Bio
Liev Schreiber is an American actor who became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s, having initially appeared in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films including the Scream trilogy of horror films.
He made his television series regular role debut as the title character Ray, a cool, sophisticated Hollywood player but also a ruthless south Boston thug, in the drama series Ray Donovan, in 2013.
Heralded as "the finest American theater actor of his generation" by the New York Times, Liev Schreiber repertoire of resonant, humanistic and oftentimes gritty portrayals have garnered him praise in film, theatre and television.
Schreiber starred opposite Woody Allen and Sofia Vergara in Fading Gigolo, a comedy written and directed by John Turturro. In the fall of 2012, he completed production on Clear History, directed by Larry David and starring Kate Hudson and Jon Hamm, as well as Lee Daniels' The Butler, in which he portrays Lyndon B. Johnson.
Schreiber also stars in Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist opposite Kate Hudson and Kiefer Sutherland, which premiered at the 69th Venice International Film Festival and screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.
Schreiber's many feature credits include Goon with Jay Baruchel and Seann William Scott; Salt with Angelina Jolie; X-Men Origins: Wolverine; Defiance with Daniel Craig; Repo Men; The Painted Veil; The Manchurian Candidate, opposite Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington; The Sum of All Fears; Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock; Kate & Leopold; Every Day; Michael Almereyda's Hamlet; Spring Forward; The Hurricane; A Walk on the Moon with Diane Lane; The Daytrippers; Nora Ephron's Mixed Nuts; and Wes Craven's Scream trilogy.
His portrayal of Orson Welles in Benjamin Ross' RKO 281 brought Schreiber Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations. His other telefilm credits include George C. Wolfe's Lackawanna Blues and John Erman's The Sunshine boys, opposite Woody Allen and Peter Falk.
As one of the documentary medium's foremost narrators, he has lent his voice to such works as Mantle, :03 From Gold, A City on Fire: The Story of the '68 Detroit Tigers, Nova and Nature.
In 2010, Schreiber received his third Tony nomination for his role in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge alongside Scarlett Johansson.
His performance as Ricky Roma in the 2005 Broadway revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, directed by Joe Mantello, earned him his first Tony Award.
He was again a Tony nominee for his portrayal of Barry Champlain in the 2007 Broadway revival of Eric Bogosian's TALK RADIO, directed by Robert Falls.
Other stage work includes the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of Macbeth, in the lead role opposite Jennifer Ehle, directed by Moisés Kaufman; Iago; Hamlet; Henry the V; and Cymbeline.
In 2005, Schreiber made his feature directorial debut with Everything is Illuminated, which he also adapted from Jonathan Safran Foer's best-selling novel of the same name. The film, starring Elijah Wood and Eugene Hutz, was named one of the year's 10 Best by the National Board of Review.
His half-brother is actor Pablo Schreiber.