The handsome son of acting legend Alan Arkin, Adam Arkin began his career as a child actor in small TV and film roles, culminating in his starring role in the werewolf comedy "Full Moon High" (1981). He earned an Emmy nomination for his recurring role as the barefoot, possibly feral chef Adam on "Northern Exposure" (CBS, 1990-95) and a 1991 Tony nod in Paul Rudnick's "I Hate Hamlet." He starred on many short-lived series and earned a slew of recurring credits on projects like "China Beach" (ABC, 1988-1991) and "Picket Fences" (CBS, 1992-96), but landed a star-making role as the kind neurosurgeon Dr. Aaron Shutt on David E. Kelley's "Chicago Hope" (CBS, 1994-2000). On the big screen, he played Jamie Lee Curtis' boyfriend in "Halloween H20: 20 Year Later" (1998), Meg Ryan's husband in "Hanging Up" (2000), and a bystander to crocodile attacks at "Lake Placid" (1999). A Daytime Emmy-winning director, Arkin earned acclaim for a guest spot on "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-2004) and recurred on "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006), "8 Simple Rules" (ABC, 2002-05), "Boston Legal" (ABC, 2004-08) and "Sons of Anarchy" (FX, 2008- ). The very employable actor made his pop proud, playing Eva Mendes's editor in "Hitch" (2005) and a divorce lawyer in the Ethan and Joel Coen drama "A Serious Man" (2009). A talented, constant presence across TV and film, Adam Arkin built a lengthy, impressive career outside of his father's considerable professional shadow.
Born Aug. 19, 1956 in Brooklyn, NY, Adam Arkin began performing as a child after accompanying his father, Alan Arkin, to movie sets around the world. After a series of small TV and film appearances, Arkin had his own short-lived sitcom, "Busting Loose" (CBS, 1977). He co-wrote the screenplay for a Canadian comedy, "Improper Channels" (1981) and made his feature film acting debut in "Chu Chu and the Philly Flash" (1981), a film starring his father and written by his stepmother. That same year, Arkin starred in "Full Moon High," a silly werewolf high school comedy, and had a small part in the critically-maligned Chevy Chase farce "Under the Rainbow" (1981). He had better luck on television than in film, starring on the series "Teachers Only" (NBC, 1982), "Tough Cookies" (CBS, 1986), "A Year in the Life" (NBC, 1987-88) and recurring on the primetime soap, "Knots Landing" (CBS, 1979-1993).
Arkin received acclaim and a boost to his profile with the recurring role of Adam, the barefoot, strange ex-gourmet chef on the quirky hit series "Northern Exposure" (CBS, 1990-95), for which he earned an Emmy nomination. On Broadway, he nabbed a Tony nomination for his role in Paul Rudnick's "I Hate Hamlet." Back on the small screen, Arkin recurred on the Vietnam nurse drama "China Beach" (ABC, 1988-1991) as well as "Picket Fences" (CBS, 1992-96) and starred on the short-lived series "Big Wave Dave's" (CBS, 1993). Arkin found his star-making role, however, as neurosurgeon Dr. Aaron Shutt on David E. Kelley's medical drama "Chicago Hope" (CBS, 1994-2000). Earning a second Emmy nomination, Arkin hit his stride with viewers and found himself professionally more in demand than ever, playing the boyfriend of Jamie Lee Curtis in the horror hit "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" (1998). He starred in the indie actor comedy "With Friends Like These " (1998), played Meg Ryan's husband in "Hanging Up" (2000), and made an uncredited appearance in David E. Kelley's tongue-in-cheek killer croc flick "Lake Placid" (1999).
Continuing to add to his CV, Arkin starred opposite William H. Macy in "A Slight Case of Murder" (TNT, 1999), and recurred on "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006). He won a Daytime Emmy for directing the children's special "My Louisiana Sky" (Showtime, 2001) and earned an Emmy nomination for his guest spot on "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-2004). Arkin's credibility took a hit when he played the father of the talking infant "Baby Bob" (CBS, 2002-03) on the reviled sitcom, but he charmed as Eva Mendes's editor in the Will Smith hit "Hitch" (2005) and recurred on "8 Simple Rules" (ABC, 2002-05), "Commander in Chief" (ABC, 2005-06) and "Boston Legal" (ABC, 2004-08). The actor next starred on the short-lived crime mystery "Life" (NBC, 2007-09) and recurred as a white supremacist on "Sons of Anarchy" (FX, 2008- ). On the big screen, he played a divorce lawyer in the underwhelming Ethan and Joel Coen drama "A Serious Man" (2009). Back on television, he recurred on the Jennifer Beals cop series "The Chicago Code" (Fox, 2011) and lent his smooth vocals to the narration of the Ken Burns documentary "Prohibition" (PBS, 2011).
By Jonathan Riggs