Ronald Joseph "Ron" Livingston (born June 5, 1967) is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee (Peter Gibbons) in the film
Office SpaceOffice Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
, a sardonic writer (Jack Berger) in a short-term relationship with
Carrie BradshawCarrie Preston is the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama Sex and the City, portrayed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. She is a semi-autobiographical character created by Candace Bushnell, who published the book Sex and the City, based on her own columns in the New York...
in the TV show
Sex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries
Band of Brothers. In 2006, he starred as FBI negotiator Matt Flannery in the
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
series
StandoffStandoff is an American drama series that premiered on the Fox network on September 5, 2006. Created by Craig Silverstein, the series focused on an FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit whose members negotiated hostage situations and shared relationships. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television...
, co-starring
Rosemarie DeWittRosemarie DeWitt is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series Standoff, co-starring her now husband Ron Livingston, from 2006 through 2007, and played Charmaine Craine on Showtime's acclaimed original series, United States of Tara...
, and he was an ad spokesman for
Sprint NextelSprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
. In 2009 he portrayed flight engineer Maddux Donner in the series
Defying GravityDefying Gravity is a multi-nationally produced space travel television science fiction drama series, first aired on August 2, 2009 on ABC and CTV and canceled in the autumn of 2009...
, which was cancelled after a single season.
Early life
Livingston was born in
Cedar Rapids, IowaCedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
, the son of Linda, a Lutheran pastor, and Kurt Livingston, an
aerospace engineerAerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
. His younger brother John, is also an actor; sister Jennifer Livingston is a TV news personality at
WKBTWKBT-DT is a television station owned and operated by Morgan Murphy Media and serving West Central Wisconsin, including La Crosse and Eau Claire. The station is primarily affiliated with CBS and airs programming from MyNetworkTV on its digital subchannel.-History:WKBT launched on August 8, 1954...
in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He graduated from Marion High School in
Marion, IowaMarion is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26,294 at the 2000 census and was estimated at 32,172 in 2007. The city is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
and attended
Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he received
B.A.A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degrees in Theater and
EnglishEnglish studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
. Livingston relocated to
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and became involved in the local theater scene.
Career
Livingston's first film role was in 1992, in
Dolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
's
Straight TalkStraight Talk is an 1992 American comedy-film distributed by Hollywood Pictures, directed by Barnet Kellman and starring Dolly Parton and James Woods. Parton did not receive star-billing in any other theatrically-released films until the 2012 film Joyful Noise, alongside Queen Latifah...
. He moved to Los Angeles and was cast in supporting roles in
Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade"Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade" is a short film directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Molly Ringwald, and J. T. Walsh...
and
The Low Life. Livingston landed his first role in a major film in 1996's
SwingersSwingers is a 1996 comedy-drama film about the lives of single, unemployed actors living on the 'eastside' of Hollywood, California during the 1990s swing revival...
. He played the male lead in
Office SpaceOffice Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
, which co-starred
Jennifer AnistonJennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
and was written and directed by
Mike JudgeMichael Craig Judge is an American animator, film director, writer and voice actor, best known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head , King of the Hill , and The Goode Family .He also wrote, directed and in some instances produced the films Beavis and...
. He also appeared in HBO's
Band of Brothers as Captain Lewis Nixon opposite
Donnie WahlbergDonald Edward "Donnie" Wahlberg, Jr. is an American singer, actor and film producer. He is a member of the popular 1980s and 1990s boy band New Kids on the Block. His work background includes music, feature films, and television...
and
Damian LewisLewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
. Going beyond nice-guy roles, Livingston played a Hollywood agent in
AdaptationAdaptation. is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. The film is based on Susan Orlean's non-fiction book The Orchid Thief through self-referential events...
(2002); a weaselly
Ivy LeagueThe Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
upstart to
Alec BaldwinAlexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
's casino boss in
The CoolerThe Cooler is a 2003 romantic drama film directed by Wayne Kramer. The original screenplay was written by Kramer and Frank Hannah. In gambling parlance, a "cooler" is an unlucky individual whose presence at the tables results in a streak of bad luck for the other players.- Plot :Unlucky Bernie...
(2003); and teachers in
Winter SolsticeWinter Solstice is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Josh Sternfeld. The screenplay focuses on the efforts of a man to interact with and relate to his sons in the years following the accidental death of his wife.-Plot:...
and
Pretty PersuasionPretty Persuasion is a 2005 American black comedy/satirical film about a 15-year-old schoolgirl who makes an allegation of sexual harassment against her drama teacher. The film's tagline is: "Revenge knows no mercy." It was written by Skander Halim and directed by Marcos Siega...
(both 2005). He also appeared as Jack Berger, Carrie's boyfriend in the sixth season of
Sex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, as well as in the episode "TB or Not TB" of
HouseHouse is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
.
