Chris Messina
Birthday: Born in 1974-08-11 in New York City, New York, USA
Deathday: Alive
Christopher Messina (born August 11, 1974) is an American actor, director, writer, and producer. He is best known for starring as Danny Castellano in the series The Mindy Project (2012–2017), which earned him two nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He has appeared in films such as Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Julie & Julia (2009), Devil (2010), Argo (2012), Ruby Sparks (2012), Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012), Cake (2014), Birds of Prey (2020), I Care a Lot (2020), Call Jane (2022), Air (2023) and The Boogeyman (2023). Messina wrote, executive produced, and starred in the comedy film Fairhaven (2012). He also directed and starred in the drama film Alex of Venice (2014). On television, Messina appeared as Ted Fairwell in the HBO drama series Six Feet Under (2005), Chris Sanchez in the Audience Network legal thriller series Damages (2011–2012), Reese Lansing in the HBO political drama series The Newsroom (2012–2014), Richard Willis in the HBO miniseries Sharp Objects (2018), Nick Haas in the USA Network crime drama series The Sinner (2020), Angelo Lano in the Starz political miniseries Gaslit (2022), and as Nathan Bartlett in the Peacock comedy thriller Based on a True Story (2023). Description above from the Wikipedia article Chris Messina, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
TV Credits
Medium
Character: Casey Edward Frank
Allison Dubois works in the District Attorney’s office using her natural intuition about people and her ability to communicate with the dead to help to solve crimes. Her dreams often give her clues to the whereabouts of missing people....
Six Feet Under
Character: Ted Fairwell
When death is your business, what is your life? For the Fisher family, the world outside of their family-owned funeral home continues to be at least as challenging as—and far less predictable than—the one inside....
Damages
Character:
Damages is an American legal thriller television series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler. The plot revolves around the brilliant, ruthless lawyer Patty Hewes and her protégée, recent law school graduate Ellen Parsons. Each season features a major case that Hewes and her firm take on, while also examining a chapter of the complicated relationship between Ellen and Patty. The first two seasons center around the law firm Hewes & Asso...
The Mindy Project
Character: Dr. Danny Castellano
Obstetrician/gynecologist Mindy Lahiri tries to balance her personal and professional life, surrounded by quirky co-workers in a small medical practice in New York City....
Gaslit
Character: Angelo Lano
A modern take on the 1970s political Watergate scandal centering on untold stories and forgotten characters of the time....
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Character: Self - Guest
Once Craig Ferguson retires, James Corden will be taking over The Late Late Show. The show is a late night talk show that interviews celebrities and has its own bits. And of course, it's all hosted by James Corden....
Sharp Objects
Character: Richard Willis
Reporter Camille Preaker confronts the psychological demons from her past when she returns to her hometown to investigate the murders of two young girls....
Law & Order
Character: Tommy Bell
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place....
Law & Order
Character: Kevin Turner
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place....
The View
Character: Self
ABC Daytime's morning chatfest, currently featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro discussing the most exciting events of the day. Hot topics in the news, the best experts in their field, celebrity interviews and general entertainment are all part of The View....
Law & Order
Character: Don Cushman
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place....
Based on a True Story
Character: Nathan Bartlett
The lives of a realtor, a plumber and a former tennis star unexpectedly collide, exposing America’s obsession with true crime, murder and the slow-close toilet seat....
Off Camera with Sam Jones
Character: Self
Photographer and director Sam Jones sits down with the myriad professionals of television and movies, and other celebrities (great skateboarders, for example), to discuss their development before fame, their passions beyond their careers, and gives them a space to open up about their insight into their business and their own abilities. Filmed in black and white, with a few deep cushion chairs and sparse set, the show relies on Sam's ability to relate to the guests and their will to speak freely ...
The Newsroom
Character: Reese Lansing
A behind-the-scenes look at the people who make a nightly cable-news program. Focusing on a network anchor, his new executive producer, the newsroom staff and their boss, the series tracks their quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles-not to mention their own personal entanglements....
