{{Short description|American actor (born 1969)}} {{Use American English|date=January 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox person | image = Shea Whigham in 2018.jpg | name = Shea Whigham | caption = Whigham in 2018 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|01|5}} | birth_place = Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. | education = {{unbulleted indent list|State University of New York, Purchase (BFA)}} | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1997–present | spouse = {{marriage|Christine Whigham|1995}} | children = 4, including Giorgia Whigham }}
'''Shea Whigham''' (born January 5, 1969)<ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- Not stated --> |date=January 5, 2022 |title=Birthdays |work=The Modesto Bee |page=2A |agency=The Associated Press |quote=Actor Shea Whigham is 53.}}</ref> is an American actor best known for portraying Elias "Eli" Thompson in the drama series ''Boardwalk Empire''. He also appeared in the first season of ''True Detective'' and the third season of ''Fargo'' and in numerous films, including ''Silver Linings Playbook'', ''The Wolf of Wall Street'', and ''Joker''.
==Early life, family and education== Whigham was born in Tallahassee, Florida, the son of attorney Frank and school librarian Beth. The family moved to Lake Mary, Florida, when Whigham was five years old.<ref name=when>{{cite web| url = https://whenisaid.blogspot.com/2007/11/interview-shea-whigam.html| title = Interview: Shea Whigham| access-date = March 29, 2008| date = November 2, 2007| publisher = When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Blog}}</ref><ref name="os">{{cite news| url = http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/orl-shea07oct27,0,7122793.story| title = 'Wrist' could be big break| access-date = March 29, 2008| first = Roger| last = Moore| date = October 27, 2007| newspaper = Orlando Sentinel|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20071106055614/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/orl-shea07oct27,0,7122793.story|archive-date=2007-11-06}}</ref> He attended Lake Mary High School.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lake Mary actor hits jackpot in 'Boardwalk Empire' |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2010/09/20/lake-mary-actor-hits-jackpot-in-boardwalk-empire/ |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=September 20, 2010}}</ref>
Whigham attended Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, and then transferred to the State University of New York at Purchase, New York, where he was part of a small acting program with only 31 students and a graduating class of eight.<ref name=cff>{{cite web| url= http://media.www.centralfloridafuture.com/media/storage/paper174/news/2007/11/02/Variety/An.Interview.With.Wristcutters.Shea.Whigham-3073825.shtml |title=An interview with Wristcutters' Shea Whigham |access-date=March 29, 2008 |date=November 2, 2007 |publisher=Central Florida Future |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20110809180059/http://media.www.centralfloridafuture.com/media/storage/paper174/news/2007/11/02/Variety/An.Interview.With.Wristcutters.Shea.Whigham-3073825.shtml |archive-date=August 9, 2011 }}</ref>
==Career== After graduating, Whigham co-founded the theatre troupe the Rorschach Group with his college roommate Kirk Acevedo in New York City and served as an actor and artistic director with the troupe for three years.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.allmovie.com/artist/shea-whigham-p279162 |title=Shea Whigham: Biography |access-date= March 29, 2008 |first=Jason |last= Buchanan |website=Allmovie }}</ref>
Whigham appeared in one 1997 episode of the television series ''Ghost Stories'' before he received a starring role in the 2000 film ''Tigerland''.<ref name= cff/> He went on to appear in the television films ''Submerged'', ''R.U.S./H.'', and ''Paradise'' before acting in the 2003 film ''All the Real Girls''.<ref name= when/> Between 2004 and 2006, he appeared in the Japanese film ''Out of This World'', the drama television series ''Medical Investigation'', and the films ''Water'', ''Man of the House'', ''Faith of My Fathers'', ''Lords of Dogtown'', ''Psychic Driving'', and ''South of Heaven''.
