# Tony Goldwyn

Anthony Howard Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. He made his debut appearing as Darren in the slasher film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), and had his breakthrough for starring as Carl Bruner in the fantasy thriller film Ghost (1990), which earned him a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. He went on to star as Harold Nixon in the biographical film Nixon (1995), which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, and as Neil Armstrong in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon (1998).
Goldwyn voiced the titular character in the Disney animated film Tarzan (1999), and portrayed Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai (2003), Johnathon "John" Collingwood in the horror film The Last House on the Left (2009), Andrew Prior in the Divergent film series (2014–2015) and Paul Cohen in King Richard (2021), the latter of which earned him a second nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award. He starred as President Fitzgerald Grant III in the ABC legal/political drama Scandal (2012–2018) and directed a number of episodes for the series, for which he won a Peabody Award. Since 2024, he has starred as District Attorney Nicholas Baxter on Law & Order.

## Early life

Goldwyn was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Jennifer Howard and film producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Goldwyn's paternal grandparents were mogul Samuel Goldwyn, a Polish Jewish immigrant from Warsaw, and actress Frances Howard, who was originally from Nebraska. His maternal grandparents were playwright Sidney Howard and actress Clare Eames. One of his maternal great-great-grandfathers was Maryland Governor and Senator William Thomas Hamilton. Goldwyn attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts (where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree), and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He additionally studied acting at HB Studio in New York City.

## Career

Following his departure from drama school, Goldwyn began acting in guest star roles in the mid-1980s. Goldwyn had his breakthrough for playing Carl Bruner, friend-turned-betrayer of Patrick Swayze's character Sam Wheat, in the fantasy thriller Ghost. It was the highest grossing film of 1990 and the most rented videocassette of 1991. For his performance, Goldwyn earned a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. Goldwyn appeared on the comedy series Designing Women, in which he played a young interior designer named Kendall Dobbs, an HIV-positive man who was dying from AIDS and who asked the women of Sugarbakers to design his funeral. In the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Goldwyn played astronaut Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11. He also voiced the title character in the 1999 animated feature film Tarzan which was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and grossed over $400 million. He reprised the role in the video games Disney's Tarzan Untamed and Kingdom Hearts.
Goldwyn had a recurring role on the NBC-Universal drama Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Frank Goren, brother of lead character Robert Goren, played by Vincent D'Onofrio. He also had acting and directing duties for the first season of Dexter for Showtime (brother John Goldwyn is executive producer). As a stage actor, Goldwyn has appeared twice in Off-Broadway shows at Second Stage Theatre and on Broadway at Circle in the Square Theatre. At Second Stage Theatre he appeared in Theresa Rebeck's Spike Heels (1992) alongside Kevin Bacon and Julie White. In the summer of 2006 at Second Stage Theatre he starred opposite Kate Burton in another Rebeck play, The Water's Edge. Goldwyn played J. D. Sheldrake, the philandering business executive, in the Broadway musical Promises, Promises starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth. The cast recording was released on June 23, 2010, with Goldwyn in three tracks.
Goldwyn played Captain von Trapp (opposite Laura Osnes as Maria) in a concert performance of The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall on April 25, 2012. The benefit included opera singer Stephanie Blythe as the Mother Abbess, Brooke Shields as Baroness Schraeder and Patrick Page as Max. As a director, Goldwyn has directed four feature films, A Walk on the Moon, Someone Like You, The Last Kiss, and Conviction. He has also directed many episodes of television series such as Without a Trace, The L Word, Dexter, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Grey's Anatomy and Scandal. In 2014, he directed the pilot episode of the WE tv series, The Divide, of which he also served as executive producer along with Oscar-nominated screenwriter Richard LaGravenese. Goldwyn starred as President Fitzgerald Grant III in the ABC legal/political drama Scandal from 2012 to 2018. In 2013, Goldwyn was cast in the Lifetime original film, Outlaw Prophet, as Warren Jeffs. In 2014, he appeared in Divergent as Andrew Prior, Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and Tris' (Shailene Woodley) father. In 2015, he signed on to star in James Gunn's horror thriller film The Belko Experiment. In June 2018, Goldwyn was cast as Ben Lefevre in the Netflix supernatural series Chambers. On 20 January 2021 during the inauguration of Joe Biden, Goldwyn was the host of the Virtual Parade Across America aired on television networks, organized by the Biden Inaugural Committee. Also in 2021, Goldwyn appeared in King Richard, which was acclaimed and earned several accolades. In 2023, Goldwyn played Theodore Roosevelt in an Audible audiobook recording of the autobiography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, and had a supporting role in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. In 2024, Goldwyn joined the cast of Law & Order, portraying Manhattan District Attorney Nicholas Baxter.

