Michael Kostroff

Michael Kostroff is an American actor born on May 22, 1961, in New York, New York, whose career spans Broadway, national tours, television, and publishing.

Kostroff is perhaps most widely recognized for his recurring role as defense attorney Maurice Levy on the HBO drama series The Wire, a character he played across all five seasons of the show, appearing as a guest star in the first four before becoming a series regular in the fifth. His sister, Nina Kostroff Noble, served as an executive producer on the same series. His television work extends beyond The Wire to include recurring appearances on The Blacklist, Billions, The Good Wife, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as the role of Marshall Pike on the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance. He also served as executive producer and creator of So Random. In the HBO film The Wizard of Lies, Kostroff portrayed Peter Madoff, brother of Bernie Madoff, played by Robert De Niro, and he appeared as Shepsie Tirschwell in David Simon's 2020 miniseries The Plot Against America. In September 2024, he was cast in a recurring role on the superhero series Spider-Noir.

On stage, Kostroff's Broadway credits include Dog Day Afternoon, The Nance, Les Misérables, and The Producers, with his Broadway career spanning from 1988 to 2026. He also built a substantial touring career: from 2002 to 2003, he performed in the first national tour of Mel Brooks' The Producers, and from 2003 to 2004 he played the comic villain Thénardier in the touring production of Les Misérables, a role he returned to for the show's 25th anniversary tour in 2010.

Kostroff is the author of four books. Letters from Backstage chronicles his experiences on the road with two Broadway tours. The Stage Actor's Handbook: Traditions, Protocols, and Etiquette for the Working and Aspiring Professional addresses professional conduct in the theater. Audition Psych 101 is drawn from his workshop of the same name, and Advice from 'The Working Actor' is a textbook based on the "Working Actor" advice column he contributed to in the weekly publication Backstage. Kostroff also volunteered on the Barack Obama presidential campaign.