Nobody becomes a movie star at 46 by playing a man who hires criminals to kidnap his own wife, but he did.
At a glance
- Known for
- Jerry Lundegaard in *Fargo*, Frank Gallagher in *Shameless*
- Before fame
- Studied veterinary medicine before meeting David Mamet at Goddard College
- Off-screen
- Co-founded the Atlantic Theater Company, still serves as director-in-residence
Rise to Fame
A veterinary medicine student at a West Virginia college isn't anyone's idea of a future Oscar nominee. Macy transferred to Goddard College, fell in with David Mamet, and spent the next two decades grinding through theater and indie films that critics loved and nobody saw.
The Coen Brothers cast him as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo when he was 45. A sweaty, pathetic car salesman who hires two criminals to kidnap his own wife. The role earned him an Oscar nomination and nearly typecast him forever. Boogie Nights and Magnolia followed, but the template was set: give him a man in over his head, and he'll make you feel sorry for the guy while everything collapses.
In the Spotlight
Eleven seasons as Frank Gallagher on Shameless turned him from respected character actor to household face. Six Emmy nominations and a reported $350,000 per episode by the final season. The drunk, deadbeat patriarch became his signature, which says something for a guy who already had Jerry Lundegaard on his resume.
His wife Felicity Huffman paid $15,000 to falsify their daughter's SAT scores as part of Operation Varsity Blues. She served 11 days in federal prison, and the whole thing played out in tabloid real time. Prosecutors didn't charge him, though the criminal complaint named him as party to the scheme. He's said it brought them closer. At 76, he's still in major studio films. Playing men in crisis turns out to be a renewable resource.
Side Notes
Out of those Goddard years came something more durable than any film role: the Atlantic Theater Company, co-founded with Mamet in 1985 around an acting technique called Practical Aesthetics that's still taught there. The company has produced over 200 plays, including Tony winners Spring Awakening and The Band's Visit.
He still serves as director-in-residence. Alumni include Elizabeth Olsen, Rose Byrne, and his own wife. For a guy known for playing losers on screen, he quietly built one of the more durable institutions in American theater.