Paul Adelstein
American actor (born 1969)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Adelstein (born April 29, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for the role of Agent Paul Kellerman in the Fox television series Prison Break and his role as pediatrician Cooper Freedman in the ABC medical drama Private Practice. In addition to supporting roles in films such as Intolerable Cruelty and Memoirs of a Geisha, he is also known for his recurring role as Leo Bergen on ABC's Scandal and as Jake Novak in the Bravo television series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce. He also played David Sweetzer on the short-lived NBC comedy I Feel Bad.
Paul Adelstein | |
|---|---|
Adelstein in 2008 | |
| Born | April 29, 1969 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Bowdoin College |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Scarlett Estevez (niece) |
Adelstein co-created the dark comedy TV series Imposters, which aired on Bravo and ran for two 10-episode seasons from 2017 and 2018; he is credited as a writer on 6 episodes. He also played the role of Shelly Cohen on that show.
Early life
Adelstein was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a Reform Jewish family.[1] Prior to his professional acting career, Adelstein attended the progressive Francis W. Parker School, then Bowdoin College where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with a degree in English.[2] He began his career in theatre, working with New Crime Productions, a company founded by John Cusack, and later with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Career
After making his film debut in the film The Grifters (1990), Adelstein went on to appear in several television series, including Cupid, ER, Without a Trace, and Scrubs, and to play a number of significant supporting roles in films such as Bedazzled (2000), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Be Cool (2005), The Menu (2022) and Crime 101 (2026).
In 2005, he received his most significant role to date as a member of the regular cast of the suspenseful television series Prison Break. Although he played the role of mysterious government operative Paul Kellerman, he had originally auditioned for the role of protagonist Lincoln Burrows. When he left the show in 2007, he joined the regular cast of the medical drama Private Practice and stayed for the show's entire six-season run. After the series finale in 2013, he had more recently a recurring role as Leo Bergen on Scandal, which continued into 2018.
He played the main role of Jake Novak, the husband of Abby McCarthy (Lisa Edelstein) in Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, which premiered in late 2014 as the first scripted original series for Bravo.[3] In April 2016, he was cast as Raymond Blackstone in the Hulu series Chance, starring Hugh Laurie.[4]
Music career
Adelstein is the lead singer and guitarist of a band called Doris. The band was started in the late 1990s, and Adelstein has recorded several albums with them, singing and songwriting for the group. Adelstein is also a pianist and guitarist. His musical background was the cover story in the May/June 2012 issue of Making Music Magazine.
Personal life
Adelstein moved to Los Angeles in 2003, at the age of 34.
I've fallen in love with the city. I found it difficult at first, but like I said I was doing it in pretty small doses. By the time I had my own place I was pretty comfortable here, and now I love it. There's really no place in the world like Los Angeles, love it or hate it.[5]
Despite hailing from Chicago, Adelstein has been a fan and supporter since childhood of the NFL's Cleveland Browns.[6][7][8]
Adelstein married actress Liza Weil in a Reform Jewish ceremony, in November 2006.[9] They had previously known each other through theatrical projects.[10] The two went on to appear together in three film projects: the short film Order Up (2007), the Gregory Dark-helmed Frenemy (2008), and The Missing Person. She also appeared in an episode of Private Practice (airdate February 24, 2011),[11] although she and Adelstein had no scenes together. Weil gave birth to their daughter in April 2010.[12][13] Weil filed for divorce from Adelstein in March 2016,[14] requesting joint custody of their daughter.[15]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Grifters | Sailor - Young Paul | |
| 1997 | Peoria Babylon | Brad Kessler | |
| 2000 | Bedazzled | Bob/Roberto/Beach Jock/Sportscaster | |
| 2003 | Intolerable Cruelty | Wrigley | |
| 2004 | Lawrence Melm | ||
| Bandwagon | Joe Rice | ||
| Collateral | Fed #3 | ||
| 2005 | Memoirs of a Geisha | Lieutenant Hutchins | |
| Be Cool | Hy Gordon | ||
| 2009 | Land of the Lost | Astronaut (voice) | |
| The Missing Person | Drexler Hewitt | ||
| Little Fish, Strange Pond | Philly | Direct-to-DVD, AKA Frenemy | |
| 2010 | Happy Sushi | Short | |
| 2014 | Return to Zero | Aaron Royal | |
| 2016 | The Phenom | Scott Borwitz | |
| Mothers and Daughters | Peter | ||
| 2017 | Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk | Allen | |
| 2022 | The Greatest Beer Run Ever | Mr. Donohue | |
| The Menu | Ted | ||
| 2024 | We Strangers | Ed Laich | |
| 2025 | For Worse | Chase | |
| 2026 | Crime 101 | Mark |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–1999 | Cupid | Mike | 10 episodes |
| 1999 | Turks | Officer Cliff Fowler | Television series |
| ER | Hank Loman | Episode: "How the Finch Stole Christmas" | |
| 2002 | R.U.S./H. | Tom Epstein | Television movie |
| ER | Paul | Episode: "Bygones" | |
| Breaking News | Julian Kerbis | Television series | |
| 2002–2003 | Hack | Sergeant Aldo Rossi | 5 episodes (1x13, 1x14, 1x20, 2x04, 2x10) |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Steven Kellerman | Episode: "Mercy" |
| Partners and Crime | Television movie | ||
| The Lyon's Den | Snyder | 1 episode (1x09) | |
| Without a Trace | Dave | Episode: "Copy Cat" | |
| 2004 | Las Vegas | Alex Brooks | Episode: "My Beautiful Launderette" |
| 2005 | Medium | Craig | Episode: "In the Rough" |
| Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | Murro the Marauder (voice) | Episode: "Harvey's Civvy" | |
| 2005–2007; 2009; 2017 |
Prison Break | Paul Kellerman | Series regular, 48 episodes |
| 2006 | Nobody's Watching | Jeff Tucker | Television series |
| Scrubs | Dr. Stone | Episode: "My Fallen Idol" | |
| 2007 | Grey's Anatomy | Cooper Freedman | 2 episodes (3x22, 3x23) |
| 2007–2013 | Private Practice | Series regular, 111 episodes | |
| 2010 | Glenn Martin, DDS | Earl (voice) | Episode: "Courtney's Pony" |
| 2013–2017 | Scandal | Leo Bergen | Recurring role, 18 episodes |
| 2014–2018 | Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce | Jake Novak | Series regular, 29 episodes; also writer and producer |
| 2015 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dr. Neil Alexander | Episode: "Decaying Morality" |
| 2016 | Chance | Raymond Blackstone | Recurring role, 9 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Imposters | Shelly Cohen | 4 episodes; also creator, writer, and executive producer |
| 2017–2018 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Seamus Murphy | Recurring role (season 5) |
| Get Shorty | Wes Krupke | 4 episodes | |
| 2018 | I Feel Bad | David Sweetzer | Main role |
| 2019 | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Oscar Lehman | Episode: "It's the Sixties, Man!" |
| 2019–2020 | Chicago P.D. | Jason Crawford | Recurring role (season 7) |
| 2021 | True Story | Todd | Recurring role, 7 episodes |
| 2023 | Cruel Summer | Steve Chambers | Main role (season 2) |
| 2024 | Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story | David Conn | Episode: "Hang Men" |
| Agatha All Along | Jeff Kaplan | 2 episodes | |
| 2025 | All's Fair | Matty Goodfader | Episode: "Everybody Dance Now" |
| 2026 | The Audacity | Dr. Gary Felder |