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American Crime Story

American Crime Story

FX 2016

An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminal investigations.
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The Top 10 Actors and Characters of American Crime Story (Ranked Cast in 2024)

Bruce Greenwood

#1 - Bruce Greenwood (Randolph Bell)

Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his role as the American president John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days, for which he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, and as Captain Christopher Pike in J.J. Abrams's Star Trek movie reboot series. He has been nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards, once for Best Actor (for Elephant Song) and twice for Best Supporting Actor (for The Sweet Hereafter and Being Julia). He is known for his roles as Nick Parsons in Double Jeopardy, Stuart Ramsey in Passenger 57, Bob Andrews in Father's Day, Earl Cavanaugh in Here on Earth, National Security Advisor Bill Sokal in Rules of Engagement, JFK in Thirteen Days, Anthony 'Tony' Leighton in Swept Away, Cmdr. Robert Iverson in The Core; Lt. Bennie Macko in Hollywood Homicide, Lawrence Robertson in I, Robot, Lord Charles in Being Julia, Nolan Walsh in Racing Stripes, Jack Dunphy (Truman Capote's lover) in Capote; Hugh Sullivan in The Mermaid Chair, Professor Davis McClaren in Eight Below, Jack McCready in Deja Vu, Keenan Jones / Garrett in I'm Not There, the President in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Christopher Pike in Star Trek and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, George McCray in A Dog Named Christmas, Lance Fender in Dinner for Schmucks, Stephen Meek in Meek's Cutoff, Cooper in Super 8, Bill Kill Cullen in The Place Beyond the Pines, Charlie Anderson in Flight, Hugh Butterfield in Endless Love, Vince in The Captive, Andrew Heyward in Truth (2015), Dr. Jake Houseman in the TV movie version of Dirty Dancing (2017), Uncle Dean in Kodachrome, the US President in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Gerald in Gerald's Game, Robert McNamara in The Post, and Dr. John Dalton in Doctor Sleep. His best known TV roles are as Dr. Randolph Bell on The Resident, Gil Garcetti on American Crime Story, Emmet Cole on The River, Mitch Yost on John from Cincinnati, Dr. Nathan Bradford on Sleepwalkers, Thomas Veil on Nowhere Man, Jack Gage on Legmen, Pierce Lawton on Knot's Landing, and Dr. Seth Griffin on St. Elsewhere. He has voiced Bruce Wayne / Batman in the animated series Young Justice and in several Batman cartoon videos, and voiced Chiron in the animated series Class Titans.

Bruce Greenwood plays as Randolph Bell in American Crime Story.
Bruce Greenwood is the top #1 member of the cast and appears in 107 episodes.

Kenneth Choi

#2 - Kenneth Choi (Howard Han)

Attended Purdue University as an accounting major and left to pursue an acting career. Born and raised in Chicago. 

Kenneth Choi plays as Howard Han in American Crime Story.
Kenneth Choi is the top #2 member of the cast and appears in 87 episodes.

Courtney B. Vance

#3 - Courtney B. Vance (Johnnie Cochran)

Courtney Bernard Vance (born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Vance started his career on the Broadway stage in the original productions of August Wilson's Fences in 1985, John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation in 1990 and Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy in 2013 for which he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He is known for his roles in films such as Hamburger Hill (1987), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Preacher's Wife (1996), Cookie's Fortune (1999), Terminator Genisys (2015), and Isle of Dogs (2018). Vance is also known for work on television on shows such as Law & Order: Criminal Intent, where he portrayed Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver. He also guest-starred on Law & Order, Picket Fences, The Closer, Revenge, Scandal, and Masters of Sex. He won acclaim for his portrayal of Johnnie Cochran in the FX limited series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016) for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He recently appeared in the HBO television film, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017), National Geographic's limited series Genius: Aretha (2020), and the HBO drama series Lovecraft Country (2020) the latter of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He has been married to actress Angela Bassett since 1997. Vance is on the Board of Directors for The Actors Center in New York City, and is an active supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2019, Vance was appointed as the President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. Description above from the Wikipedia article Courtney B. Vance, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Courtney B. Vance plays as Johnnie Cochran in American Crime Story.
Courtney B. Vance is the top #3 member of the cast and appears in 10 episodes.

