Famous actors from Connecticut

Written by:
July 21, 2022
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Famous actors from Connecticut

Admiring and envying the world's biggest stars is easy to do on Instagram. From A-list movie stars and major musicians to pro ball players and comedians who landed their own sitcoms, there's no shortage of evidence of just how good the good life is. They post pictures of themselves with other big shots on rooftop bars, at exclusive clubs, at backstage parties, and at restaurants where regular people can't get a reservation.

But the vast majority of these celebrities were born and raised outside of Hollywood, finding their way to the bright lights and big money of superstardom from obscure beginnings in regular small towns or cities across the country.

Stacker compiled a list of actors that were born in Connecticut from IMDb's most popular list. For each actor, we included a movie poster image from a film he is known for (all movie poster images from OMDb). Keep reading to see which favorite actors are from your home state.

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Robin de Jesus

- Born: Norwalk, Connecticut (8/21/1984)
- Known for:
--- Emory in "The Boys in the Band" (2020)
--- Michael in "tick, tick...BOOM!" (2021)
--- Michael in "Camp" (2003)

Paul Giamatti

- Born: New Haven, Connecticut (6/6/1967)
- Known for:
--- Miles in "Sideways" (2004)
--- Joe Gould in "Cinderella Man" (2005)
--- Harvey Pekar in "American Splendor" (2003)

Christopher Lloyd

- Born: Stamford, Connecticut (10/22/1938)
- Known for:
--- Dr. Emmett Brown in "Back to the Future" (1985)
--- Judge Doom in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988)
--- Uncle Fester Addams in "Addams Family Values" (1993)

Roberts Blossom

- Born: New Haven, Connecticut (3/25/1924)
- Died: 7/8/2011
- Known for:
--- Chester 'Doc' Dalton in "Escape from Alcatraz" (1979)
--- Farmer in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977)
--- Marley in "Home Alone" (1990)

Dylan McDermott

- Born: Waterbury, Connecticut (10/26/1961)
- Known for:
--- Father in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (2012)
--- Bobby Donnell in "The Practice" (1997-2004)
--- Forbes in "Olympus Has Fallen" (2013)

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Justin Long

- Born: Fairfield, Connecticut (6/2/1978)
- Known for:
--- Matt Farrell in "Live Free or Die Hard" (2007)
--- Darry in "Jeepers Creepers" (2001)
--- Brandon in "Galaxy Quest" (1999)

James Van Der Beek

- Born: Cheshire, Connecticut (3/8/1977)
- Known for:
--- Dawson Leery in "Dawson's Creek" (1998-2003)
--- Mox in "Varsity Blues" (1999)
--- Sean Bateman in "The Rules of Attraction" (2002)

William Atherton

- Born: Orange, Connecticut (7/30/1947)
- Known for:
--- Thornburg in "Die Hard" (1988)
--- Walter Peck in "Ghostbusters" (1984)
--- Prof. Jerry Hathaway in "Real Genius" (1985)

Titus Welliver

- Born: New Haven, Connecticut (3/12/1962)
- Known for:
--- Dino Ciampa in "The Town" (2010)
--- Bates in "Argo" (2012)
--- James Savoy in "Transformers: Age of Extinction" (2014)

Kenny Johnson

- Born: New Haven, Connecticut (7/13/1963)
- Known for:
--- Curtis Lemansky in "The Shield" (2002-2006)
--- Heatseeking Dennis in "Blade" (1998)
--- Al in "I Heard the Mermaids Singing" (2008)

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Jonathan Brandis

- Born: Danbury, Connecticut (4/13/1976)
- Died: 11/12/2003
- Known for:
--- Bastian in "The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter" (1990)
--- Lucas Wolenczak in "SeaQuest 2032" (1993-1996)
--- Bill Denbrough - Age 12 in "It" (1990)

Brian Dennehy

- Born: Bridgeport, Connecticut (7/9/1938)
- Died: 4/15/2020
- Known for:
--- Teasle in "First Blood" (1982)
--- Cobb in "Silverado" (1985)
--- Walter in "Cocoon" (1985)

