Finn Wittrock

FINN WITTROCK

Date of Birth: October 28, 1984

Finn Wittrock is an American stage, television, and film actor who, after over a decade in the industry, broke out as one of the hottest young performers in Hollywood when he was cast as a murderous sociopath with a killer smile in the FX anthology series American Horror Story: Freak Show.

Peter "Finn" Wittrock, Jr. was born in Lenox, Massachusetts to Kate Claire Crowley and Peter Wittrock. While his mother is a professor, his father is an actor, something that strongly influenced Finn's own career aspirations. During Finn's childhood in Massachusetts, his father worked at the Shakespeare & Company theatre, a place where Finn would spend much of his time. "I would be the pageboy or random messenger child in the plays," he revealed to Interview magazine in 2014. "I would just sit there and listen every night. It's probably where I learned the most, honestly."

Finn and his family, which includes a younger brother named Dylan, eventually moved to Los Angeles, where Finn began attending Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. After graduation, he was offered a place at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City; however, he turned it down in the hopes of making a name for himself in Los Angeles.

After landing only a few small roles on shows such as Cold Case and ER, Finn decided to re-audition for Juilliard, and once again, he was accepted. While there, he became an active member of Juilliard's Drama Division and performed in several of the school's productions. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting in 2008.

Finn continued working in theater after finishing college, including starring as Romeo in Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Romeo and Juliet in Washington D.C. In 2009, he made his daytime television introduction when he was cast on the long-running soap opera All My Children. He starred as heartthrob Damon Miller, a role he kept until 2011. "Soap operas are like boot camps for film actors, so I really learned a lot," Finn told IndieWire in 2014. "It was a masterclass in working for the camera."

During his stint on the soap, Finn made his big screen debut in the independent crime drama Twelve (2010), starring Chace Crawford and Emma Roberts.

After All My Children, Finn continued working consistently in both theater and television. He starred in the Off-Broadway production of Tony Kushner's The Illusion, and made his Broadway debut in a revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. For his performance as Harold "Happy" Loman, he won a Theatre World Award and the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Performer. He also made guest-starring appearances on Harry's Law, Criminal Minds, and most notably, Masters of Sex.

Finn had a breakout year in 2014. First, he landed a role as Gabriel in the dramatic romance film Winter's Tale starring Colin Farrell, followed by the epic adventure Noah starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connolly. He then appeared in the Emmy-winning HBO TV movie The Normal Heart alongside Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, and Julia Roberts.

Finn's collaboration with Ryan Murphy on The Normal Heart helped him land the part that would soon have everyone in the world talking about him. As the charming and murderous Dandy Mott in American Horror Story: Freak Show, Finn blew audiences and critics away, earning himself instant fame, as well as an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.

In an interview with Variety in 2015, Finn said working on American Horror Story was an experience like he'd never had before. "I’ve always loved horror movies. I love that darkness... I don’t like gratuitous stuff, but I’m pretty willing to go into crazyland. I think it’s fun. ... I get to come home from my job and be like, 'Guess what I did today, honey? I bathed in my mother’s blood. I chased Emma Roberts through the woods in a clown outfit.' Just a normal day at the office."

Finn's breakout role in AHS afforded him several more movie opportunities, including a supporting role in the Oscar-winning biographical dramedy The Big Short (2015) starring A-listers Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, and Steve Carell.

Later in 2015, Finn would return to the Ryan Murphy horror series for American Horror Story: Hotel, this time as two completely different characters — a drug-addled supermodel named Tristan Duffy and a suave Italian ghost named Rudy Valentino.

The talented actor's career has shown no signs of slowing down, as he recently appeared in the sixth season of American Horror Story, as well as the critically acclaimed musical La La Land (2016) starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Also in 2016, he earned his first lead role alongside Lily Rabe and Rachael Leigh Cook in the romantic comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016) and starred as Cassio in the New York Theatre Workshop's production of Othello.

In the biopic Judy (2019), he played Judy Garland's fifth and last husband, Mickey Deans, opposite Renée Zellweger.

Finn has been married to fellow Julliard graduate and actress Sarah Roberts since October 2014. In addition to acting, he enjoys spending time in the kitchen. When asked by Out magazine what he enjoys cooking the most, he said, "I'm a classic New York strip steak guy, and my dad has a special mashed potato recipe that he's allowed me to have, so I do that whenever possible."

Filmography:

A Futile & Stupid Gesture (2017)
Landline (2017)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016)
La La Land (2016)
The Big Short (2015)
The Submarine Kid (2015)
My All-American (2015)
Unbroken (2014)
Noah (2014)
Winter's Tale (2014)
Twelve (2010)