David Schwimmer

#4 - David Schwimmer (Robert Kardashian)

David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater and speech. After graduation, Schwimmer co-founded the Lookingglass Theatre Company. For much of the late-1980s, he lived in Los Angeles as a struggling, unemployed actor. He appeared in the television movie A Deadly Silence in 1989. He then appeared in a number of television roles, including L.A. Law, The Wonder Years, NYPD Blue, and Monty in the early 1990s. Schwimmer later gained worldwide recognition for playing Ross Geller in the situation comedy Friends. Aside from appearing in television, he starred in his first leading role in The Pallbearer (1996), which was followed by roles in Kissing a Fool (1998), Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Apt Pupil, and Picking Up the Pieces (2000). He was then cast in the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) as Herbert Sobel. Following the series finale of Friends in 2004, Schwimmer was cast as the titular character in the 2005 drama Duane Hopwood. Other film roles include the computer animated film Madagascar (2005), the dark comedy Big Nothing (2006), the thriller Nothing But the Truth (2008), and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008). Schwimmer made his London stage debut in the leading role in Some Girl(s) in 2005. In 2006, he made his Broadway debut in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Schwimmer made his feature film directorial debut with the 2007 comedy Run Fatboy Run. The following year he made his Off-Broadway directorial debut in the 2008 production Fault Lines. Description above from the Wikipedia article David Schwimmer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

David Schwimmer plays as Robert Kardashian in American Crime Story.
David Schwimmer is the top #4 member of the cast and appears in 10 episodes.

Cuba Gooding Jr.

#5 - Cuba Gooding Jr. (O. J. Simpson)

Cuba Gooding was born in Bronx, New York to Shirley, a singer with the Sweethearts, and Cuba Gooding, Sr., a lead vocalist of soul group The Main Ingredient. He has two brothers, musician Tommy Gooding and fellow actor Omar Gooding, and sister, April Gooding. His family moved to Los Angeles after Gooding Sr.'s music group had a hit single with "Everybody Plays the Fool" in 1972 but abandoned his family two years later. Gooding Jr. was raised by his mother and attended four different high schools: North Hollywood High School, Tustin High School, Apple Valley High School, and John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills in Los Angeles. He served as class president in three of them. His first job as a professional entertainer was as a break-dancer performing with singer Lionel Richie at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. After high school, Gooding studied Japanese martial arts for three years, before turning his focus toward acting. Early on, he landed guest starring roles on shows like Hill Street Blues (1981) and MacGyver (1985). His first major role was in the John Singleton's box office surprise and critical hit Boyz n the Hood (1991). He followed this success with roles in major films like A Few Good Men (1992), Lightning Jack (1994), Outbreak (1995), Men of Honor (2000), Rat Race (2001), and The Fighting Temptations (2003) in which he co-starred alongside Beyoncé Knowles. In 1996, he was cast as an arrogant football player on the brink of a career-ending injury in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996). The film was a success and earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. His "Show Me The Money" line in the film became a nationwide catchphrase. In 1997, he had a notable supporting role in As Good As It Gets (1997). The next several years, his films were inconsistently successful; Boat Trip (2002), Norbit (2007), and Daddy Day Camp (2007), all of which had received extremely negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office. Gooding also starred in a film titled A Murder of Crows, which he co-produced with his long time friend and business partner Derek Broes. The film was Gooding's first attempt at producing.  Since then, he has had series of starring roles in grittier films released direct-to-DVD such as the revenge dramas Hero Wanted and Wrong Turn at Tahoe, as well as the sci-fi action pic Hardwired and the action comedy Lies & Illusions. A well-received performance as Ben Carson in Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009) and a small supporting role in Ridley Scott's American Gangster (2007) both proved to be exceptions to this trend. An appearance in the World War II film, Red Tails, produced by George Lucas and with other prominent actors such as Terrence Howard, will mark his only return to the big screen since American Gangster. Gooding is married to Sara Kapfer; they have two sons, Spencer and Mason.  

Cuba Gooding Jr. plays as O. J. Simpson in American Crime Story.
Cuba Gooding Jr. is the top #5 member of the cast and appears in 10 episodes.

