John Benjamin Hickey


John Benjamin Hickey is an American actor with a career in stage, film and television. He won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Felix Turner in The Normal Heart.

Early life

Hickey was born in Plano, Texas, and graduated from Plano Sr. High School in 1981. He attended Texas State University - San Marcos from 1981–1983, where he was active in the theater department. He earned his bachelor's degree in English at Fordham University in 1985.

Career

On Broadway, he originated the role of Arthur in Terrence McNally's play Love! Valour! Compassion! in 1995, a role he recreated for the 1997 film version.
He played supporting roles in a number of films including The Ice Storm and The Anniversary Party. He has also appeared in Flightplan, Flags of Our Fathers, Freedom Writers, Then She Found Me, ', The Bet and '.
He played Clifford Bradshaw in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret, which won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. In that same year, he played the lead in the independent film Finding North.
On Broadway, he played Reverend John Hale in the 2002 revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
Hickey played American novelist and playwright Jack Dunphy in the 2006 Truman Capote biopic Infamous. Hickey played Philip Stoddard on the short-lived gay-themed sitcom It's All Relative. Since It's All Relative, Hickey has appeared on Alias, Law & Order, Brothers & Sisters, Stacked, Heartland, In Plain Sight, , and Modern Family.
He appeared in the 2011 Broadway revival of The Normal Heart, for which he won the Tony Award, Featured Actor in a Play. He was in the Broadway revival of Mary Stuart in 2009, as the Earl of Leicester.
From 2010 to 2013, he appeared on The Big C and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the final season of the series, subtitled Hereafter. Hickey starred as scientist Frank Winter on the TV series Manhattan, which concluded on December 15, 2015 after two seasons and 23 episodes.
In 2015, he appeared Off-Broadway at the Mitzi Newhouse Theatre in the play Dada Woof Papa Hot by Peter Parnell.
In 2018 he appeared in the world premiere of Matthew Lopez's new play The Inheritance, inspired by the novel Howards End by E.M. Forster, creating the role Henry Wilcox at London's Young Vic and then transferring to the West End.

Personal life

Hickey is openly gay. Since 2003 his partner has been screenwriter and television producer Jeffrey Richman.

Filmography

Film

Source: TCM; AllMovie
YearTitleRoleNotes
1991Dangerous MusicTylerShort film
1992The BetHenryShort film
1994Only YouDwayne
1994The RefOld Baybrook Policeman
1995Comfortably NumbPriest
1996EddieJoe Nader
1996Sin #8Short film
1997The Ice StormMark Boland
1997Love! Valour! Compassion!Arthur Pape
1998Finding NorthTravis Furlong
1999The General's DaughterCaptain Goodson
1999The Bone CollectorDr. Barry Lehman
2001The Anniversary PartyJerry Adams
2002Changing LanesCarlyle
2005FlightplanDavid
2006The ExWesley's dad
2006Flags of Our FathersSergeant Keyes Beech
2006InfamousJack Dunphy
2007Freedom WritersBrian Gelford
2007The Seeker: The Dark Is RisingJohn Stanton
2007Then She Found MeAlan
2009The Taking of Pelham 123Deputy Mayor LaSalle
2009Theodore Galloway
2010Civil Unions: A Love StoryShort film
2012My Eleventh
2012Pitch PerfectDr. Mitchell
2014Get on UpRichard
2014Big Stone GapTheodore Tipton
2015TruthMark Wrolstad
2016TallulahStephen Mooney
2016BarryProfessor Gray
2017HostilesCaptain Royce Tolan
2018Forever My GirlPastor Brian Page
2018MapplethorpeSam Wagstaff

Television series

Television films

Theatre

Source: IBDB, IOBDB
YearTitleRoleNotes
1992The End of the DayJonathan Toffler/Young GraydonOff-Broadway
1992On the BumOskarOff-Broadway
1994–1995Love! Valour! Compassion!Arthur PapeOff-Broadway
1995Love! Valour! Compassion!Arthur PapeBroadway
1996Blue WindowGrieverOff-Broadway
1997God's HeartDavidOff-Broadway
1998–1999CabaretClifford BradshawBroadway
2002The CrucibleReverend John HaleBroadway
2009Mary StuartEarl of LeicesterBroadway
2011The Normal HeartFelix TurnerBroadway
2015Dada Woof Papa HotAlanOff-Broadway
2017Six Degrees of SeparationFlan KittredgeBroadway
2018–2020The InheritanceHenry WilcoxYoung Vic & West End

Awards and nominations