Tracy Letts | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Letts at the 2025New York Film Festival | |
| Born | Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Billie Letts Dennis Letts |
| Awards | Pulitzer Prize for Drama Tony Award for Best Play Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play |
Tracy S. Letts is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at theSteppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright forAugust: Osage County (2007), for which he received thePulitzer Prize for Drama and theTony Award for Best Play. As an actor, he won theTony Award for Best Actor in a Play for theBroadway revival ofWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2013).
As a playwright, Letts is known for having written for theSteppenwolf Theatre, Off-Broadway andBroadway theatre. His works includeKiller Joe,Bug,Man from Nebraska,August: Osage County,Superior Donuts,Linda Vista, andThe Minutes. Letts adapted three of his plays into films,Bug andKiller Joe, both directed byWilliam Friedkin, andAugust: Osage County, directed byJohn Wells. His 2009 playSuperior Donuts was adapted into atelevision series of the same name. As a stage actor, Letts has performed in various classic plays with the Steppenwolf Theatre since 1988. He made his acting Broadway debut as George in the revival ofEdward Albee's playWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which earned him aTony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He continued acting on the Broadway stage inThe Realistic Joneses,All My Sons, andThe Minutes.
On television, he is known for his portrayal ofAndrew Lockhart in seasons 3 and 4 ofShowtime'sHomeland from 2013 to 2014, andpyramid-scheme con-artist Nick on theHBO comedy seriesDivorce from 2016 to 2019. He playedJack McKinney in theHBO sports drama seriesWinning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022–2023) for which he was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. On film he has portrayedHenry Ford II inJames Mangold's sports dramaFord v Ferrari (2019) andHerb Sargent inJason Reitman's biographical comedy-dramaSaturday Night (2024). He has also taken leading roles inThe Lovers (2017) as well as supporting roles inThe Big Short (2015),Indignation (2016),Imperium (2016),Lady Bird (2017),The Post (2017),Little Women (2019), andA House of Dynamite (2025).
Letts was born inTulsa, Oklahoma, to authorBillie Letts (née Gipson) a college professor and actorDennis Letts.[1][2] He has two brothers, Shawn, a musician, and Dana. He grew up inDurant, Oklahoma, and graduated fromDurant High School in the early 1980s. He moved toDallas, where he waited tables and worked in telemarketing while beginning his acting career. He appeared in Jerry Flemmons'sO Dammit!, which was part of a new playwrights' series sponsored bySouthern Methodist University.
Letts moved toChicago at the age of 20, working for the next 11 years atSteppenwolf Theatre Company and Famous Door. He is still an active member of Steppenwolf. He was a founding member of Bang Bang Spontaneous Theatre, whose members includedGreg Kotis,Michael Shannon, Paul Dillon, andAmy Pietz.[3] In 1991, Letts wrote the playKiller Joe. Two years later, the play premiered at the Next Lab Theater inEvanston, Illinois, followed by the 29th Street Rep inNew York City. Since then,Killer Joe has been performed in a number of countries in 12 languages.[4]
Letts has written a number of plays. His most famous,August: Osage County, premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on June 28, 2007. It had its Broadway debut at theImperial Theatre on December 4, 2007; the production transferred toBroadway'sMusic Box Theatre on April 29, 2008. The Broadway show closed on June 28, 2009, after 648 performances and 18 previews. The show went on to receive sevenTony Award nominations, winning six, includingBest Play.[5] The play won Letts thePulitzer Prize for Drama in 2008.[6] Letts has also been a finalist for the Pulitzer drama prize for his playsMan from Nebraska andThe Minutes; the Pulitzer committee describedThe Minutes as a "shocking drama set in a seemingly mundane city council meeting that acidly articulates a uniquely American toxicity that feels both historic and contemporary."[7][8]
Letts's plays have depicted people struggling with moral and spiritual questions. He says he was inspired by the plays ofTennessee Williams and the novels ofWilliam Faulkner andJim Thompson. He has said that he considers sounds to be effective "storytelling tools" for theater.[9]
During the late 1980s through the late 2000s, Letts acted in many of theSteppenwolf Theatre Company's productions, starring inSteve Martin'sPicasso at the Lapin Agile (1994). In 2012, he gained attention for his Broadway debut performance in the revival ofEdward Albee'sWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at theBooth Theatre.[10] He received positive reviews and won theTony Award for Best Actor in a Play.[11] In 2019, he appeared in the Broadway revival ofArthur Miller'sAll My Sons withAnnette Bening atRoundabout Theatre Company'sAmerican Airlines Theatre. The show officially opened on April 22, 2019, and closed on June 23, 2019.[12] Letts starred in the 2022 Broadway production ofThe Minutes, his first time acting in one of his own plays.[13]
Early in his acting career, in the 1990s through the mid 2000s, Letts acted in TV shows includingPrison Break,The District,Strong Medicine,Profiler,Judging Amy,The Drew Carey Show,Seinfeld,Early Edition, andHome Improvement. In 2013–14, he joined the cast ofShowtime'sHomeland as US Senator Andrew Lockhart. He was nominated with the rest of the cast for theScreen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble.
