Alex Karpovsky
Alexander Karpovsky (born September 23, 1975)[2] is an American director, actor, screenwriter, producer and film editor. He is best known for playing Ray Ploshansky on the HBO comedy-drama series Girls and Craig Petrosian on the Amazon series Homecoming.
Alex Karpovsky | |
---|---|
Alex Karpovsky | |
Born | Alexander Karpovsky September 23, 1975 |
Occupation | Actor, writer, film director, producer, film editor |
Early life and education
Alex Karpovsky was born in Newton, Massachusetts and raised in Boston. He he earned a bachelor's degree from Boston University before receiving a master's degree in visual ethnography at the University of Oxford.[1][3]
Career
His debut feature, The Hole Story, earned him a slot in Filmmaker magazine's 25 new faces of independent film. His subsequent feature-length films include Woodpecker (SXSW Film Festival, 2008), Trust Us, This Is All Made Up (SXSW Film Festival, 2009), Rubberneck (Tribeca Film Festival, 2012), and Red Flag (LA Film Festival, 2012),[4] the latter two of which were released as a double feature in New York City's Lincoln Center Theater.[5] In addition to these films, Alex has directed episodes of TV, commercials, and music videos.
As an actor, he played Ray Ploshansky in the HBO comedy series Girls and has portrayed characters in films that have been featured at Sundance, Cannes, SXSW, Berlinale, Los Angeles & Tribeca film festivals. Karpovsky also appeared in the Coen Brothers' most recent films, Inside Llewyn Davis and Hail, Caesar!, is a series regular on Amazon's Homecoming, and has a leading role in the upcoming NBC/Peacock limited series, Angelyne.[6]
Karpovsky has read hundreds of stories for live and radio audiences, including NPR's Selected Shorts, The Paris Review, The New York Times' Modern Love, n+1, Grand Theft Auto IV, and This American Life.
Filmography
Actor
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Cry Funny Happy | Henry | |
2005 | The Hole Story | Alex | |
2008 | Cubby Knowles | Robert Lincoln | |
2009 | Beeswax | Merrill Graf | |
2009 | Harmony and Me | Mean Man Mike | |
2010 | Bass Ackwards | Vlad | |
2010 | Lovers of Hate | Paul Lucas | |
2010 | Tiny Furniture | Jed | |
2010 | Incredibly Small | Tom | |
2011 | Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same | Rookie Agent | |
2011 | Wuss | Wally Combs | |
2011 | Almost in Love | Sasha | |
2012 | Sleepwalk with Me | Ian Gilmore | |
2012 | Gayby | Peter | |
2012 | Supporting Characters | Nick Berger | |
2012 | Rubberneck | Paul Harris | |
2012 | Marvin Seth and Stanley | Seth Greenstein | |
2012 | Red Flag | Alex | |
2013 | Good Night | Jake | |
2013 | Inside Llewyn Davis | Marty Green | |
2014 | The Foxy Merkins | Merkin Man | |
2014 | Summer of Blood | Jamie | |
2015 | Tired Moonlight | Mike | |
2015 | Possibilia | Rick | |
2015 | 7 Chinese Brothers | Kaminsky | |
2016 | Hail, Caesar! | Mr. Smitrovich | |
2016 | Folk Hero & Funny Guy | Paul Scott | |
2016 | My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea | Drake (voice) | |
2017 | The Vanishing of Sidney Hall | David Bauer | |
2017 | Fits and Starts | Charles | |
2017 | Girlfriend's Day | Styvesan | |
2018 | The Front Runner | Mike Stratton | |
2018 | Being Frank | Ross | |
2019 | The Sound of Silence | Landon | |
2019 | The Return of the Yuletide Kid | Michael | |
2019 | Being Frank | Ross | |
2020 | The Ride | Chris | |
2021 | Cryptozoo | (voice) |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2012–2015 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Stephen Lomatin | 2 episodes |
2012–2017 | Girls | Ray Ploshansky | 42 episodes |
2014 | Dinner with Friends with Brett Gelman and Friends | Himself | Television Special |
2016 | Deadbeat | Jared the Liar | Episode: "Medieval Dead" |
2018 | Drunk History | Zvi Aharoni | Episode: "Heists" |
2018–2020 | Homecoming | Craig Petrosian | 13 episodes |
2020 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Doctor Seiderman | Episode: "The Spite Store" |
2021 | Angelyne | Jeff Glaser | 6 episodes |
Music video
Year | Title | Artist(s) |
---|---|---|
2017 | When You Die | MGMT |
Video game
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | The Crowd of Liberty City (voice) |
Writer/director
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Network/Festival |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Oh Jerome, No | Writer/Director | Episodes 101-108 | FXX |
2018 | Love | Director | Episode 304 | Netflix |
2016 | The New Yorker Presents | Director | Episode 105 | Amazon |
2016 | Girls | Director | Episode 509 | HBO |
2012 | Red Flag[7] | Writer/Director | feature | LA Film Festival |
2012 | Rubberneck( feature)[8] | Writer/Director | feature | Tribeca |
2009 | Trust Us, This Is All Made Up [9] | Writer/Director | feature | SXSW |
2008 | Woodpecker [10] | Writer/Director | feature | SXSW |
2006 | The Hole Story[11] | Writer/Director | feature | Harvard Film Archive |
References
- Laskowski, Amy (April 3, 2014). "Girls Actor Comes to Cinematheque Tomorrow". BU Today. Boston University. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
- Rick Porter, Alex Karpovsky - Apple TV, Apple TV
- "Alex Karpovsky". alexkarpovsky.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- Neil Genzlinger, Film Festival Blooms With Ripe Perversity, The New York Times, April 22, 2012
- "Alex Karpovsky of Girls helms two new films, talks directing". UKScreen. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- Rick Porter, Martin Freeman, Alex Karpovsky Join 'Angelyne' Limited Series at Peacock, The Hollywood Reporter, February 12, 2020
- "RED FLAG - A GRAVE COMEDY FROM ALEX KARPOVSKY". redflagfilm.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- "RUBBERNECK — A Film By Alex Karpovsky & Garth Donovan". rubberneckfilm.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- "Trust Us, This Is All Made Up". trustusfilm.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- "Woodpecker: a film by alex karpovsky". woodpeckerfilm.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- "Alex Karpovsky". theholestoryfilm.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.