Peter MacNicol
Acting • Born 1954-04-10
Biography
Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He received a Theatre World Award for his 1981 Broadway debut in the play Crimes of the Heart. His film roles include Galen in Dragonslayer (1981), Stingo in Sophie's Choice (1982), Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II (1989), camp counselor Gary Granger in Addams Family Values (1993), and David Langley in Bean (1997). MacNicol was born in Dallas, Texas, on April 10, 1954. He attended the University of Dallas and the University of Minnesota, where he studied theater. After graduating, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. MacNicol made his Broadway debut in 1981 in the play Crimes of the Heart. He won a Theatre World Award for his performance. He went on to appear in a number of other Broadway productions, including The Real Thing (1984), The Crucible (1996), and The Pillowman (2005). MacNicol has also had a successful career in film and television. He has appeared in a number of films, including Sophie's Choice (1982), Ghostbusters II (1989), Addams Family Values (1993), and Bean (1997). He is best known for his role as the eccentric lawyer John Cage in the FOX comedy-drama Ally McBeal (1997–2002), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2001. MacNicol has also appeared in a number of other television shows, including 24 (2001), Numbers (2005), and Veep (2012-2019). He is a versatile actor who has shown his range in a variety of roles. MacNicol is married to Martha Cumming, and they have two children. He is a member of the Actors' Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild.
Filmography
88 credits
Bean
Movie • 1997
David Langley
Dragonslayer
Movie • 1981
Galen
Housesitter
Movie • 1992
Marty
Ghostbusters II
Movie • 1989
Dr. Janosz Poha
By Dawn's Early Light
Movie • 1990
Sedgwick
The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue
Movie • 1998
Narrator (voice)
Baby Geniuses
Movie • 1999
Dan
Mojave Moon
Movie • 1996
Tire Repairman
Dracula: Dead and Loving It
Movie • 1995
Thomas Renfield
Balto: Wolf Quest
Movie • 2002
Muru (voice)
Olive, the Other Reindeer
Movie • 1999
Fido (voice)
Abducted: A Father's Love
Movie • 1996
Roy Dowd
Heat
Movie • 1986
Cyrus Kinnick
Sophie's Choice
Movie • 1982
Stingo
Breakin' All the Rules
Movie • 2004
Philip Gascon
Game Change
Movie • 2012
Rick Davis
Silencing Mary
Movie • 1998
Lawrence Dixon
Floss
Movie
Dr. Rivus
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
Movie • 2024
The Invader (voice)
American Blue Note
Movie • 1989
Jack Solow
Snowden's Christmas
Movie • 1999
Snowden (voice)
Our (Almost Completely True) Love Story
Movie • 2023
Psycho Date
Addams Family Values
Movie • 1993
Gary Granger
Home Delivery
Movie • 2024
Howard Evans
Roswell
Movie • 1994
Lewis Rickett
Hard Promises
Movie • 1992
Stuart
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Movie • 1984
Martin
The Pooch and the Pauper
Movie • 2000
Liberty (voice)
Recess: School's Out
Movie • 2001
Fenwick (voice)
Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild
Movie • 2005
Troopmaster (voice)
Radioland Murders
Movie • 1994
Son Writer
Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright
Movie • 2013
Dewey Ottman (voices)
Johnny Bull
Movie • 1986
Joe Kovacs
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Attack of the Lizard
Movie • 2008
Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus (voice)
Battleship
Movie • 2012
Secretary of Defense
Voices & Visions: Walt Whitman
Movie • 1988
Narrator
Secret of the Sundrop
Movie • 2018
Nigel the Advisor
Shell
Movie • 2025
Dr. Thaddeus Brand
Veep
Movie • 2019
Jeff Kane
Numb3rs
TV • 2005
Larry Fleinhardt
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
TV • 2000
Ally McBeal
TV • 1997
John Cage
CatDog
TV • 1998
Danny Phantom
TV • 2004
Sidney Poindexter (voice)
Tales from the Crypt
TV • 1989
Austin Haggard (segment "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime")
24
TV • 2001
Tom Lennox
Young Justice
TV • 2010
Professor Ivo / M.O.N.Q.I. (voice)
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV • 1982
Martin
The Lyon's Den
TV • 2003
Chicago Hope
TV • 1994
Boston Legal
TV • 2004
Dr. Sydney Field
The Powers That Be
TV • 1992
Bradley Grist
G.I. Joe: Renegades
TV • 2010
Firefly (voice)
Young Justice
TV • 2010
Professor Ivo / Amazo / M.O.N.Q.I. (voice)
The Wild Thornberrys
TV • 1998
Raju / Monkey (voice)
Justice League Unlimited
TV • 2004
David Clinton (voice)
CSI: Cyber
TV • 2015
Simon Sifter
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
TV • 2010
Oliver / Forever Knight #1 (voice)
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
TV • 2013
Professor Elliott Randolph
American Dad!
TV • 2005
Old Man Hanson (voice)
American Dad!
TV • 2005
Santa's Elf (voice)
Grey's Anatomy
TV • 2005
Robert Stark
The Mindy Project
TV • 2012
Rabbi Adler
Young Justice
TV • 2010
Professor Ivo (voice)
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
TV • 2000
X the Eliminator (voice)
Doc McStuffins
TV • 2012
Egghead (voice)
Fairly Legal
TV • 2011
Judge Smollet
The Batman
TV • 2004
Langstrom (voice)
Veep
TV • 2012
Jeff Kane
The Spectacular Spider-Man
TV • 2008
Otto Octavius (voice)
The Spectacular Spider-Man
TV • 2008
Master Planner / Otto Octavius (voice)
The Spectacular Spider-Man
TV • 2008
Doctor Octopus (voice)
The Spectacular Spider-Man
TV • 2008
Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus (voice)
The Spectacular Spider-Man
TV • 2008
Master Planner (voice)
The Spectacular Spider-Man
TV • 2008
Master Planner / Doctor Octopus (voice)
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
TV • 2000
Major (voice)
Star Wars Rebels
TV • 2014
Tseebo (voice)
The Angry Beavers
TV • 1997
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
TV • 1987
Steve Cooper
All Rise
TV • 2019
Albert Campbell
American Dad!
TV • 2005
Angel (voice)
A Series of Unfortunate Events
TV • 2017
Ishmael
The Big Bang Theory
TV • 2007
Robert Wolcott
Cheers
TV • 1982
Mario
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
TV • 2000
X, the Eliminator (voice)
Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure
TV • 2017
Nigel the Advisor (voice)
All's Fair
TV • 2025
Robert DeLancie
Chicago Hope
TV • 1994
Alan Birch