Jefferson Mays
Born: 1965-06-08 in Connecticut, USA
Known For: Acting
Biography
Jefferson Mays (born Lewis Jefferson Mays; June 8, 1965) is an American film, stage and television actor. Mays was raised in Clinton, Connecticut with his parents, a naval intelligence officer and a children's librarian, and his siblings. Mays graduated from Yale College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and the University of California, San Diego, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts. Mays appeared on Broadway in I Am My Own Wife, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Doug Wright, from November 2003 (previews) to October 31, 2004. He had appeared in the play Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in May 2003, and at the La Jolla Playhouse in July 2001. Mays won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show, an Obie Award, and a 2004 Theatre World Award for his solo performance. He also won the 2007 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play for seasons of I Am My Own Wife in Australia in 2006. In 2007, he appeared as Henry Higgins in a revival of Pygmalion and starred as Private Mason in a revival of Journey's End. In August 2009, Mays appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Quartermaine's Terms by Simon Grey. Mays starred in the 2013 Broadway musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, in which he played eight roles. He won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He also was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and tied for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (with Neil Patrick Harris).
Filmography
2025
- Rebuilding as Mr. Cassidy
- Weathermaker as Dad
2023
- Seneca as Narrator (voice)
2022
- Julia as Albert Duhamel
2021
- Hacks as T.L. Gurley
- The Tragedy of Macbeth as Doctor
2020
- Perry Mason as Virgil Sheets
- Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol as Narrator
2019
- I Am the Night as George Hodel
2018
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs as Gilbert Longabaugh (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
- Curated as The Curator
2017
- Rebel in the Rye as William Maxwell
2016
- Westworld as Liam Dempsey, Sr.
2015
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as Daddy (voice)
- Ned Rifle as Dr. Ford
- I Am Michael as Preacher Teacher
2014
- My America
- Inherent Vice as Dr. Threeply
- The Giver as Community (voice)
- The Raven as Voice over (voice)
- The Cask of Amontillado as Fortunato
2013
- The Blacklist as Norman Devane
- The Americans as Walter Taffet
2009
- The Good Wife as Diplomat Van Buskirk
2008
- Fringe as Nicholas Boone
- How to Lose Friends & Alienate People as Bill Nathanson
2005
- The Closer as Dr. Easton
- The Notorious Bettie Page as Little John
- The Fight
2004
- Alfie as Dr. Miranda Kulp
2002
- Benjamin Franklin as Elkanah Watson
2001
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Keifer Gates
1999
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Carl Rudnick
- The Big Brass Ring as Garne Strickland
1998
- Cousin Bette as Stidmann
1997
- Liberty! as James Madison
- Hudson River Blues
1995
- The Low Life as Hollywood Mogul
1994
- Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade as Gerry Woolridge
1993
- Grey Knight as Martin Bradley
1990
- Law & Order as Mr. Olson