# Michael Kostroff

Michael Kostroff (born May 22, 1961) is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program The Wire as defense attorney Maurice Levy. Kostroff starred in the fifth season of the series and appeared in all four earlier seasons as a guest star.

## Life and career

Kostroff is best known for his five seasons playing drug lawyer Maury Levy on the HBO series The Wire, and from his recurring appearances on shows including The Blacklist, Billions, The Good Wife, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as his role as Marshall Pike on the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance. He was the executive producer and creator of So Random!. He played Peter Madoff, brother of Bernie Madoff (Robert De Niro), in HBO's The Wizard of Lies, and Shepsie Tirschwell in David Simon's 2020 miniseries The Plot Against America.
From 2002 to 2003, Kostroff performed in the first national tour of Mel Brooks' Broadway hit The Producers, and from 2003 to 2004, he played the comic villain Thénardier in the touring company of Les Misérables, a role he reprised for its 25th anniversary tour in 2010.
Kostroff is the author of four books: Letters from Backstage (a chronicle of his time on the road with two Broadway tours); The Stage Actor's Handbook: Traditions, Protocols, and Etiquette for the Working and Aspiring Professional; Audition Psych 101 (based on his workshop of the same name); and Advice from 'The Working Actor' (a textbook based on the “Working Actor” advice column in the weekly publication Backstage; Kostroff was also one of the writers of that column).
He also volunteered on the Barack Obama campaign.
Kostroff is the brother of Nina Kostroff Noble, a television producer who was an executive producer of The Wire.
In September 2024, he was cast in a recurring role on the upcoming superhero series Spider-Noir.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1989 | Return from the River Kwai | Radio Man | Unreleased in the US |
| 1997 | Liar Liar | Tom the Attorney | |
| 1998 | Blunt | Det. Prang | |
| 2008 | Eagle Eye | Jeweler | |
| 2011 | Hit List | Mr. Weller | |
| 2014 | Best Man in the Dark | Ricky Feruci | |
| 2016 | Norman | Steve Goldfarb | |
| 2016 | Hard Sell | Mr. Harrison | |
| 2017 | Molly's Game | Louis Butterman | |
| 2018 | Most Likely to Murder | Uncle Fred | |
| 2019 | The Sunlit Night | Critic #3 | |
| 2019 | Standing Up, Falling Down | Rabbi | |
| 2022 | Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game | Chairman Warner | |
| 2023 | Maybe I Do | Manny | |
| 2023 | Chupa | Taylor | |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1980 | The Dream Merchants | Brooklyn A.D. | Mini-series; 2 episodes |
| 1992 | Knots Landing | Orderly #1 | Episode: "Dedicated to the One I Love" |
| 1994 | The Steven Banks Show | Pepper | Episode: "Miss Janie Regrets" |
| 1995 | Partners | Harried Man | Episode: "City Hall" |
| 1995 | General Hospital | Francis | Unknown episodes |
| 1997–1998 | NewsRadio | Carl | Episode: "Planbee" Episode: "Who's the Boss: Part 2" |
| 1998 | Dharma & Greg | Lou | Episode: "Much Ado During Nothing" |
| 1999 | Ladies Man | Alan | Episode: "No Cinco, Seis!" |
| 1999 | Port Charles | Johnny LaLa | Unknown episodes |
| 2000–2001 | The Geena Davis Show | Mr. Kern | Episode: "Motherly Advice" Episode: "Momma Bear" Episode: "White Moms Can't Jump" |
| 2001 | Providence | Floral Designer | Episode: "You Can Count on Me" |
| 2001 | Men, Women & Dogs | Steve | Episode: "Sick as a Dog" |
| 2001 | Felicity | Bill | Episode: "A Perfect Match" |
| 2001–2003 | The King of Queens | Mr. Thompson | Episode: "No Retreat" Episode: "Food Fight" Episode: "Affidavit Justice" |
| 2002 | Malcolm in the Middle | Toadie | Episode: "Company Picnic: Part 1" Episode: "Company Picnic: Part 2" |
| 2002–2008 | The Wire | Maurice Levy | Recurring (seasons 1-4)/main cast (season 5); 21 episodes |
| 2004 | The West Wing | Richard Squire | Episode: "A Change Is Gonna Come" |
| 2004 | 8 Simple Rules | Photographer | Episode: "A Very C.J. Christmas" |
| 2005 | ER | Community Theater Director | Episode: "The Show Must Go On" |
| 2005 | The Inside | Rick Byers | Episode: "The Perfect Couple" |
| 2005–2006 | Boston Legal | N/A Dr. David Cannon | Episode: "The Ass Fat Jungle"; uncredited Episode: "Helping Hands" |
| 2005–2006 | Veronica Mars | Mr. Pope | Episode: "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang" Episode: "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner" Episode: "The Quick and the Wed" |
