Peter L. Wittrock Jr. (born October 28, 1984), known as Finn Wittrock, is an American actor who began his career in guest roles on several television shows. He made his film debut in 2004, in Halloweentown High before returning to films in the 2010 film Twelve. After studying theater at The Juilliard School, he was a regular in the soap opera All My Children from 2009 to 2011, while performing in several theatrical productions. In 2011, he performed in playwright Tony Kushner's Off-Broadway play The Illusion and made his Broadway debut in 2012 as Happy Loman in the revival of Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, directed by Mike Nichols.
In 2014, he gained recognition for his roles in the films The Normal Heart, Noah, and Unbroken, and garnered a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his role as Dandy Mott in the FX series American Horror Story: Freak Show. In 2015, he portrayed model Tristan Duffy and actor Rudolph Valentino in American Horror Story: Hotel, and starred in the ensemble cast of the dramedy film The Big Short. In 2016, Wittrock guest starred as Jether Polk in American Horror Story: Roanoke, and played Greg in Damien Chazelle's La La Land. In 2018, he portrayed murder victim Jeffrey Trail in the FX crime drama series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story for which he received a second Emmy nomination. In his seventh collaboration with Ryan Murphy, Wittrock played serial killer Edmund Tolleson in the Netflix series Ratched (2020).
Early life
Wittrock was born in Lenox, Massachusetts, the son of Kate Claire Crowley, a professor of occupational therapy at the University of Southern California, and Peter L. Wittrock, an actor. He has a younger brother, Dylan. As a child, he grew up at the Shakespeare & Company theatre, where his father worked, and would often act as a pageboy or messenger. As a teenager, he attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where he would act, make films and be a part of movement classes for actors. After graduating from high school, he was accepted into the Juilliard School, but turned them down, hoping to get work in Los Angeles.
Wittrock acted in some episodes for television, but would often face rejection. He auditioned for Juilliard the next year and was accepted again. He attended the school, where he was a member of the drama division's Group 37 (2004–2008). He was an active participant in the drama department and starred in several theatrical productions. He also won the Juilliard Journal Award, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Juilliard's newspaper, The Juilliard Journal; and was the recipient of the drama division's Stephanie Palmer McClelland Scholarship. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2008.
Career
At the end of high school, Wittrock appeared in guest stints on the police procedural series Cold Case and medical drama ER. He also made an appearance on CSI: Miami and in the Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown High (2004) during his time at drama school. After graduating from Juilliard, he portrayed Romeo in Washington, D.C.'s regional theatre, the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Romeo and Juliet, as well as playing the role of Eugene Marchbanks in the 2008 production of Candida at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. He later portrayed Damon Miller in the long-running series All My Children from 2009 to 2011, portrayed Troilus in the 2009 Off-Broadway play The Age of Iron, and appeared in the teen drama film Twelve (2010).
In 2011, Wittrock starred in the Off-Broadway play The Illusion by famous playwright Tony Kushner. Director Mike Nichols came to see the play and later told Wittrock to audition for producer Scott Rudin for their upcoming revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. He got the part of Harold "Happy" Loman and made his Broadway debut in 2012 opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman. The Nichols-directed play won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play and Wittrock won a Theatre World Award and the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Performer. Later that year, he starred in a production of The Deep Blue at the Williamstown Theatre Festival directed by Bob Balaban. He also appeared on series such as Harry's Law, Criminal Minds and played the role of gigolo Chance Wayne in the David Cromer-directed production of Tennessee Williams' play Sweet Bird of Youth at The Goodman Theatre
In 2013, he starred in the play adaptation of the film The Guardsman at The Kennedy Center, directed by Gregory Mosher. He also guest-starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and on several episodes of the series Masters of Sex.