## Personal life

Goldwyn has been married to Jane Michelle Musky, a production designer, since 1987. They have two daughters.
Additionally, Goldwyn's brother John is a former executive of Paramount Pictures and the executive producer of Dexter. His brother Peter is also a film producer and the current President of Samuel Goldwyn Films. A former president of the Creative Coalition, Goldwyn is also heavily involved with arts advocacy. He is also a spokesperson of the AmeriCares Foundation.
Goldwyn was an avid supporter of Hillary Clinton and in 2016 directed a commercial featuring his Scandal co-star Kerry Washington, as well as Viola Davis, Ellen Pompeo, and Shonda Rhimes to support Clinton's presidential campaign. Goldwyn also serves as an ambassador for The Innocence Project, a non-profit organization that works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted and reform the criminal justice system and on the Board of Governors for the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF).

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives | Darren | |
| 1987 | Gaby: A True Story | David | |
| 1990 | Ghost | Carl Bruner | |
| 1992 | Kuffs | Ted Bukovsky | |
| 1992 | Traces of Red | Steve Frayn | |
| 1993 | The Pelican Brief | Fletcher Coal | |
| 1993 | Taking the Heat | Michael Norell | |
| 1994 | The Last Tattoo | Capt. Michael Starwood | |
| 1995 | The Last Word | Stan | |
| 1995 | Nixon | Harold Nixon | |
| 1995 | Reckless | Tom Fitzsimons | |
| 1995 | Pocahontas: The Legend | Sir Edwin Wingfield | |
| 1996 | The Substance of Fire | Aaron Geldhart | |
| 1997 | Trouble on the Corner | Jeff Stewart | |
| 1997 | Kiss the Girls | Dr. William "Will" Rudolph | |
| 1998 | The Lesser Evil | Frank O'Brian | |
| 1999 | Tarzan | Tarzan | Voice |
| 2000 | The 6th Day | Michael Drucker | |
| 2000 | Bounce | Greg Janello | |
| 2001 | An American Rhapsody | Peter Sandor | |
| 2002 | Abandon | Dr. David Schaffer | |
| 2002 | Joshua | Joshua | |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Colonel Bagley | |
| 2003 | Ash Tuesday | Elliott | |
| 2005 | The Godfather of Green Bay | Big Jake Norquist | |
| 2005 | American Gun | Frank | |
| 2005 | Romance and Cigarettes | Kitty's First Love | Uncredited |
| 2005 | The Sisters | Vincent Antonelli | |
| 2005 | Ghosts Never Sleep | Jared Dolan | |
| 2009 | PoliWood | Himself | Documentary |
| 2009 | The Last House on the Left | John Collingwood | |
| 2011 | The Mechanic | Dean Sanderson | |
| 2014 | Divergent | Andrew Prior | |
| 2015 | The Divergent Series: Insurgent | Andrew Prior | |
| 2016 | The Belko Experiment | Barry Norris | |
| 2017 | All I Wish | Adam | |
| 2017 | Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House | Ed Miller | |
| 2021 | King Richard | Paul Cohen | |
| 2022 | The People We Hate at the Wedding | Dr. Goulding | |
| 2023 | Plane | Scarsdale | |
| 2023 | Murder Mystery 2 | Silverfox | |
| 2023 | Oppenheimer | Gordon Gray | |
| 2023 | Ezra | Bruce | Also director and producer |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | St. Elsewhere | Henry | Episode: "Schwarzwald" |
| 1987 | Matlock | Dr. Mark Campion | Episode: "The Doctors" |
| 1987 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Paul | Episode: "Mabel and Max" |
| 1987 | Designing Women | Kendall | Episode: "Killing All the Right People" |
| 1988 | L.A. Law | Chris Arnett | Episode: "Fetus Completus" |
| 1988 | Hunter | Byron | Episode: "Murder He Wrote" |
| 1988 | Favorite Son | Tim | Miniseries |
| 1988 | Murphy Brown | Bobby Powell | Episode: "Respect" |
| 1989 | Dark Holiday | Ken Horton | Television film |
| 1991 | Tales from the Crypt | Dr. Carl Fairbanks | Episode: "Abra Cadaver" |
| 1991 | L'Amérique en otage | Jody Powell | Television film |
| 1992 | The Last Mile | Scott | Short |
| 1993 | Taking the Heat | Michael | Television film |
| 1993 | Love Matters | Geoffrey | Television film |
| 1994 | Doomsday Gun | Donald Duvall | Television film |
| 1995 | Under Fire | James Warren | Pilot |
| 1995 | A Woman of Independent Means | Robert Steed | Miniseries |
| 1995 | Truman | Clark Clifford | Television film |
| 1996 | The Boys Next Door | Jack Palmer | Television film |
| 1997 | The Song of the Lark | Fred Ottenburg | Short |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Neil Armstrong | Miniseries |
| 2001 | Frasier | Roger | Episode: "Love Stinks" |
| 2001 | American Masters | Himself | Episode: "Goldwyn The Man and His Movies" |
| 2004–2005 | The L Word | Burr Connor | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Without a Trace | Greg Knowles / Rick Knowles | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Dexter | Dr. Emmett Meridian | Episode: "Shrink Wrap" |
| 2007–2008 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Frank Goren | 4 episodes |
| 2009 | The Good Wife | Judge Henry Baxter | Episode: "Lifeguard" |
| 2011 | Drop Dead Diva | Alan Roberts | Episode: "Closure" |
| 2012 | The Unknown | Bill Watson | Episode: "Spare the Child" |
| 2012–2018 | Scandal | President Fitzgerald Grant III | Main role |
| 2014 | Outlaw Prophet | Warren Jeffs | Television film |
| 2016 | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee | Bus Driver | Episode: "Special: Full Frontal Election Documentary" |
| 2019 | Chambers | Ben Lefevre | Main role |
| 2019 | Blue Sky Metropolis | Narrator | Miniseries |
| 2020 | Lovecraft Country | Samuel Braithwhite | Episode: "Whitey's on the Moon" |
| 2021 | The Hot Zone: Anthrax | Bruce Edwards Ivins | 6 episodes |
| 2024–present | Law & Order | Nicholas Baxter | Main role |
| 2024 | Hacks | Bob Lipka | Episode: "Par for the Course" |
| 2025 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Nicholas Baxter | Episode: "Calculated" |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role |
| 1999 | Tarzan | Tarzan |
| 2001 | Tarzan: Untamed | Tarzan |
| 2002 | Kingdom Hearts | Tarzan |

