Peter MacNicol

Peter C. MacNicol (born April 10, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, the eccentric lawyer John Cage in the FOX comedy-drama Ally McBeal, as Tom Lennox in the sixth season of 24, Alan Birch in Chicago Hope, and as physicist Dr. Larry Fleinhardt in the CBS crime drama NUMB3RS.

Early life
MacNicol was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, the youngest of five children. MacNicol began his career studying at the University of Dallas and University of Minnesota. While in Minnesota, he performed in two seasons at the Guthrie Theater. A New York talent agent spotted him and told him to make a move to Manhattan.

Career
MacNicol was cast in the off-Broadway play, Crimes of the Heart. The production eventually moved to Broadway, and MacNicol won the Theatre World Award. It was also during this production that a casting agent noticed him and called him in to read for his eventual role in Sophie's Choice. In 1981 he appeared in his first film Dragonslayer, opposite Sir Ralph Richardson.

In 1987, he starred in the Trinity Repertory Company's original production of the stage adaptation of All the King's Men, which first appeared at the Dallas Theater Center. This adaptation was developed with the consultation of the author himself.

Among his other stage credits is the Broadway production of Black Comedy/White Lies, MacNicol also has further extensive classical repertory theater background, including the New York Shakespeare Festival in which he played title roles in Richard II and Romeo and Juliet, and appeared in Twelfth Night, Rum and Coke and Found a Peanut.

On film, he played the naive Southern writer who fell in love with Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice; the museum curator Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II and camp director Gary Granger alongside future NUMB3RS costar David Krumholtz in Addams Family Values. Other film credits include HouseSitter and American Blue Note.

MacNicol is known by television viewers for his Ally McBeal performance as eccentric attorney John Cage, for which he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2001. He also starred in the drama NUMB3RS as physicist Dr. Larry Fleinhardt, and had a role as Tom Lennox in the sixth season of the hit Fox show 24. MacNicol reprised his role as Lennox in the film 24: Redemption. He also played a hotel receptionist in one episode of Cheers titled "Look Before You Sleep".

MacNicol has recorded as Doctor Octopus for the first and second seasons of The Spectacular Spider-Man, which premiered in March 2008. In addition, this year, MacNicol has written a script entitled Salvation on Sand Mountain and is attached to the project as an executive producer and director.

MacNicol has joined the cast of Grey's Anatomy. He will play Dr. Stark, a pediatrics attending who will be working closely with Alex.

Personal life
He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife of 23 years who runs The Corie Williams Scholarship Fund, a non-profit foundation that provides scholarships for inner-city children in Los Angeles.

Filmography

 * Dragonslayer (1981)
 * Sophie's Choice (1982)
 * Faerie Tale Theatre (1984)
 * Heat (1986)
 * Ghostbusters II (1989)
 * By Dawn's Early Light (1990)
 * Hard Promises (1991)
 * HouseSitter (1992)
 * The Powers That Be (1992)
 * Addams Family Values (1993)
 * Radioland Murders (1994)
 * Chicago Hope (1994–1995)
 * Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
 * Ally McBeal (1997–2002)
 * Bean (1997) - David Langley
 * Baby Geniuses (1999)
 * Recess: School's Out (2001): Fenwick
 * That Darn Car! (2002)
 * Balto II: Wolf Quest (2002)
 * Crazy Love (2003)
 * Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law (2003–2007): X the Eliminator
 * Breakin' All the Rules (2004)
 * Danny Phantom (2004-2007): Sidney Poindexter (special guest)
 * The Batman (2004–2008): Dr.Langstrom/Man-Bat
 * Justice League Unlimited (2005): Chronos
 * NUMB3RS (2005–2010)
 * 24 (2007)
 * 24: Redemption (2008)
 * The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008-present): Doctor Octopus
 * Ben 10: Ultimate Alien (2010): Oliver