Quick Facts
Biography
Chris Messina (born August 11, 1974) is an American actor and film director. He has appeared in supporting roles in films such as Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Argo, Julie & Julia, Ruby Sparks, Celeste and Jesse Forever, and You've Got Mail. He won critical acclaim for his lead performance in the film The Giant Mechanical Man. On television, he is known for his roles as Chris Sanchez in Damages and as Danny Castellano in The Mindy Project.
Life and career
Messina was born in Northport, New York. He studied theater in high school, and attended Marymount Manhattan College, but dropped out after one semester. He studied acting privately with teachers around Manhattan, and started his career as an off-Broadway actor. He has appeared in episodes of the television series Law & Order, Third Watch, and Medium. He had a recurring role in the fifth and final season of the HBO drama series Six Feet Under as Ted Fairwell. His film credits include Rounders, The Siege, You've Got Mail, and Towelhead.
He starred in an HBO pilot Anatomy of Hope, directed by J. J. Abrams. Simon Callow also starred, but the pilot was not picked up to series. In October 2007, Daily Variety named him as one of ten actors to watch. He starred in Devil, under the direction of John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle, for producer M. Night Shyamalan and Universal Pictures. In April 2010, Monogamy, directed by Dana Adam Shapiro and starring Messina and Rashida Jones, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, where the film won the jury prize for Best New York Narrative.
Messina joined the cast of Damages for its fourth and fifth seasons. He played a recurring character on HBO's The Newsroom. Messina is a series regular on the Hulu sitcom The Mindy Project, playing Dr. Danny Castellano.
In 2014, Messina played the role of a cheating spouse in the music video for Sam Smith's "I'm Not the Only One". That same year, he directed the independent drama, Alex of Venice, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Don Johnson and Matthew Del Negro.
He co-starred in friend Ben Affleck's crime drama Live by Night, which was released in December 2016.
Personal life
Messina was married to actress Rosemarie DeWitt sometime between the late 1990s and the early 2000s, but the two split soon after.
Messina and producer Jennifer Todd have two sons, Milo and Giovanni, born in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Messina is a Democrat.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | When Dating Turns Dangerous | Zach | Educational film |
| 1998 | Rounders | Higgins | |
| 1998 | Siege, TheThe Siege | Corporal | |
| 1998 | You've Got Mail | Fox salesperson | |
| 2000 | Turn It Up | Baz | |
| 2001 | Ordinary Sinner | Silvio | |
| 2005 | Road | Larry | |
| 2005 | Bittersweet Place | Seymour | |
| 2005 | Crooked Corner, TheThe Crooked Corner | Nephew | |
| 2006 | Ira & Abby | Ira Black | |
| 2007 | Security | Zelly | Short film |
| 2007 | Towelhead | Barry | |
| 2008 | Humboldt County | Max | |
| 2008 | Made of Honor | Dennis | |
| 2008 | Vicky Cristina Barcelona | Doug | |
| 2009 | Brief Interviews with Hideous Men | Subject #19 | |
| 2009 | Away We Go | Tom Garnett | |
| 2009 | Julie & Julia | Eric Powell | |
| 2010 | Greenberg | Philip Greenberg | |
| 2010 | Monogamy | Theo | |
| 2010 | Devil | Detective Bowden | |
| 2010 | Invisible Sign, AnAn Invisible Sign | Ben Smith | |
| 2011 | Like Crazy | Mike Appletree | |
| 2011 | Trouble with Bliss, TheThe Trouble with Bliss | NJ | |
| 2012 | Celeste and Jesse Forever | Paul | |
| 2012 | 28 Hotel Rooms | Man | Also executive producer |
| 2012 | Giant Mechanical Man, TheThe Giant Mechanical Man | Tim | |
| 2012 | Fairhaven | Dave | Also writer and executive producer |
| 2012 | Denise | Brad | Short film |
| 2012 | Ruby Sparks | Harry Weir-Fields | |
| 2012 | Argo | Malinov | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated – Critics' Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble Nominated – Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Nominated – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble |
| 2013 | Palo Alto | Mitch | |
| 2014 | Oven, TheThe Oven | Narrator | Short film |
| 2014 | Showing Up | Himself | Documentary |
| 2014 | Alex of Venice | George | Also director |
| 2014 | Manglehorn | Jacob | |
| 2014 | Cake | Jason | |
| 2015 | Digging for Fire | Billy T | |
| 2016 | Ordinary World | Jake | |
| 2016 | Live by Night | Dion Bartolo | |
| 2017 | Blame | Jeremy Woods |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Law & Order | Tommy Bell | Episode: "Rebels" |
| 1996 | Law & Order | Kevin Turner | Episode: "Homesick" |
| 2000 | Third Watch | Charlie | Episode: "History" |
