John Rhys Coiro(born March 12, 1979)[1]is an American actor. He began acting onBroadwaybut is best known for on-screen roles such as Billy Walsh on the television seriesEntourage.

Rhys Coiro
Born
John Rhys Coiro

(1979-03-12)March 12, 1979(age 45)
EducationCarnegie Mellon University(BFA)
OccupationActor
Years active2003–present
SpouseKat Coiro
Children3

Early life

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Born inSanto Stefano in AspromonteCalabria,Italy, to David Coiro and Ann Baynes Coiro,[2]Coiro grew up inPrinceton, New Jerseyand attendedPrinceton High School.[3]As a teenager, Coiro began working for a local artist[4]who introduced him to the artistic director of The Passage Theater, June Ballinger.[5]Ballinger got him involved with the State Street theater project in Trenton NJ, modeled after Primary stages' 52nd street project. From there, Coiro spent summers building sets and operating lights atthe New Jersey Shakespeare festival.Inspired by numerous productions, includingJulie Taymor's "Titus Andronicus" atTFANA,Coiro decided to study theater atCarnegie Mellon University,where he eventually graduated with a BFA.[6]He also spent time studying atThe Moscow Art Theaterin Russia.[7]

Career

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At age 19, Coiro got his first professional gig as an understudy to three roles in the American premiere ofConor McPherson's off-Broadway playThis Lime Tree Bowerdirected byHarris YulinatPrimary Stages.[8]Within a month of graduating from CMU, Coiro landed the role of Eddie the Bellhop in theLincoln Centerrevival ofGeorge S. Kaufman'sDinner at Eight,directed byGerald Guitierrez.[9]

Coiro then moved to Los Angeles and began working in construction, including a stint building a house withNick Offerman.In fact, Coiro received the call that he'd landed his first on-screen acting gig, as Billy Walsh onEntourage,while digging a hole for a deck inEcho Park.[10]The role of Walsh was originally meant to be a guest star but soon evolved into an iconic character that has defined Coiro's career.

Coiro shared a studio space in Historic Filipino town with then-unknown painterJonas Wood.During this period, Coiro formed an underground, traditional Irish music band with artistsMatt Johnsonand Greg Santos, that played around East LA. In 2007, following the birth of his first child, Coiro accepted the role ofSean Hillingeron the 7th season of24.Coiro was cast inThe Last House On The Leftbut had to pull out when the writer's strike abruptly ended and production resumed on24.The role ended up being given toAaron Paul.In 2009 Coiro returned to the stage, starring in a production ofHoward Korder's "Boy's Life" atSecond Stagein New York oppositeJason Biggs.[11]In 2010 Coiro starred inSlamdance[12]WinnerSnow and Ashesand in 2011 appeared alongsideAlexander SkarsardinScreen Gems' remake ofStraw Dogs.In 2014, Coiro was antagonist toStevie Van Zandt's character on the final season of Netflix's first original series, the Norwegian mega-hitLillyhammer[13]and he played one of the original Texas Rangers in The History Channel's Mini-seriesTexas Rising,alongsideRay Liotta,Bill PaxtonandBrendan Fraser.[14]During this show he honed his riding and roping skills. In 2015 Coiro played Armenian gangster Ari Adamian on the final season of USA'sGraceland.[15]In 2017 and 2018 Coiro appeared as a series regular inUnsolvedand in arcs onRay Donovan,The Walking Dead,andS.W.A.T.

Personal life

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Coiro is fluent inItalianandSpanish.

In 2016, Coiro traveled toStanding Rock,North Dakotato take part in thepeaceful protest against the North Dakota Access Pipeline.[16]