Whigham appeared in ''Pride and Glory'' and co-starred in the horror film ''Splinter'', the thriller ''Blood Creek'', and the science fiction film ''Radio Free Albemuth''.<ref name= os/>
He had a regular leading role on the HBO series ''Boardwalk Empire'' as Elias "Eli" Thompson, sheriff of Atlantic County, New Jersey, for the show's entire run. In 2014, he appeared in the HBO series ''True Detective'' as the disillusioned former minister Joel Theriot.<ref name="true">{{cite web| url=http://uproxx.com/tv/2014/01/watch-full-spellbinding-sermon-tent-preacher-true-detective/ |title= Watch The Full, Utterly Spellbinding Sermon By The Tent Preacher From 'True Detective'| website= uproxx.com |date= January 31, 2014| access-date = July 9, 2014}}</ref> He appeared in two{{efn|He was uncredited for his appearance in the episode "Fugitive Number One".<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/justified-mikey-katherine-death-scene-115159611665.html | title= 'Justified' Postmortem: Graham Yost Breaks Down that Epic Brawl in 'Fugitive Number One'| first= Mandi | last= Bierly | website= yahoo.com | date= March 31, 2015| accessdate=April 1, 2023}}</ref>}} episodes of FX's ''Justified'' in 2015.
Between 2012 and 2017, he had several movie roles, such as ''The Wolf of Wall Street'', ''American Hustle'', ''Silver Linings Playbook'', ''Term Life'', and ''Kong: Skull Island''. In 2018, he appeared in the films ''Sicario: Day of the Soldado'', ''First Man'', and ''Bad Times at the El Royale''. In 2019, he appeared in the Warner Bros./DC Comics psychological thriller ''Joker'' as GCPD Detective Burke. He also appeared in both seasons of HBO's ''Vice Principals'' as Ray Liptrapp; appeared in ''Fargo'' and the miniseries ''Waco''; and he starred in the television series ''Homecoming'' alongside Julia Roberts for which he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In 2020, he was cast as Pete Strickland on HBO's reimagining of ''Perry Mason'', a role for which he received attention for his moustache.<ref>{{Cite web| date= June 26, 2020|title=The Rundown: The Mustaches of HBO's 'Perry Mason,' Ranked| url= https://uproxx.com/tv/perry-mason-mustaches/|access-date=December 6, 2020| website= uproxx.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
He has appeared in several projects alongside actors Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks, both of whom starred on ''Boardwalk Empire'' and ''Waco''. Shannon and Whigham also appeared together in ''The Quarry'', ''Take Shelter'', ''Tigerland,'' and ''Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans''. In October 2025, it was announced that Whigham would be joining Jamie Foxx and Andrés Baiz in the Netflix feature film Fight for '84.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 16, 2025 |title=Jamie Foxx Netflix Film 'Fight For '84' Adds Algee Smith, Xavier Mills And Mitchell Edwards And 8 More |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/jamie-foxx-netflix-film-fight-023159176.html |access-date=November 3, 2025 |website=Blavity via Yahoo Entertainment |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Personal life== Whigham has four children, including actress Giorgia Whigham, with his wife Christine Whigham.<ref>https://mofopolitics.com/2016/12/06/giorgina-whigham-voted/{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
== Filmography == {{pending films key}} ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1998 |''Of Love & Fantasy'' |Craig | |- |2000 |''Tigerland'' |Private Wilson | |- |2002 |''Bad Company'' |CIA Agent Wells |Uncredited |- |2003 |''All the Real Girls'' |'Tip' | |- |rowspan="2"| 2004 |''Out of This World'' |Russell Reade | |- |''Water'' |Daniel West | |- |rowspan="3"| 2005 |''Man of the House'' |Texas Ranger Holt | |- |''Lords of Dogtown'' |Drake Landon | |- |''Psychic Driving'' |Ryan Barrett |Short film |- |rowspan="2"| 2006 |''Wristcutters: A Love Story'' |Eugene | |- |''First Snow'' |Vincent McClure | |- |rowspan="3"| 2008 |''South of Heaven'' |'Mad Dog' Mantee | |- |''Pride and Glory'' |Officer Kenny Dugan | |- |''Splinter'' |Dennis Farell | |- |rowspan="5"| 2009 |''Blood Creek'' |Luke Benny | |- |''{{sortname|The|Killing Room}}'' |Tony Mazzolla | |- |''Spooner'' |Stan Manfretti | |- |''Fast & Furious'' |FBI Agent Michael Stasiak | |- |''Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans'' |Justin | |- |rowspan="4"| 2010 |''Radio Free Albemuth'' |Phil | |- |''Barry Munday'' |Donald | |- |''Machete'' |Sniper | |- |''{{sortname|The|Conspirator}}'' |Captain Cottingham | |- |rowspan="4"| 2011 |''Take Shelter'' |Dewart |Nominated—Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast |- |''{{sortname|The|Lincoln Lawyer|The Lincoln Lawyer (film)}}'' |Dwayne Jeffrey 'D.J.' Corliss | |- |''This Must Be the Place'' |Ernie Ray | |- |''Catch .44'' |Billy | |- |rowspan="3"| 2012 |''Big Miracle'' |SAR Pilot Conrad | |- |''Savages'' |Chad, Cartel Lawyer | |- |''Silver Linings Playbook'' |Jake Solitano |Nominated—Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast |- |rowspan="3"| 2013 |''Fast & Furious 6'' |FBI Agent Michael Stasiak | |- |''American Hustle'' |Carl Elway |Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- |''{{sortname|The|Wolf of Wall Street|The Wolf of Wall Street (2013 film)}}'' |Captain Ted Beecham | |- |2014 |''Non-Stop'' |Agent Marenick | |- |rowspan="3"| 2015 |''Lila & Eve'' |Detective Holliston | |- |''Cop Car'' |Man | |- |''Knight of Cups'' |Jim | |- |rowspan="2"| 2016 |''Star Trek Beyond'' |Teenaxi Leader |Voice |- |''Term Life'' |Detective Matty Miller | |- |rowspan="3"| 2017 |''Kong: Skull Island'' |Captain Earl Cole | |- |''Death Note'' |Detective James Turner | |- |''Wheelman'' |Mohawk Man | |- |rowspan="7"| 2018 |''The Catcher Was a Spy'' |Joe Cronin | |- |''Beirut'' |Gary Ruzak | |- |''Sicario: Day of the Soldado'' |Andy Wheeldon | |- |''First Man'' |Gus Grissom | |- |''Bad Times at the El Royale'' |Dr. Woodbury Laurence | |- |''City of Lies'' |Frank Lyga | |- |''Vice'' |Wayne Vincent | |- |rowspan="3"| 2019 |''To the Stars'' |Hank Deerborne | |- |''Low Tide'' |Sergeant Kent | |- |''Joker'' |Detective Burke | |- |rowspan="2"| 2020 |''The Quarry'' |The Man |Also executive producer<ref>{{Cite web|last=Davids|first=Brian|date=May 1, 2020|title=Shea Whigham on 'The Quarry' and "Electric" Christian Bale Scenes|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/shea-whigham-quarry-electric-christian-bale-scenes-1292829/|access-date=June 17, 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US}}</ref> |- |''Vampires vs. the Bronx'' |Frank Polidori | |- |rowspan="4"| 2021 |''F9'' |FBI Agent Michael Stasiak |<ref>{{Cite web|last=Han|first=Angie|title=The Fast saga soars to new heights of nonsense in 'F9'|url=https://mashable.com/article/f9-movie-review/|access-date=June 17, 2021|website=Mashable|date=May 25, 2021|language=en}}</ref> |- |''The Gateway'' |Parker Jode | |- |''Small Engine Repair'' |'Packie' Hanrahan |<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|date=October 19, 2020|title=John Pollono's 'Small Engine Repair' Motors To Where Hollywood Movies Go To Lure Distributors: The Drive-In|url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/small-engine-repair-distributor-drive-in-screening-john-pollono-jon-bernthal-shea-whigham-ciara-bravo-1234599908/|access-date=June 17, 2021|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref> |- |''South of Heaven'' |Officer Schmidt | |- |2022 |''The Gray Man'' |Six's Father | |- |rowspan="4"| 2023 |''Fancy Dance'' |Frank | |- |''Eileen'' |Jim Dunlop | |- |''Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'' |George Stacy |Voice<ref>{{cite tweet |author=Sony Pictures Animation |author-link=Sony Pictures Animation |user=SonyAnimation |number=1536317675902799876 |date=June 13, 2022 |title=As a treat #AnnecyFestival gets a sequence from the film! In this clip, we find Gwen's dad, George Stacy (voiced by Shea Whigham), a "by the books cop," responding to a disturbance at the Guggenheim Museum. Of course, Gwen beats him to the scene, where she's met with new faces… |language=en |access-date=December 