About
Jefferson Mays (born Lewis Jefferson Mays; June 8, 1965) is an American film, stage and television actor. Mays was raised in Clinton, Connecticut with his parents, a naval intelligence officer and a children's librarian, and his siblings. Mays graduated from Yale College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and the University of California, San Diego, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts. Mays appeared on Broadway in I Am My Own Wife, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Doug Wright, from November 2003 (previews) to October 31, 2004. He had appeared in the play Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in May 2003, and at the La Jolla Playhouse in July 2001. Mays won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show, an Obie Award, and a 2004 Theatre World Award for his solo performance. He also won the...
Known for
Law & OrderSeries • 1990
Law & Order: Special Victims UnitSeries • 1999
Nurse JackieSeries • 2009
The BlacklistSeries • 2013
Law & Order: Criminal IntentSeries • 2001
The Good WifeSeries • 2009
FringeSeries • 2008
WestworldSeries • 2016
The CloserSeries • 2005
HacksSeries • 2021
The AmericansSeries • 2013
Lie to MeSeries • 2009
Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtSeries • 2015
Perry MasonSeries • 2020
JuliaSeries • 2022
The Tragedy of MacbethMovie • 2021
Inherent ViceMovie • 2014
The Ballad of Buster ScruggsMovie • 2018
The GiverMovie • 2014
I Am the NightSeries • 2019
How to Lose Friends & Alienate PeopleMovie • 2008
Rebel in the RyeMovie • 2017
The Notorious Bettie PageMovie • 2006
RebuildingMovie • 2025