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Shea Whigham

Highest Rated: 96% Fancy Dance (2023)

Lowest Rated: 0% Term Life (2016)

Birthday: Jan 5, 1969

Birthplace: Tallahassee, Florida, USA

Prolific film and television actor Shea Whigham appeared in dozens of roles over the course of his years in the business, most notably "Tigerland" (2000), HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" (HBO, 2010-14), and on the Hulu limited series "Homecoming" (Hulu, 2018). Whigham was born in Tallahassee but was raised in the suburban town of Lake Mary, Florida. He went to Junior College in Tyler, Texas and eventually transferred to State University of New York, Purchase. It was there that Whigham enrolled in the school's small but intensive acting program, and subsequently met a number of fellow student actors who would later become close friends and collaborators. After graduation Whigham and a few of his SUNY Purchase classmates moved to New York City to take a crack at becoming theater actors. Whigham would later go on to co-found the NYC theater troupe, the Rorschach Group, with his friend and fellow actor Kirk Acevedo. By the late 90s Whigham was landing small parts on television but it was his co-starring role in the 2000 war drama "Tigerland" that first put him on the map. That film, which was directed by Joel Schumacher, also starred Colin Farrell and Matthew Davis. After his impressive work in "Tigerland" Whigham began landing regular work as a film and TV actor. He appeared in films like "All the Real Girls" (2003) and "Water" (2004), as well as TV shows like "Medical Investigation" (NBC, 2004-05) and "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009). By the 2010s Whigham began landing more substantial parts in several critically-acclaimed films like "Take Shelter" (2011), "The Lincoln Lawyer" (2011), "American Hustle" (2013), "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013), "Kong: Skull Island" (2016), and "First Man" (2018). It was Whigham's television work during this period, however, that would truly make him a recognizable face to millions. In 2010 Whigham began playing Eli Thompson on the Emmy-winning period gangster drama "Boardwalk Empire." The series ran for five seasons and also starred Steve Buscemi, Kelly MacDonald and Michael Shannon. After "Boardwalk Empire" ended in 2014, Whigham would go on to nab recurring parts in some of the most acclaimed television shows of the mid- to late-2010s, including "Fargo" (FX, 2014- ), "Vice Principals" (HBO, 2016-17), "Waco" (Paramount Network, 2018), and "Homecoming" (Hulu, 2018), the latter of which starred Julia Roberts in her first starring TV role. In 2019 Whigham had a very big year. In addition to appearing alongside Joaquin Phoenix in the Oscar-nominated actor's transformative title role in "Joker" (2019), Whigham was also cast in a recurring role in the HBO remake of "Perry Mason" (HBO, 2020). The limited series, which was set in Los Angeles in the 1930s, began filming in 2019.

