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 the deceased patriarch
Nathaniel Fisher in the
HBO drama series
Six Feet Under, and along with the show's principal cast, he was nominated for a
SAG 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 university town in
Illinois. His mother, Mary Elizabeth (
née Wheeler), was a housewife, and his father, Dale Steven 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.
Film
Since his film debut in the television movie
Feasting with Panthers (1974), he has steadily been working in
film and
television. Some of his earlier film credits include
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986),
The Witches of Eastwick (1987),
How to Make an American Quilt (1995),
Snow Falling On Cedars (1999),
North Country (2005). He is also an occasional collaborator with the director siblings the Farrelly brothers, who have worked with Jenkins in
There's Something About Mary (1998),
Me, Myself, & Irene (2000),
Outside Providence (1999), and
Say It Isn't So (2001). He has also worked frequently with the Coen Brothers:
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001),
Intolerable Cruelty (2003), and
Burn After Reading (2008). Although known primarily for supporting parts, he had a critically acclaimed lead role in
The Visitor (2007), for which he was nominated for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male and a nomination for an
Academy Award for Best Actor.
[Maxwell, Erin and Michael Jones. Variety "Film trio feel the Spirit." December 2, 2008] Jenkins won the
International Press Academy's
Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama.
Jenkins has been cast in the
Joss Whedon/
Drew Goddard horror
The Cabin in the Woods (2010).
Television
Jenkins is perhaps best known for playing
Nathaniel Fisher in the
HBO drama series
Six Feet Under. His character is a deceased patriarch of the Fisher family, who regularly appears to his family as a
ghost or in a dream. He played the role since the show began in 2001, through to its final season in 2005. He and his castmates received their
Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2002.
Personal life
He married Sharon Rayna Friedrick on August 23, 1969 and together they have two children, Sarah Pamela and Andrew Dale. He currently resides in
Cumberland, Rhode Island.
Filmography
Films
Six Feet Under episodes
| Year
| Season
| Episodes
|
| 2001
| Season 1
| "Pilot", "The Will", "The Foot", "The Room", "Life's Too Short", "Knock, Knock"
|
| 2002
| Season 2
| "In the Game", "The Plan", "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", "Somebody Else's Eyes", "I'll Take You"
|
| 2003
| Season 3
| "Perfect Circles", "Nobody Sleeps", "I'm Sorry, I'm Lost"
|
| 2004
| Season 4
| "In Case of Rapture", "Grinding the Corn", "Untitled"
|
| 2005
| Season 5
| "Time Flies", "Ecotone", "All Alone", "Everyone's Waiting"
|
