Jonathan Frederick Tenney (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He played Special Agent Fritz Howard in TNT's The Closer and continued in its spin-off Major Crimes.
Early life Tenney was born in Princeton, New Jersey. His mother, Lillian Sandra Baum, was a psychiatrist, and his father, Frederick Haworth Tenney, was a research physicist. His maternal grandparents were Polish Jewish immigrants, while his paternal forebears were of English ancestry. He received his B.A. degree from Vassar College in 1984, where he majored in drama and philosophy. He later attended The Juilliard School's Drama Division as a member of Group 19 (1986–1990).
Career Tenney made his acting debut in a touring production of Mike Nichols' The Real Thing. He worked steadily on and off-Broadway, and in regional theater. In New York City, his stage credits include Biloxi Blues, The Substance of Fire and The Heiress. He began working on television, starring in a number of series, including Steven Bochco's Brooklyn South, Kristin Chenoweth's sitcom Kristin, and guest appearances on Cybill, Will & Grace, Murphy Brown, Spenser: For Hire and Get Real. Series with Tenney as a regular were canceled on all four major networks.
From 2005 to 2012, Tenney played Special Agent Fritz Howard, the husband of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) in TNT's The Closer. For the 4th season of Lifetime's The Division in 2004, he played Hank Riley. When The Closer ended he continued to act in its spin-off, Major Crimes, from 2012 to 2018, with Howard becoming an LAPD deputy chief in the third season. Later, he portrayed Dr. Simon Craig, a love interest of Nora Walker (Sally Field) in Brothers & Sisters. In 2013, he starred with Rebecca Romijn in TNT's King & Maxwell, as Sean King, a former Secret Service agent and lawyer who works as a private investigator. The series was canceled after one season. In 2014, he was cast in a recurring role on Shonda Rhimes' drama series Scandal.
Tenney appeared in several films, including the villainous CEO of Benbrook Oil Company in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home and the friend of Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) in Fools Rush In. He also starred in small roles for some films, including Tombstone, Beverly Hills Cop III, Nixon, Music from Another Room and the 2009 horror film remake of The Stepfather. He also appeared in John Cameron Mitchell's film, Rabbit Hole. He portrayed Martin Jordan in the 2011 superhero film Green Lantern.
Personal life From 1994 to 2003, Tenney was married to Teri Hatcher, with whom he has a daughter. He married producer Leslie Urdang on June 16, 2012.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1991Guilty by SuspicionShopper Husband1993Watch ItMichael1993TombstoneJohnny Behan1994Beverly Hills Cop IIILevine1994LassieSteve Turner1995Free Willy 2: The Adventure HomeJohn Milner1995NixonReporter #11996The PhantomJimmy Wells1996The Twilight of the GoldsRob Stein1997Fools Rush InJeff1997LovelifeAlan1998HomegrownHelicopter Pilot1998Music from Another RoomEric1998With Friends Like These...Dorian Mastandrea1999EntropyKevin1999Advice from a CaterpillarSuit2000You Can Count on MeBob Steegerson2002Buying the CowAndrew Hahn2005Looking for Comedy in the Muslim WorldMark2009The StepfatherJay2010LegionHoward Anderson2010Rabbit HoleRick2010Radio Free AlbemuthFBI Agent #12011Green LanternMartin Jordan2011Hide AwayThe Divorced Man2013As Cool As I AmBob2014The Best of MeHarvey Collier2015Love the CoopersDr Morrissey2018The SeagullDorn2019I See YouGreg Harper2020Wild Mountain ThymePub MC
Television Year Title Role Notes1986Spenser: For HireGarrettEpisode: "Shadowsight"1988Alone in the Neon JungleTodd HansenTelevision film1989Murphy BrownJosh SilverbergEpisode: "The Brothers Silverberg"1990–1991Equal JusticePeter Bauer25 episodes1993Tales from the CryptAlexEpisode: "Half-Way Horrible"1993Crime & PunishmentDet. Ken O'Donnell6 episodes1995Almost PerfectAdams / Tony Madden2 episodes1996Good CompanyWill Hennessey6 episodes1996Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of SupermanLt. Ching2 episodes1996CybillJack2 episodes1997The Outer LimitsAidan HunterEpisode: "Bits of Love"1997–1998Brooklyn SouthPatrol Sgt. Francis 'Frank' Xavier Donovan22 episodes1999–2000Get RealMitch Green22 episodes2001KristinTommy Ballantine13 episodes2001Will & GracePaul TrumanEpisode: "Moveable Feast"2004The DistrictDan LustigEpisode: "Family Values"2004Without a TraceMr. Benjamin PalmerEpisode: "Bait"2004The DivisionHank Riley9 episodes2004CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCharlie MacklinEpisode: "Formalities"2005Masters of HorrorDavid MurchEpisode: "Homecoming"2005–2012The CloserFBI Special Agent Fritz Howard109 episodes2009American Dad!Father Carrington / Lawyer #2 / Man (voices)3 episodes2009–2010Brothers & SistersDr. Simon Craig5 episodes2012The NewsroomWade Campbell3 episodes2012–2016Major CrimesFBI Special Agent/LAPD Deputy Chief Fritz Howard 29 episodes2013King & MaxwellSean King10 episodes2014–2016ScandalAndrew Nichols15 episodes2015–2017Hand of GodNick Tramble9 episodes2017LongmireFBI Agent VanceEpisode: "Running Eagle Challenge"2017Story of a GirlRay LambertTelevision film2018The RomanoffsEric FordEpisode: "Expectation"2019True DetectiveAlan Jones5 episodes2020NextSpecial Agent Brian FarrellEpisode: "FILE #8"2022–2024The Lincoln LawyerMickey Haller Sr.3 episodes 2022And Just Like That...Peter3 episodes 2024Cruel IntentionsCongressman Russell3 episodes2026American ClassicJon Bean
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