Victor Slezak

Despite being a well established screen actor with several dozen film and television credits, among them "The Bridges of Madison County" (1995), "The Devil's Own" (1997), and "Salt" (2010), Victor Slezak began his career as a stage actor. He studied acting at Uta Hagen's renowned HB Studio in New York City, and gradually began making a name for himself at regional playhouses across the country. Among the more prominent productions he appeared in were John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge," and Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," the latter of which also starred Mary Louise Parker. By the early 1990s, however, Slezak had shifted his focus to screen acting, landing recurring parts on shows like "Treme" (HBO, 2010- ) and "Blue Bloods" (CBS, 2010- ), as well as supporting roles in critically acclaimed features such as "The Bridges of Madison County" and "Beyond Rangoon" (1995). Throughout his long and prolific film and television career, however, Slezak never lost his passion for the stage, appearing in Broadway productions alongside A-list talents like Kathleen Turner and Al Pacino, while also embarking on a second career as an acting teacher.