On November 9, 2007, the indie film
HollyHolly is a 2007 drama film about an American stolen artifacts dealer in Cambodia who tries to save a young girl from child traffickers. The film was directed by Guy Moshe, and stars Ron Livingston, Chris Penn, and Thuy Nguyen....
premiered, starring Ron Livingston in his first turn to film drama. It tells the story of a Vietnamese girl trafficked into the sex trade in Cambodia. Ron plays Patrick, a shady card shark who becomes determined to save Holly from her ill-destined fate.
Summer 2007 saw Livingston on the
off-BroadwayOff-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
stage in the world premiere of
Neil LaButeNeil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
's
In A Dark Dark HouseIn A Dark Dark House is a 2007 play by Neil LaBute. It had its world premiere at the Lucille Lortel Theater on May 16. It ran through June 23, 2007, under the direction of Carolyn Cantor, produced by the MCC Theater in New York City...
, produced by
MCC TheaterMCC Theater is an Off-Broadway theater company located in New York City, founded in 1986 by artistic directors Robert LuPone and Bernard Telsey along with six graduates of the New York University drama department, including Jana Herzen...
, alongside Frederick Weller and Louisa Krause. The show ran May 16 through July 27, 2007, at the
Lucille Lortel TheatreThe Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse located at 121 Christopher Street in New York City's Greenwich Village.The venue was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
In 2010, Livingston co-starred in the
Jay RoachMatthew Jay Roach is an American film director and producer, best known for directing the Austin Powers films and Meet the Parents.-Life and career:...
comedy
Dinner for SchmucksDinner for Schmucks, a 2010 screwball comedy film, is the American adaptation of the French film Le Dîner de Cons , being described by the director as "inspired by" the original rather than a remake of it...
.
Personal life
Livingston and his
Standoff co-star
Rosemarie DeWittRosemarie DeWitt is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series Standoff, co-starring her now husband Ron Livingston, from 2006 through 2007, and played Charmaine Craine on Showtime's acclaimed original series, United States of Tara...
began a relationship after meeting each other on the show. After dating for three years, they were married on November 2, 2009, in San Francisco. He was previously engaged to
Lisa SheridanLisa Sheridan in Macon, Georgia, is an American actress who has appeared in TV series Invasion, FreakyLinks, Legacy, Las Vegas, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Diagnosis: Murder and Journeyman....
.
Filmography and television appearances
- Straight Talk
Straight Talk is an 1992 American comedy-film distributed by Hollywood Pictures, directed by Barnet Kellman and starring Dolly Parton and James Woods. Parton did not receive star-billing in any other theatrically-released films until the 2012 film Joyful Noise, alongside Queen Latifah...
(1992), Soldier
- Townies
Townies is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September to December 1996. Created by Matthew Carlson, the series stars Molly Ringwald, Jenna Elfman and Lauren Graham.-Synopsis:...
(1996), Ryan – TV series
- Swingers
Swingers is a 1996 comedy-drama film about the lives of single, unemployed actors living on the 'eastside' of Hollywood, California during the 1990s swing revival...
(1996), Rob
- Campfire Tales
Campfire Tales is a horror film written and directed by William Cooke and Paul Talbot. The film is an anthology about a group of teenagers telling ghost stories around a campfire. One of the storytellers is horror legend Gunnar Hansen...
(1997), Rick
- Two Ninas (1999), Marty Sachs
- Office Space
Office Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
(1999), Peter Gibbons
- Body Shots
Body Shots is an American film written by David McKenna and directed by Michael Cristofer. Released in October 1999, Body Shots tells the story of eight singles whose night of drunken debauchery goes terribly wrong...
(1999), Trent
- Beat
Beat is 2000 American drama film written and directed by Gary Walkow, concerning the period of writer William S. Burroughs's life that he spent with his wife, the late Joan Vollmer, leading up to her accidental murder in 1951....
(2000), Allen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
- Band of Brothers (2001), Captain Lewis Nixon – TV miniseries
- The Practice
The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...
(2001–2002), Assistant D.A. Alan Lowe – TV series
- Buying the Cow
Buying the Cow is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Jerry O'Connell and Bridgette L. Wilson.-Plot:Although he has had a relationship with her for five years now, David is too afraid to commit to his girlfriend Sarah, who is pressuring him into proposing to her...
(2002), Tyler Carter Bellows
- Adaptation.
Adaptation. is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. The film is based on Susan Orlean's non-fiction book The Orchid Thief through self-referential events...
(2002), Marty Bowen
- Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
(2002–2003), Jack Berger – TV series
- King of the Ants
King of the Ants is a 2003 film from director Stuart Gordon. It is based on a novel by writer Charlie Higson, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. The film played at various festivals, but was not released wide theatrically due to its grim nature and content...
