Synecdoche, New York
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.

Main Cast
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor, director, and producer. Best known for his distinctive supporting and character roles–typically lowlifes, eccentrics, bullies, and misfits—Hoffman acted in many films, including leading roles, from the early 1990s until his death in 2014. Drawn to theater as a teenager, Hoffman studied acting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He began his screen career in a 1991 episode of Law & Order and started to appear in films in 1992. He gained recognition for his supporting work, notably in Scent of a Woman (1992), Boogie Nights (1997), Happiness (1998), Patch Adams (1998), The Big Lebowski (1998), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Almost Famous (2000), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), and Along Came Polly (2004). He began to occasionally play leading roles, and for his portrayal of the author Truman Capote in Capote (2005), won multiple accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Actor. Hoffman's profile continued to grow and he received three more Oscar nominations for his supporting work as a brutally frank CIA officer in Charlie Wilson's War (2007), a priest accused of pedophilia in Doubt (2008), and the charismatic leader of a Scientology-type movement in The Master (2012). While he mainly worked in independent films, including The Savages (2007) and Synecdoche, New York (2008), Hoffman also appeared in Flawless (1999), and Hollywood blockbusters such as Twister (1996) and Mission: Impossible III (2006), and in one of his final roles, as Plutarch Heavensbee in the Hunger Games series (2013–15). The feature Jack Goes Boating (2010) marked his debut as a filmmaker. Hoffman was also an accomplished theater actor and director. He joined the off-Broadway LAByrinth Theater Company in 1995, where he directed, produced, and appeared in numerous stage productions. His performances in three Broadway plays—True West in 2000, Long Day's Journey into Night in 2003, and Death of a Salesman in 2012—all led to Tony Award nominations.
Known For
Samantha Morton
Samantha Jane Morton (born May 13, 1977) is an English actress and director. Known for her work in independent cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Morton was a member of the Central Junior Television Workshop in her native Nottingham and began her career in British television in 1991. She appeared in the ITV series Band of Gold (1995–1996) and the BBC miniseries The History of Tom Jones: a Foundling (1997). Morton's early film roles include Emma (1996), Jane Eyre (1997), and Under the Skin (1997). She received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and the other for Best Actress for Jim Sheridan's In America (2003). Other notable film credits include Morvern Callar (2002), Minority Report (2002), The Libertine (2004), Control (2007), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Synecdoche, New York (2008), The Messenger (2009), John Carter (2012), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), and The Whale (2022). For her portrayal of Myra Hindley in the HBO film Longford (2006) she received Primetime Emmy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award nominations. Morton made her directorial debut with the television film The Unloved (2009), which won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Single Drama. She has starred in various programs, such as The Last Panthers (2015), Rillington Place (2016), Harlots (2017–2019), The Walking Dead (2019–2020), and The Serpent Queen (2022–present). Description above from the Wikipedia article Samantha Morton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress and producer. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). She later received critical praise for her performances in Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Miami Blues (1990), Backdraft (1991), Single White Female (1992), and Short Cuts (1993). Leigh was nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dorothy Parker in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994). She starred in a 1995 film written by her mother, screenwriter Barbara Turner, titled Georgia. In 2001, she co-wrote and co-directed a film with Alan Cumming titled The Anniversary Party. In 2002, Leigh appeared in the neo-noir crime drama film Road to Perdition. In 2007, she starred in the family drama film Margot at the Wedding. She had a recurring role on the Showtime comedy-drama series Weeds as Jill Price-Gray. In 2015, she received critical acclaim for her voice work as Lisa in Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa, and for her role as Daisy Domergue in Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. From 2017 to 2021, she starred in the Netflix comedy-drama series Atypical. Leigh starred in the science-fiction horror films, Annihilation (2018) and Possessor (2020). For her stage work, Leigh was nominated for a Drama Desk award for her off-Broadway performance as Beverly Moss in Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party. Her Broadway debut occurred in 1998, when she became the replacement for the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jennifer Jason Leigh, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Michelle Williams
Michelle Ingrid Williams (born September 9, 1980) is an American actress. Known primarily for starring in small-scale independent films with dark or tragic themes, she has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for five Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Williams, a daughter of politician and trader Larry R. Williams, began her career with television guest appearances and made her film debut in the family film Lassie in 1994. She gained emancipation from her parents at age fifteen, and soon achieved recognition for her leading role in the teen drama television series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003). This was followed by low-profile films, before having her breakthrough with the drama film Brokeback Mountain (2005). Williams went on to receive critical acclaim for playing emotionally troubled women coping with loss or loneliness in the independent dramas Wendy and Lucy (2008), Blue Valentine (2010), and Manchester by the Sea (2016). She won two Golden Globes for portraying Marilyn Monroe in the drama My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Gwen Verdon in the miniseries Fosse/Verdon (2019), in addition to a Primetime Emmy Award for the latter. Her highest-grossing releases came with the thriller Shutter Island (2010), the fantasy film Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), the musical The Greatest Showman (2017), and the superhero films Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). Williams has also led major studio films, such as Ridley Scott's crime thriller All the Money in the World (2017) and Steven Spielberg's drama The Fabelmans (2022). On Broadway, Williams starred in revivals of the musical Cabaret in 2014 and the drama Blackbird in 2016, for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She is an advocate for equal pay in the workplace. Consistently private about her personal life, Williams has a daughter from her relationship with actor Heath Ledger and was briefly married to musician Phil Elverum. She has two children with her second husband, theater director Thomas Kail.
