Born, raised, and schooled in the South. Frank began his acting career, unwittingly, when he played Harold Hill in The Music Man; an 8th grade production at his minute catholic grade school. Wherein, he caught the proverbial “acting bug”. Heading off to the large public high school with desires to expand his thespian career, acting pursuits were quickly obliterated in his first class, when members of the Drama Club were pummeled by the football team…….
It was seven years later, as a senior at Duke University and in need of an easy elective, Frank was re-introduced to acting. Upon graduating and fully armed with two semesters of “Intro Acting” (coupled with some very uncomfortable interviews with Fortune 500 companies), Frank headed North to pursue a career in theatre (much to the disbelief and dismay of his parents…..).
After 5 years of waiting in long lines with similarly unstable people at inordinately early hours (“open calls”), working steadily in “downtown theatre” (often experimental, and always for little or no pay), and having only distinguished himself as a “print advertising model”, Frank talked his way (literally) into the NYU Graduate Acting Program under legendary director Zelda Fichandler. It was here he met his greatest artistic influence, mentor, and dear friend, Paul Walker. Upon graduating and having no agent (which he had understood to be “part and parcel” with the diploma), he began teaching at his alma mater, SUNY Purchase Conservatory, and The Yale School of Drama, among many others. It was during this time he met the founder of the Long Wharf Theatre and Actors Theatre of Louisville, Jon Jory and under his gracious guidance, also began a directing career.
It wasn’t until the 00’s that he (Frank) re-entered the world of acting for the first time in 15 years. In the last 10 years, gratefully, Frank has done extensive work in theatre, film and television.
He has appeared On and Off-Broadway in premieres of August: Osage County (The Music Box), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told (by Paul Rudick at The Minetta Lane), One Neck (The Atlantic w/ Alison Janney), Second-Hand Smoke (w/ Vera Farmiga at Primary Stages) and The Vietnamization of New Jersey (by Durang at The Beckett), among many other plays.
Films such as: Non-Stop (w/ Liam Neeson), The Bay (directed by Oscar winner Barry Levinson), The Amazing Spiderman 2, Deception (w/ Ewan MacGregor and Hugh Jackman), The Corrections (dir. Noah Baumbach), The House is Burning (Cannes), Flannel Pajamas (Sundance) and Body/Antibody, among others.
On the “small screen”, he has had two recurring characters (currently FBI special agent O’Connell, and previously as ADA Don Newvine) on Law and Order: SVU. Frank has also been a guest star on, The Blacklist, The Knick (Steven Soderbergh), Hostages, Alpha House, Boardwalk Empire, Elementary, Person of Interest, Blue Bloods, Nurse Jackie, Unforgettable, Royal Pains, Fringe, The Onion News Network, The Sopranos, Law & Order and others.
Regional credits include, Mister Roberts (Kennedy Center), Side Man (as Genie Glimmer at The Guthrie), Six Years (by Sharr White at ATL’s Humana Festival), The Black Dahlia (Yale Rep), among many others.
Frank has had the great pleasure of working with such actors as Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Andy Garcia, Julianne Moore, Diane Weist, Maggie Gyllenhall, Stacey Keach, Melissa Leo, Michael Stuhlbarg, Estelle Parsons, Michelle Dockery, and Lupita Nyong’o among others… And with directors that include, Barry Levinson, Jaume Collet-Serra, Mark Wing-Davey, Noah Baumbach, Liviu Culei, Christopher Ashley, Ethan McSweeney, Moises Kaufman, etc.