Len Cariou | |
|---|---|
 Cariou in September 2009 | |
| Born | Leonard Joseph Cariou (1939-09-30)September 30, 1939 (age 85) Saint Boniface,Manitoba, Canada |
| Alma mater | St. Paul's College |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Patricia Otter (divorced) |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical |
Leonard Joseph CariouOC OM (/ˈkæriu/; born September 30, 1939) is a Canadian stage actor, singer andstage director. He gained prominence for his portrayal ofSweeney Todd in the original cast ofStephen Sondheim's musicalSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979) alongsideAngela Lansbury for which he won theTony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also received Tony nominations for his roles in theBetty Comden andAdolph Green musicalApplause (1970), and the Sondheim musicalA Little Night Music (1973).
He is also known for his film roles inA Little Night Music (1977),The Four Seasons (1981),Thirteen Days (2000),About Schmidt (2002),Flags of Our Fathers (2006),Prisoners (2013), andSpotlight (2015). He portrayedFranklin D. Roosevelt in theHBO filmInto the Storm (2009) for which he received a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He also is known for his recurring television roles inMurder, She Wrote (1985–1992),Brotherhood (2005-2006), andDamages (2010). From 2010 to 2024, he co-starred as the patriarchHenry Reagan,NYPD Police Commissioner (retired), in the multi-generationalCBS seriesBlue Bloods.
Leonard Joseph Cariou was born on September 30, 1939, inSaint Boniface,Manitoba.[1][2] Cariou's father wasBreton and his mother was of Irish descent.[3] Cariou attendedMiles Macdonell Collegiate for grades 10 and 11, where he directed and starred in the school plays, and he later attendedSt Paul's College.[4]
Cariou made his first appearance inDamn Yankees at Rainbow Stage in Winnipeg in 1959, and was a founding member of theManitoba Theatre Centre.[5] He was offered a scholarship at theNational Theatre School of Canada inMontreal but, married with a young child and financial responsibilities, he was forced to decline the honor. Instead, he learned his craft by spending two years at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival inStratford,Ontario, and returned in 1981 to lead the company asProspero,Coriolanus,Brutus, andPetruchio.[citation needed]
Cariou also became a lead actor at theTyrone Guthrie Theatre inMinneapolis in the 1960s, where he played Orlando inAs You Like It; Agamemnon inTyrone Guthrie's compilation ofThe House of Atreus;Iago;Oberon; and the title roles inHenry V,Oedipus the King, andKing Lear. He also was an associate director.In 1968, Cariou made hisBroadway debut inThe House of Atreus. Two years later, Cariou landed his first starring role oppositeLauren Bacall inApplause, a musical adaptation of the filmAll About Eve. It earned him aTony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical and won him theTheatre World Award.
In 1973, he received his second Tony nomination forA Little Night Music; he reprised the role of Fredrik for the 1977 film version oppositeElizabeth Taylor. Six years later he won both the Tony andDrama Desk Award for his portrayal ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in theStephen Sondheim musical oppositeAngela Lansbury. Cariou's early film credits includeOne Man (1977), and the 1977Harold Prince-directed screen adaptation ofA Little Night Music withElizabeth Taylor.
In 1981 Cariou starred in theAlan Alda directed comedy-dramaThe Four Seasons alongsideCarol Burnett,Rita Moreno, andSandy Dennis. During these years, Cariou also appeared in a number of benefits, includingA Christmas Carol for theRiverside Shakespeare Company in New York, playing Scrooge, withHelen Hayes,Raul Julia, andMary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, directed by W. Stuart McDowell at theSymphony Space in 1985.[6] His next projects included theAlan Jay Lerner–Charles Strouse musicalDance a Little Closer (1983),Arthur Miller's sole musical,Up from Paradise (1983),Teddy & Alice (1987), andZiegfeld (1988).
Regionally, Cariou has starred in many productions at theatres throughout North America, includingThe Kennedy Centre, theMark Taper Forum,Lincoln Centre, theLong Wharf Theatre and theOld Globe. He has played the title role of Macbeth for Toronto Arts Productions, and Richard Nixon inFrost/Nixon for Canadian Stage in Toronto. He has appeared multiple times throughout his career at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. In 1984, having directed "Death of a Salesman" at the Citadel Theater, Edmonton, he played the lead in "King Lear" and was appointed associate director. In 1985 he played Stalin there in David Pownall's "Master Class". Cariou appeared at The Geffen Theatre as Joe Keller in a notable production ofAll My Sons, a role he reprised in 2009 at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, where it was the longest-running, highest-grossing run of a play in that theatre's history. He also appeared atThe Geffen in Neil Simon'sRose and Walsh andHeroes withGeorge Segal.
From 1985 to 1992, Cariou appeared in multiple episodes of the popular television mystery seriesMurder, She Wrote with his friend and formerSweeney Todd co-star Angela Lansbury. Cariou portrayed the recurring character of Michael Hagarty, characterized as an Irish international man of mystery who worked as a secret agent for BritishMI-6. He would get Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), the title character of the show, involved in mysteries involving international intrigue.
