Silas Weir Mitchell

**Silas Weir Mitchell**, born **Silas Weir Mitchell Neilson**, is an American actor who portrays Monroe on NBC's *Grimm*.

## Biography

Mitchell was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is named after an ancestor, the 19th century physician and author Silas Weir Mitchell.

He attended The Montgomery Country Day School, formerly in Gladwyne PA for his elementary years; is a graduate of St. Paul's School, a college-preparatory boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire, (1987); Brown University (1991) in Rhode Island, where he majored in Theatre and Religion; and the University of California, San Diego, Master of Fine Arts program (1995). After graduating from Brown, he spent some time in New York, acting in minor theatre productions.

Mitchell has had recurring guest roles in such television series as 24 as Eli Stram; Numb3rs; My Name Is Earl as Earl's ex-con friend Donny Jones; and Prison Break as escapee Charles "Haywire" Patoshik. On the DVD commentary for Prison Break, he mentions he had previously auditioned for the roles of Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell and Lincoln Burrows. Mitchell plays the role of an insane prison inmate in both Prison Break and My Name Is Earl. He also appears in Rat Race (2001) as Lloyd (The Hardware Store Guy), and in The Whole Ten Yards as Yermo. One of his most notable roles is that of mentally unstable recurring character James Hogan on Cold Case. Mitchell also made appearances on CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Law & Order: SVU, Burn Notice as charming but unstable arms dealer Seymour, Dexter, Monk, Six Feet Under, X-Files, The Closer, and Boomtown. He also appeared on the show CSI in the Season 6 episode "Room Service". In 2008, Silas made an appearance in seventh and final season of the U.S. cop show The Shield. In 2009, he appeared in A Fork in the Road, alongside Jaime King, and in Halloween 2. Mitchell also appeared in Fox's TV show, Mental with Chris Vance, also from Prison Break. In October 2011, Mitchell was cast as Monroe in the NBC TV series Grimm.

## Trivia

* Full name is Silas Weir Mitchell Neilson. He was named after an ancestor, the 19th century physician and author, Silas Weir Mitchell.
* He spent some time after graduation in New York acting in minor theatre productions, then attended a three-year theatre program at the University of California, San Diego, where he earned an M.F.A. degree in 1995.
* A 1991 graduate of Brown University in Rhode Island with majors in theatre and religion.
* Graduated in 1987 from St. Paul's School, a college preparatory boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire.
* Title of Masters thesis - "What We Make Is Not Ours", (MFA, 1995, University of California, San Diego).
* Founder and president of the production company, Phantom Limbs Plays & Pictures.
* Has three sisters and one brother.
* His blue Doberman is named Atticus.
* Grew up in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.
* Auditioned to play Nick Vera on Cold Case (2003).
* Has two cats and a dog.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.sps.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=204&nid=635795&rc=0&bl=%2Fpodium%2Fpush%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fs%3D36%26i%3D19562
2. ↑ http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2012/03/silas\_weir\_mitchell\_on\_playing.html
3. ↑ http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2012/03/silas\_weir\_mitchell\_on\_playing.html
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 http://articles.philly.com/2012-03-23/news/31229995\_1\_hansel-and-gretel-grimm-star-monroe
5. ↑ http://brown.edu/Departments/Theatre\_Speech\_Dance/alums/list.html
6. ↑ http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2012/03/silas\_weir\_mitchell\_on\_playing.html
7. ↑ http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2012/03/silas\_weir\_mitchell\_on\_playing.html
8. ↑ http://theatre.ucsd.edu/people/newsletter/Archive/1011/pdfs/040411-0925.pdf