John Slattery was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Joan (Mulhern), a CPA, and John “Jack”” Slattery, a leather merchant, both of Irish descent. John landed his first TV gig on the 1988 series The Dirty Dozen (1988) and has worked steadily since then. His television career has included the short-lived series Under Cover (1991), Homefront (1991), Maggie (1998) and Feds (1997); and the mini-series A Woman of Independent Means (1995) with Sally Field and From the Earth to the Moon (1998), in which he played Walter Mondale. By having recurring roles on Will & Grace (1998) as Will’s big brother, “”Sam””; Judging Amy (1999) as Amy’s estranged husband; and Sex and the City (1998) as a very kinky politician, John has become one of the most in-demand character actors. In 2001, he had a role on NBC’s comedy-drama Ed (2000), where he played the confident, cool, aloof high school principal “”Dennis Martino””. This role earned him much notoriety, and made him the subject of debate among Ed (2000) fans. John has also had a long, successful and diverse career in the theater. He made his theater debut in the 1989 play “”The Lisbon Traviata””, which also starred Nathan Lane. He has had several successful collaborations with the playwright Richard Greenberg and appeared in the author’s “”The Extra Man””, “”Night and Her Stars”” and “”Three Days of Rain””, for which he earned critical praise for his dual roles of father and son. In 1993, John made his Broadway debut starring opposite Nathan Lane in Neil Simon’s “”Laughter on the 23rd Floor””. Returning to the theater in 2000, John starred in a revival of Harold Pinter’s “”Betrayal””. Making his feature film debut in 1996, John had a small role in the movie City Hall (1996). He then appeared in the movies Eraser (1996), Where’s Marlowe? (1998), Traffic (2000), and the Anthony Hopkins/Chris Rock vehicle Bad Company (2002), before finding greater fame as one of the stars of the television series _Mad Men (2007).”
John Slattery
Movies
Traffic
An intertwined drama about the United States’ war on drugs, seen through the eyes of a once conservative judge, now newly-appointed drug czar, his heroin-addicted daughter, two DEA agents, a jailed drug kingpin’s wife, and a Mexican cop who begins to question his boss’s motives.
Fun Facts
Engaged to Talia Balsam. [April 1998]
Son-in-law of Joyce Van Patten and the late Martin Balsam.
Is a Democrat, but portrays a Republican in Jack & Bobby (2004).
Received his B.F.A. from Catholic University of America in 1984.
John and Talia were married on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.
Has four older sisters and one younger brother.
In the Broadway play, "Rabbit Hole
Quotes
The rule of surfing is never tell anyone where you go.
For some reason surfing... I'm not scared of the ocean so the risk doesn't seem as great to me.
Viewers can hate a character and at the same time can't take their eyes off of him.
But the path you end up on means that you have to close a lot of doors, too.
Memories are just stories we tell ourselves about our past; and that's often why they don't match when we've shared the same experiences with someone.
When I first started, I was kind of surprised that anyone would ever hire me at all. So I took everything that I was offered.
My wife tells me I need to learn to be more patient with my son.
I think the moments that are difficult for anybody are when you see what your life could be, if only you had the courage to take the steps needed.
Let's face it, making movies is all risk. Most of the time, batting average-wise, the reward does not outweigh the risk.
I was a horrible limo driver: I ran out of gas with passengers in the back and I used to get lost on a regular basis.
I think I gravitate towards people who express themselves in a simple and funny way.
I don't have to worry about how my movies sell because I'm not the guy in front.
Characters can become boring. That's what's tricky about television. It goes on and on - you're playing this same character for five seasons and it gets easy to fall into just walking on the set and assuming you know how to play a scene.
I guess, you make a big studio film, you spend a lot of money on it and you hope people go see it. It's really risky.
And I don't want to jump out of an airplane - I've done that.
I've done a lot of pilots. A lot of shows. You're young and you do a job just because you know someone gave you a job.
When I was growing up, the top movies dealt with grown-up, complex emotions.
I've never directed anything before 'Mad Men,' so I don't feel I have any advice for the other directors.
You put a movie star or a bunch of movie stars in a movie, it doesn't mean people are gonna go see it. It's been proven time and time again.
I like to try the scene over and over, but given the confines of television, I don't have that option.