archytele The Vault

Ken Olin

Acting Born Jul 30, 1954 Chicago, Illinois, USA 24 credits

Biography

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.

Ask the Vault

Ask anything about Ken Olin.

Known for

Murder, She Wrote

as Perry Revere

Hill Street Blues

as Harry Garibaldi

Hill Street Blues

as Det. Harry Garibaldi
Film

Anatomy of a Murder

as Christopher Rossini

Golden Globe Awards

as Self - Audience Member

Golden Globe Awards

as Self - Presenter

Zoo

as Professor Robert Oz
Film

Faust

1926

Full filmography

  • Murder, She Wrote (1984) as Perry Revere
  • Hill Street Blues (1981) as Harry Garibaldi
  • Hill Street Blues (1981) as Det. Harry Garibaldi
  • Falcon Crest (1981) as Christopher Rossini
  • Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Audience Member
  • Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Presenter
  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) as Self - Guest
  • Brothers and Sisters (2006) as David Caplan
  • Hotel (1982)
  • thirtysomething (1987) as Michael Steadman
  • Zoo (2015) as Professor Robert Oz
  • Stars in the House (2020) as Self
  • The Hitchhiker (1983) as Steve
  • L.A. Doctors (1998) as Roger Cattan
  • Alias (2001) as David McNeil (uncredited)
  • EZ Streets (1996) as Cameron Quinn
  • Breaking News (2002)
  • Bay City Blues (1983) as Rocky Padillo
  • Police Story (1988) as Officer Manny Mandell
  • Ghost Story (1981) as Young Sears James
  • I'll Take Manhattan (1987) as Nat Lammerman
  • Telling Secrets (1993) as Det. Jay Jensen
  • Queens Logic (1991) as Ray
  • The Advocate's Devil (1997) as Abe Ringel