Francis Guinan

Francis V. Guinan Jr., born November 17, 1951, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, is an American actor whose career spans stage, film, and television. He has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble since 1979 and made his Broadway debut in 1981, going on to appear on Broadway through 2007.

Guinan's Broadway credits include The Grapes of Wrath, Peter Pan, and August: Osage County. His role in Tracy Letts' August: Osage County, in which he co-starred when the production opened on Broadway in December 2007, brought him renewed recognition. His stage work earned him two Drama Desk Award nominations: an Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play nomination in 1990 and an Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play nomination in 2023.

On television, Guinan is perhaps best known for portraying Edgar Teller, the family patriarch, in the short-lived series Eerie, Indiana. He has also made guest appearances across a wide range of series, including Grey's Anatomy, CSI: Miami, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Without a Trace, The Practice, Crossing Jordan, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, That '70s Show, Nash Bridges, Sliders, Murder She Wrote, Frasier, and Mike & Molly.

His film work spans several decades. Early credits include The Serpent and the Rainbow and Miles from Home, both in 1988. He subsequently appeared in Shining Through (1992), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), Guinevere (1999), Hannibal (2001), and Constantine (2005). In 2010 he played Master Pakku in The Last Airbender and appeared in All Good Things as Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Later film roles include Lyndon B. Johnson in Killing Kennedy (2013), Larry Montgomery in Henry Gamble's Birthday Party (2015), Tom in Abundant Acreage Available (2017), Dr. Preston in The Evil Within (2017), Dennis in Saint Frances (2019), David Frank in Relative (2022), and Janitor Fran in Ghostlight (2024).