# John Slattery

John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Roger Sterling in the AMC drama series Mad Men (2007–15), for which he was nominated 4 times for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. For his role he won two Critics' Choice Television Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
He is also known for his film roles including for his portrayal of Ben Bradlee, Jr., in the Best Picture-winning film Spotlight (2015), and the role of Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Iron Man 2 (2010), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). He has also acted in Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Reservation Road (2007), Charlie Wilson's War (2007), The Adjustment Bureau (2011), Churchill (2017), and Confess, Fletch (2022). Slattery made his directorial film debut with God's Pocket (2014).
Slattery's lead television roles include Homefront (1991–1993), Maggie (1998–1999), Jack & Bobby (2004–2005), and neXt (2020). He has also had recurring roles in shows such as Desperate Housewives (2004–2007), 30 Rock (2010), Arrested Development (2013), Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015), Veep (2016), Modern Love (2019), Mrs. America (2020), and The Good Fight (2022).

## Early life and education

Slattery was born in Boston, to Joan (née Mulhern), a retired accountant, and John "Jack" Slattery, a leather merchant. He is one of six children. As a young boy, he dreamed of being a baseball player.
Slattery is of Irish descent and was raised Catholic. He attended high school at Saint Sebastian's School in Newton, Massachusetts (since relocated to Needham, Massachusetts), and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Catholic University of America in 1984.

## Career

Apart from his role on Mad Men, Slattery has had roles such as union organizer Al Kahn on Homefront; Senator Walter Mondale in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon; as political adviser Tommy Flannigan in the HBO series K Street; guest appearances as Will Truman's brother Sam on Will & Grace; as Michael Cassidy, Amy's estranged husband, on Judging Amy; politician Bill Kelley on Sex and the City; principal Dennis Martino on Ed; and college president Peter Benedict on Jack and Bobby. In March 2007, he began a series of appearances on Desperate Housewives portraying Victor Lang, Gabrielle Solis's (Eva Longoria) second husband, until his character's death in Season 4. In December 2009, Slattery appeared on The Colbert Report in a faux commercial advertising gold.
Slattery played Paul Moore, boyfriend of Katherine Watson (portrayed by Julia Roberts) in the film Mona Lisa Smile, and he portrayed Howie in David Lindsay-Abaire's play, Rabbit Hole. He had a small part as a teacher in the film Sleepers. He also appeared as a government promoter in the Clint Eastwood feature Flags of our Fathers and as CIA official Henry Cravely in Charlie Wilson's War. He was cast as Bert Miller, father of the leading female character, in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and in The Adjustment Bureau played Richardson, a mid-level agent in the mysterious paranormal agency called the Bureau. Slattery narrates the audiobook versions of Don DeLillo's 2007 novel Falling Man, Stephen King's 2008 psychological horror novel Duma Key, and Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms.
In 2013, Slattery directed his first feature film, God's Pocket (2014), which he co-wrote with Alex Metcalf. The film, based on a 1983 novel of the same name by Pete Dexter, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by IFC Films.
In 2015, Slattery portrayed journalist Ben Bradlee Jr. in the Academy Award-winning, Golden Globe-nominated drama film Spotlight, and also appeared in the Netflix comedy series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, for which he earned a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series.