Known For
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 23, 1959) is an American actress. Considered one of the independent film industry's most reliable performers, Keener is known for portraying disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich (1999) and for her portrayal of author Harper Lee in Capote (2005). Keener also appeared in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Into the Wild (2007), Synecdoche, New York (2008), and Get Out (2017), which were all well received by critics. Keener is the muse of director Nicole Holofcener, having appeared in each of Holofcener's first five films. She also appeared in each of director Tom DiCillo's first four films, and three films directed by Spike Jonze. From 2018 to 2020, she starred in the Showtime dramedy series Kidding. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Known For
Emily Watson
Emily Margaret Watson OBE (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her debut film role as Bess McNeil in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) and for her role as Jacqueline du Pré in Hilary and Jackie (1998), winning the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress for the latter. Watson's other films include The Boxer (1997), Angela's Ashes (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Red Dragon (2002), Equilibrium (2002), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Corpse Bride (2005), Miss Potter (2006), Synecdoche, New York (2008), The Theory of Everything (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), The Happy Prince (2018) and God's Creatures (2022). For her role in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for playing Janet Leach in the 2011 ITV television biopic Appropriate Adult and was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress for the 2017 BBC miniseries Apple Tree Yard.
Known For
Tom Noonan
Tom Noonan (born April 12, 1951) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles as Francis Dolarhyde in Manhunter (1986), Frankenstein's Monster in The Monster Squad (1987), Cain in RoboCop 2 (1990), The Ripper in Last Action Hero (1993), Sammy Barnathan in Synecdoche, New York (2008), Reverend Nathaniel in Hell on Wheels (2011–2014), the Pallid Man in 12 Monkeys (2015–2018) and as the voice of everyone but the two main characters in Anomalisa (2015). Noonan is also a writer and director of theatre and film. His debut feature film What Happened Was (1994) won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Description above from the Wikipedia article Tom Noonan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Hope Davis
Hope Davis (born March 23, 1964) is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland. Description above from the Wikipedia article Hope Davis, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Unknown Actor
Known For
Unknown Actor
Known For
Amy Wright
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Amy Wright (born April 15, 1950) is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as The Deer Hunter, Breaking Away, The Amityville Horror, Heartland, Wise Blood, Stardust Memories, The Accidental Tourist, Hard Promises, Crossing Delancey and Miss Firecracker. Wright is married to actor Rip Torn and the couple have two daughters. Wright is a graduate of the University of Chicago Laboratory School and Beloit College. She also starred with Eric Schweig in The Scarlet Letter and Tom and Huck (both made in 1995). She starred in the original production of Breakfast with Les and Bess as Shelby. Wright currently is on the faculty of HB Studio in New York City. Description above from the Wikipedia article Amy Wright, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Deirdre O'Connell
Deirdre O'Connell is an American character actress who has worked extensively on stage, screen, and television. O'Connell began her career at Stage One, an experimental theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts. She made herBroadway debut in the 1986 revival of The Front Page, and was nominated for the 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the off-Broadway production Love and Anger. She is the recipient of two Drama-Logue Awards and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her stage work in Los Angeles. O'Connell made her screen debut in Tin Men. Additional film credits include State of Grace, Straight Talk, Leaving Normal,Fearless, City of Angels, Hearts in Atlantis, Imaginary Heroes, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Wendy and Lucy,What Happens in Vegas, Secondhand Lions, and Synecdoche, New York. O'Connell's first television credit was Fernwood 2 Night in 1977. She was a regular on L.A. Doctors and has made numerous guest appearances on series such as Kate & Allie, Chicago Hope, Law & Order, The Practice, Six Feet Under,Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Nurse Jackie. (Wikipedia)
Known For
Elizabeth Marvel
Elizabeth Marvel is an American actress. Her most prominent roles include Det. Nancy Parras on The District, Solicitor General Heather Dunbar on House of Cards, and President Elizabeth Keane on Homeland. Film roles include Burn After Reading; Synecdoche, New York; True Grit; Lincoln; and The Meyerowitz Stories.