(2003), Eric Gatley
- 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out
44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out is a 2003 American film directed by Yves Simoneau. The film premiered on the FX Network in June 2003.-Plot:...
(2003), Donnie Anderson
- The Cooler
The Cooler is a 2003 romantic drama film directed by Wayne Kramer. The original screenplay was written by Kramer and Frank Hannah. In gambling parlance, a "cooler" is an unlucky individual whose presence at the tables results in a streak of bad luck for the other players.- Plot :Unlucky Bernie...
(2003), Larry Sokolov
- Little Black Book
Little Black Book is a 2004 satirical comedy film directed by Nick Hurran.-Plot:Stacy Holt , an associate producer on a daytime talk show , is convinced that her boyfriend Derek is the right man for her, though he has an apparent phobia of commitment, and he's vague about his past relationships...
(2004), Derek
- Pretty Persuasion
Pretty Persuasion is a 2005 American black comedy/satirical film about a 15-year-old schoolgirl who makes an allegation of sexual harassment against her drama teacher. The film's tagline is: "Revenge knows no mercy." It was written by Skander Halim and directed by Marcos Siega...
(2005), Mr. Anderson
- Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005), Lackluster Video Clerk
- House
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
(2005), Dr. Sebastian Charles – TV series, in the episode "TB or Not TB"
- Winter Solstice
Winter Solstice is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Josh Sternfeld. The screenplay focuses on the efforts of a man to interact with and relate to his sons in the years following the accidental death of his wife.-Plot:...
(2005), Mr. Bricker
- Relative Strangers
-Plot:Thirty-four year old psychologist, Richard Clayton parents reveal to him that he was adopted. He then sets out to find out who his biological parents are, but disaster ensues when it turns out that his parents, Frank and Agnes Menure , are crude, lower class carnies...
(2006), Richard Clayton
- Standoff
Standoff is an American drama series that premiered on the Fox network on September 5, 2006. Created by Craig Silverstein, the series focused on an FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit whose members negotiated hostage situations and shared relationships. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television...
(2006), Matt Flannery – TV series
- Brothers in Arms: The Untold Story of the 502 (2006), hosting as himself – History Channel documentary
- Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006), Howard Fornoy – TV series, in the episode "The End of the Whole Mess
"The End of the Whole Mess" is a short science fiction story by Stephen King which was first published in Omni Magazine in 1986, and later published in the Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection and Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse .-Plot summary:The story, narrated by Howard Fornoy in the...
"
- American Crude (2006), Johnny
- Holly
Holly is a 2007 drama film about an American stolen artifacts dealer in Cambodia who tries to save a young girl from child traffickers. The film was directed by Guy Moshe, and stars Ron Livingston, Chris Penn, and Thuy Nguyen....
(2006), Patrick
- Music Within
Music Within is a 2007 drama film starring Ron Livingston, Melissa George and Michael Sheen.-Plot synopsis:The true story of Richard Pimentel, a brilliant public speaker with a troubled past. As a young man, Pimentel realized he had a remarkable gift for public speaking. Pimentel's idol is College...
(2007), Richard Pimentel
- The Time Traveler's Wife
The Time Traveler's Wife is a 2009 romantic film based on Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 novel of the same name. Directed by Robert Schwentke, the film stars Eric Bana as Henry DeTamble, a Chicago librarian with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel randomly as he tries to build a romantic...
(2009), Gomez
- Defying Gravity
Defying Gravity is a multi-nationally produced space travel television science fiction drama series, first aired on August 2, 2009 on ABC and CTV and canceled in the autumn of 2009...
(2009), Maddux Donner – TV series
- WWII in HD
WWII in HD is a 10-part American documentary television miniseries that originally aired from November 15 to November 19, 2009 on the History Channel...
(TV) (2009), Voice of Lt. Charles Scheffel
- Dinner for Schmucks
Dinner for Schmucks, a 2010 screwball comedy film, is the American adaptation of the French film Le Dîner de Cons , being described by the director as "inspired by" the original rather than a remake of it...
(2010), Caldwell
- Going the Distance
Going the Distance is a 2010 romantic comedy film directed by Nanette Burstein, and starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore. The movie began filming in New York City in July 2009, and was released on September 3, 2010.-Plot:...
(2010), Will
- Game Change
Game Change is an upcoming Jay Roach film based on the book of the same name by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. The film will primarily track the actions of the Republican Party during the 2008 Presidential Election.-Cast:...
(2010), Mark WallaceMark Alexander Wallace is a Welsh cricketer; a left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper....
- The Odd Life of Timothy Green
The Odd Life of Timothy Green is an upcoming American fantasy drama directed by Peter Hedges and scheduled to be released by Walt Disney Pictures on August 15, 2012. In the film, Cindy Green and Jim Green are unable to conceive, so they bury all their wishes for a baby in a box in their backyard...
(2012), Franklin Crudstaff
External links