In 2016, Letts joinedHBO's marital comedy–dramaDivorce.[14] In 2018, Letts was cast in the second season ofUSA Network's anthology crime drama seriesThe Sinner, oppositeBill Pullman andCarrie Coon.[15] He playedJack McKinney in HBO's 2022 seriesWinning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.[citation needed]
Letts starred inAdam McKay's 2015 ensemble pieceThe Big Short,[16] 2016'sWiener-Dog,Christine, andElvis & Nixon, andJames Schamus's film adaptation of thePhilip Roth novelIndignation,[17][18] as well as the true-story crime thriller adaptationImperium.[19] Letts appeared in the 2017 filmsThe Lovers,The Post,[20] andLady Bird.[21][22]
In 2019, Letts portrayedHenry Ford II inJames Mangold's sports drama filmFord v Ferrari, and played Mr. Dashwood inLittle Women, a film adaptation ofLouisa May Alcott'snovel of the same name.[23]
Letts has written screenplays for threefeature films based on his plays:Bug (directed byWilliam Friedkin),Killer Joe (also directed by Friedkin); andAugust: Osage County (directed byJohn Wells).[citation needed] He also wrote the screenplay for the 2021Netflix feature filmThe Woman in the Window, starringAmy Adams, based on theeponymous psychological thriller byA. J. Finn.[citation needed]
He married actressCarrie Coon in September 2013.[24] They have two children, born in 2018[25][26] and 2021.[27][28] Letts was previously engaged to actressSarah Paulson,[29] and was in a relationship with actress Holly Wantuch[30][31] until her unexpected death in 1998.[32] He has been sober since 1993.[33]
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Killer Joe | ||
| 1996 | Bug | ||
| 2003 | Man from Nebraska | ||
| 2007 | August: Osage County | ||
| 2008 | Superior Donuts | ||
| 2009 | Three Sisters | Adaptation | [34] |
| 2015 | The Stretch | [35] | |
| 2016 | Mary Page Marlowe | [36] | |
| 2017 | Linda Vista | [37] | |
| 2017 | The Minutes | [38] |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Bug | Adaptation of his play |
| 2007 | Cop Show | Short film |
| 2011 | Killer Joe | Adaptation of his play |
| 2013 | August: Osage County | Adaptation of his play |
| 2021 | The Woman in the Window |
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Glass Menagerie | Chicago,Steppenwolf Theatre | |
| 1991–1995 | Bang Bang Spontaneous Theatre | Various characters | Chicago, No Exit Cafe |
| 1994 | Picasso at the Lapin Agile | Freddy | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 1999 | Three Days of Rain | Walker | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2001 | Glengarry Glen Ross | John Williamson | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2002 | The Dazzle | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre | |
| 2002 | Miracle on 34th Street | Lawyer | Chicago Center for Performing Arts |
| 2003 | Homebody/Kabul | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre | |
| 2004 | The Dresser | Norman | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2005 | Last of the Boys | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre | |
| 2005 | Orson's Shadow | Kenneth Tynan | Off-Broadway,Barrow Street Theatre |
