Biography for
John C. McGinley More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

3 August 1959, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

John Christopher McGinley

Nickname

Johnny C

Height

6' 2" (1.88 m)

Mini Biography

John C. McGinley's path to stardom is a story that reads like a classic Hollywood script. While an understudy in New York in the Circle-In-The-Square production of John Patrick Shanley's "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea," he was spotted by director Oliver Stone and soon after was cast in "Platoon," the first of a long list of collaborations between Stone and McGinley which includes "Wall Street," "Talk Radio," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Nixon" and "Any Given Sunday."

He has received rave reviews for his work in NBC's Emmy-nominated medical comedy series, "Scrubs" - now in production on its seventh and final season. TV Guide proclaimed, "The young cast is appealing, but McGinley steals the show as the mercurial doctor who deep down actually gives a damn. So will you." And the San Francisco Chronicle glowed, "If [McGinley] doesn't win the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy, I'm going to bring the smack-down to the Emmy voters."

John C. relishes the chance to portray the gruff, worldly 'Dr. Perry Cox' on "Scrubs." "As an actor, it's great to play a strong leader with a heart of gold," he offers. "Dr. Cox mentors the rookie doctors with a spoonful of dirt and then a cup of sugar. I see him as an archetypal descendant of two of my favorite curmudgeonly characters: Lou Grant and Louie De Palma."

Most recently, John C. starred opposite Ice Cube in Sony/Revolution Studios' feature, "Are We Done Yet?," the sequel to the hit comedy "Are We There Yet?." "Are We Done Yet?" picks up as the family moves from the big city to the suburbs for an idyllic life. A house renovation leads to chaos, particularly when the enthusiastic and larger-than-life real estate agent/neighbor/contractor 'Chuck Mitchell, Jr.' (John C. McGinley) who is hired to work on the home, clashes with Ice Cube's character but bonds with his wife and kids. Of John C.'s performance, The New York Times proclaimed, "....a marvelous John C. McGinley, playing a dodgy jack-of-all-trades with the kind of energy that forces other actors to step up their game. He is so good. He redeems his character through acting skill alone."

John C. voiced the main character in "Dead Head Fred," an original PSP (PlayStation) game featuring dark humor and a violent portrayal of revenge and redemption. John C. will bring to life 'Fred Neuman,' a private detective savagely murdered and then resurrected in a bizarre scientific experiment without his memory or his head.

John C.'s impressive career in film spans a diverse range of characters in over sixty features to date. He has also appeared in such features as "Wild Hogs," "Identity," "The Animal," "The Rock," "Nothing to Lose," "Set It Off," "Seven," "Office Space," "Mother," "Wagons East," "Surviving the Game," "On Deadly Ground," "Point Break," "Highlander II," "A Midnight Clear" and "Fat Man and Little Boy."

John C. has a solid commitment to the independent film community as well as the studio system. He appeared in director Eriq La Salle's "Crazy As Hell" and director Scott Silver's "Johns." He also worked on "Truth or Consequences, N.M.," Kiefer Sutherland's feature directorial debut; and on "Colin Fitz," a film John C. co-produced which premiered in competition at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. He recently starred in director D.B. Sweeney's independent feature, "Two Tickets to Paradise," which is currently receiving raves on the festival circuit. For his performance in the later film, John C. was awarded Method Fest's Festival Director's Award, which is awarded for special recognition/excellence in film.

He is a partner at McGinley Entertainment Inc., an independent film production company with several projects currently in development. John C. first worked both sides of the camera, serving double duty as actor and producer for the romantic comedy "Watch It!" (with Peter Gallagher and Lili Taylor).

For television, he received stunning reviews for his starring role in Dean Koontz's gripping and highly rated 1997 suspense drama, "Intensity," a four-hour original film for FOX-TV. Of his performance, the New York Times stated, "John C. McGinley plays 'Vess' with effective cold-blooded menace. It is McGinley, in a strong, low-key performance, who emerges as the film's secret weapon. His face is familiar from many movie roles where his guy-next-door looks have made him a natural sidekick. As the murderer with the unlikely name 'Edgler Vess,' he uses that regular-guy demeanor to make the character especially chilling."

