Michael Stuhlbarg Biography

Fast Facts

• Became interested in acting at age 11 during a community-theater production of Bye Bye Birdie
• Bored with stage crew, he improvised during rehearsal, pretending to be drunk, and was asked to act
• Studied at the National Youth Theatre in London, England
• Won a contest at UCLA to study mime with Marcel Marceau
• While at Juilliard, started drawing sketches of his characters before he played them on stage
• Appeared in the 1993 Broadway production of Three Men on a Horse alongside Tony Randall, Jack Klugman and Jerry Stiller
• Received a Tony nomination and a Drama Desk Award for his role in the 2005 play The Pillowman
• Got the leading role in the Coen brothers' 2009 film A Serious Man after auditioning for multiple roles because the Coens couldn't decide which part was best for him
• "We would have cloned him if we could," said Joel Coen