## Personal life

Slattery married actress Talia Balsam in 1998 (who also played his on screen wife, Mona, in Mad Men); they have one son together. They live in SoHo, Manhattan.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | City Hall | Detective George | |
| 1996 | Eraser | FBI Agent Corman | |
| 1996 | Sleepers | Rob Carlson | |
| 1997 | My Brother's War | Devlin | |
| 1997 | Red Meat | Stefan | |
| 1998 | Harvest | Sheriff Johnson | |
| 1998 | The Naked Man | Ferris | |
| 1998 | Where's Marlowe? | Kevin Murphy | |
| 2000 | Traffic | ADA Dan Collier | |
| 2001 | Sam the Man | Maxwell Slade | |
| 2002 | Bad Company | Roland Yates | |
| 2003 | The Station Agent | David | |
| 2003 | Mona Lisa Smile | Paul Moore | |
| 2004 | Noise | Detective Rutherford | |
| 2004 | Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights | Bert Miller | |
| 2006 | The Situation | Colonel Carrick | |
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | Bud Gerber | |
| 2007 | Underdog | Mayor | |
| 2007 | Reservation Road | Steve Cutter | |
| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | CIA Director Henry Cravely | |
| 2010 | Iron Man 2 | Howard Stark | |
| 2011 | The Adjustment Bureau | Richardson | |
| 2011 | Return | Bud | |
| 2012 | In Our Nature | Gil | |
| 2013 | Bluebird | Richard | |
| 2014 | God's Pocket | — | Directorial debut; also co-writer |
| 2015 | Ted 2 | Shep Wild | |
| 2015 | Ant-Man | Howard Stark | Cameo |
| 2015 | Spotlight | Ben Bradlee Jr. | |
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | Howard Stark | |
| 2017 | Churchill | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Howard Stark | |
| 2022 | Confess, Fletch | Frank Jaffe | |
| 2023 | Maggie Moore(s) | — | Director |
| 2024 | Unfrosted | Roger Sterling | |
| TBA | Nuremberg | Col. Burton C. Andrus | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | Dirty Dozen: The Series | Pvt. Dylan Leeds | 7 episodes |
| 1989 | Father Dowling Mysteries | Doug | Episode: "The Man Who Came to Dinner Mystery" |
| 1991 | Under Cover | Graham Parker | 13 episodes |
| 1991 | Under Cover | Graham Parker | Television movie |
| 1991 | Before the Storm | Graham Parker | Television movie |
| 1991 | China Beach | Dr. Bob | Episode: "Hello Goodbye" |
| 1991–93 | Homefront | Al Kahn | Main role, 38 episodes |
| 1995 | A Woman of Independent Means | Dwight | Miniseries; uncredited |
| 1995 | Ned and Stacey | Sam | Episode: "Threesome" |
| 1996 | Lily Dale | Will Kidder | Television movie |
| 1997 | Feds | Michael Mancini | Episode: "Smoking Gun" |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Walter Mondale | Episode: "Apollo One" |
| 1998 | Party of Five | Jay Mott | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Becker | Peter | Episode: "Man Plans, God Laughs" |
| 1998–99 | Maggie | Dr. Richard Meyers | Main role, 11 episodes |
| 1998 | Law & Order | Arlen Levitt | Episode: "Tabloid" |
| 1999 | Will & Grace | Sam Truman | 2 episodes |
| 1999–2000 | Judging Amy | Michael Cassidy | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | Sex and the City | Bill Kelley | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Law & Order | Dr. Richard Shipman | Episode: "Stiff" |
| 2001–02 | Ed | Dennis Martino | Recurring role, 17 episodes |
| 2002 | A Death in the Family | Jay Follett | Television movie |
| 2003 | K Street | Tommy Flannegan | 10 episodes |
| 2004 | The Brooke Ellison Story | Ed Ellison | Television movie |
| 2004–05 | Jack & Bobby | Peter Benedict | Main role, 21 episodes |
| 2007 | Desperate Housewives | Victor Lang | Recurring role, 14 episodes |
| 2007–15 | Mad Men | Roger Sterling | Main role, 85 episodes also directed 5 episodes |
| 2009 | The Colbert Report | John Slattery | Episode: "Alicia Keys" |
| 2010 | 30 Rock | Steven Austin | Episode: "Brooklyn Without Limits" |
| 2011 | The Simpsons | Robert Marlowe (voice) | Episode: "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" |
| 2011–12 | The Cleveland Show | Mayor Larry Box (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Arrested Development | Dr. Norman | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp | Claude Dumet | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Sandwich Man | Episode: Gayle Tzemach Lemmon |
| 2015 | Documentary Now! | William H. Sebastian | Episode: "Kunuk Uncovered" |
| 2016 | Veep | Charlie Baird | 6 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Love | — | Director; 3 episodes |
| 2018 | The Romanoffs | Daniel Reese | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Modern Love | Dennis | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Fred Schlafly | Miniseries; 7 episodes |
| 2020 | neXt | Paul LeBlanc | Main role |
| 2021 | Girls5eva | Himself | Episode: "Alf Musik" |
| 2021 | Santa Inc. | Larson (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | The Good Fight | Dr. Lyle Bettencourt | 9 episodes |
| 2023 | What We Do in the Shadows | Himself | Episode: Urgent Care |
| 2023 | What If...? | Howard Stark (voice) | Episode: "What If... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes?" |
| 2025 | Harley Quinn | Floronic Man / Jason Woodrue (voice) | 2 episodes |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1989 | The Lisbon Traviata | Paul | Off-Broadway |
| 1990 | Mi Vida Loca | Paco | Off-Broadway |
| 1992 | The Extra Man | Daniel | Off-Broadway |
| 1993 | Laughter on the 23rd Floor | Kenny | Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway |
| 1995 | Night and Her Stars | Charles Van Doren | The American Place Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 1997 | Three Days of Rain | Walker/Ned | New York City Center, Off-Broadway |
| 2000 | Betrayal | Robert | American Airlines Theatre, Broadway |
| 2006 | Rabbit Hole | Howie | Biltmore Theatre, Broadway |
| 2016 | The Front Page | Hildy Johnson | Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway |

### Video game

| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
| 2012 | Dishonored | Admiral Havelock | |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role | Ref. |
| 2010 | Conversation 16 | The National | Secret Service Agent | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2008 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Mad Men (episode: "Long Weekend") | Nominated |
| 2009 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Mad Men (episode: "Six Month Leave") | Nominated |
| 2010 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Mad Men (episode: "The Gypsy and the Hobo") | Nominated |
| 2011 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Mad Men (episode: "Hands and Knees") | Nominated |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Desperate Housewives (season 4) | Nominated |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Mad Men (season 1) | Nominated |
| 2008 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Mad Men (season 2) | Won |
| 2009 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Mad Men (season 3) | Won |
| 2010 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Mad Men (season 4) | Nominated |
| 2012 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Mad Men (season 5) | Nominated |
| 2015 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Mad Men (season 7) | Nominated |
| 2015 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | Spotlight | Won |
| 2016 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Veep (season 5) | Nominated |
| 2011 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Mad Men (season 4) | Nominated |
| 2012 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Mad Men (season 5) | Nominated |
| 2016 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series | Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp | Nominated |
| 2015 | Independent Spirit Award | Robert Altman Award | Spotlight | Won |
| 2015 | Gotham Independent Film Award | Ensemble Performance | Spotlight | Won |
| 2015 | Satellite Award | Best Cast in a Motion Picture | Spotlight | Won |