Griffin Dunne

Thomas Griffin Dunne was born on June 8, 1955, in New York City, the oldest child of journalist, producer, and actor Dominick Dunne and activist Ellen Beatriz Griffin. He is the older brother of Alexander and Dominique Dunne, and a nephew of writers John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. Although born in New York, Dunne was raised in Los Angeles and attended the Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts, and the Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, where he developed an early interest in acting through school productions. Following his expulsion from Fountain Valley School, he returned to New York City and trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre under Sanford Meisner.

Dunne launched his professional acting career at nineteen with a supporting role in The Other Side of the Mountain (1975). He gained wider recognition playing Jack Goodman in John Landis's An American Werewolf in London (1981) and Tommy Kelly in Johnny Dangerously (1984). His role as Paul Hackett in Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985) earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Additional film credits include Who's That Girl (1987) opposite Madonna, My Girl (1991), Quiz Show (1994), Dallas Buyers Club (2013) opposite Matthew McConaughey, The French Dispatch (2021), and Caught Stealing (2025).

On Broadway, Dunne appeared in Search and Destroy and participated in The 24 Hour Plays in 2003, with his Broadway work spanning from 1992 to 2003. His stage work earned him a Theatre World Award in 1992.

On television, Dunne guest-starred on Frasier, appearing in the pilot episode and in a third-season episode, earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He appeared in multiple episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, played Tony Mink in Trust Me on TNT, and joined the premiere season of House of Lies in 2012 as management consultant Marco Pelios. From 2018 to 2022, he was a recurring cast member on This Is Us, portraying Nicky Pearson, the brother of Jack Pearson. Additional television credits include Goliath (2019–2021) and Only Murders in the Building (2024).

As a producer, Dunne co-founded Triple Play Productions in the late 1970s with Amy Robinson and Mark Metcalf. The company produced Chilly Scenes of Winter (1982), an adaptation of Ann Beattie's 1976 novel. After Metcalf's departure, Dunne and Robinson continued under the name Double Play Productions, producing films including Baby It's You, After Hours, Running on Empty, and Game 6. In 1986, the company entered a two-year production agreement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Dunne made his directorial debut with the 1995 short film Duke of Groove, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film alongside producer Thom Colwell. His feature directorial debut followed with Addicted to Love (1997) and Practical Magic (1998), and he later directed The Accidental Husband (2008). In 2017, he produced and directed Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, a Netflix documentary about his aunt in which he interviews Didion and appears on screen alongside her.

Dunne has also written for The New York Times Travel section, Details magazine, and Porter magazine, and published a Kindle Single collection of short stories titled Air Guitar. His family memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club, debuted as a New York Times bestseller upon its release on June 11, 2024. In his personal life, Dunne was married to actress Carey Lowell from 1989 to 1995; they have one daughter, actress Hannah Dunne. He was subsequently married to Australian stylist Anna Bingemann from 2009 to 2010.