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622133359/https://twitter.com/sonyanimation/status/1536317675902799876 |archive-date=June 22, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> |- |''Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning'' |Jasper Briggs |<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 22, 2019|title=Back-to-Back 'Mission: Impossible' Sequels Add 'Boardwalk Empire' Star Shea Whigham|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/mission-impossible-sequels-cast-adds-shea-whigham/|access-date=June 17, 2021|website=/Film|language=en-US}}</ref> |- |2024 |''Lake George'' |Don | |- | rowspan="2" |2025 |''Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning'' |Jasper Briggs | |- |''F1'' |Chip Hart | |- | 2026 | {{pending film|Archangel}} | {{TableTBA}} | Post-production |- | rowspan="2" |{{Hidden sort key|2030}}TBA | {{pending film|The Stalemate}} | {{TableTBA}} | Post-production |- | {{pending film|Fight for '84}} | {{TableTBA}} | Post-production<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=October 14, 2025 |title=Netflix's Jamie Foxx Sports Drama 'Fight For '84' Adds 11 To Cast |url=https://deadline.com/2025/10/fight-for-84-jamie-foxx-movie-adds-11-cast-1236584463/ |access-date=October 14, 2025 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1997 |''Ghost Stories'' |Eric Duke |Episode: "Cold in the Grave" |- |2001 |''Submerged'' |Captain Oliver Naquin |Television film |- |2002 |''R.U.S./H.'' |Odell Tippy |Pilot |- | rowspan="2" |2004 |''Medical Investigation'' |Barrett Fidler |2 episodes |- |''Paradise'' |Jeremiah Alcott | rowspan="2" |Television film |- |2005 |''Faith of My Fathers'' |Norris Overly |- |2006 |''ER'' |Bobby Kenyon |3 episodes |- |2007 |''Standoff'' |Andre / Jared Kendall |Episode: "Ex-Factor" |- | rowspan="3" |2009 |''Lie to Me'' |Jered Blunt |Episode: "Life Is Priceless" |- |''Numb3rs'' |Tom Kardum |Episode: "The Fifth Man" |- |''Medium'' |Patrick Wilkes |Episode: "New Terrain" |- |2010–2014 |''Boardwalk Empire'' |Elias 'Eli' Thompson |49 episodes<br/>Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series <small>(2011–2012)</small><br />Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series <small>(2013–2015)</small> |- |2014 |''True Detective'' |Joel Theriot |2 episodes |- | rowspan="2" |2015 |''Agent Carter'' |Roger Dooley |7 episodes |- |''Justified'' |Merrill |Episode: "Collateral" |- |2016–2017 |''Vice Principals'' |Ray Liptrapp |15 episodes |- | rowspan="3" |2017 |''The Legend of Master Legend'' |Peanut-Head |Pilot |- |''Fargo'' |'Moe' Dammick |5 episodes |- |''Narcos'' |Agent Duffy |2 episodes |- | rowspan="3" |2018 |''Waco'' |Mitch Decker |6 episodes |- |''Homecoming'' |Thomas Carrasco |8 episodes<br/>Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series |- |''Dirty John'' |William Meehan |Episode: "Lord High Executioner" |- |2019 |''Modern Love'' |Peter |1 episode (Season 1 Episode 6) |- |2020–2023 |''Perry Mason'' |Pete Strickland |Main role |- |2022 |''Gaslit'' |G. Gordon Liddy |Limited series<br/>Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries<br/>Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film |- | rowspan="3" |2023 |''Waco: The Aftermath'' |Mitch Decker |5 episodes |- |''The Righteous Gemstones'' |Dusty Daniels |2 episodes |- |''Lawmen: Bass Reeves'' |Colonel George Reeves |2 episodes |- | rowspan="3" |2025 |''American Primeval'' |Jim Bridger |6 episodes |- |''Bad Thoughts'' |PQ |Episode: "Jobs" |- |''Death by Lightning'' |Roscoe Conkling |4 episodes |- |TBA |''Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey'' |Alex Hunter |Upcoming miniseries |}
===Video games=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role |- |2000 |''Smuggler's Run'' |Jon |}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{IMDb name|0924154}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whigham, Shea}} Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:Male actors from Tallahassee, Florida Category:Purchase College alumni Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Lake Mary, Florida Category:Lake Mary High School alumni