Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s before coming to prominence in the early 2000s for playing the deceased patriarch
Nathaniel Fisher on the
HBO funeral drama series
Six Feet Under. He has since established himself in Hollywood by acquiring lead roles in the films
The Visitor and
The Cabin in the Woods.
Early life
Jenkins was born and raised in
DeKalb, a university town in
Illinois. His mother, Mary Elizabeth (
née Wheeler), was a housewife, and his father, Dale Stevens Jenkins, was a dentist. He attended
DeKalb High School. Before he was an actor, Jenkins drove a
linen truck (his boss was actor
John C. Reilly's father).Stated on
The Late Show with David Letterman, February 3, 2009 Jenkins earned a degree in drama from
Illinois Wesleyan University before relocating to
Rhode Island. While attending Illinois Wesleyan, Jenkins was a member of
Phi Gamma Delta.
Career
Theatre
He worked as an actor with the
Trinity Repertory Company in
Providence,
Rhode Island while breaking into film with a bit part in
Feasting with Panthers (1974), a television movie, and continued as a celebrated member of Trinity's resident acting...
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