Evan Handler | |
|---|---|
Handler at a 2009 Golden Globe Awards party | |
| Born | (1961-01-10)January 10, 1961 (age 64) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Juilliard School |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Agent |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Evan Handler (born January 10, 1961)[1] is an American actor who is best known for playing Harry Goldenblatt, a divorce attorney and later husband ofCharlotte York, onSex and the City (2002–2004) and its revival seriesAnd Just Like That... (2021–25),[2] and Charlie Runkle, Hank Moody's comically bumbling friend and agent, onCalifornication (2007–2014). Recently, he starred as Eastern District US Attorney Jacob Warner in theStarz dramaPower.
Handler was born in New York City, tosecular Jewish[3][4] parents Enid Irene, a mental health administrator, and Murry Raymond Handler, an agency owner and advertising designer.[5] He was raised in the Town ofCortlandt, New York, nearCroton-on-Hudson, New York, and attendedHendrick Hudson High School inMontrose, New York.[5]
After graduating from high school a year early, Handler moved to New York City and worked as an intern at theChelsea Theater Center. During that time he appeared in theOff-Broadway playsBiography: A Game andStrider: The Story of a Horse.[5] He then attended theJuilliard School as a member of the Drama Division'sGroup 12 (1979–1983), which also includedKevin Spacey,[6]Ving Rhames,[7] andElizabeth McGovern.[8] Handler left the four-year program after less than two years to accept a role in the 1981 filmTaps.[5]
Handler has appeared in television dramas and sitcoms includingSix Feet Under,Friends,Law & Order,The West Wing,Miami Vice,Sex and the City,Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,Ed,Lost,24 andPower. He was a co-star in theABCsitcomsIt's Like, You Know... andHot Properties and starred in the ill-fated FOX sitcomWoops!.
He has also appeared in several major feature film roles, includingRansom, 1996;The Chosen, 1981;Sweet Lorraine, 1987; andTaps, 1981.
In 2000, Handler portrayedLarry Fine in the made-for-TV biopicThe Three Stooges. He playedGoldman Sachs CEOLloyd Blankfein in the HBO movie,Too Big to Fail. The movie was based onthe book of the same name written byAndrew Ross Sorkin.[9] From 2007-2014, Handler played Charlie Runkle, the best friend and agent toDavid Duchovny's characterHank Moody onCalifornication. In 2016 he had a recurring role inAmerican Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson asAlan Dershowitz, an attorney adviser for the defense in theO. J. Simpson murder case in 1995.
In 1991, Handler famously walked off stage during the first act of a performance of the Broadway playI Hate Hamlet after co-starNicol Williamson broke choreography during a sword-fighting scene and struck Handler on the backside.[10] Handler responded later, "I removed myself from the production because from the first day of rehearsals I have endured the show's producers condoning Nicol Williamson's persistent abusiveness to other cast members." Handler's understudy continued the performance, for whichGregory Peck andElaine Stritch were in attendance.[11]
In 2020, Handler appeared as a guest on theStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip marathon fundraiser episode ofThe George Lucas Talk Show.
Handler is also an author. His first book,Time On Fire: My Comedy of Terrors, tells the story of his unlikely recovery fromacute myeloid leukemia in his mid-20s. His second,It's Only Temporary...The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive, tells the story of his long journey toward gratitude in the years after his illness. The book was released in May 2008. Handler has written for several nationally distributed magazines, includingELLE,O, the Oprah Magazine, andMirabella. Handler contributes regularly toThe Huffington Post.
