Peter MacNicol Movies
Upon graduating from the University of Minnesota, Peter MacNicol traveled the length and breadth of the U.S. as a regional repertory actor. In his first film, Dragonslayer (1981), MacNicol essayed one of his few leading-man roles as Galen, a hapless assistant sorcerer who makes good. His most celebrated film assignment was as Stingo, the innocent-bystander narrator of Sophie's... (read more) Choice. Most of the time, MacNicol has been seen in comical, sycophantic roles, such as the easily demonized Janocz in Ghostbusters II (1989) and the unctuous camp counselor in Addams Family Values (1993). On television, Peter MacNicol starred in the brief Norman Lear political lampoon The Powers That Be (1992) and co-starred as Alan Birch on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope (1994).
MacNicol continued to play small but indelible roles in a variety of small but indelible films throughout the mid-'90s. There was 1992's underrated Housesitter with Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin; acclaimed director Mel Brooks' Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995); and a starring role opposite cult comedian Rowan Atkinson in 1997's Bean. Despite his respectable feature-film success, however, MacNicol wouldn't get solid mainstream recognition until the 1997 debut of Ally McBeal. The show featured MacNicol as John Cage, an immensely insecure but highly gifted lawyer whose lovable, if over-sensitive, nature tugged at the heartstrings of Ally (Calista Flockhart) and television audiences alike. MacNicol remained a lead character on the show from 1997 to 2002, and was able to participate not just as an actor, but also as a director, screenwriter, and amateur karaoke singer. No longer the affable John Cage, MacNicol could be seen assigning Jamie Foxx the unpleasant task of letting his employees know of a rapidly approaching downsizing in 2004's Breakin' All the Rules. Recurring roles on Numbers and 24 as well as voice work in such animated shows as Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, The Batman, The Spectacular Spider-Man helped MacNicol maintain a high profile in the following years, and in 2012 he could be seen as the Secretary of Defense in the big-budget game board adaptaion Battleship. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
Game Change
2012
The 2008 U.S. presidential campaign shifts into high gear after Arizona senator John McCain (Ed Harris) picks Alaska governor Sarah Palin (Julianne Moore) to be his...
The Spectacular Spider-Man [Animated TV Series]
2008
The fourth animated TV incarnation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's evergreen comic-book superhero and megamovie franchise "Spider-Man", the weekly, 30-minute The Spectacular...
Numb3rs: Season 04
2007
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24: Season 06
2007
At the end of Season 5, Jack Bauer was kidnapped, beaten, and taken captive in retribution for his involvement in a raid on the Chinese Consulate eighteen months earlier. Now,...
Numb3rs: Season 03
2006
FBI Special Agent Don Eppes recruits his mathematical genius brother Charlie to help the Bureau solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles. The two brothers take on...
Numb3rs: Season 01
2005
FBI Special Agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) recruits his mathematical genius brother Charlie (David Krumholtz) to help the Bureau solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los...
Numb3rs: Season 02
2005
NUMB3RS is a drama about an FBI agent who recruits his mathematical-genius brother to help the Bureau solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles. The two brothers...
Justice League Unlimited: The Once and Future Thing: Weird Western Tales
2005
In the first episode of Justice League Unlimited's two-part season three finale, David Clinton, a woebegone inventor from 50 years into the future, dons his own...
Justice League Unlimited: The Once and Future Thing: Time, Warped
2005
In the conclusion of Justice League Unlimited's two-part season-three finale, JL members Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman continue their pursuit of...
Breakin' All the Rules
PG13 2004
A man who writes the book on ending a romance runs into rough sledding while starting a new one in this comedy. Quincy (Jamie Foxx) is a magazine editor whose life takes...
Ally McBeal: All of Me
2002
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Ally McBeal: Bygones
2002
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Ally McBeal: Another One Bites the Dust
2002
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Ally McBeal: What I'll Never Do for Love Again
2002
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Ally McBeal: Woman
2002
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Ally McBeal: Homecoming
2002
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Ally McBeal: A Kick in the Head
2002
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Ally McBeal: The New Day
2002
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Ally McBeal: Love Is All Around, Part 2
2002
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Ally McBeal: Tom Dooly
2002
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