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Highest rated movies

96% 80% Fancy Dance Watchlist 96% 94% Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Watchlist 95% 94% Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Watchlist 95% Lake George Watchlist
92% 81% Take Shelter
Watchlist
92% 74% American Hustle
Watchlist
92% 86% Silver Linings Playbook
Watchlist
90% 45% Vampires vs. The Bronx Watchlist 87% 68% First Man Watchlist
86% 57% Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Jasper Briggs (Character) - 2025
95% No Score Yet Lake George Don (Character) - 2024
96% 80% Fancy Dance Frank (Character) - 2023
82% 54% Eileen Jim Dunlop (Character) $1.4M 2023
96% 94% Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Jasper Briggs (Character) $172.0M 2023
95% 94% Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse George Stacy (Voice) $381.2M 2023
48% 54% South of Heaven Schmidt (Character) - 2021
78% 85% Small Engine Repair Packie Hanrahan (Character) $73.0K 2021
50% 40% The Gateway Parker (Character) - 2021
59% 82% F9 The Fast Saga Stasiak (Character) $173.0M 2021
42% 38% The Quarry The Man (Character) - 2020
90% 45% Vampires vs. The Bronx Unknown (Character) - 2019
82% 71% To the Stars Hank Deerborne (Character) - 2019
68% 89% Joker Detective Burke (Character) $335.4M 2019
72% 65% Low Tide Sergeant Kent (Character) - 2019
50% 83% City of Lies Frank Lyga (Character) $565.7K 2018
64% 61% Vice Wayne Vincent (Character) $47.8M 2018
87% 68% First Man Gus Grissom (Character) $44.8M 2018
62% 66% Sicario: Day of the Soldado Andy Wheeldon (Character) $50.1M 2018
32% 52% The Catcher Was a Spy Joe Cronin (Character) $706.6K 2018
81% 57% Beirut Gary Ruzak (Character) $5.0M 2018
36% 23% Death Note James Turner (Character) - 2017
76% 70% Kong: Skull Island Cole (Character) $168.0M 2017
0% 32% Term Life Matty Miller (Character) $13.0K 2016
20% 49% A Country Called Home Cole (Character) - 2015
82% 53% Cop Car Man (Character) $128.0K 2015
41% 42% Lila & Eve Detective Holliston (Character) $37.9K 2015
62% 63% Non-Stop Agent Marenick (Character) $91.7M 2014
79% 83% The Wolf of Wall Street Captain Ted Beecham (Character) $116.9M 2013
92% 74% American Hustle Carl Elway (Character) $150.1M 2013
71% 84% Fast & Furious 6 Stasiak (Character) $238.7M 2013
92% 86% Silver Linings Playbook Jake (Character) $132.1M 2012
50% 54% Savages Chad (Character) $47.3M 2012
74% 64% Big Miracle Conrad (Character) $20.1M 2012
66% 58% This Must Be the Place Ernie Ray (Character) $142.2K 2011
No Score Yet 14% Catch .44 Billy (Character) - 2011
92% 81% Take Shelter Dewart (Character) $1.7M 2011
83% 82% The Lincoln Lawyer Corliss (Character) $58.0M 2011
36% 53% Radio Free Albemuth Philip K. Dick (Character) $5.6K 2010
47% 37% Barry Munday Donald (Character) - 2010
70% 63% Machete Sniper (Character) $26.6M 2010
No Score Yet 38% Spooner Stan Manfretti (Character) - 2009
86% 57% Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans Justin (Character) $1.7M 2009
67% 41% The Killing Room Tony Mazzolla (Character) - 2009
76% 49% Splinter Dennis (Character) $12.9K 2008
35% 49% Pride and Glory Kenny Dugan (Character) $15.7M 2008
57% 41% First Snow Vincent (Character) $213.0K 2006
66% 82% Wristcutters: A Love Story Eugene (Character) $231.5K 2006
9% 46% Man of the House Ranger Holt (Character) $19.1M 2005
No Score Yet No Score Yet Out of This World Russell Reade (Character) - 2004
72% 77% All the Real Girls Tip (Character) $548.7K 2003
No Score Yet No Score Yet Submerged Capt. Oliver Naquin (Character) - 2001
77% 71% Tigerland Wilson (Character) $139.3K 2000

TV

Credit
29% 89% Waco: The Aftermath Mitch Decker (Character) 2023-2024
80% 76% Perry Mason Pete Strickland (Character) 2020 2023
89% 75% Gaslit G. Gordon Liddy (Character) 2022
No Score Yet No Score Yet Perry Mason FREE Pete Strickland (Character) 2020
69% 66% Modern Love Peter (Character) 2019
79% 65% Homecoming Thomas Carrasco (Character) 2018
68% 76% Waco Richard rogers (Character) 2018
83% 86% Vice Principals Ray Liptrapp (Character) 2016-2017
93% 85% Fargo Moe Dammick (Guest Star) 2017
73% No Score Yet The Legend of Master Legend Peanut Head (Character) 2017
97% 95% Justified Unknown (Guest Star) 2015
86% 77% Marvel's Agent Carter Chief Roger Dooley (Character) 2015
92% 95% Boardwalk Empire Elias Thompson (Character) 2010-2014
79% 59% True Detective Unknown (Guest Star) 2014
No Score Yet 80% Medium Unknown (Guest Star) 2009
No Score Yet 93% Numb3ers Tom Kardum (Guest Star) 2009
No Score Yet 86% Lie to Me Jered Blunt (Guest Star) 2009
No Score Yet 42% Jimmy Kimmel Live! Guest 2008
No Score Yet 85% ER Bobby Kenyon (Guest Star) 2006