Third Watch
Character: Charlie
The exploits of a group of men and women who serve the City of New York as police officers, firemen, and paramedics, all working the same fictional 55th precinct during the 3pm to 11pm shift - the 'Third Watch'....
Movie Credits
Made of Honor
Character: Dennis
Tom and Hannah have been platonic friends for 10 years. He's a serial dater, while she wants marriage but hasn't found Mr. Right. Just as Tom is starting to think that he is relationship material after all, Hannah gets engaged. When she asks Tom to be her 'maid' of honor, he reluctantly agrees just so he can attempt to stop the wedding and woo her....
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Character: Doug
Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture....
Dreamin' Wild
Character: Matt Sullivan
“Dreamin’ Wild” tells the true story of the Emerson family and the tumult that followed the success of their self-recorded pop-funk album of the same name, which went largely unnoticed until critics rediscovered and reappraised it decades later. Now, as an adult, Donnie is forced to confront the ghosts from the past and grapple with the emotional toll his dreams have taken on the family who supported him....
Julie & Julia
Character: Eric Powell
Julia Child and Julie Powell – both of whom wrote memoirs – find their lives intertwined. Though separated by time and space, both women are at loose ends... until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible....
Greenberg
Character: Phillip Greenberg
A New Yorker moves to Los Angeles in order to figure out his life while he housesits for his brother, and he soon sparks with his brother's assistant....
Turn It Up
Character: Baz
Trying to bootstrap his way out of Brooklyn's mean streets is Diamond, a rap musician. With his long-time pal Gage acting as his manager, he's trying to lay down a demo tape with cut-rate studio time. To pay the bills, he and Gage run drugs for "Mr. B." Inside a week, Diamond's beloved mother dies suddenly, his father appears after an absence of 12 years and wants a relationship, and his girlfriend Kia tells him she's pregnant, asking him if he's ready to be a father. Gage steals $100,000 in a m...
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
Character: Subject #19
After her boyfriend mysteriously leaves her with little explanation, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at a prestigious East Coast university is left looking for answers as to what went wrong....
Humboldt County
Character: Max
Peter is a medical student about to graduate and begin his residency. When his professor fails him, he winds up in bed with an actress and singer named Bogart rolling through Los Angeles. He accompanies her to the redwoods of northern California, where he encounters her eccentric family of pot farmers. But when Bogart runs away without a word, Peter is thrust into the picturesque and bizarre world....
Like Crazy
Character: Mike Appletree
A British college student falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa....
Ira & Abby
Character: Ira Black
A neurotic, young psychology student, with low self-esteem, has a chance encounter with a free-spirited, extremely gregarious woman who works at the Paris Health Club in New York City, and who suggests that they immediately get married to see how it will work out. Both of the student's parents are analysts, and they provide the happy couple with a gift certificate for a year of marriage counseling as a wedding present....
Devil
Character: Detective Bowden
A group of people are trapped in an elevator high above Philadelphia, and one of them is the devil....
Argo
Character: Malinov
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador....
Away We Go
Character: Tom Garnett
Verona and Burt have moved to Colorado to be close to Burt's parents but, with Verona expecting their first child, Burt's parents inexplicably decide to move to Belgium, now leaving them in a place they hate and without a support structure in place. They set off on a whirlwind tour of of disparate locations where they have friends or relatives, sampling not only different cities and climates but also different families. Along the way they realize that the journey is less about discovering where ...
The Boogeyman
Character: Will Harper
Still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, a teenage girl and her younger sister find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house and struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention before it’s too late....
Monogamy
Character: Theo
Exhibitionism, voyeurism, jealousy, lust. Brooklyn wedding photographer Theo’s side business shooting surveillance-style photos of clients on the sly takes an unexpected turn - and creates a rift with his fiancée - when he’s hired by a provocative mystery woman....
