Bio
Mandy Patinkin is an American actor and renowned tenor best known to television audiences for his role as Dr. Jeffrey Geiger in Chicago Hope (1994-2000) and as Jason Gideon in Criminal Minds, from 2005-2007.
He also stars as Saul Berenson in the psychological thriller television series Homeland.
Patinkin was born in Chicago, Illinois. Even from an early age he employed his voice to entertain, whether it was singing in temple or just for family and friends. He attended Kenwood High School, University of Kansas and Juilliard School of Drama.
His first break into show business was when he played Che in Evita on Broadway in 1979. He went on to win a Tony Award for that role.
After this initial musical theatre success Patinkin moved to film, playing a number of small parts in movies such as Yentl and Ragtime, before returning to Broadway in 1984 to star in Sunday in the Park with George, which saw him earn another Tony Award nomination.
Over the next decade he continued to appear in various movies such as Dick Tracy and Alien Nation, on Broadway in The Secret Garden and released two solo albums called Mandy Patinkin and Dress Casual.
In 1994, he burst onto the small screen playing the role of Dr. Jeffrey Geiger on CBS's Chicago Hope and promptly won an Emmy Award. Since Chicago Hope, Patinkin has taken parts in a number of films.
However, he has mostly been performing as a singer, releasing three more albums. He also returned to Broadway again in 2000 in the New York Shakespeare Festival's The Wild Party, earning another Tony Award nomination.
He has also been seen in the Showtime comedy-drama Dead Like Me.
He starred in the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds as the unconventional Special Agent Jason Gideon and guest starred in Three Rivers on CBS.