Because union rules require a unique name, added Seymour, which was his grandfather's name, to his stage name
While in high school, he played Radar in M*A*S*H and Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, a role he eventually played on Broadway in 2012
Between junior and senior years in high school, attended a Saratoga Springs (NY) drama camp, where he met and became friends with Bennett Miller and Dan Futterman, the director and screenwriter, respectively, for Capote (2005)
Breakthrough role was as film technician Scotty who carries a torch for porn star Dirk Diggler in 1997's Boogie Nights
In 2000, starred in Sam Shepard's True West on Broadway, opposite John C
Reilly; the pair switched roles frequently during the production and solicited for a single Tony nomination to be shared between them (they were denied and nominated separately)
Was co-artistic director for Manhattan's LABrynith Theater Company, where he directed productions including In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings
During that run, met his partner, costume designer Mimi O'Donnell
After directing numerous theater productions, his feature-film directorial debut, Jack Goes Boating, was released in 2010
Awards
2013Golden Globe-Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:nominated
2013BAFTA Film Awards-Best Supporting Actor:nominated
2013Critics' Choice Movie Awards-Best Supporting Actor:winner
2012Detroit Film Critics Society-Best Supporting Actor:nominated
2012Washington D.C. Film Critics Association-Best Supporting Actor:winner
2012Screen Actors Guild Awards-Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:nominated
2012Oscar-Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:nominated
2012BAFTA Film Awards-Best Supporting Actor:nominated
2009BAFTA Film Awards-Best Supporting Actor:nominated
2009Golden Globe-Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:nominated