "2 Pi R" |
| 2013 | Blue Bloods | Det. Wolf Landsman | Episode: "Men in Black" |
| 2013–2016 | Rectify | Jon Stern | Main role |
| 2015 | The Astronaut Wives Club | Max Kaplan | Main role |
| 2015 | Show Me a Hero | Edwin E. McAmis | Episode 2 |
| 2015 | The Good Wife | Harry McGrath | Episode: "Cooked" |
| 2017–2023 | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Lenny Bruce | Main role (season 4), recurring role (seasons 1-3, and 5) |
| 2017 | The Good Fight | Harry McGrath | Episode: "Self Condemned" |
| 2017 | Bull | Harry Kemp | Episode: "Dirty Little Secrets" |
| 2018 | Blindspot | Christophe Bruyere aka Junior | 2 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | The Deuce | Gene Goldman | Main role (seasons 2-3) |
| 2018 | Sorry for Your Loss | Tripp | Episode: "Welcome to Palm Springs" |
| 2018 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Andrew Leibowitz | Episode: "Hell's Kitchen" |
| 2019 | The Twilight Zone | Dylan | Episode: "Not All Men" |
| 2019 | Tales of the City | Tommy Nelson | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Little Voice | Jeremy | 4 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Gossip Girl | Davis Calloway | 11 episodes |
| 2022 | Panhandle | Bell Prescott | Main role; also producer |
| 2023 | The Company You Keep | Jones Malone | Episode: "Against All Odds" |
| 2023 | Dr. Death | Dr. Nathan Gamelli | Main role (season 2) |
| TBA | Étoile † | TBA | Pre-production |

### Podcasts

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2022 | Marvel's Wastelanders: Doom | Maximus | Episode: "Chapter One: A Super Hero Walks into a Bar" |
| 2023 | Supreme: The Battle for Roe | Roy Lucas | 4 episodes |

## Theatre

| Year | Play | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Geometry in Venice | Morgan | Factory Theatre |
| 2001 | Troilus and Cressida | Patroclus / Deiphobus | American Place Theatre |
| 2001 | Habitat | Sparkle | Bluma Appel Theatre |
| 2002 | The Good Life | Gord | Tarragon Theatre Mainspace |
| 2006 | Jump/Cut | Dave | Julia Miles Theater |
| 2007 | Defender of the Faith | Thomas | Irish Repertory Theatre |
| 2013–2014 | Too Much, Too Much, Too Many | Pastor Hidge | Black Box Theatre |
| 2019–2020 | Judgement Day | Thomas Hudetz | Wade Thompson Drill Hall |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2001 | Dora Mavor Moore Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role - Play | Geometry in Venice | Nominated |
| 2004 | Canadian Comedy Awards | Best Performance by a Male – Film | Mambo Italiano | Nominated |
| 2005 | Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Sex Traffic | Nominated |
| 2005 | Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role Dramatic Series | The Eleventh Hour | Nominated |
| 2010 | Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Cra$h & Burn | Nominated |
| 2013 | ACTRA Awards | Outstanding Performance – Male | The Samaritan | Nominated |
| 2019 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Won |
| 2020 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Nominated |
| 2022 | Chlotrudis Awards | Best Actor | No Man of God | Nominated |
| 2024 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Nominated |
| 2024 | Astra Awards | Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Nominated |