Known For
Josh Pais
Josh Pais (born June 21, 1964) is an American actor of film and television. He has appeared in many Hollywood films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (in which he both was in the costume and was the voice) as Raphael, Music of the Heart, Scream 3, It Runs in the Family, Little Manhattan and Find Me Guilty. He played Assistant M.E. Borak in 15 episodes of the series Law & Order, between 1990 and 2002. He also played the Spanish teacher in the film Assassination of a High School President. Pais is the son of Lila Lee (née Atwill) and Abraham Pais, a Dutch-American Jewish physicist, professor and writer. Pais married actress Lisa Emery on August 27, 1990; the two have a son, actor Zane Pais. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Known For
Lynn Cohen
An actress, known for Munich (2005), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) and The Cobbler (2014). She has been married to Ronald T. Cohen since June 3, 1964. She was previously married to Gilbert L. Frazen.
Known For
Jerry Adler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jerry Adler (born February 4, 1929) is an American theatre director, production supervisor and a television and film actor. Adler was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Pauline and Philip Adler, who was a general manager of the Group Theatre. He was raised in a Jewish observant household. Adler began his theatre career as a stage manager in 1951, working on such productions as Of Thee I Sing and My Fair Lady before becoming a production supervisor for The Apple Tree, Black Comedy/White Lies, Dear World, Coco, 6 Rms Riv Vu, Annie, and I Remember Mama, among others. He made his directing debut with the 1974 Sammy Cahn revue Words and Music and also directed the 1976 revival of My Fair Lady, which garnered him a Drama Desk Award nomination, and the ill-fated 1981 musical The Little Prince and the Aviator. He also directed the 1976 play Checking Out. As an actor, Adler is perhaps best known for his roles as Herman "Hesh" Rabkin in The Sopranos, Mr. Wicker in Mad About You, and Lt. Al Teischler in Hudson Street. He made three appearances on Northern Exposure as Alan Schulman, Joel Fleischman's old neighborhood rabbi seen in visions. His screen credits include In Her Shoes, Manhattan Murder Mystery, and The Public Eye. In addition, Adler also appeared in an episode of The West Wing as Toby Ziegler's father, Jules Ziegler. The elder Ziegler worked as a member of Murder, Inc. in the 50's. Adler is now appearing as the new chief in the fourth season of FX's fire fighter drama Rescue Me. He guest starred as Eddie's father Al in season 3 and season 4 of 'Til Death. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jerry Adler, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Daisy Tahan
Daisy Tahan is an American actress best known for her role as Samantha Focker in Little Fockers. Tahan also originated the role of Fiona Peyton in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie. Daisy, the younger sister of actor Charlie Tahan, lives in Glen Rock, New Jersey.[1]
Known For
Frank Girardeau
Frank Girardeau is known for The Vanishing (1993), Road Trip (2000) and Be Kind Rewind (2008).
Known For
Peter Friedman
Peter Friedman (born April 24, 1949) is an American stage, screen, and television actor. Born in New York City, Friedman graduated from Hofstra University before making his Broadway debut in The Great God Brown in 1972. Additional theatre credits include The Visit (1973), Piaf and A Soldier's Play (both 1981), The Heidi Chronicles (1989), Ragtime (1998), and Twelve Angry Men (2004). He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, Outstanding Actor in a Play, and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. On television, Friedman starred as patriarch George Silver in Brooklyn Bridge, has made numerous guest appearances in such series as Miami Vice, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, Without a Trace, Ghost Whisperer, and Damages, and had a featured role in Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder. Friedman's many feature film credits include Prince of the City, Daniel, The Seventh Sign, Single White Female, I'm Not Rappaport, I Shot Andy Warhol, Safe, Freedomland, The Savages, and I'm Not There. Friedman married actress Joan Allen in 1990. The couple divorced in 2002. They have one daughter, Sadie, born in March 1994. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Known For
Daniel London
Daniel London (born 1973) is an American actor, best known for his roles in Patch Adams, Rent and Old Joy.
Known For
Stephen Adly Guirgis
Known For
Joe Lisi
Joe Lisi (born September 9, 1950), also credited as Joe Lissi, is an American television actor. He appeared in the NBC television show Third Watch as NYPD Lieutenant Swersky from 2000 to 2005. He also appeared on the NBC television show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Craig Lennon, a parole officer and briefly appeared in the 1995 comedy/crime film The Jerky Boys: The Movie as a construction worker.