| 2006 | Charmed | Mr. Metcalf | Episode: "Payback's a Witch"; uncredited |
| 2006 | Commander in Chief | Reporter Cy | Episode: "State of the Unions" |
| 2006 | The Closer | Dr. Aaron Sands | Episode: "Heroic Measures" |
| 2006 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | David Langenfeld | Episode: "Nevada Day: Part 1" Episode: "Nevada Day: Part 2" |
| 2007 | In Case of Emergency | Mr. Hunt | Episode: "Stuck in Amber" |
| 2007 | The Wedding Bells | Milton Crest | Episode: "Partly Cloudy, with a Chance of Disaster" |
| 2007 | Life | McAllister | Episode: "A Civil War" |
| 2008 | Without a Trace | Dr. Cappell | Episode: "Hard Reset" |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | Judge Timothy Nelson | Episode: "Help!" |
| 2008 | Dan's Detour of Life | Dan Ford | Lead role; unsold pilot |
| 2009–2010 | Sonny with a Chance | Marshall Pike | Recurring role; 15 episodes |
| 2009 | Brothers & Sisters | Realtor | Episode: "From France with Love" |
| 2010 | Cold Case | Wilson Katz (1974) | Episode: "The Runaway Bunny" |
| 2010 | The Middle | Steve | Episode: "TV or Not TV" |
| 2010 | Party Down | Jeff Gold | Episode: "Jackal Onassis Backstage Party" |
| 2010 | Sons of Tucson | Mr. Shuldiner | Episode: "Chicken Pox" |
| 2010 | Weeds | Stroller Salesman | Episode: "A Yippity Sippity" |
| 2011–2021 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Evan Braun | Recurring role; 8 episodes |
| 2012 | NYC 22 | Brandon Ken | Episode: "Self Cleaning Oven" |
| 2012 | Damages | Judge Richard Gearheart | Recurring role; 5 episodes |
| 2012 | Made in Jersey | Hank | Episode: "Ridgewell" |
| 2013 | Blue Bloods | Mr. Wojcik | Episode: "Framed" |
| 2013 | Banshee | Wicks Vanderwick | Episode: "Wicks" |
| 2013–2016 | The Good Wife | Charles Froines | Episode: "The Bit Bucket" Episode: "Parallel Construction, Bitches" Episode: "All Tapped Out" Episode: "Landing" |
| 2014 | The Actress | Dr. Hersham | Episode: "The Dermatologist" |
| 2014 | Black Box | Jacob Myers | Episode: "Jerusalem" |
| 2014 | F to 7th | Mike | Episode: "Deny, Deny, Deny" Episode: "Down to Zero" |
| 2014 | Louie | Subway Man | Episode: "Pamela: Part 1" |
| 2014 | Gotham | Officer Tannenbaum | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015 | The Blacklist | Det. Martin Wilcox | Episode: "Ruslan Denisov" Episode: "The Deer Hunter" Episode: "The Major" Episode: "Tom Keen" |
| 2015 | Deadbeat | Barrold Weinbergerstein | Episode: "Last Dance with Edith Jane" Episode: "The Blowfish Job" Episode: "The Polaroid Flasher" |
| 2015 | Elementary | Perry Franklin | Episode: "The Best Way Out Is Always Through" |
| 2016 | Bosch | Hank Myers | Episode: "Victim of the Night" |
| 2016 | Vinyl | Allen Charnitski | Episode: "E.A.B." |
| 2016 | Luke Cage | Dr. Noah Burstein | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2016 | Madam Secretary | Ambassador Chuck Willis | Episode: "Tectonic Shift" |
| 2017 | The Wizard of Lies | Peter Madoff | TV movie |
| 2017–2018 | The Deuce | Rizzi | Recurring role; 8 episodes |
| 2018 | Instinct | John Raymond | Episode: "Blast from the Past" |
| 2018 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Robert Fenton | Episode: "A Diamond in the Rough" |
| 2018 | Indoor Boys | Richard | Recurring role; 3 episodes |
| 2018–2021 | Billions | Mick Nussfaur | Episode: "Hell of a Ride" Episode: "Maximum Recreational Depth" Episode: "Victory Smoke" |
| 2020 | Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector | Dr. Allen Trask | Episode: "Game On" |
| 2020 | The Plot Against America | Shepsie Tirchwell | Main cast; 6 episodes |
| 2020 | The Baker and the Beauty | Eli Weiss | Episode: "Get Carried Away" |
| 2020 | The George Lucas Talk Show | Himself | Episode: "Stu-D2 1138 on the Binary Sunset Sith" |
| 2021 | Prodigal Son | Dr. Raymond Stengel | Episode: "Sun and Fun" |
| 2022 | 9-1-1: Lone Star | Dr. Patt | Episode: "Down to Clown" |
| 2022 | Animal Kingdom | David | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Law & Order | Evan Braun | Episode: "Gimme Shelter - Part Three" |
| 2022 | NCIS | Felix Lassiter | Episode: "Love Lost" |
| 2023 | Platonic | Frank Schaeffer | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | Carol & the End of the World | (voice) | Episode: "The Distraction" |
| 2024 | The Rookie | Rafael | Episode: "Trouble in Paradise" |
| 2025 | Watson | William Betancourt | Episode: "Patient Question Mark" |
| 2025 | Spider-Noir | | Recurring role |
Music video :
| Year | Artist | Title |
| 2008 | Demi Lovato | "La La Land" |