Known For
Acting
Born
Jul 30, 1954
Place of Birth
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Credits
57 titles
Ken Olin
Biography
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.
Known For
Filmography
Paradise
Director
Tracker
Executive Producer
The Story of Soaps
Self
Stars in the House
Self
Grand Hotel
Director
This Is Us
Director
Zoo
Professor Robert Oz
The Slap
Director
The Man in the High Castle
Director
Sleepy Hollow
Director
The Mob Doctor
Director
Americana
Martin Garano
Eli Stone
Director
Brothers & Sisters: Family Album
Executive Producer
Brothers and Sisters
David Caplan
The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie
Ken Olin
Phenomenon II
Director
Breaking News
Alias
David McNeil (uncredited)
Y2K
Nick Cromwell
Evolution's Child
Freaks and Geeks
Director
The West Wing
Director
Judging Amy
Director
Felicity
Director
L.A. Doctors
Roger Cattan
The Advocate's Devil
Abe Ringel
'Til There Was You
Gregory
EZ Streets
Cameron Quinn
Dead by Sunset
Kansas
Executive Producer
Nothing But the Truth
Dr. Peter Clayman
In Pursuit of Honor
Director
White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf
Director
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
Telling Secrets
Det. Jay Jensen
Doing Time on Maple Drive
Director
The Broken Cord
Director
Queens Logic
Ray
Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston
Charles Stuart
Police Story
Officer Manny Mandell
Police Story: Cop Killer
Officer Manny Mandell
A Stoning in Fulham County
Jim Sandler
thirtysomething
Michael Steadman
I'll Take Manhattan
Nat Lammerman
Tonight's the Night
Henry Fox
There Must Be a Pony
Jay Savage
Murder, She Wrote
Perry Revere
Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac
David Frank
The Hitchhiker
Steve