Background and career
Eric Michael Bogosian (; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and attended the University of Chicago and Oberlin College. His play Talk Radio was a finalist for the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Bogosian also wrote and starred in the 1988 film adaptation, winning the Silver Bear for Best Actor. As an actor, he has appeared in plays, films, and television series throughout his career. His television roles include Captain Danny Ross in Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2006–10), Lawrence Boyd on Billions (2017–18), Daniel Molloy on Interview with the Vampire (2022–present), and Gil Eavis on Succession (2018–23). He also starred as Arno in the Safdie brothers' film Uncut Gems (2019). Bogosian has also been involved in New York City ballet production, and has written several novels as well as the historical nonfiction Operation Nemesis (2015), based on the program to assassinate perpetrators of the Armenian genocide. He has received three Obie Awards and a Drama Desk Award, and is a two-time fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Eric Bogosian (Armenian: Էրիք Պօղոսեան) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina (née Jamgochian), a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. He spent his early childhood in Watertown, Massachusetts, home to a large Armenian-American community that included his grandparents, survivors of the Armenian genocide. His family moved to nearby Woburn in 1960. He became interested in theater while attending Woburn Memorial High School, and based his play subUrbia on his youth in Woburn's Four Corners neighborhood. He attended the University of Chicago before graduating from Oberlin College.
Bogosian is an author and actor known for his plays Talk Radio and subUrbia, as well as numerous one-man shows. In 1983, Bogosian appeared in the music video for Jim Capaldi's song "That's Love" with his wife, Jo Bonney. In recent years he has starred on Broadway in Donald Margulies' Time Stands Still, published three novels, and was featured on Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Captain Danny Ross.
Between 1980 and 2000, six major solos written and performed by Bogosian were produced Off-Broadway, garnering him three Obie Awards as well as the Drama Desk award. His first two solos, Men Inside and funHouse were presented at the New York Shakespeare Festival. His third, Drinking in America, was produced by American Place Theater. Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead, and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee were all produced commercially Off-Broadway by Frederick Zollo. Bogosian is also the author of six produced plays, including 1987's Talk Radio. Talk Radio was a finalist for Pulitzer Prize for Drama, but lost to Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy. In 2007, a Broadway revival of Talk Radio directed by Robert Falls starred Liev Schreiber. subUrbia was directed by Robert Falls and produced by Lincoln Center Theater in 1994. Other titles include Griller (Goodman Theater); Humpty Dumpty (The McCarter); Red Angel (Williamstown Theater Festival) and 1+1 (New York Stage and Film). Bogosian's one-man drama Notes from Underground has had several productions, most recently starring Jonathan Ames at Performance Space 122. In addition to his many appearances in his solo work and starring in his play Talk Radio, Bogosian has also starred in Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (LAByrinth) and Donald Margulies's Time Stands Still directed by Daniel Sullivan (Manhattan Theater Club/Broadway).
Bogosian's play Talk Radio was adapted to film in 1988 by Oliver Stone, garnering Bogosian the prestigious Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear. The film version of subUrbia (1996) was directed by Richard Linklater. His play Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll was adapted to film in 1991. He has appeared in several other films, including Under Siege 2: Dark Territory and Wonderland. In addition, he has been featured in films by such directors as Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Taylor Hackford, Atom Egoyan, and Agnieszka Holland.
In television, Bogosian is best known for his starring role as Captain Danny Ross in the series Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In addition, he has appeared as a guest star on dramas and in 1994 created with Steven Spielberg the series High Incident for ABC television. He portrayed Barney Greenwald, defense attorney, in the TV film The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. He also appeared in the episode "His Story" on Scrubs as Dr. Cox's therapist and was recurring character Lawrence Boyd in Billions's second season. In 1993, Bogosian played the role of Stan Paxton, Larry's ex-standup partner in the series 'The Larry Sanders Show'. He has also appeared in HBO's show Succession as Senator Gil Eavis, and in the main cast of the AMC show Interview with the Vampire as Daniel Molloy, the reporter who interviews the titular vampire. Bogosian's "incredible performance" during the show's second season was highlighted by Ro Rusak of Nerdist in its Best TV and Film Moments of 2024. That role was particularly important to Bogosian as he was a longtime fan of the vampire genre: "When I first came to New York as a young theatre intern, Frank Langella was doing Dracula on Broadway. I was there with a girlfriend, and we were probably in the last row of the balcony. And I felt like he was breathing down my neck. That power, that energy that he could create, thrilled me." That thrill embedded itself in Bogosian, awakening an inclination toward vampires that has persisted for decades. "I love the eroticism of vampire stuff. I love these movies and plays more than anything. I petitioned Francis Ford Coppola to be in his Dracula, but unfortunately, I wasn't a big enough star," Bogosian shrugs. "But he did invite me to the set, and I got to hang around with him and look at all the storyboards for that movie. That was really exciting." As the years went on, Bogosian's fascination crystallized into a specific desire for his career: One way or another, he was determined to play a vampire. "It's just always on my mind," Bogosian smiles. "I think there's something about the power of a vampire. And hey, the biting the neck stuff is just sexy to me, so that doesn't hurt."
