John Cariani
| John Cariani | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 23, 1969 Brockton, Massachusetts |
John Edward Cariani (born July 23, 1969) is an award-winning American actor and an accomplished playwright. Cariani is best known to television viewers as the unwavering forensic expert Julian Beck in Law & Order. On stage, he earned a Tony Award nomination for his role as Motel the Tailor in the 2004 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. As a playwright, he is best known for his first play, Almost, Maine, which has become one of the most frequently produced plays in the United States. He has starred on Broadway in the Tony Award winning musical Something Rotten! as Nigel Bottom.
Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, Cariani was eight when his family moved to Presque Isle, Maine.
He attended Presque Isle High School where he was active in the music and theater programs. After graduating in 1987, he attended Amherst College, where he was a member of the Zumbyes, Amherst's oldest a cappella group, and the Glee Club. After graduating from Amherst College in 1991 with a B. A. in history, he studied acting and directing at now defunct StageWest in Springfield, Massachusetts. He then moved to New York to pursue acting.
Cariani spent his early years in New York working with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and acting in Off-Broadway plays, television commercials, and films.
His first break came in 1999 when he was cast in the Off-Broadway play It's My Party (And I'll Die if I Want To), starring F. Murray Abraham and Joyce Van Patten. In 2000 Cariani was cast in the independent film, Scotland, PA. In 2001 he had a small role in the independent hit, The Shaft and then played a villain in Warner Brothers' film Showtime. In 2002 he joined the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, playing the role of forensic expert Julian Beck from 2002-2007.
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