Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an
American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his television debut in 1974 and has since appeared in supporting roles in several film and television productions. He came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing
Nathaniel Fisher in the
HBO drama series
Six Feet Under, and along with the show's principal cast, he was nominated for a
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2002. He gained mainstream success for his lead role in the film
The Visitor (2008) that earned him an
Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Early life
Jenkins was born and raised in
DeKalb, a farming town in
Illinois. His mother, M. Elizabeth (
née Wheeler), was a housewife, and his father, Dale Stevens Jenkins, was a dentist.
[Richard Jenkins: bald, 61 years old - and a star at last][Oscars 2009: Mickey, Sean, Frank, Brad and . . . Richard?][Richard Jenkins Biography (1947-)] Before he was an actor, Jenkins drove a
linen truck (his boss was actor
John C. Reilly's father).
[Reilly + Movie Dad Met When He Was Four][Stated on The Late Show with David Letterman, February 3, 2009] Jenkins earned a degree in drama from
Illinois Wesleyan University before relocating to
Rhode Island. While attending Illinois Wesleyan, Jenkins was a member of Phi Gamma Delta.
Career
Theatre
He worked as an actor with the
Trinity Repertory Company in
Providence,
Rhode Island while breaking into film with a bit part in
Feasting with Panthers (1974), a television movie, and continued as a celebrated member of Trinity's resident acting company and served as Artistic Director of the theatre from 1990-4.
