Member Profiles

Tracy Letts

Biography

Tracy Letts is a multifaceted award-winning actor and playwright. Letts received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County and a Tony Award for his portrayal of George in the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He has written the screenplays of three films adapted from his own plays: BUG and Killer Joe, both directed by William Friedkin, and August: Osage County directed by John Wells.   

In 2019, Letts was seen portraying Henry Ford II in James Mangold’s Academy Award-nominated racing drama “Ford v Ferrari,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He also starred in the Academy nominated and critically-acclaimed adaption of Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women.”  
 
Upcoming, Letts will star opposite Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck in the 20th Century Studios thriller “Deep Water.” Letts stars and also penned the screenplay for the film adaptation of A.J. Finn’s best-seller, The Woman in the Window, which he will be released on Netflix later this year.  
 
Letts’ play The Minutes will make its return to Broadway in March 2022. The play, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama, shows the inner workings of a city council meeting in the fictional town of Big Cherry. Other recent stage projects include Letts’ play Linda Vista, which saw a successful limited run at Broadway’s Hayes Theatre in late 2019.  
 
In 2017, Letts appeared in Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” alongside Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The film was selected as the Best Film of 2017 by the National Board of Review and nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and for a Critics’ Choice Award in the category of Best Acting Ensemble.  
 
Also in 2017, Letts received critical acclaim for his performance opposite Saoirse Ronan in Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird,” which was selected as one of the Top Ten Films of 2017 by the National Board of Review, nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award in the category of Best Ensemble and an Oscar in the category of Best Film.  
 
Additional film credits include “The Lovers” with Debra Winger, which was nominated for a 2018 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay; Antoni Campos’ biographical drama “Christine,” “Indignation,” James Schamus’ directorial debut and the Oscar nominated film “The Big Short” directed by Adam McKay. 
 
On the small screen, Letts starred in the second season of HBO’s “Divorce” alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church, Molly Shannon and Talia Balsam. In 2013 and 2014, Letts played CIA Director Andrew Lockhart on Showtime’s “Homeland.” The cast was nominated for a SAG Award in the category of Best Drama Ensemble in 2013. 
 
Tracy resides in Chicago with his wife, Carrie Coon, and is an active member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Watch & Listen

Credits & Awards

Film

Screenplay: Bug; Killer Joe; August: Osage County, and the screenplay for the film adaptation of A.J. Finn’s best-seller, The Woman in the Windowwhich will be released in theaters on May 15, 2020. 

Acting: Steven Spielberg’s The Post alongside Tom Hanks and Meryl StreepGreta Gerwig’s Lady Bird; The Lovers with Debra Wingerand The Big Short directed by Adam McKay. Letts will next be seen in James Mangold’s racing drama Ford v Ferrari, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be released on November 15th in theaters. 

Theatre

Actor:  Steppenwolf: American Buffalo, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Red Orchid Theatre: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Famous Door: Conquest of the South Pole Next Lab: Bouncers Alliance Stage of the Woodruff Arts Center (Atlanta). 

Playwright Man From Nebraska; BugKiller JoeAugust: Osage CountySuperior Donuts; Mary Page Marlowe, The Minutes, Linda Vista.

Television

Prison BreakThe District (CBS); Profiler (NBC); The Drew Carey Show (ABC); Seinfeld (NBC); Home Improvement (ABC); Homeland (Showtime); Divorce (HBO)

Awards

The 2005 21st Century Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation. The 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for August: Osage County. The 2008 Tony Award for Best Play for August: Osage County. The 2013 Tony Award for his portrayal of George in the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Member Profiles

Tracy Letts

Tracy  Letts