Coiro is married to directorKat Coiro,with whom he worked onLife HappensandShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law.[17]They live inLos Angeleswith their three children.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 Making Revolution Italian Activist
2007 Look Ace
Mama's Boy Trip
2009 The Unborn Mr. Shields
Kidnapping Caitlynn Daniel
Man Without a Head Dino
2010 Snow & Ashes Blaise
30 Days of Night: Dark Days Paul
Life Happens Marc
Order of Chaos John
MacGruber Yerik Novikov
2011 Straw Dogs Norman
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy Marcus
2012 Life Happens Marc
2013 As Cool as I Am Ron
2014 4 Minute Mile Eli
This Last Lonely Place Sam Taylor
2015 Entourage Billy Walsh
2017 Valley of Bones Nate
2018 Gotti Rudy Pipes
2019 Finding Steve McQueen Ray Darrow
Hustlers Spencer
2022 Agent Game Reese
TBA Lear Rex Oswald Post-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 One on One Zorbo Vishanisavik Guest star
2004–2011 Entourage Billy Walsh Recurring character
2005 CSI: NY Razor Guest star
CSI: Miami Diablo Guest star
Six Feet Under Wolf Guest star
2006 Ugly Betty Vincent Bianchi 2 episodes:
"Queens for a Day"
"Fey's Sleigh Ride"
2007 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Reverend's Lawyer Guest star
Tell Me You Love Me Jaime's Rebound 2 episode guest star
Raines Eddie Guest star
Criminal Minds Ethan Guest star
Numb3rs Ricky Jones Guest star
2009 24 FBI Agent Sean Hillinger Regular character
2010 Burn Notice Vince Cutler Guest star
Dark Blue Victor Guest star
Hawaii Five-0 Bradford Matinsky Guest star
2011 A Gifted Man Dr. Zeke Barnes Recurring character
2012 Person of Interest Jordan Hester Guest star
2013 Longmire Bill Norquist Guest star
Hostages Kramer Delaney Main cast
Dexter Andrew Briggs[18] Guest star
2014 Lilyhammer Tommy Recurring character
2015 Graceland Ari Adamian Recurring character
2017 The Mick Ip deLuca Guest star
Ray Donovan Rob Heard Recurring character
2018 Sideswiped Charlie Recurring character
The Walking Dead Jed Recurring character
Unsolved Jim Black Recurring character
2018 S.W.A.T Remy Guest star
2019 I Think You Should Leave Billy 1 episode ( “The Bones Are Their Money” )
2021-present Paradise City Adam TV spinoff ofAmerican Satan
2022 She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Donny Blaze Disney+series
2024 The Penguin Sebastian Hady Guest star

References

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  1. ^Rose, Mike (12 March 2019)."Today's top celebrity birthdays list for March 12, 2019".cleveland.Retrieved24 December2019.
  2. ^Baynes, Coiro, Ann."Coiro, Ann Baynes".english.rutgers.edu.Retrieved2017-01-12.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^"A conversation with Rhys Coiro".NJ.com.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  4. ^"Karen McLean - Artist | Photographer | 609.466.3475".www.karenmclean.com.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  5. ^"June Ballinger".Passage Theatre.2015-01-06. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-01-20.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  6. ^(CMU), Carnegie Mellon University."People's Choice - Carnegie Mellon University | CMU".www.cmu.edu.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  7. ^"Moscow Art Theater School | A.R.T. - American Repertory Theater".americanrepertorytheater.org.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  8. ^"Theater Review A staging of 'Lime Tree Bower' that speaks for itself — Irish Echo".irishecho.com.16 February 2011.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  9. ^Sommer, CurtainUp, Elyse."Dinner at Eight, a CurtainUp review".www.curtainup.com.Retrieved2017-01-12.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^"Home".Bad 4 Business Podcast.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  11. ^"Second Stage's Boys' Life, with Biggs, Coiro and Scanavino, Opens Off-Broadway Oct. 20 | Playbill".Playbill.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  12. ^"'Snow and Ashes,' 'American Jihadist': Slamdance Winners ".Alt Film Guide.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  13. ^""Entourage" -stjerne klar for "Lilyhammer"".VG.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  14. ^Team, The Deadline (2014-04-18)."Rhys Coiro & Joe Egender Join History's 'Texas Rising'".Deadline.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  15. ^"Ari Adamian (Character)".IMDb.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  16. ^"Entourage and Graceland Star Rhys Coiro Makes Impromptu Visit to Standing Rock - Indian Country Media Network".Indian Country Media Network.2016-12-03.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  17. ^"Rhys Coiro and Kat Coiro Photos Photos: LA Film Fest Premiere of" Life Happens "- Red Carpet".Zimbio.Retrieved2017-01-12.
  18. ^West, Kelly (June 6, 2013)."Dexter Photos Offer New Clues For Season 8".Cinema Blend.RetrievedJune 21,2013.