Too Long at the Fair
Character: Lee
Charlie and Val are best friends and owners of a fledgeling Princess party business in Los Angeles. After a mishap at a client’s party, the two find themselves in the hole and desperate for funds. They meet a charming divorcee, and what begins as a provocative yet seemingly harmless adventure take a downward turn....
28 Hotel Rooms
Character: Man
While traveling for work in a city far from their homes, a novelist and a corporate accountant find themselves in bed together. Although she’s married, and he’s seeing someone, their intense attraction turns a one-night stand into an unexpected relationship and a respite from the obligations of daily life. Through a series of moments – some profound, some silly, some intensely intimate – we see a portrait of an evolving relationship that could become the most significant one of their lives....
Celeste & Jesse Forever
Character: Paul
Celeste and Jesse met in high school and got married young. They laugh at the same jokes and finish each other’s sentences. They are forever linked in their friends’ minds as the perfect couple – she, a high-powered businesswoman and budding novelist; he, a free spirit who keeps things from getting boring. Their only problem is that they have decided to get divorced. Can their perfect relationship withstand this minor setback?...
An Invisible Sign
Character: Ben Smith
Mona Gray is a 20-year-old loner who, as a child, turned to math for salvation after her father became ill. As an adult, Mona now teaches the subject and must help her students through their own crises....
The Giant Mechanical Man
Character: Tim
An offbeat romantic comedy about a silver-painted street performer and the soft spoken zoo worker who falls for him....
Ruby Sparks
Character: Harry
Calvin is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby, in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person....
Fairhaven
Character: Dave
Long-time friends reconnect when one returns to their small Massachusetts town for a funeral....
The Aviary
Character: Seth
A twisted journey of two women’s desperate flee to escape the clutches of Skylight, an insidious cult. Lured in by the promise of “freedom” in the isolated desert campus called The Aviary, Jillian and Blair join forces to escape in hopes of real freedom. Consumed by fear and paranoia, they can’t shake the feeling that they are being followed by the cult’s leader, Seth, a man as seductive as he is controlling. The more distance the pair gains from the cult, the more Seth holds control of their mi...
Anatomy of Hope
Character: Dr. Gary Caplan
Medical drama based on the lives of cancer patients. Based on Jerome Groopman's "The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness."...
Air
Character: David Falk
Discover the game-changing partnership between a then undiscovered Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and culture with the Air Jordan brand....
Manglehorn
Character: Jacob
AJ Manglehorn is an aging, ordinary guy in a small town. He nurses his sick cat, squeezes out a conversation with the local bank teller every Friday, and eats at the same place every day. But there is more to Manglehorn than meets the eye: he’s an ex-con who, 40 years ago, gave up the woman of his dreams for a big ‘job’. After a dramatic effort to start over, Manglehorn faces a terrifying moment and is unmasked as a guy with a very, very dark past....
Showing Up
Character: Self
An unprecedented look at the audition, compiled from more than 50 interviews with notable artists including Kristin Chenoweth, Richard Griffiths, Zoe Kazan, Nathan Lane, Chris Messina, Sam Rockwell and Eli Wallach....
Alex of Venice
Character: George
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself....
We're Just Married
Character:
A suburban wife ends her marriage after having an affair with her neighbor....
Towelhead
Character: Barry
A young Arab-American girl struggles with her sexual obsession, a bigoted Army reservist, and her strict father during the Gulf War....
Juror #2
Character: Eric Resnick
While serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, family man Justin Kemp finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer....
Cake
Character: Jason Bennett
After having visions of a member of her support group who killed herself, a woman who also suffers with chronic pain seeks out the widower of the suicide....
Digging for Fire
Character: Tango
Tim and Lee are married with a young child. The chance to stay at a fancy home in the Hollywood Hills is complicated by Tim's discovery of a bone and a rusty old gun in the yard. Tim is excited by the idea of a mystery, but Lee doesn't want him to dig any further, preferring that he focus on the family taxes, which he promised to do weeks ago. This disagreement sends them on separate and unexpected adventures over the course of a weekend, as Tim and his friends seek clues to the mystery while Le...
