Lee Tergesen

Lee Allen Tergesen (born July 8, 1965 in Ivoryton, Connecticut) is an American actor whose career spans more than four decades, marked by gritty television roles and memorable supporting turns in film. After graduating from Valley Regional High School in Deep River, he pursued formal training at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan, a two‑year program that equipped him with the stagecraft that would later define his versatile performances. Early in his adult life he worked as a waiter at New York’s iconic Empire Diner, where his sharp wit caught the attention of future HBO creator Tom Fontana, a connection that eventually led to his breakthrough television work. Tergesen’s first significant screen exposure came with a bit part in the 1991 pilot Acting Sheriff followed by roles in the cult classics Wayne’s World (1992) and its sequel (1993), after which he secured the recurring character Chett Donnelly on the USA Network series Weird Science (1994‑1998). His most acclaimed role arrived in 1997 when he was cast as Tobias Beecher, a violently conflicted inmate, on HBO’s critically lauded prison drama Oz, a part he inhabited until the series concluded in 2003, earning praise for his nuanced portrayal of addiction and redemption. Beyond television, Tergesen has built a solid film résumé that includes Point Break (1991), Shaft (2000), Monster (2003), The Forgotten (2004), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) and the HBO miniseries Generation Kill (2008) as journalist Evan Wright. In the 2010s he continued to appear in popular series such as Desperate Housewives, Royal Pains, Army Wives and The Americans, while also returning to his theatrical roots with Off‑Broadway productions like Long Lost (2019). Off‑screen, Tergesen has been married three times, most recently to Japanese actress Yuko Otomo, with whom he shares a daughter, reflecting a personal life as dynamic as his professional one.