Known For
Christopher Evan Welch
Christopher Evan Welch (September 28, 1965 – December 2, 2013) was an American actor.
Known For
John Rothman
John Mahr Rothman (born June 3, 1949) is an American film, television, and stage actor.
Known For
Paul Sparks
Paul Sparks is an American actor. He is known for his role as Mickey Doyle in the HBO period drama series Boardwalk Empire and for his Primetime Emmy Award-nominated role as Thomas Yates in the Netflix political drama series House of Cards. He has also appeared in the films Deception (2008), Afterschool (2008), The Missing Person (2008), Mud (2012), Parkland (2013), and Stealing Cars (2015).
Known For
Tim Guinee
Tim Guinee (born November 18, 1962) is an American stage, television, and film actor.
Known For
Robin Weigert
Robin Weigert (born July 7, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Calamity Jane on the television series Deadwood (2004–2006), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2004, Ally Lowen in Sons of Anarchy (2010–2013), Dr. Amanda Reisman in Big Little Lies (2017–2019), and Abby in Concussion (2013). Description above from the Wikipedia article Robin Weigert, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Michael Higgins
Michael Higgins was born on January 20, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA as Michael Patrick Higgins Jr. He was an actor, known for State and Main (2000), Springfield Story (1952) and Der Dialog (1974). He was married to Elizabeth Lee Goodwin. He died on November 5, 2008 in Manhattan, New York City.
Known For
Alvin Epstein
Alvin Epstein (May 14, 1925 – December 10, 2018) was an American actor and director. He was a founding member of both the American Repertory Theater and Yale Repertory Theatre. He was particularly admired for his performances in the plays of Samuel Beckett. He also served as Artistic Director at the Guthrie Theater. Born in the Bronx, Epstein was the son of Harry Epstein, a physician, and his wife Goldie Epstein (née Rudnick). He graduated from the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan and the Queens College, City University of New York. After serving in the United States Army during World War II in Germany, he studied dance in New York with Martha Graham and mime in Paris. His early performances in New York City included appearing in mimes with Marcel Marceau. In 1956 he made his Broadway debut as the Fool in Orson Welles’ 1956 production of William Shakespear's King Lear. That same year he portrayed the slave Lucky in the Broadway premiere of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Epstein continued to appear in many productions of Beckett's plays, including Clov, the servant, in the United States premiere of Endgame in 1958. He portrayed two more characters in that play during his career: Hamm, Clov’s tyrannical blind master, in a 1984 Off-Broadway production that he also directed, at the Samuel Beckett Theater; and Hamm’s aged father, Nagg, who lives in a garbage can, performed at the Irish Repertory Theatre in Manhattan in 2005 and again, in 2008, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Known For
Chris McGinn
Chris McGinn is an actress and director best known for her roles as Margo in Kidnap with Halle Berry, and Sharon in Marvel's Jessica Jones.
Known For
Dan Ziskie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dan Ziskie is an American actor. He recently has portrayed figures in positions of authority across the American establishment. He was on Treme, where, on seasons two, three and four he played a politically connected banker inPost-Katrina New Orleans. He had a recurring role as the Vice President of the United States on the first season ofHouse of Cards. He had a guest spot on Person of Interest and The Blacklist, portraying senators on both shows. On the season finale of 24's fifth season Ziskie played the United States Attorney General who, after hearing an audio recording of the president admitting that he took part in the assassination of a former president, orders his removal from office. Ziskie is also known for portraying the character Frank Niggar on a popular sketch on Chappelle's Show.
Known For
Nicholas Wyman
Known For
Cliff Carpenter
Known For
Unknown Actor
Known For
Unknown Actor
Known For
Unknown Actor
Known For
Frank Wood
Frank Wood was born in 1960 in the USA. He is an actor, known for Joker (2019), Michael Clayton (2007) and Thirteen Days (2000).
Known For
Unknown Actor
Known For
Unknown Actor
Known For
Movie Details
Production Info
- Director:
- Charlie Kaufman
- Production:
- Likely Story, Projective Testing Service, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Russia
- Revenue:
- $4,383,538
- Budget:
- $20,000,000
Key Crew
- Producer:
- Charlie Kaufman
- Director of Photography:
- Frederick Elmes
- Producer:
- Spike Jonze
- Executive Producer:
- Bruce Toll
- Producer:
- Anthony Bregman
Locations and Languages
- Country:
- US
- Filming:
- US
- Languages:
- en