Ken Olin

Known for ActingBorn 1954-07-30 (age 71)Chicago, Illinois, USA

His dark, sincere good looks were steadily put to use on the small screen during the 80s, but, in retrospect, actor Ken Olin will probably be considered more of a major force behind the camera. Born in Chicago, Ken went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and headed for Hollywood in the late 70s. After the typical route of bit parts, he started moving up in leaps and bounds on TV's top shows. A couple of strong, single season regular parts on both Hill Street Blues (1981)and Falcon Crest (1981) ultimately led to his casting as the introspective and quietly sexy Michael Steadman on Thirtysomething (1987), which ran for four seasons and nabbed numerous awards for its liberal writing and sensitive content. Ken co-starred with wife Patricia Wettig on the show, but the multi-Emmy winner Wettig did not play Ken's wife (actress Mel Harris did) and the public was often confused as to who Ken's wife really was. Ken also earned the chance to direct occasionally on Thirtysomething (1987) and this would have a significant impact as to the direction of his career in the years to come. Following Thirtysomething (1987), Ken pursued acting work in mini-movies as both hero ( Police Story: Cop Killer (1988) ) and villain ( Dead by Sunset (1995) ), but almost always seemed on the verge of leaving acting altogether. It was his burgeoning interest in directing that took over, and he has since found steady helming duties on such popular shows as Felicity (1998) and The West Wing (1999). His TV drama Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992)was nominated for three Emmys.Read more

Movies & web series

Nothing But the Truth

L.A. Doctors

This Is Us

The West Wing

Freaks and Geeks

Women at West Point

Dead by Sunset

Paradise

Tracker

The Man in the High Castle

Sleepy Hollow

Judging Amy

Hill Street Blues

Murder, She Wrote

Bay City Blues

Grand Hotel

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

The Story of Soaps

Brothers and Sisters

The Mob Doctor

Zoo

White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf

Eli Stone

Alias

There Must Be a Pony

Golden Globe Awards

Hotel

Felicity

Police Story: Cop Killer

Phenomenon II

The Broken Cord

thirtysomething

The Hitchhiker

I'll Take Manhattan

EZ Streets

The Slap

Breaking News

The Advocate's Devil

In Pursuit of Honor

Ghost Story

A Stoning in Fulham County

Queens Logic

Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston

Falcon Crest

Kansas

The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie

Evolution's Child

Doing Time on Maple Drive