### Director

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1999 | A Walk on the Moon | Also producer |
| 2001 | Someone like You | |
| 2004 | Without a Trace | Episode: "American Goddess" |
| 2004–2005 | The L Word | 3 episodes |
| 2006 | Grey's Anatomy | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | The Last Kiss | |
| 2006 | Law & Order | Episode: "Thinking Makes It So" |
| 2006–2007 | Dexter | 4 episodes |
| 2007 | Private Practice | Episode: "In Which Sam Receives an Unexpected Visitor..." |
| 2007 | Six Degrees | Episode: "Ray's Back" |
| 2007 | Kidnapped | Episode: "Acknowledgement" |
| 2007 | Alibi | |
| 2007 | Dirty Sexy Money | Episode: "The Nutcracker" |
| 2010 | Conviction | Also producer |
| 2010 | Damages | Episode: "Flight's at 11:08" |
| 2010–2012 | Justified | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Hawthorne | Episode: "To Tell the Truth" |
| 2012–2018 | Scandal | 9 episodes |
| 2014 | The Divide | 2 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2019 | Chambers | Episode: "In the Gloaming" |
| 2023 | Ezra | Also producer |

### Audiobook

| Year | Title | Author |
| 1991 | The Grifters | Jim Thompson |
| 1992 | Tenth Commandment | Lawrence Sanders |
| 2000 | Dead Irish (Dismas Hardy Series #1) | John Lescroart |
| 2005 | The Millionaires | Brad Meltzer |
| 2007 | The Devil in the White City | Erik Larson |
| 2007 | A Death in Vienna | Daniel Silva |
| 2007 | Kate Remembered | A. Scott Berg |
| 2008 | Thunderstruck | Erik Larson |
| 2023 | Crowded Hours: The True Story of Alice Roosevelt and America’s First Political Dynasty | Alice Roosevelt Longworth |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
| 1988 | Tom Jones | Tom Jones | |
| 1989 | The Sum of Us | Jeff | |
| 1990 | Carthaginians | Hark | |
| 1991 | Picnic | Hal Carter | |
| 1992 | Spike Heels | Andrew | Second Stage Theater |
| 1994 | Lady in the Dark | Charley Johnson | New York City Center |
| 1995–1996 | Holiday | Johnny Case | Circle in the Square Theatre |
| 2006 | The Water's Edge | Richard | Second Stage Theater |
| 2010–2011 | Promises, Promises | J. D. Sheldrake | Broadway Theatre |
| 2010 | 24 Hour Plays Broadway | Performer | |
| 2010 | Broadway Backwards 5 | Performer | |
| 2012 | The Sound of Music | Captain von Trapp | Carnegie Hall |
| 2018 | Network | Max Schumacher | Belasco Theatre |
| 2020 | The Inheritance | Henry Wilcox | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |

## Discography

| Year | Title | Album |
| 2010 | "Wanting Things" | Promises, Promises |
| "Christmas Day" | feat. Ashley Amber | Promises, Promises |
| "It's Our Little Secret" | feat. Sean Hayes | Promises, Promises |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1991 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ghost | Nominated |
| 1996 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Nixon | Nominated |
| 2010 | Philadelphia Film Festival | Philadelphia Film Festival for Audience Award — Honorable Mention | Conviction | Won |
| 2013 | Peabody Awards | Excellence in Radio and Television | Scandal | Won |
| 2014 | Prism Awards | Performance in a Drama Series | Scandal | Nominated |
| 2022 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Ensemble | King Richard | Nominated |
| 2022 | Hollywood Critics Association Awards | Best Cast Ensemble | King Richard | Nominated |
| 2022 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | King Richard | Nominated |
| 2022 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | King Richard | Nominated |