Famous actors from Washington, D.C.
Admiring and envying the world's biggest stars is easy to do on Instagram. From A-list movie stars and major musicians to pro ball players and comedians who landed their own sitcoms, there's no shortage of evidence of just how good the good life is. They post pictures of themselves with other big shots on rooftop bars, at exclusive clubs, at backstage parties, and at restaurants where regular people can't get a reservation.
But the vast majority of these celebrities were born and raised outside of Hollywood, finding their way to the bright lights and big money of superstardom from obscure beginnings in regular small towns or cities across the country.
Stacker compiled a list of actors that were born in Washington, D.C. from IMDb's most popular list. For each actor, we included a movie poster image from a film he is known for (all movie poster images from OMDb). Keep reading to see which favorite actors are from your home state.
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Jon Bernthal
- Born: Washington, D.C. (9/20/1976)
- Known for:
--- Brad in "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013)
--- Griff in "Baby Driver" (2017)
--- Grady 'Coon-Ass' Travis in "Fury" (2014)
Dave Bautista
- Born: Washington, D.C. (1/18/1969)
- Known for:
--- Drax in "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014)
--- Drax in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017)
--- Drax in "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)
John Heard
- Born: Washington, D.C. (3/7/1946)
- Died: 7/21/2017
- Known for:
--- Paul in "Big" (1988)
--- Capt. Frank Larson in "The Guardian" (2006)
--- Peter in "Home Alone" (1990)
Matt Lauria
- Born: Washington, D.C. (8/16/1982)
- Known for:
--- Ryan Wheeler in "Kingdom" (2014-2017)
--- Luke Cafferty in "Friday Night Lights" (2009-2011)
--- Ryan York in "Parenthood" (2012-2015)
Justin Theroux
- Born: Washington, D.C. (8/10/1971)
- Known for:
--- Adam in "Mulholland Drive" (2001)
--- Timothy Bryce in "American Psycho" (2000)
--- Leezar in "Your Highness" (2011)
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Jeffrey Wright
- Born: Washington, D.C. (12/7/1965)
- Known for:
--- Winston in "Broken Flowers" (2005)
--- Peoples Hernandez in "Shaft" (2000)
--- Beetee in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" (2014)
Ben Feldman
- Born: Washington, D.C. (5/27/1980)
- Known for:
--- Richie in "Friday the 13th" (2009)
--- George in "As Above, So Below" (2014)
--- Adam Forrest in "The Perfect Man" (2005)
Jonathan Banks
- Born: Washington, D.C. (1/31/1947)
- Known for:
--- Pappy McAllan in "Mudbound" (2017)
--- Mike Ehrmantraut in "Breaking Bad" (2009-2012)
--- Lizardo Hospital Guard in "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" (1984)
William Hurt
- Born: Washington, D.C. (3/20/1950)
- Known for:
--- Richie Cusack in "A History of Violence" (2005)
--- Tom Grunick in "Broadcast News" (1987)
--- John Robinson in "Lost in Space" (1998)
Christopher Meloni
- Born: Washington, D.C. (4/2/1961)
- Known for:
--- Colonel Nathan Hardy in "Man of Steel" (2013)
--- Detective Elliot Stabler in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999-2021)
--- Gene in "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001)
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Matt Frewer
- Born: Washington, D.C. (1/4/1958)
- Known for:
--- Moloch in "Watchmen" (2009)
--- Panic in "Hercules" (1997)
--- Big Russ Thompson in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" (1989)
Michael Nouri
- Born: Washington, D.C. (12/9/1945)
- Known for:
--- Tom Beck in "The Hidden" (1987)
--- Nick Hurley in "Flashdance" (1983)
--- Max in "The Terminal" (2004)
Corey Hawkins
- Born: Washington, D.C. (10/22/1988)
- Known for:
--- Dr. Dre in "Straight Outta Compton" (2015)
--- Houston Brooks in "Kong: Skull Island" (2017)
--- Kwame Ture in "BlacKkKlansman" (2018)
Edward Herrmann
- Born: Washington, D.C. (7/21/1943)
- Died: 12/31/2014
- Known for:
--- Grant Stayton III in "Overboard" (1987)
--- Max in "The Lost Boys" (1987)
--- FDR in "Annie" (1982)
Tony Todd
- Born: Washington, D.C. (12/4/1954)
- Known for:
--- The Candyman in "Candyman" (1992)
--- Dan in "The Man from Earth" (2007)
--- Grange in "The Crow" (1994)
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Dave Chappelle
- Born: Washington, D.C. (8/24/1973)
- Known for:
--- Writer in "Chappelle's Show" (2003-2006)
--- Writer in "Half Baked" (1998)
--- George 'Noodles' Stone in "A Star Is Born" (2018)
Chris Carmack
- Born: Washington, D.C. (12/22/1980)
- Known for:
--- Sam Reide in "The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations" (2009)
--- Jason Masters in "Lovewrecked" (2005)
--- Dennis in "Shark Night" (2011)
Timothy Carhart
- Born: Washington, D.C. (12/24/1953)
- Known for:
--- Bill Steiner in "The Hunt for Red October" (1990)
--- Harlan in "Thelma & Louise" (1991)
--- Ellis De Wald in "Beverly Hills Cop III" (1994)
Henry Rollins
- Born: Washington, D.C. (2/13/1961)
- Known for:
--- Coach in "Feast" (2005)
--- Spider in "Johnny Mnemonic" (1995)
--- Jack in "He Never Died" (2015)
Max Casella
- Born: Washington, D.C. (6/6/1967)
- Known for:
--- Jack Valenti in "Jackie" (2016)
--- Pappi Corsicato in "Inside Llewyn Davis" (2013)
--- Eddie in "Blue Jasmine" (2013)
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Sean Whalen
- Born: Washington, D.C. (5/19/1964)
- Known for:
--- Allan Sanders in "Twister" (1996)
--- Passport Officer in "Men in Black" (1997)
--- Merkin in "Never Been Kissed" (1999)
Louis C.K.
- Born: Washington, D.C. (9/12/1967)
- Known for:
--- Writer in "Louie" (2010-2015)
--- Stoddard Thorsen in "American Hustle" (2013)
--- Writer in "Horace and Pete" (2016)
Brian Hallisay
- Born: Washington, D.C. (10/31/1978)
- Known for:
--- Capt. Gillespie in "American Sniper" (2014)
--- Scott in "Hostel: Part III" (2011)
--- Ben Hunter in "Revenge" (2014-2015)
Sam Riegel
- Born: Washington, D.C. (10/9/1976)
- Known for:
--- Donatello in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (2003-2010)
--- Teddie in "Persona 4: The Animation" (2011-2012)
--- Additional Crew in "Independence Day: Resurgence" (2016)
Teddy Sears
- Born: Washington, D.C. (4/6/1977)
- Known for:
--- Jim Fisher in "American Crime Story" (2021)
--- William in "The Politician" (2019-2020)
--- Jay Garrick in "The Flash" (2015-2018)
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