Evan married Elisa Atti, an Italian-born chemist, in 2003, and they have a daughter, Sofia Clementina Handler (born January 17, 2007).[citation needed]
Handler has a brother Lowell and a sister Lillian. Lowell, a writer and photographer, is the author of the bookTwitch & Shout: A Touretter's Tale[12] and the star, narrator, and associate producer of the Emmy-nominatedPBS television documentaryTwitch & Shout, in which Evan appeared.[13]
In 2014 Handler starred in a public service announcement supportingDC Statehood.[14] He attended theCreative Coalition's DC Statehood Dinner in December 2015[15] and participates in DC Shadow SenatorPaul Strauss's "51 Stars" campaign which aims to enlist 51 celebrities to endorse making Washington, DC the 51st state.[16]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Chosen | Sidney Goldberg | |
| 1981 | Taps | Edward West | |
| 1982 | Dear Mr. Wonderful | Ray | |
| 1985 | War and Love | Elie | |
| 1987 | Sweet Lorraine | Bobby | [17] |
| 1994 | Natural Born Killers | David | |
| 1996 | Ransom | Miles Roberts | |
| 2008 | Sex and the City | Harry Goldenblatt | |
| 2010 | Sex and the City 2 | Harry Goldenblatt | |
| 2011 | The Family Tree | Harvey "Harv" Druckner | |
| 2012 | Should've Been Romeo | Stewart | |
| 2019 | Lying and Stealing | Eric Maropakis | |
| 2019 | Foster Boy | Samuel Collins | |
| 2023 | Reverse the Curse | Benny |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Miami Vice | Louis Martinez | Episode: "Milk Run" |
| 1987 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Allen | Episode: "What If I'm Gay?" |
| 1991–1992 | Sibs | Monty | 4 episodes |
| 1992 | Woops! | Mark Braddock | 11 episodes |
| 1996 | One Life to Live | Conrad Klein | Unknown episodes |
| 1999 | New York Undercover | Carl | Episode: "Catharsis" |
| 1999–2001 | It's Like, You Know... | Shrug | 26 episodes |
| 2000 | The Three Stooges | Larry Fine | Television movie |
| 2000 | Law & Order | Eli Becker | Episode: "Return" |
| 2001 | The West Wing | Douglas Wegland | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | Ed | Dr. Crazy | Episode: "Crazy Time" |
| 2002 | The Guardian | Mitchell Lichtman | 3 episodes |
| 2002–2004 | Sex and the City | Harry Goldenblatt | 18 episodes |
| 2002 | John Doe | Max Clark | Episode: "Low Art" |
| 2003 | Friends | The Director | Episode: "The One Where Rachel Goes Back to Work" |
| 2003 | Six Feet Under | Scott Phillip Smith | Episode: "Nobody Sleeps" |
| 2004 | Without a Trace | Bruce Caplan | Episode: "American Goddess" |
| 2004 | Jack & Bobby | Cary Donovan | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Joan of Arcadia | Chuck Kroner | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | 24 | David Weiss | Episode: "Day 4: 12:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m." |
| 2005 | Hot Properties | Dr. Sellers Boyd | 13 episodes |
| 2006 | CSI: Miami | Norman Stein | Episode: "Fade Out" |
| 2006 | Lost | Dave | Episode: "Dave" |
| 2006 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Ricky Tahoe | 4 episodes |
| 2007 | Shark | Stanley Davis | Episode: "Trial by Fire" |
| 2007–2014 | Californication | Charlie Runkle | Main cast |
| 2011 | Too Big to Fail | Lloyd Blankfein | Television movie |
| 2011–2012 | Necessary Roughness | Marshall Pitman | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | The Astronaut Wives Club | Duncan "Dunk" Pringle | 10 episodes |
| 2016 | The Breaks | Jonah "Juggy" Aaron | Television movie |
| 2016 | American Crime Story | Alan Dershowitz | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | The Breaks | Jonah "Juggy" Aaron | 8 episodes |
| 2018 | The Good Fight | Jonathan | Episode: "Day 443" |
| 2019 | Fosse/Verdon | Hal Prince | Television miniseries Episodes: "Life Is a Cabaret" and "Who's Got the Pain?" |
| 2019–2020 | Power | District Attorney Jacob Warner | 15 episodes |
| 2019 | L.A.'s Finest | Captain Thomas Hirsch | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2019 | Daughterhood | Mike | Episode: "Mother's Day" |
| 2021–present | And Just Like That... | Harry Goldenblatt | 19 episodes |