IMDb Mini Biography By: NIPR

Spouse

Nichole Kessler	(7 April 2007 - present) 1 child
Lauren Lambert	(February 1997 - December 2001) (divorced) 1 child

Trivia

Was a Syracuse undergraduate before transferring to NYU, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in 1984.

His son, Max, born in 1997 has Down's Syndrome. John took his TV role in "Scrubs" (2001) so he could stay close to home to be with him.

Understudied John Turturro in the off-Broadway play "Danny and The Deep Blue Sea" early in his career.

Raised in Millburn, NJ, and attended Millburn Senior High School - the alma mater of The Princess Diaries (2001) star Anne Hathaway. Millburn is also adjacent to the town of Maplewood, where "Scrubs" (2001) co-star Zach Braff was raised.

Co-owned a restaurant with fellow Platoon (1986) star, Willem Dafoe called "Match", in New York City.

He was on a celebrity version of "American Gladiators" (1989).

Had to audition five times for his role in "Scrubs" (2001).

Lives in a four-bedroom beachside home in Malibu, California.

He is a good friend of John Cusack.

Describes Dr. Cox, his character on "Scrubs" (2001), as "a hard-ass with a heart of gold" in the tradition of Danny DeVito's Louie DiPalma on "Taxi" (1978) and Edward Asner's Lou Grant on "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970). Many of his co-stars say the same of him, that while he may seem intimidating at first he is very talented and great to work with.

On the special edition DVD of Office Space (1999), writer/director Mike Judge and the cast reveal that McGinley improvised much of his character's praise of Michael Bolton. Several outtakes are shown. They also said that McGinley was intimidating to work with, which contributed to the character he played.

On "Scrubs" (2001), his character Dr. Cox's habit of referring to J.D. ( Zach Braff) by girls' names was put in the show after the writers noticed McGinley doing it to Braff. He claims to do this to all of his friends.

Became engaged to yoga teacher, Nichole Kessler, on August 19, 2006.

Is a good friend of NHL defense-man Chris Chelios and can often be seen on "Scrubs" (2001) wearing a Chelios hockey jersey or T-shirt of Chelios' chain of restaurants, "Cheli's Chili".

Calls Oliver Stone his favorite director to work with, and has accordingly been cast in his films six times, more than any actor except Sean Stone, the director's son.

Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2008 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actor category for his performances in the films Are We Done Yet? (2007) and Wild Hogs (2007), he failed to receive a nomination however.

Daughter, Billie Grace McGinley, born 2 February 2008, weighing 8 lbs and 21 inches long.

MFA in Acting - New York University, Tisch School of the Arts (1984).

Irish-American.

Personal Quotes

[on how he memorizes his lines and prepares for his roles] I go downstairs and don't come up from there until I get that stuff hammered in my skull, until I can do it water skiing or jumping out of a plane. It's all about the text, flushing it out, to excavate, to really get in there and see what falls through your fingers.

[on why he feels he never landed a role as a TV series regular until "Scrubs" (2001)] With my dorky head, I guess I just wasn't handsome enough. I'd do the audition but never hear back. TV tends to look for the living equivalents of squeaky-clean Kens and Barbies, but with my dial I'm more like Ken's dirty old uncle.

[on talking to his Any Given Sunday (1999) costar, Al Pacino] When Johnny [John Cusack] and I were shooting The Jack Bull (1999) (TV) in Calgary, he told me just to go up and knock on Al's trailer door. That's the secret of talking to him. If no one knocks on his door, he stays closeted up by himself. It really worked. I spent a lot of time talking to Al.

The ["Scrubs" (2001)] pilot script's notes described the character as a John C. McGinley-type. Now, I don't know what that type is, but I said, "Well, you've got him." I still had to audition five times for the network.

I did Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), with Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert down in Buenos Aires, and I stunk. I was infatuated with Orson Welles' filmography at the time, so I wanted to see if I could make my voice as low as his, and I succeeded. Nothing in the text supported that choice, though, so in the film, I look like a jackass. I don't look like a tough guy, I look like an idiot actor trying to toy around with his vocal apparatus.

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