Palo Alto
Character: Mitch
A lack of parental guidance encourages teens in an affluent California town to rebel with substance abuse and casual sex....
Rounders
Character: Higgins
A young reformed gambler must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks....
Zeroville
Character: Brian De Palma
A young actor arrives in Hollywood in 1969 during a transitional time in the Industry....
The Trouble With Bliss
Character: NJ
35-year-old Morris Bliss is clamped in the jaws of New York City inertia: he wants to travel but has no money, he needs a job but has no prospects, he still shares an apartment with his widowed father, and the premature death of his mother has left him emotionally walled up. When he finds himself wrapped up in an awkward relationship with Stephanie, the 18-year-old daughter of a former classmate, Morris quickly discovers his static life unraveling and opening up in ways that are long overdue....
Ordinary World
Character: Jake
Perry is a happily married father of two living a comfortable but sedate life in the suburbs. On the occasion of his 40th birthday, he seeks to revisit his former life as the lead singer in a popular punk band though his middle-aged reality quickly (and hilariously) clashes with the indulgences of his youth....
The Sweet Life
Character: Kenny
Kenny is an ice cream vendor in Chicago with a crisp white uniform and an apathetic heart. When he encounters Lolita, a sharp-tongued but despondent insurance actuary, their heated conversation, natural spark and mutual hopelessness lead to an unusual proposal for a meet-cute: to travel to San Francisco, where they will jump off the Golden Gate Bridge together....
Live by Night
Character: Dion Bartolo
A group of Boston-bred gangsters set up shop in balmy Florida during the Prohibition era, facing off against the competition and the Ku Klux Klan....
You've Got Mail
Character: Fox Salesperson
Book superstore magnate, Joe Fox and independent book shop owner, Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet—both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business....
Lear Rex
Character: Cornwall
An aging king splits up his kingdom for his three daughters to govern, but is misled about their affections and driven into exile....
Blame
Character: Jeremy Woods
A drama teacher's taboo relationship with an unstable student strikes a nerve in her jealous classmate, sparking a vengeful chain of events within their suburban high school that draws parallels to "The Crucible"....
Secret Ingredients: Creating Julie & Julia
Character: Self
Behind the scenes of 'Julie & Julia'....
The True Adventures of Wolfboy
Character: Denny
Follows a young boy who runs away from home in the search of his estranged mother....
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Character: Victor Zsasz
Harley Quinn joins forces with a singer, an assassin and a police detective to help a young girl who had a hit placed on her after she stole a rare diamond from a crime lord....
The Secrets We Keep
Character: Lewis
In post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her....
I Care a Lot
Character: Dean Ericson
A court-appointed legal guardian defrauds her older clients and traps them under her care. But her latest mark comes with some unexpected baggage....
Love is Love is Love
Character: Jack (segment "Two for Dinner")
Three stories that explore love, commitment, and loyalty between couples and friends. "Two for Dinner" where a married couple temporarily living in two different locations are more separated than they think. "Sailing Lesson" about a long-married couple who spend a day on a sailboat rekindling their romance… and unexpected events arise. "Late Lunch" where a young woman who recently lost her mother gathers together a group of her mother’s friends to share memories...
The Siege
Character: Corporal
The secret US abduction of a suspected terrorist from his Middle East homeland leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York. An FBI senior agent and his team attempt to locate and decommission the enemy cells, but must also deal with an Army General gone rogue and a female CIA agent of uncertain loyalties....
She Dies Tomorrow
Character: Jason
Amy is ravaged by the notion that she is going to die tomorrow, which sends her down a dizzying emotional spiral. When her skeptical friend Jane discovers Amy’s feeling of imminent death to be contagious, they both begin bizarre journeys through what might be the last day of their lives....
I.S.S.
Character: Gordon Barrett
Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station as a conflict breaks out on Earth. U.S. and Russian astronauts receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary....
Call Jane
Character: Will
A married woman with an unwanted pregnancy lives in a time in America where she can't get a legal abortion and works with a group of suburban women to find help....