Judd Hirsch

Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series Taxi (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series Dear John (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS series Numb3rs (2005–2010). He is also well known for his career in theatre and for his roles in films such as Ordinary People (1980), Running on Empty (1988), Independence Day (1996), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016), Uncut Gems (2019), and The Fabelmans (2022). Hirsch has twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy, and was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Ordinary People (1980) and The Fabelmans (2022), the longest gap between Academy Award nominations in history. Early life and education Hirsch was born in the Bronx, New York, to Sally (née Kitzis) and Joseph Sidney Hirsch, an electrician. Joseph was born in New York, to a German Jewish father, Benjamin Hirsch, and an English-born mother, Rosa Hirsch Benjamin, whose family were Dutch Jews. Sally Hirsch was born in Russia, also to a Jewish family. Judd Hirsch has a brother named Roland. He grew up in both Brooklyn and the Bronx and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School (in the Bronx) in 1952. He earned a degree in physics from City College of New York.