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T. R. Knight

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T. R. Knight
Knight at the premiere of 27 Dresses, January 2008
Born
Theodore Raymond Knight

Theodore Raymond "T.R." Knight (born March 26, 1973) is an American actor. Knight's most high-profile role to date was his role as Dr. George O'Malley on ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

Biography

Early life

Knight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he became involved with the Guthrie Theater at the age of five. Knight received the Conners Foundation Scholarship as a freshman. After finishing high school at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Knight enrolled at the University of Minnesota for a brief period of time. He dropped out and soon landed leading roles at the Guthrie Theater.

Career

Knight moved to New York City and has appeared on Broadway; his most notable role was playing opposite Patti LuPone in the 2001 revival of Noises Off. He also gained notice performing in 2003 as Damis in Tartuffe and received a Drama Desk Award nomination in 2003 for his role in the off-Broadway production of Scattergood. Knight's most recent stage appearance was in the 2004 drama, Boy.

On television, Knight was a regular cast member of the short-lived Nathan Lane/Laurie Metcalf television series, Charlie Lawrence. In 2005, Knight was cast as Dr. George O'Malley, an intern, on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy. His role earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series in 2007.

In December 2008, People Magazine reported that Knight has asked to be released from his contract with Grey's Anatomy and that he will be written off the show.[1] In the March 2, 2009 edition of People, Shonda Rhimes, the show's creator, head writer and executive producer stated that the claim was false. "His quote was taken out of context", said Rhimes, who also assured that Katherine Heigl was staying on the show, despite recent rumors.[citation needed]

Knight has booked his first role since negotiating an early release from Grey's Anatomy. He will star in a production of the musical Parade, opening Oct. 4 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Knight will play Leo Frank, a Jewish pencil-factory manager in Atlanta, Georgia, who, in 1913, was convicted in the rape and murder of a 13-year-old female employee, Mary Phagan. When doubt was ultimately cast on his guilt, Frank's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Soon after, however, he was kidnapped from prison and lynched.[2]

T.R. Knight said the reason why he quit Grey's Anatomy is because of trust issues with the show's creator, Shonda Rhimes.[3]

Personal life

Rumors over Knight's sexual orientation gained momentum when news reports surfaced in October 2006 that Grey's Anatomy co-stars Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington were involved in an argument during which, Knight and others allege, Washington used the term faggot directed at an unnamed co-star. Washington later apologized, stating "I sincerely regret my actions and the unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set".[4]

After the incident was reported in the press, Knight released a statement through People Magazine on October 19, 2006 stating, in part, “I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there. While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me.”[5]

The controversy over the verbal exchange gained additional momentum on January 15, 2007 immediately following the Golden Globe Awards. When asked by E! Online reporter Ted Casablanca about the incident, Washington said, "I never called T.R. a faggot. It never happened."[6][7] Knight appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 17, 2007 and stated that Washington in fact had referred to him as a faggot on the Grey's Anatomy set on October 9, 2006.[7] In June 2007, Knight's role was secured for an additional season of Grey's Anatomy, while Isaiah Washington's contract was not renewed.[citation needed]

In June 2008, Knight revealed in an interview with tabloid television program Extra that for the past six months, he had been dating Mark Cornelson.[8] The two remain a couple.[citation needed]

Acting credits

Television

Series

  • Grey's Anatomy (2005-2009)[9] as Dr. George O'Malley
  • Charlie Lawrence (2003) as Ryan Lemming

Guest star

Movies

  • Garmento as Daniel
  • The Last Request as Jeff

Voice-over

Stage

Broadway

Off-Broadway

  • Boy (2004) as title character[10]
  • Scattergood (2003) as Brendan Hilliard
  • This Lime Tree Bower as Joe
  • Macbeth (1999) as Donalbain/Messenger
  • The Lake's End (2003)
  • The Hologram Theory (2001) as "Tweety"
  • The Fool (2002) (Staged Reading)
  • Right Way to Sue as Franklin/Various characters
  • Voices of Peace and Dissent (2003)
  • White People (Staged Reading)
  • The Scholar (Staged Reading)
  • The Marriage of Bette & Boo (2007)
  • Lend Me A Tenor (2009) (Staged Reading)

Mark Taper Forum

Regional Theater - Minneapolis, MN

Guthrie Theater

Jungle Theater

MN History Theatre

  • Civil Ceremony as Samuel (1996)

Illusion Theatre

  • Angelheaded Hipster: Howl for Allen (1997) as Allen Ginsberg

Women's Club of Minneapolis

  • The Laramie Project (2008)

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

References

  1. ^ T.R. Knight Wants Out of "Grey's" Contract, ComingSoon.net, December 9, 2008
  2. ^ Matt Mitovich (25 June 2009). "T.R. Knight "Feels Great" About His First Après-Grey's Role". TV Guide Online. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  3. ^ T.R. Knight: Why I Quit "Grey's Anatomy", Zap2It.com, July 23, 2009
  4. ^ "Isaiah Washington Apologizes". People magazine. October 25, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-28. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Grey's Anatomy star T.R. Knight Confirms He's Gay". People magazine. October 19, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-28. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Isaiah Washington goes off again". EURWeb.com. February 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  7. ^ a b The Associated Press (January 17, 2007). "T.R. Knight says 'Grey' co-star Isaiah Washington's used slur about him". The International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  8. ^ Stephen M. Silverman (June 5, 2008). "T.R Knight 'Surprised' Boyfriend Was Interested". People. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
  9. ^ T.R. Knight's Dr. George O'Malley Officially Off "Grey's Anatomy", New York Daily News, May 28, 2009
  10. ^ Ernio Hernandez (April 2, 2004). "T.R. Knight to Star as Boy in World Premiere Julia Jordan Play at Primary Stages". Playbill. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  11. ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/06/greys-anatomys-tr-knight-heads-for-the-stage-in-la-not-ny.html
Articles
Voice Reel
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