| 2001 | Big Apple | Ricky | Episode: "A Ministering Angel" |
| 2003 | Law & Order | Don Cushman | Episode: "Suicide Box" |
| 2005 | Six Feet Under | Ted Fairwell | 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Medium | Casey Edward Frank | Episode: "The Whole Truth" |
| 2011–12 | Damages | Chris Sanchez | 16 episodes |
| 2012–14 | Newsroom, TheThe Newsroom | Reese Lansing | 12 episodes |
| 2012–2016 | Mindy Project, TheThe Mindy Project | Dr. Danny Castellano | Main cast (season 1–4) Recurring (season 5): 87 episodes |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Run | Theater and production | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | American Clock, TheThe American Clock | Sidney Margolies/ Charley/ Ralph/ Walter | October 19, 1997 – unknown | Signature Theatre Company at The Peter Norton Space | |
| 1999 | Group, TheThe Group | Director | August 9–20, 1999 | All Seasons Theatre Group at The Ensemble Studio Theatre | |
| 1999 | Refuge | Nat | November 18 – December 12, 1999 | Playwright's Horizon Studio Theater | |
| 2000 | Hologram Theory, TheThe Hologram Theory | Joe Buck | March 27 – April 9, 2000 | McGinn/Cazale Theater | |
| 2000 | Light Outside, TheThe Light Outside | Frankie | November 5 – December 16, 2000 | The Flea Theater | |
| 2001 | Tamicanfly | C.J. | January 17 – February 4, 2001 | McGinn/Cazale Theater | |
| 2001 | Blur | Joey D'Amico | May 17 – June 24, 2001 | Manhattan Theater Club at New York City Center Stage II | |
| 2001–02 | Good Thing | Bobby | December 16, 2001 – January 6, 2002 | The New Group at The Theater at St. Clements Church | |
| 2002 | This Thing of Darkness | Abbey/ Reef | May 30 – June 16, 2002 | Atlantic Theater Company at Linda Gross Theater | |
| 2002 | Faster | Skram | September 8 – October 13, 2002 | Rattlestick Theater | |
| 2002–03 | Far Away | Todd | November 11, 2002 – January 18, 2003 | New York Theater Workshop | |
| 2003 | Salome by Oscar Wilde: The Reading | The Young Syrian (Captain of the Guard) | April 30 – June 12, 2003 | Ethel Barrymore Theater | Broadway debut for Messina |
| 2003 | St. Scarlet | Director | June 13 – July 12, 2003 | Ontological Theater at St. Mark's Church | |
| 2004 | Motel Blues: Management | Mike | March 25 – April 11, 2004 | Apartment 929 at Greenwich Street Theatre | |
| 2004 | Seagull, TheThe Seagull | Treplev | May 24–29, 2004 | White Heron Theater company at Second Stage Theatre | |
| 2004 | Cherry Orchard, TheThe Cherry Orchard | Trofimov | August 11–22, 2004 | Williamstown Theatre Festival at Adams Memorial Theater | |
| 2004 | Late Night, Early Morning | October 21–31, 2004 | 2004 Tribeca Theatre Festival |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | CinEuphoria Award | Best Supporting Actor - International Competition | Away We Go | Won |
| 2012 | Awards Circuit Community Award | Best Cast Ensemble Shared with Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Scoot McNairy, Kyle Chandler, Clea DuVall, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, and Kerry Bishé | Argo | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Award | Best Ensemble Performance Shared with Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Scoot McNairy, Kyle Chandler, Clea DuVall, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé, Željko Ivanek, Titus Welliver, and Sheila Vand | Nominated | ||
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Award | Best Ensemble Acting Shared with Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Scoot McNairy, Kyle Chandler, Clea DuVall, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé, Željko Ivanek, Titus Welliver, and Sheila Vand | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award | Best Ensemble Shared with Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Scoot McNairy, Kyle Chandler, Clea DuVall, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé, Željko Ivanek, Titus Welliver, and Sheila Vand | Nominated | |
| Palm Springs International Film Festival | Best Ensemble Shared with Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Scoot McNairy, Kyle Chandler, Clea DuVall, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé, Željko Ivanek, Titus Welliver, and Sheila Vand | Won | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Shared with Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Scoot McNairy, Kyle Chandler, Clea DuVall, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé, Željko Ivanek, Titus Welliver, and Sheila Vand | Won | ||
| 2014 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Actor in a Comedy Series | The Mindy Project | Nominated |
| Seattle International Film Festival | New American Cinema Award | Alex of Venice | Nominated | |
| 2015 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Actor in a Comedy Series | The Mindy Project | Nominated |