Richard Jenkins is an American character actor known for his roles in film and television. He has received various accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Actor Awards, three Critics' Choice Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards.
Jenkins acted in the David O. Russell black comedy Flirting with Disaster (1996) for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. For his role as man in a midlife crisis in the independent drama The Visitor (2008) he earned widespread acclaim as well as nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. He further broke out that year with roles in the comedy Step Brothers, the Coen brothers black comedy Burn After Reading, and the animated film The Tale of Despereaux.
He portrayed a Deputy in the Western drama Bone Tomahawk (2015) for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. For his role as a lonely illustrator in Guillermo del Toro's romance fantasy The Shape of Water (2017) he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. He acted in del Toro's noir thriller Nightmare Alley (2021) for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor.
On television, he played Nathaniel Fisher Sr. in the HBO drama series Six Feet Under (2001–2005) for which he was nominated for the Actor Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series. He played a loving husband and pharmacist in the HBO limited series Olive Kitteridge (2014) for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. He was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his portrayals of Lionel Dahmer in the Netflix anthology series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022) and a county detective in the HBO black comedy miniseries DTF St. Louis (2026).
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2008 Best Actor The Visitor 2017 Best Supporting Actor The Shape of Water
Actor Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2001 Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series Six Feet Under 2008 Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role The Visitor 2014 Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie Olive Kitteridge 2017 Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role The Shape of Water
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2008 Best Actor The Visitor 2017 Best Supporting Actor The Shape of Water Critics' Choice Television Award 2015 Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries Olive Kitteridge
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2015 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Olive Kitteridge 2022 Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series (as a producer) Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie 2026 DTF St. Louis
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2017 Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture The Shape of Water 2022 Best Supporting Actor – Television Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Miscellaneous awards Year Organizations Category Work Result 1996 Independent Spirit Award Best Supporting Male Flirting with Disaster 2008 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Actor Best Cast Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actor Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Actor Gotham Awards Best Ensemble Cast Independent Spirit Awards Best Male Lead Method Fest Independent Film Festival Best Actor Moscow International Film Festival Best Actor National Board of Review Spotlight Award Online Film Critics Society Best Actor San Diego Film Critics Society Special Award Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award Satellite Award Best Actor – Motion Picture 2008 San Diego Film Critics Society Special Award Step Brothers / Burn After Reading / 2010 Breckenridge Festival of Film Best Ensemble Cast Norman 2010 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Supporting Actor Let Me In 2014 Satellite Award Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Olive Kitteridge 2015 Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Male Bone Tomahawk 2017 Austin Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor The Shape of Water Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Actor Detroit Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Houston Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Online Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor 2021 Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor Nightmare Alley 2022 Satellite Award Best Supporting Actor – Television Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
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