Biography

Graduated from Dartmouth College, with majors in drama and Italian, in 1997. He was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter at Dartmouth.

Had a mental break when he was 25 years old and subsequently, was institutionalized by his parents.

Long-time and current student of Philip Seymour Hoffman's acting teacher, Tony Greco.

Nominated for the 2018 Emmy Award in the Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category for his role as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things (2016), but lost to Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones (2011).

Nominated for a 2005 Tony Award as Best Actor in a Featured Role (Play) for the revival of Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".

I was diagnosed as bipolar.

I think that storytelling, at its essence, allows us to feel like we all suffer the same insanity or a similar insanity of existence: that nobody escapes scot-free. We're all going to wind up - at the best-case scenario - 80, 85, 90, broken, in pain, and feeling like it was all a dream and not really understanding the point of any of it.

When I got to be, like, in high school and stuff, I sort of was drawn to that feeling of feeling uncomfortable in my skin and being confused by human beings, like, just constantly confused.

If you want to really get in shape and get strong, there's these things called 'sleds.' You take a weighted sled, and you just push it across the floor, and then you drag it back. And, basically, if you do that for 20 minutes a day, you'll look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you put enough weight on it, it's the hardest thing in the world.

There are certain societal laws that are just accepted, things that are arbitrary. I think the fun thing about psychotics is that they question that. It can be very freeing... like, my ego or my individuality trumps society's law.