Cariou also appeared on Broadway inNight Watch,Cold Storage,The Speed of Darkness,Neil Simon'sThe Dinner Party (withHenry Winkler andJohn Ritter) andProof (withAnne Heche andNeil Patrick Harris). He directedDon't Call Back on Broadway as well. His off-Broadway appearances includeMaster Class,Papa (anErnest Hemingway one-man show) andMountain (Justice William O. Douglas). He appeared as Cap'n Andy in the Broadway national tour ofShow Boat oppositeCloris Leachman.
Cariou narratedMajor League Baseball'sWorld Series films from 1992 to 1997. In addition, he was the narrator of "An Amazin' Era", a video commemorating the 25th anniversary of theNew York Mets franchise.[citation needed] He narrated both the original 1986 version and an update that was produced in 1989. He has recorded a number of books, including several byMichael Connelly, for audiotape release. He also narrated the 1989 Academy Award-winning documentaryThe Johnstown Flood.
In 1993, Cariou was in the TV movieMiracle on Interstate 880. He played Buck Helm. He also guest-starred in an episode ofNorth of 60 when he portrayed Sarah Birkett's estranged father. In 1995, Cariou became the first actor to portrayWalt Disney in theAnnette Funicello biographyA Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story, based on her book of the same name. In 1997, Cariou appeared in theStar Trek: Voyager episode "Coda". He appeared to CaptainKathryn Janeway as an alien disguised as Admiral Janeway, her deceased father.
During the 2000s he acted inThirteen Days (2000),About Schmidt (2002),Secret Window (2004) in which he starred alongsideJohnny Depp, who would later go on to playSweeney Todd inSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, theTim Burton-directed musical based on the Broadway show in which Cariou starred. He acted in Boynton Beach Club (2005),Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and played the father in the 2007 film1408, and the nominal lead role inThe Onion Movie, based on thesatiricalnewspaper. In 2009, Cariou portrayedFranklin D. Roosevelt in theHBO movieInto the Storm, earning anEmmy nomination forOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.
In 2010, Cariou appeared asMadoff-likePonzi scheme man Louis Tobin in the dramaDamages, the main antagonist in season three. Cariou has appeared in episodes ofThe West Wing,Law & Order,The Practice, andThe Outer Limits. He had a continuing role in 2006–2007 as power broker Judd Fitzgerald in the seriesBrotherhood. He played an American naval officer in 2013'sden Orolige Mannen (the Troubled Man), adapted from one ofHenning Mankell'sKurt Wallander novels. In 2018 he starred alongside Bruce Willis inDeath Wish as Dr. Paul Kersey's father-in-law. He currently appears asHenry Reagan, the former New York City Police Commissioner and patriarch of the current commissioner's family onBlue Bloods.
More recently, Cariou portrayedCardinal Law inSpotlight, which won theAcademy Award for Best Picture of 2015.[citation needed] He also starred in the short playHappy Birthday, Mr. Abernathy byLloyd Suh for a public radio show and podcast,Playing On Air.[7]
Cariou has been married to author Heather Summerhayes since October 25, 1985.[8] Before his marriage to Summerhayes, he had relationships with actressesGlenn Close andLauren Bacall.[9] He was previously married to Susan Kapilow from 1975 until their divorce in 1978. He has a daughter, Laurel, from his marriage to his first wife, Patricia Otter.
