John Cariani - Biography

John is an award-winning actor and an accomplished playwright. As an actor, he has appeared on and Off Broadway, at regional theaters across the country, and in several films and television shows. His first break came when he was cast in the off-Broadway play "It's My Party (And I'll Die if I want To)", starring Joyce Van Patten and Academy Award Winner F. Murray Abraham. In 2004, he made his Broadway debut as Motel the tailor in the Broadway Revival of "Fiddler on the Roof" starring Alfred Molina. His performance earned him an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award nomination. His stage work aside, John is probably best known for his work on television. From 2002-2007, he played CSU Tech Julian Beck on NBC's long-running drama New York - Police judiciaire (1990). He also had recurring roles as Professor Otto Bahnoff in the final season of CBS' Numb3rs (2005) and as reporter Michael Falk on the IFC's The Onion News Network (2011). He has been fortunate to work in feature films with the likes of Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Edward Asner.

As a playwright, he is best known for his first play, "Almost, Maine," which premiered at Portland Stage Company in 2004, opened Off Broadway in 2006, and is now featured in Smith and Kraus' "New Playwrights: Best Plays of 2006." Since its debut Off Broadway, "Almost, Maine" has become one of the most frequently produced plays in the United States, with over 2500 productions to date. It has also been translated into nearly twenty languages. His second play, 'cul-de-sac," was produced by Transport Group in 2006 and is still in development; his third play, "Last Gas," premiered at Portland Stage Company in 2010, was produced by Geva Theatre Center in 2014, and is newly published by DPS; his latest play, "LOVE/SICK," premiered at Portland Stage Company in the spring of 2013, was produced by Hartford TheaterWorks in 2014, and will be opening Off Broadway in the winter of 2015.

Originally from Presque Isle, Maine, John is a graduate of Amherst College. He lives in New York City.