Mandel Bruce Patinkin ( ; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer in musical theatre, television, and film. As a Broadway performer, he has collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Patinkin made his theatre debut in 1975 starring opposite Meryl Streep in the revival of the comic play Trelawny of the "Wells" at The Public Theater's Shakespeare Festival. He played Che in the first Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita (1979), earning a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, as well as the roles of Georges Seurat/George in Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George (1984), for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He portrayed Lord Archibald Craven in the original Broadway cast of Lucy Simon's The Secret Garden (1991). Patinkin replaced Michael Rupert as Marvin in William Finn's Falsettos (1993) on Broadway. He starred as Burrs in The Wild Party (2000) and earned a second nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Patinkin had starred roles in television shows, playing Dr. Jeffrey Geiger in Chicago Hope (1994–2000); SSA Jason Gideon in the CBS crime-drama series Criminal Minds (2005–2007); Saul Berenson in the Showtime drama series Homeland (2011–2020); and Rufus Cotesworth in the Hulu mystery series Death and Other Details (2024). For his work on television he has earned seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning Outstanding Leading Actor in a Drama Series for Chicago Hope in 1995. He was also a main cast member in Dead Like Me (2003–2004) and The Good Fight (2021).
His film roles include Inigo Montoya in Rob Reiner's family adventure film The Princess Bride (1987) and Avigdor in Barbra Streisand's musical epic Yentl (1983) for which he earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination. Other film credits include Ragtime (1981); Maxie (1985); Dick Tracy (1990); True Colors (1991); Impromptu (1991); Wonder (2017); and Life Itself (2018). Patinkin also voiced roles in Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky (2003) and The Wind Rises (2013).
Mandel Bruce Patinkin, known as Mandy, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 30, 1952, to Doris Lee "Doralee" (née Sinton) (1925–2014), a homemaker, and Lester Don Patinkin (1919–1972), who operated two large Chicago-area metal factories, the People's Iron & Metal Company and the Scrap Corporation of America. Patinkin grew up in an upper-middle-class family, descended from Jewish immigrants from Poland, and was raised in Conservative Judaism, attending religious school daily from the age of seven to 13 or 14 and singing in synagogue choirs, as well as attending Camp Sura in Michigan. His father died of pancreatic cancer in 1972. His mother wrote Grandma Doralee Patinkin's Jewish Family Cookbook. Patinkin's cousins include Mark Patinkin, an author and nationally syndicated columnist for The Providence Journal; Sheldon Patinkin of Columbia College Chicago's theater department, a founder of The Second City; Bonnie Miller Rubin, a Chicago Tribune reporter; Laura Patinkin, a New York–based actress; Louis Rosen, a New York–based composer; Stacy Oliver (née Patinkin), a writer and performer, and Madeleine Patinkin, a young musical theatre vocalist.
He attended South Shore High School, Harvard St. George School, and Kenwood High School (later renamed Kenwood Academy, where his teachers included Lena McLin), and graduated in 1970. He attended the University of Kansas and the Juilliard School (Drama Division Group 5: 1972–1976). At Juilliard, he was a classmate of Kelsey Grammer. When the producers of the sitcom Cheers were holding auditions for the role of Dr. Frasier Crane, Patinkin put Grammer's name forward.
1974–1988: Breakthrough and stardom
After some television-commercial and radio appearances (including on CBS Radio Mystery Theater in 1974); Patinkin started his career on the New York stage in 1975, starring in Trelawny of the 'Wells' as Arthur Gower. Patinkin starred alongside Meryl Streep, who played Imogen Parrott, and John Lithgow, who played Ferdinand Gadd. Clive Barnes of The New York Times praised the production writing, "The production looks beautiful and, indeed, still charms". From 1975 through 1976, Patinkin played the Player King and Fortinbras, Prince of Norway in a Broadway revival of Hamlet, with Sam Waterston in the leading role. In 1977 he starred in the play The Shadow Box written by Michael Cristofer. He had his first film role as a Pool Man in the political comedy The Big Fix (1978) starring Richard Dreyfus, John Lithgow, and F. Murray Abraham. The following year he acted in the coming of age romantic comedy French Postcards and the neo-noir Last Embrace.
Patinkin had his first success in musical theater when he starred as Che in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, opposite Patti LuPone, on Broadway in 1979. Walter Kerr of The New York Times described his performance as "vigorous". James Lardner of The Washington Post wrote, "Patinkin gives a sympathetic, consistent and rather sweet performance". Patinkin won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance. He also received a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. Patinkin took film roles in Milos Forman's historical drama Ragtime (1980) playing Tateh and Sidney Lumet's drama Daniel (1983) portraying Paul Isaacson.
Patinkin won acclaim for his role as an Orthodox Jewish man Avigdor in Barbra Streisand's romantic drama epic Yentl (1983), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Richard Corliss of Time praised his performance but criticized Streisand's choice to not have him sing in the film. Corliss wrote, "For her male co-star she hired Mandy Patinkin, who has wrapped his crystalline Broadway tenor voice around Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber, then gave him no songs to sing". Veron Scott of United Press International wrote, "When Patinkin is in a scene it is difficult to focus on anyone else, including Streisand who is at her very best in Yentl. He plays profound, passionate men of action." Patinkin noted that both Ragtime (1981) and Daniel (1983) weren't as successful as he had hoped commercially and critically saying, "When you care about the content of a film, you want people to see it". He stated he had a positive experience working with Streisand saying, "'She tried to overcome her superstardom to make me feel comfortable. She worked hard to get to know me for what I am." Patinkin also was able to explore his Jewish roots while making the film saying, "I also spent a couple of weeks in Ohr Semach in Jerusalem at a yeshiva, studying the Talmud and attending lectures. The experience awakened many thoughts and feelings that had been sleeping in me for some time."
Patinkin returned to Broadway to star in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park with George, in which he played the pointillist artist Georges Seurat and his fictional great-grandson George. Performances began in April 1984 and he starred opposite Bernadette Peters. Patinkin earned nominations for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. Frank Rich of The New York Times wrote, "Seurat, here embodied commandingly by Mandy Patinkin, could well be a stand-in for Mr. Sondheim, who brings the same fierce, methodical intellectual precision to musical and verbal composition that the artist brought to his pictorial realm." Patinkin left the show on September 17 and was replaced by Robert Westenberg. He returned to the show on August 5, 1985, until the show closed two months later. His performance was captured on film and shown on television as a part of American Playhouse. The following year he took the role of Buddy Plummer in Follies: In Concert at Lincoln Center.
In 1985 Patinkin took a leading role in the romantic fantasy comedy Maxie opposite Glenn Close. Variety gave the film a mixed review but praised Patinkin, writing, "Much of the credit for keeping [Maxie] alive must go to Mandy Patinkin, who shows himself to be a good-looking leading man with a rare light touch for romantic comedy." In 1987, Patinkin played Inigo Montoya in Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride, playing the role of the best swordsman in the country, looking to avenge his father's death. Patinkin acted opposite Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Andre the Giant, and Billy Crystal. Variety praised his performance writing, "Patinkin especially is a joy to watch and the film comes to life when his longhaired, scruffy cavalier is on screen." His character has earned a cult following and his memorable line "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," was ranked as one of IGN's best movie moments.