John Douglas Thompson

John Douglas Thompson has been extolled by the New York Times as “one of the most compelling classical stage actors of his generation,” and noted as “the best American actor in Shakespeare, hands down” by James Shapiro, Columbia University scholar and an international leading authority on William Shakespeare.

Thompson began appearing in a variety of lead and supporting roles across New England, most notably at the American Repertory Theater and Shakespeare and Company, also giving his first performance as Othello at the Trinity Repertory Company prior to attaining critical success in New York. He made his Broadway debut as Flavius, opposite Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar in 2005, and later appeared as Le Bret in Cyrano de Bergerac, alongside Jennifer Garner and Kevin Kline in 2007. In 2009, Thompson had a breakout year, playing the title roles in Othello at the Theatre for a New Audience, and The Emperor Jones at the Irish Repertory Theatre. Both performances garnered high critical acclaim. Thompson earned both an Obie Award and a Lucille Lortel Award for Othello. In the fall of 2010 Thompson was lauded for his leading role as Antony in a well reviewed rendition of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra opposite Kate Mulgrew.

In 2012, he appeared, in a short role as Lt. Gen. Paulsen, in The Bourne Legacy, the fourth film in the action thriller Bourne series. In 2015 Thompson received an Obie Award for his performance in Tamburlaine at the Theatre for a New Audience and for The Iceman Cometh at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

In addition to his theater work, Thompson has appeared on television in Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and Conviction. He also appeared in the short film Midway and the legal drama Michael Clayton.

In 2017 he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in Jitney.