Annaleigh Ashford

#6 - Annaleigh Ashford (Paula Jones)

Annaleigh Amanda Ashford (born June 25, 1985) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is known for her work on Broadway as Glinda in Wicked (2005–2006; 2007–08), and Margot in Legally Blonde (2007), as well as for originating the role of Lauren in Kinky Boots (2013–14), a performance for which she received a 2013 Tony nomination. Ashford won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance as Essie Carmichael in the revival of You Can't Take It with You (2014–15). In 2017, she starred as Dot/Marie in the critically acclaimed, limited-run revival of Sunday in the Park with George. Additionally, she is known for portraying the role of Betty DiMello on the period drama television series Masters of Sex, which ran for four seasons on Showtime. In 2019, she starred as Jenny Aquila in Bad Education, and, in 2020, as Paula Jones in Impeachment: American Crime Story. Description above is from the Wikipedia article Annaleigh Ashford, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Annaleigh Ashford plays as Paula Jones in American Crime Story.
Annaleigh Ashford is the top #6 member of the cast and appears in 10 episodes.

John Travolta

#7 - John Travolta (Robert Shapiro)

An American actor, film producer, dancer, and singer. He first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Travolta's career re-surged in the 1990s, with his role in Pulp Fiction, and he has since continued starring in Hollywood films, including Face/Off, Ladder 49 and Wild Hogs. Travolta has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The first, for his role in Saturday Night Fever and the second for Pulp Fiction. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in Get Shorty. Travolta, the youngest of six children, was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta, was a semi-professional football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company. His mother, Helen Cecilia, was an actress and singer who had appeared in The Sunshine Sisters, a radio vocal group, and acted and directed before becoming a high school drama and English teacher. His siblings are Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta. Travolta's father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American; he grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture. His family was Roman Catholic. Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. The couple had a son, Jett, (April 13, 1992 - January 2, 2009), and have a daughter, Ella Bleu, born in 2000. On May 18, 2010, Travolta and Preston announced that she is pregnant with the couple's third child. The couple has regularly attended marriage counselling, and Travolta admits that therapy has helped the marriage. Travolta was involved with actress Diana Hyland, whom he met while filming The Boy in the Plastic Bubble; the relationship ended when she died of breast cancer in 1977. Travolta is a certified pilot and owns five aircraft, including an ex-Australian Boeing 707–138 airliner. The plane bears the name Jett Clipper Ella in honor of his children. His $4.9 million estate in the Jumbolair subdivision in Ocala, Florida, is situated on Greystone Airport with its own runway and taxiway right to his front door. Travolta has been a practitioner of Scientology since 1975 when he was given the book Dianetics while filming the movie The Devil's Rain in Durango, Mexico.

John Travolta plays as Robert Shapiro in American Crime Story.
John Travolta is the top #7 member of the cast and appears in 10 episodes.

Nathan Lane

#8 - Nathan Lane (F. Lee Bailey)

Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. He has won three Tony Awards, and has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards.

Nathan Lane plays as F. Lee Bailey in American Crime Story.
Nathan Lane is the top #8 member of the cast and appears in 10 episodes.

Sterling K. Brown

#9 - Sterling K. Brown (Christopher Darden)

After graduating from college, Brown acted in a series of roles in the regional theater. He has also appeared on numerous television shows such as ER, NYPD Blue, JAG, Boston Legal, Alias, Without A Trace, Supernatural, and Third Watch. He was a regular in the Starved comedy and has also appeared in films, including Stay with Ewan McGregor, Brown Sugar with Taye Diggs and Trust the Man with David Duchovny and Julianne Moore. He appeared in the television series as a recurring Supernatural, where he portrayed vampire hunter Gordon Walker. Brown played Dr. Roland Burton in Army Wives. He also represented Detective Cal Beecher in Person of Interest. In 2008, he played David Mosley in the episode of "Patience" by Eli Stone. In 2016, Brown starred in the FX miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story as Christopher Darden, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie at the Primetime Emmy Awards. In the theater, Brown starred in 2014 as Hero in Suzan-Lori Parks' Odyssey, a work inspired by Father Comes Home From the Wars at the Public Theater in New York. In June 2007, he married actress Ryan Michelle Bathe, his college girlfriend. They have two children.

Sterling K. Brown plays as Christopher Darden in American Crime Story.
Sterling K. Brown is the top #9 member of the cast and appears in 10 episodes.

Christian Clemenson

#10 - Christian Clemenson (Bill Hodgman)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Christian Clemenson (born March 17, 1959) is an American film and television actor. He is well known for his portrayal of Jerry "Hands" Espenson in the television series Boston Legal, for which he won the 2006 Emmy Award for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Description above from the Wikipedia article Christian Clemenson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Christian Clemenson plays as Bill Hodgman in American Crime Story.
Christian Clemenson is the top #10 member of the cast and appears in 10 episodes.

Last updated: feb 06, 2023

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