Will Janowitz
Encyclopedia
Will Janowitz is an American film, television and stage actor as well as writer. He is first generation American
with his mother having been born in the Czech Republic
and his father Berlin, Germany.
in 2000, he began acting professionally, and worked briefly as Mary-Louise Parker
's personal assistant on several film and television projects. One of his earliest film credits was a role in David Gordon Green
's George Washington
(2000). In 2003, Will and college friend Bill English
starred in The Pavement Series 2003 for Showtime, in which they played zany sports inventors. In 2002, he had a role on Law & Order
, and the same year booked a recurring role on The Sopranos
as Meadow Soprano's (Jamie Lynn Sigler) boyfriend Finn De Trolio. He would go on to do four seasons of the show, accurately portraying a novice's perspective of the organized crime ring and most notably outing Vito Spatafore
(Joe Ganiscoli) one of Tony Soprano
s (James Gandolfini
) best earning captains. Later he would appear on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
in 2004- 2008. From 2004 and on Will appeared in various independent features including Bristol Boys 2005 a crime comedy alongside his Sopranos co-star Max Casella
and David Zayas
(Dexter
) and a supporting role in Backseat 2005; in the same year appeared in the cult video game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
as the voice of Donald Love. Also, in that same year Janowitz joined Juliana Margulies and Michael Rispoli
in Francine Volpe's Late Fragment, to be directed by Sopranos co-star Michael Imperioli
. However due to scheduling conflicts the play did not premiere. Most recently Janowitz joined the ensemble cast of Ang Lee
's Taking Woodstock
2009 and brandished a blonde wig and moustache to play Chip Monck
, the festivals production designer. The same summer he went down south to Marietta, Georgia
to play the role of Leo Frank
alongside HBO alumni Seth Gilliam
(The Wire
) in The People v. Leo Frank. The film explores the life and trial of Leo Frank
an American born Jew who was lynched in Marietta, Georgia
August 17, 1915 after being wrongly accused of the murder of a little girl who worked in his pencil factory. The case is widely regarded as a vast miscarriage of justice. Janowitz can be seen briefly in an ad for the fast food chain Wendy's. Rumors continue to circulate around Hollywood that Janowitz has been tapped by HBO to play actor James Franco
in the highly secretive autobiopic "Three Places At Once, The James Franco Crises," after Franco himself was unable to commit to the project ironically because of a scheduling conflict.
a character he created at North Carolina, then more extensively at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
. The show premiered at New York City's Zipper Theater 2006. The two man play explores the life of Gnome; a reclusive hundred and fifty year old author who claims to be the offspring of a Jewish mother and forest dwelling creature who left New York City and has taken up permanent residence in Central Park. Most recently Janowitz has written and developed a television series for Fox Studios called SuperEgo 2009 in which he plays Dr. Charlie Knight, a young, out of the box psychiatrist that uses his unorthodox approach to unlock patients potential.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with his mother having been born in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and his father Berlin, Germany.
Biography
After graduating from North Carolina School of the ArtsNorth Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...
in 2000, he began acting professionally, and worked briefly as Mary-Louise Parker
Mary-Louise Parker
Mary-Louise Parker is an American actress, known for her current lead role on Showtime's television series Weeds portraying Nancy Botwin, for which she has received several nominations and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2006...
's personal assistant on several film and television projects. One of his earliest film credits was a role in David Gordon Green
David Gordon Green
David Gordon Green is an American filmmaker. He has directed dramas such as George Washington, All the Real Girls, and Snow Angels, as well as the thriller Undertow, all of which he wrote or co-wrote...
's George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
(2000). In 2003, Will and college friend Bill English
Bill English
Simon William "Bill" English is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure of New Zealand.English entered parliament in 1990 as a National party MP representing the Wallace electorate...
starred in The Pavement Series 2003 for Showtime, in which they played zany sports inventors. In 2002, he had a role on Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, and the same year booked a recurring role on The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
as Meadow Soprano's (Jamie Lynn Sigler) boyfriend Finn De Trolio. He would go on to do four seasons of the show, accurately portraying a novice's perspective of the organized crime ring and most notably outing Vito Spatafore
Vito Spatafore
Vito Spatafore, Sr., played by Joseph R. Gannascoli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a member of the DiMeo Crime Family and a subordinate of Tony Soprano. He was married to Marie Spatafore with two children, Francesca and Vito, Jr., and was a closeted homosexual...