| Year | Title | Theatre |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Of Mice and Men | Guthrie Theater |
| 1974 | The Petrified Forest | |
| The Crucible | ||
| 1979 | Don't Call Back | |
| 1984 | Death of a Salesman | |
| 1985 | Cold Storage |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | One Man | Jason Brady |
| A Little Night Music | Fredrik Egerman | |
| 1978 | Drying Up the Streets | Larry |
| 1981 | The Four Seasons | Nick Callan |
| 1988 | Lady in White | Phil Terragrossa |
| 1994 | Getting In | Dr. Lionel Higgs / Dr. Ezekiel Higgs |
| 1995 | Never Talk to Strangers | Henry Taylor |
| 1996 | Executive Decision | Secretary of Defense Charles White |
| 2000 | Thirteen Days | Dean Acheson |
| 2002 | About Schmidt | Ray Nichols |
| 2004 | Secret Window | Sheriff Dave Newsome |
| 2005 | The Greatest Game Ever Played | Stedman Comstock |
| Boynton Beach Club | Jack | |
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | Mr. Beech |
| 2007 | 1408 | Joe Enslin |
| 2008 | The Onion Movie | Norm Archer |
| 2013 | Prisoners | Father Patrick Dunn |
| 2015 | Spotlight | Cardinal Bernard Law |
| 2018 | Death Wish | Ben Gibbs |
| Bumblebee | Hank |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Quest | Unknown | 1 episode |
| 1964 | Festival | Ragnar | 1 episode |
| 1979 | The Great Detective | Tanner | 1 episode |
| 1981 | Madame X | John Abbott | Television film |
| 1985–1992 | Murder, She Wrote | Michael Hagarty / Monsignore O'Shaugnessy | 7 episodes |
| 1985 | There Were Times, Dear | Bob Millard | Television film |
| 1985 | Surviving: A Family in Crisis | David Brogan | Television film |
| 1989 | The American Playwrights Theater: The One Acts | Pat Sweeney | 1 episode |
| 1990 | Gabriel's Fire | Judge Norton Heller | 1 episode |
| 1991 | Kurt Vonnegut's Monkey House | Ambassador Kelly | 1 episode |
| 1992 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Douglas | 1 episode |
| Street Legal | Christin Peveril | 1 episode | |
| 1993 | North of 60 | Mike Birkett | 1 episode |
| Class of '61 | Dr. Leland Peyton | Television film | |
| The Sea Wolf | Dr. Picard | Television film | |
| 1993–2008 | Law & Order | Edgar Beezley / Mac Geller / Captain Allard Bunker | 3 episodes |
| 1994 | Witness to the Execution | Jake Tyler | Television film |
| Love on the Run | Noah Cross | Television film | |
| 1995–2000 | The Outer Limits | Doc Wells / Father Anton Jonasceu | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Swift Justice | Al Swift | Main cast 13 episodes |
| The Summer of Ben Tyler | Spencer Maitland | Television film | |
| 1997 | Star Trek: Voyager | Admiral Edward Janeway | 1 episode ("Coda") |
| F/X: The Series | Charles Emery | 1 episode | |
| American Experience | Narrator (voice) | 1 episode | |
| 1998 | Mentors | Alexander Graham Bell | 1 episode |
| 1999 | The Practice | Defense Attorney Weiland | 1 episode |
| In the Company of Spies | The President | Television film | |
| 2000 | D.C. | Senator William Abbott | 1 episode |
| Nuremberg | Francis Biddle | Television film | |
| The West Wing | Pharmaceutical Executive | 1 episode | |
| 2003 | Ed | Mr. Stuckey | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Sex Traffic | Magnus Herzoff | Miniseries |
| 2005 | Numb3rs | Alan Emrick | 1 episode |
| 2006–2007 | Brotherhood | Judd Fitzgerald | Recurring role 10 episodes |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Frank McCarty | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Army Wives | Randall Meade | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Into the Storm | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Television film |
| Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice | Narrator | 9 episodes | |
| 2010 | Damages | Louis Tobin | 5 episodes |
| 2010–24 | Blue Bloods | Henry Reagan | Main role |
| 2013 | Wallander | Atkins | 1 episode |
| 2019 | When They See Us | Robert Morgenthau | Miniseries |
On Broadway, Cariou has earned three Tony nominations for 'Best Actor in a Musical' in 1970 forApplause, in 1973 forA Little Night Music, and in 1979 forSweeney Todd. He won the Tony for Best Performance By A Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance inSweeney Todd.[10]
In 2004, Cariou was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.[11] In 2009, Cariou portrayedFranklin D. Roosevelt in theHBO movieInto the Storm, earning anEmmy nomination forOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. On June 23, 2012, Cariou was honored by having his name added to the Miles Macdonell Collegiate Alumni of Distinction, for his contribution to theater and arts. His introduction to the theater started with a starring role in the school production ofThe Pirates of Penzance. He holds theOrder of Manitoba. He was awarded theHonorary Degree ofDoctor of Letters (D.Litt) by theUniversity of Windsor on 2 June 1984.[12] He received and Honorary Degree from theUniversity of Winnipeg in 1992.[13]
On December 27, 2018,Julie Payette,Governor General of Canada, announced that Cariou would be one of 103 recipients becoming an Officer of theOrder of Canada for his achievements as an actor of stage and screen, and for his commitment to Canadian cultural institutions.[14] He wasinvested with theInsignia of theOrder of Canada on 26 October 2023 byGovernor General of CanadaMary Simon.[15] He also received the Canadian Version of theQueen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.[16]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Musical | Applause | Nominated |
| Theatre World Award | Applause andKing Henry V | Honouree | ||
| 1973 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Musical | A Little Night Music | Nominated |
| 1977 | Canadian Film Award | Best Actor | One Man | Won |
| 1979 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Musical | Sweeney Todd | Won |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor In A Musical | Won | ||
| 1991 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Mountain | Nominated |
| The Speed of Darkness | Nominated | |||
| Gemini Award | Best Actor in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Kurt Vonnegut's Monkey House | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Touring Broadway Awards | Best Actor in a Play | Copenhagen | Won |
| 2009 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Into the Storm | Nominated |
| 2019 | Drama League Award[17] | Distinguished Performance | Harry Townsend's Last Stand | Nominated |
| International | |
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| National | |
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| Other | |