Michael Stewart Stuhlbarg was born in Long Beach, California, and later attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),where he was awarded a scholarship to study with the renowned Marcel Marceau.
He further honed his craft at The Juilliard School in New York City, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Stuhlbarg's international training also included stints at the Vilnius Conservatory in Lithuania, the British American Drama Academy at Baliol and Keble Colleges at Oxford, and the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain in London.
He was a prominent theatrical actor during the 1990s and most of the 2000s, appearing on Broadway in productions such as Cabaret, Taking Sides, Saint Joan, The Government Inspector, and The Pillowman, which earned him a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play and a Tony Award nomination.
Stuhlbarg's numerous Off-Broadway credits include the title roles in Hamlet and Richard II with the New York Shakespeare Festival, and David Mamet's adaptation of The Voysey Inheritance, which earned him an OBIE Award.
Stuhlbarg made his mark in film with his role as Laurence Gopnik in Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man, earning his first Golden Globe nomination. He then transitioned to television with a starring role in HBO and Martin Scorsese's period drama series Boardwalk Empire, playing the organized crime figure Arnold Rothstein.
He has since appeared in a number of high-profile films, including Arrival, Steve Jobs, Blue Jasmine, Hugo, Seven Psychopaths, Men In Black III, Trumbo, Lincoln, Miss Sloane, Doctor Strange, Miles Ahead, and Pawn Sacrifice, among others.