Robert Mitchum

- Born: Bridgeport, Connecticut (8/6/1917)
- Died: 7/1/1997
- Known for:
--- Jeff in "Out of the Past" (1947)
--- Harry Powell in "The Night of the Hunter" (1955)
--- Brig. Gen. Norman Cota in "The Longest Day" (1962)

Jacob Pitts

- Born: Weston, Connecticut (11/20/1979)
- Known for:
--- Fisher in "21" (2008)
--- Cooper Harris in "EuroTrip" (2004)
--- Tim Gutterson in "Justified" (2010-2015)

Treat Williams

- Born: Rowayton, Connecticut (12/1/1951)
- Known for:
--- John Finnegan in "Deep Rising" (1998)
--- Berger in "Hair" (1979)
--- Xander Drax in "The Phantom" (1996)

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Christopher Abbott

- Born: Greenwich, Connecticut (2/1/1986)
- Known for:
--- Colin Tate in "Possessor" (2020)
--- James White in "James White" (2015)
--- Will in "It Comes at Night" (2017)

Roger Bart

- Born: Norwalk, Connecticut (9/29/1962)
- Known for:
--- Carmen Ghia in "The Producers" 2005
--- US Attorney in "American Gangster" 2007

John Ratzenberger

- Born: Bridgeport, Connecticut (4/6/1947)
- Known for:
--- Cliff Clavin in "Cheers" (1982-1993)
--- Hamm in "Toy Story" (1995)
--- Underminer in "The Incredibles" (2004)

Ernest Borgnine

- Born: Hamden, Connecticut (1/24/1917)
- Died: 7/8/2012
- Known for:
--- Marty Piletti in "Marty" (1955)
--- Cabbie in "Escape from New York" (1981)
--- Mike Rogo in "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972)

Austin Stowell

- Born: Kensington, Connecticut (12/24/1984)
- Known for:
--- Francis Gary Powers in "Bridge of Spies" (2015)
--- Ryan in "Whiplash" (2014)
--- Patrick Sullivan in "Fantasy Island" (2020)

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Billy Lush

- Born: New Haven, Connecticut (11/30/1981)
- Known for:
--- Chris in "Straw Dogs" (2011)
--- The Outsider in "Dishonored" (2012)
--- Kevin Donnelly in "The Black Donnellys" (2007)

Bill Moseley

- Born: Stamford, Connecticut (11/11/1951)
- Known for:
--- Otis in "The Devil's Rejects" (2005)
--- Otis in "House of 1000 Corpses" (2003)
--- Johnnie in "Night of the Living Dead" (1990)

Tom Noonan

- Born: Greenwich, Connecticut (4/12/1951)
- Known for:
--- Sammy Barnathan in "Synecdoche, New York" (2008)
--- Cain in "RoboCop 2" (1990)
--- Francis Dollarhyde in "Manhunter" (1986)

Thomas Ian Griffith

- Born: Hartford, Connecticut (3/18/1962)
- Known for:
--- Terry Silver in "The Karate Kid Part III" (1989)
--- Jan Valek in "Vampires" (1998)
--- Agent Jim McGrath in "xXx" (2002)

Jesse Bradford

- Born: Norwalk, Connecticut (5/28/1979)
- Known for:
--- Nat Sabich in "Presumed Innocent" (1990)
--- Cliff Pantone in "Bring It On" (2000)
--- Rene Gagnon in "Flags of Our Fathers" (2006)

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Lee Tergesen

- Born: Ivoryton, Connecticut (7/8/1965)
- Known for:
--- Tobias Beecher in "Oz" (1997-2003)
--- Evan 'Scribe' Wright in "Generation Kill" (2008)
--- Terry in "Wayne's World" (1992)

Will Friedle

- Born: Hartford, Connecticut (8/11/1976)
- Known for:
--- Bumblebee in "Transformers: Robots in Disguise" (2014-2017)
--- Eric Matthews in "Boy Meets World" (1993-2000)
--- Lion-O in "Thundercats" (2011-2012)

