A tall, lanky actor who honed his craft on stage before hitting his stride as a character actor in films and TV, John C. McGinley was born in NYC's Greenwich Village and raised in Millburn, New Jersey. Shortly after earning his MFA from NYU, he landed his first professional gig as John Turturro's understudy in John Patrick Shanley's Off-Broadway play "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea". When Turturro took a couple of weeks off to shoot a film, McGinley assumed the role and was spotted by a talent scout who recommended the young performer to director Oliver Stone. Stone in turn cast McGinley in his Vietnam drama "Platoon", although it would be over a year before the project saw fruition. In the meantime, the actor continued to appear in theatrical production, including the short-lived 1985 Broadway mounting of "Requiem for a Heavyweight".
By the time Stone had worked out the problems and "Platoon" went before the cameras, McGinley had already made his film debut in "Sweet Liberty" (1986). When actor John Spencer had to withdraw from the war film, Stone cast McGinley in the role of the sycophantic Sgt. O'Neill, inaugurating a multi-film collaboration that encompassed "Wall Street" (1987, as a jealous co-worker of lead Charlie Sheen), "Talk Radio" (1988, with McGinley recreating his stage role as the station engineer) and "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989). The latter, however, proved logistically problematic and caused something of a rift between actor and director. When Stone offered him a role, McGinley faced a logistical nightmare as he already was committed to "Fat Man and Little Boy" (also 1989). Because he of the schedule troubles, he had what amounted to a cameo in "Born on the Fourth of July" and it was six years before he and Stone would work together on "Nixon" (1995).
Despite the minor contretemps with Stone, McGinley did not go begging for work. He remained a busy character player in efforts ranging from the underrated WWII drama "A Midnight Clear" to the ill-advised in "Car 54, Where Are You?" (1993) to his sterling turns as psychopathic killers in the Fox miniseries "Dean Koontz's Intensity" (1997) and "Dean Koontz's Sole Survivor" (2000). The actor won a new set of fans when he was cast as the creatively insulting, professionally demanding but far from heartless Dr. Perry Cox on the NBC sitcom "Scrubs" (2001- ), a role that would prove defining in the actor's career by providing a showcase for his diverse comedic and dramatic skills.
- Also Credited As:
John McGinley
- Born:
August 3, 1959 in New York, New York
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Job Titles:
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Restaurateur
Family
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Brother: Mark McGinley. Was working in the World Trade Center on Sep. 11, 2001, but managed to make it out of the building before its collapse
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Daughter: Billie Grace McGinley. Born Feb. 2, 2008; mother, Nicole Kessler; the baby was delivered in a birthing tub at the couple's home in Malibu
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Father: Gerald McGinley. Born c. 1929
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Mother: Patricia McGinley. Born c. 1934
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Son: Max McGinley. Born with Down syndrome in 1997; mother, Lauren Lambert
Significant Others
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Wife: Nicole Kessler. McGinley's nine-year-old son Max introduced the couple during a beach encounter; engaged in August 2006; married April 7, 2007 in Malibu, CA
Education
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Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
Milestones
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1984 Cast in the recurring role of Ned Howard in the soap, "Another World" (date approximate)
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1984 Had role in the Off-Broadway play "The Ballad of Soapy Smith"
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1984 Off-Broadway debut, as understudy for John Turturro in John Patrick Shanley's "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea"; spotted by a talent scout for Oliver Stone when he went on for Turturro who was off making a film; offered a small role in "Platoon", but production was delayed for almost two years
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1985 Broadway debut in a revival production of "Requiem for a Heavyweight"
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1986 Feature acting debut, "Sweet Liberty"
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1986 First film for director Oliver Stone, "Platoon"; played a cowardly sergeant
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1987 Co-starred as Stu Noonan in the Off-Braodway production of Eric Bogosian's "Talk Radio"
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1987 Episodic TV debut, "Leg Work" (CBS)
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1988 Reprised role of Stu for Oliver Stone's film version of "Talk Radio"
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1988 TV-movie debut, "Clinton and Nadine"
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1989 Feature screenwriting debut, "Suffering Bastards"; also starred
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1993 Feature producing debut, "Watch It", an ensemble comedy
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1994 First film with song credit, "Car 54, Where Are You?"; also acted in movie
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1997 Starred in Fox TV adaptation of "Dean Koontz's 'Intensity'", playing a serial killer
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1999 Appeared as a sportscaster in the Oliver Stone-directed football drama "Any Given Sunda
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2000 Acted in TV adaptation of "Dean Koontz's Sole Survivor" (Fox)
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2001 Had regular role in "Scrubs" (NBC), offering a scene-stealing turn as the surly Dr. Perry Cox
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2003 Provided voiceover work on several episodes of "Justice League Unlimited," as superhero 'The Atom'
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2007 Cast opposite Ice Cube in the comedy, "Are We Done Yet?"
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2007 Featured in the movie "Wild Hogs" as a Highway Patrol Officer with a questionable lifestyle choice
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Raised in Newark and Milburn, New Jersey