F. Murray Abraham

Fahrid Murray Abraham was born on October 24, 1939, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in El Paso, Texas. Studying drama at the University of Texas at Austin and later under legendary acting teacher Uta Hagen at the HB Studio in Greenwich Village, he spent fifteen rigorous years mastering classical theatre on and off Broadway in plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Pinter.

Abraham gained wider screen recognition in Brian De Palma’s gangster epic 'Scarface' (1983) playing the treacherous drug dealer Omar Suárez. In 1984, director Miloš Forman cast him in the role of a lifetime: Antonio Salieri in the film adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s 'Amadeus'. Abraham’s haunting portrayal of bitter mediocrity confronting divine musical genius earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award, delivering one of the most celebrated dramatic performances in cinema history.

Over the ensuing decades, Abraham brought gravitas to films such as 'The Name of the Rose' (1986 as inquisitor Bernardo Gui), Woody Allen’s 'Mighty Aphrodite' (1995), Wes Anderson’s 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014), and Joel and Ethan Coen’s 'Inside Llewyn Davis' (2013). In television, his captivating performances as CIA operative Dar Adal in 'Homeland' and Bert Di Grasso in HBO’s 'The White Lotus' earned him widespread Emmy nominations, proving his enduring mastery of the actor’s craft.