Peter Dante

- Born: West Hartford, Connecticut (12/16/1968)
- Known for:
--- Dante in "Grandma's Boy" (2006)
--- Gee Grenouille in "The Waterboy" (1998)
--- Dante Spirou in "That's My Boy" (2012)

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson

- Born: Connecticut (3/13/1973)
- Known for:
--- Dewall in "True Detective" (2014)
--- Helicopter Pilot in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (2013)
--- Maidmasher in "The BFG" (2016)

Gary Burghoff

- Born: Bristol, Connecticut (5/24/1943)
- Known for:
--- Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly in "M*A*S*H" (1972-1983)
--- Cpl. 'Radar' O'Reilly in "MASH" (1970)
--- Mr. Connors in "Behind the Waterfall" (1995)

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Eriq La Salle

- Born: Hartford, Connecticut (7/23/1962)
- Known for:
--- Peter Benton in "ER" (1994-2009)
--- Darryl Jenks in "Coming to America" (1988)
--- Will Munson in "Logan" (2017)

Thomas Sadoski

- Born: Bethany, Connecticut (7/1/1976)
- Known for:
--- Chris in "Loser" (2000)
--- Jimmy in "John Wick" (2014)
--- Paul in "Wild" (2014)

Richard Belzer

- Born: Bridgeport, Connecticut (8/4/1944)
- Known for:
--- John Munch in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999-2016)
--- M.C. at Babylon Club in "Scarface" (1983)
--- John Munch in "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1993-1999)

Adam LaVorgna

- Born: New Haven, Connecticut (3/1/1981)
- Known for:
--- Nicholas Scamperelli in "Brooklyn Bridge" (1991-1993)
--- Eddie in "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (1998)
--- Shnetz in "Blast" (2000)

Kevin Heffernan

- Born: West Haven, Connecticut (5/25/1968)
- Known for:
--- Farva in "Super Troopers" (2001)
--- Lars in "Club Dread" (2004)
--- Landfill in "Beerfest" (2006)

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Daniel Cosgrove

- Born: New Haven, Connecticut (12/16/1970)
- Known for:
--- Richard Bagg in "Van Wilder" (2002)
--- Campbell Morris in "Valentine" (2001)
--- Bill Lewis, III in "Guiding Light" (2002-2009)

Ted Knight

- Born: Terryville, Connecticut (12/7/1923)
- Died: 8/26/1986
- Known for:
--- Ted Baxter in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970-1977)
--- Judge Elihu Smails in "Caddyshack" (1980)
--- Narrator in "Super Friends" (1973)

Henry Simmons

- Born: Stamford, Connecticut (7/1/1970)
- Known for:
--- Alphonso 'Mack' Mackenzie in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (2014-2020)
--- Jeffrey in "No Good Deed" (2014)
--- Det. Baldwin Jones in "NYPD Blue" (2000-2005)

Kyle Soller

- Born: Bridgeport, Connecticut (7/1/1983)
- Known for:
--- Korsunsky in "Anna Karenina" (2012)
--- Dr. Elliot Blake in "The Titan" (2018)
--- Medic #1 in "Fury" (2014)

Tony Amendola

- Born: New Haven, Connecticut (8/24/1951)
- Known for:
--- Father Perez in "Annabelle" (2014)
--- Don Luiz in "The Mask of Zorro" (1998)
--- Master Bra'tac in "Stargate SG-1" (1997-2007)

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Ed Begley

- Born: Hartford, Connecticut (3/25/1901)
- Died: 4/28/1970
- Known for:
--- Juror 10 in "12 Angry Men" (1957)
--- Boss' Finley in "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962)
--- Captain Wilson in "Hang 'Em High" (1968)

Dylan Bruno

- Born: Milford, Connecticut (9/6/1972)
- Known for:
--- Willy Jack Pickens in "Where the Heart Is" (2000)
--- Johnny McFury in "Thumb Runner" (2020)
--- Smith in "Taken 3" (2014)

Pawel Szajda

- Born: Farmington, Connecticut (1/13/1982)
- Known for:
--- Pawel in "Under the Tuscan Sun" (2003)
--- Cpl. Walt Hasser in "Generation Kill" (2008)
--- Ricky in "Venom" (2005)

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