(Joe Ganiscoli) one of Tony Soprano
Tony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
s (James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
) best earning captains. Later he would appear on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
in 2004- 2008. From 2004 and on Will appeared in various independent features including Bristol Boys 2005 a crime comedy alongside his Sopranos co-star Max Casella
Max Casella
Max Casella is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series The Sopranos, Doogie Howser, M.D., and as the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.-Life and career:...
and David Zayas
David Zayas
David Zayas is a Puerto Rican theatrical, film, and television actor. He is most known for his roles as Angel Batista on Showtime's series Dexter and as Enrique Morales on the HBO prison drama Oz.- Life and career :...
(Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
) and a supporting role in Backseat 2005; in the same year appeared in the cult video game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a 2005 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar North and Rockstar Leeds. It is the ninth game in the Grand Theft Auto series...
as the voice of Donald Love. Also, in that same year Janowitz joined Juliana Margulies and Michael Rispoli
Michael Rispoli
Michael Rispoli is an American character actor. He was formerly part of the HBO television series The Sopranos as Jackie Aprile, Sr...
in Francine Volpe's Late Fragment, to be directed by Sopranos co-star Michael Imperioli
Michael Imperioli
James Michael Imperioli , commonly known as Michael Imperioli, is an American actor and television writer. He is perhaps best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2004. He also...
. However due to scheduling conflicts the play did not premiere. Most recently Janowitz joined the ensemble cast of Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
's Taking Woodstock
Taking Woodstock
Taking Woodstock is a 2009 American comedy-drama film about the Woodstock Festival of 1969, directed by Ang Lee. The screenplay by James Schamus is based on the memoir Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte.The film premiered at the 2009 Cannes...
2009 and brandished a blonde wig and moustache to play Chip Monck
Chip Monck
Chip Monck is a Tony Award winning lighting designer, most famously serving as the Master of Ceremonies at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Personal History:...
, the festivals production designer. The same summer he went down south to Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
to play the role of Leo Frank
Leo Frank
Leo Max Frank was a Jewish-American factory superintendent whose hanging in 1915 by a lynch mob of prominent citizens in Marietta, Georgia drew attention to antisemitism in the United States....
alongside HBO alumni Seth Gilliam
Seth Gilliam
Seth Gilliam is an American actor. He is known for his HBO television roles, first as corrections officer-turned-prisoner Clayton Hughes on Oz, and later as Baltimore police detective promoted to sergeant Ellis Carver on The Wire. On both of these series, he co-starred with Lance Reddick and J.D....
(The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
) in The People v. Leo Frank. The film explores the life and trial of Leo Frank
Leo Frank
Leo Max Frank was a Jewish-American factory superintendent whose hanging in 1915 by a lynch mob of prominent citizens in Marietta, Georgia drew attention to antisemitism in the United States....
an American born Jew who was lynched in Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
August 17, 1915 after being wrongly accused of the murder of a little girl who worked in his pencil factory. The case is widely regarded as a vast miscarriage of justice. Janowitz can be seen briefly in an ad for the fast food chain Wendy's. Rumors continue to circulate around Hollywood that Janowitz has been tapped by HBO to play actor James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
in the highly secretive autobiopic "Three Places At Once, The James Franco Crises," after Franco himself was unable to commit to the project ironically because of a scheduling conflict.
Writing
In the midst of his acting Janowitz has had several plays own creation produced, most notably GnomeGnome
A gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...
a character he created at North Carolina, then more extensively at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre or UCB Theatre is an improvisational theatre and associated UCB Training Center with locations in Chelsea, New York, the EEast Village, New York and Hollywood, California.....
. The show premiered at New York City's Zipper Theater 2006. The two man play explores the life of Gnome; a reclusive hundred and fifty year old author who claims to be the offspring of a Jewish mother and forest dwelling creature who left New York City and has taken up permanent residence in Central Park. Most recently Janowitz has written and developed a television series for Fox Studios called SuperEgo 2009 in which he plays Dr. Charlie Knight, a young, out of the box psychiatrist that uses his unorthodox approach to unlock patients potential.