Lee Tergesen Biography

Fast Facts

• Won the 2002 Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema Award for Best Actor
• Moved to New York City at 18-years-old where he soon began training at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy
• In 1994, he got married to screen actress Tanya Lewis
• Met and befriended "Oz" series writer and director Tom Fontana in 1989 when Lee would wait tables at a New York City diner frequented by Fontana
• Quote: "[On being cast in 'Point Break'] "It was the beginning of me never having to do anything else but act․""
• After several years of small, supporting roles in both television and film, he would gain widespread recognition after appearing on HBO's "Oz" beginning in 1997
• Permanently lost feeling in one of his index fingers while filming a scene for "Oz" where he was forced to bang on the bars of his cell for several hours