Due to his angelic blue eyes and sensitive aura, Kirk was initially cast as vulnerable, often wounded characters. In his 1993 Broadway debut,
Any Given Day, he was in a wheelchair. Then a pair of gay roles jump-started his career: a sweet blind man in
Love! Valour! Compassion! (a part he played off-Broadway, on Broadway and in the 1997 film adaptation) and an abandoned, AIDS-stricken lover in the lauded 2003 miniseries
Angels in America, a searing performance that earned him an Emmy nod and national recognition. Although Kirk subsequently appeared in a number of low-profile indies (
Flannel Pajamas,
Puccini for Beginners), it was cable TV that offered him the delicious part that shattered his well-established good-guy image. Kirk joked in numerous interviews that in real life, he was much more like his character on
Weeds, Andy Botwin, an immoral layabout who moves in with his pot-dealing sister-in-law. Whether or not that was the truth, he was hilarious in the role and was rewarded with a Golden Globe nod in 2007. A couple years later, Kirk spun off the character into a humorous series of fake educational shorts dubbed
The University of Andy.
Justin Kirk Fast Facts:
- Attended elementary school on an American Indian reservation in Washington State.
- Made his Broadway debut in 1993 with Frank Gilroy's play Any Given Day.
- Breakout role came with his Obie Award-winning turn in the 1995 Broadway production of Love! Valour! Compassion!; made his feature-film debut two years later in the big-screen adaptation.
- First series-regular role was on the sitcom Jack & Jill, which ran for two season on the WB.
- Frequently plays wounded characters: In Any Given Day, he's in a wheelchair; in Love! Valour! Compassion!, he's blind; in Angels in America, he's hobbled.
- Spun off his popular Weeds character, Andy Botwin, into The University of Andy, a series of fake educational shorts.
- Justin Kirk Awards:
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie - Nominee
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2003 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Nominee
- College:
- Circle in the Square Theatre School, New York, NY