Ken Olin
His dark, sincere good looks were steadily put to use on the small screen during the 80s, but, in retrospect, actor Ken Olin will probably be considered more of a major force behind the camera. Born in Chicago, Ken went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and headed for Hollywood in the late 70s. After the typical route of bit parts, he started moving up in leaps and bounds on TV's top shows. A couple of strong, single season regular parts on both Hill Street Blues (1981)and Falcon Crest (1981) ultimately led to his casting as the introspective and quietly sexy Michael Steadman on Thirtysomething (1987), which ran for four seasons and nabbed numerous awards for its liberal writing and sensitive content. Ken co-starred with wife Patricia Wettig on the show, but the multi-Emmy winner Wettig did not play Ken's wife (actress Mel Harris did) and the public was often confused as to who Ken's wife really was. Ken also earned the chance to direct occasionally on Thirtysomething (1987) and this would have a significant impact as to the direction of his career in the years to come. Following Thirtysomething (1987), Ken pursued acting work in mini-movies as both hero ( Police Story: Cop Killer (1988) ) and villain ( Dead by Sunset (1995) ), but almost always seemed on the verge of leaving acting altogether. It was his burgeoning interest in directing that took over, and he has since found steady helming duties on such popular shows as Felicity (1998) and The West Wing (1999). His TV drama Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992)was nominated for three Emmys.
Known For
Credits
- 2020 · The Story of Soaps as Self
- 2020 · Stars in the House as Self
- 2015 · Zoo as Professor Robert Oz
- 2006 · Brothers and Sisters as David Caplan
- 2005 · The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie as Ken Olin
- 2002 · Breaking News as
- 2001 · Alias as David McNeil (uncredited)
- 1999 · Y2K as Nick Cromwell
- 1999 · Evolution's Child as
- 1998 · L.A. Doctors as Dr. Roger Cattan
- 1997 · The Advocate's Devil as Abe Ringel
- 1997 · Til There Was You as Gregory
- 1996 · EZ Streets as Det. Cameron Quinn
- 1995 · Dead by Sunset as
- 1995 · Nothing But the Truth as Dr. Peter Clayman
- 1993 · Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
- 1993 · Telling Secrets as Det. Jay Jensen
- 1991 · Queens Logic as Ray
- 1990 · Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston as Charles Stuart
- 1988 · Police Story: Cop Killer as Officer Manny Mandell
- 1988 · A Stoning in Fulham County as Jim Sandler
- 1987 · thirtysomething as Michael Steadman
- 1987 · I'll Take Manhattan as Nat Lammerman
- 1987 · Tonight's the Night as Henry Fox
- 1986 · There Must Be a Pony as Jay Savage
- 1984 · Murder, She Wrote as Perry Revere
- 1984 · Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac as David Frank
- 1983 · The Hitchhiker as Steve
- 1983 · Bay City Blues as Rocky Padillo
- 1982 · Hotel as
- 1981 · Ghost Story as Young Sears James
- 1981 · Falcon Crest as Christopher Rossini
- 1981 · Hill Street Blues as Harry Garibaldi
- 1981 · Hill Street Blues as Det. Harry Garibaldi
- 1979 · Women at West Point as Board Member
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Audience Member