| 2005 | The Pain and the Itch | Cash | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2006 | The Pillowman | Tupolski | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2006 | The Well-Appointed Room | Stewart | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2007 | Betrayal | Robert | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2009 | American Buffalo | Walter "Teach" Cole | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2010 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | George | Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre |
| 2012 | Broadway,Booth Theatre | ||
| 2014 | The Realistic Joneses | Bob Jones | Broadway,Lyceum Theatre |
| 2019 | All My Sons | Joe Keller | Broadway,American Airlines Theatre |
| 2020 | The Minutes | Mayor Superba | Broadway,Cort Theatre |
| 2022 | Broadway,Studio 54[39] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Paramedics | Van Owner | |
| 1992 | Straight Talk | Sean | |
| 1998 | Chicago Cab | Sports Fan | |
| U.S. Marshals | Sheriff Poe | ||
| 1999 | Guinevere | Zack | |
| 2007 | Cop Show | Michael Cooke | Short film |
| 2015 | The Big Short | Lawrence Fields | |
| 2016 | Wiener-Dog | Danny | |
| Christine | Michael Nelson | ||
| Elvis & Nixon | John Finlator | ||
| Indignation | Hawes D. Caudwell | ||
| Imperium | Dallas Wolf | ||
| 2017 | The Lovers | Michael | |
| Lady Bird | Larry McPherson | ||
| The Post | Fritz Beebe | ||
| 2019 | Ford v Ferrari | Henry Ford II | |
| Little Women | Mr. Dashwood | ||
| 2020 | French Exit | Franklin "Small Frank" Price (voice) | |
| 2021 | The Woman in the Window | Dr. Landy | Uncredited |
| Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Jack | Uncredited | |
| 2022 | Deep Water | Don Wilson | |
| 2023 | Eric Larue | Bill Verne | |
| 2024 | McVeigh | Richard Snell | |
| Saturday Night | Herb Sargent | ||
| 2025 | A House of Dynamite | General Anthony Brady | |
| 2026 | Rosebush Pruning | Post-production | |
| TBA | I Play Rocky | Sandy Maddox | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Home Improvement | Henry | Episode: "Jill's Surprise Party" |
| 1996–1997 | Early Edition | Jonathan / Marksman | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Seinfeld | Counterguy | Episode: "The Strike" |
| 1998 | The Drew Carey Show | Lomax | Episode: "Drew and the Conspiracy" |
| 1999 | Judging Amy | Mr. Kleinman | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2000 | Profiler | Mr. Adams | Episode: "Train Man" |
| 2001 | Strong Medicine | Ken | Episode: "Wednesday Night Fever" |
| 2001 | The District | Brad Gilroy | Episode: "Melt Down" |
| 2006 | Prison Break | Peter Tucci | 2 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | Homeland | Senator/Director Andrew Lockhart | 17 episodes |
| 2016–2019 | Divorce | Nick | 17 episodes |
| 2017 | Comrade Detective | Vasile (voice) | Episode: "No Exit" |
| 2018 | The Sinner | Jack Novack | 7 episodes |
| 2022–2023 | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | Jack McKinney | 9 episodes |
| 2024 | Mr. Throwback | Mitch Grossman | 5 episodes |
| 2024 | The Simpsons | Himself (voice) | Episode: "Desperately Seeking Lisa" |
| 2025 | The Paper | John Stack | 2 episodes |
| 2025 | The Lowdown | Frank Martin | Upcoming series |
| TBA | East of Eden | Cyrus Trask | Upcoming series |
This adaptation of the Russian masterpiece was commissioned by Artists Rep as part three of its four-part Chekhov project. Letts offers a fresh, new look at the decay of the privileged class and the search for meaning in the modern world, through the eyes of three dissatisfied sisters who desperately long for their treasured past.
