Kelly AuCoin
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                  About

Hello, and welcome!

​I've got resumes, reels, pictures, and things elsewhere on the site but this page is for telling you a little about myself, so here goes...

I'm from the great state of Oregon, and remain completely in love with it. I am a RABID Portland Trail Blazers fan. And I still wince when someone mentions
Sam Bowie or Greg Oden.

A few years ago (too many for my liking) I graduated from Oberlin College, which I adored. While I was there I met some of the most creative, driven, engaged (and engaging) human people I've ever known. I grew up in a family that believed in justice and activism, and that we had a responsibility to try to make the world a better place, and at Oberlin, I found a like-minded community. Most importantly, though, that is where I met my ridiculously talented and awesome wife. She's a pretty humble person, but since she may never read this, I can brag on her a little bit and just mention that, some years ago, she won a NY Dance & Performance "Bessie" Award for outstanding creative achievement in modern dance. She is, as the that award might suggest, a dancer. And a pretty damn good one. She's also an historical marine ecologist, which, I know, is just such an annoying cliche move for a dancer...

About my own work: If you know me, it's probably by way of the Showtime series Billions, in which I play 'Dollar' Bill Stearn. Or maybe as Pastor Tim on FX's The Americans. Although few people really recognize me from that show, because I was always wearing this ridiculous wig. I mean, truly ridiculous. It's at least as well known as my actual character. And it's been the source of much suspicion. After it's first appearance on the show, the main topic of conversation online was the correlation between my annoying hair and my face's "punchability" (which, then, totally became my favorite word). By the end, people seemed to pretty much make their peace with The Wig, and it really became a huge part of Pastor Groovyhair’s identity. A kind of spirit animal. Sort of like Dollar Bill's buzzcut on Billions... Pastor Tim, and his hair, are sort of free flowing. Bill's head is a blunt instrument. Just like him.
​
Also, for you House of Cards fans, I played Doug Stamper's brother, Gary. I loved working on the show, but I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to push anybody in front of a speeding subway, or asphyxiate anyone in a parked car. In fact, I think I might be the only one on the show who never lied, cheated, stole, killed, or otherwise destroyed any other character's life. Super disappointing… But, on the plus side, I got to work with the terrific Michael Kelly. And a lot of people thought we really looked like brothers, which is probably good, since, you know, we were playing brothers. But I think it had a lot to do with our similar hairlines. I'm telling you, it's all about the hair.

I joined the cast of AMC's TURN: Washington's Spies in it's final season, playing Hercules Mulligan. It was ridiculously fun. AND I wore a wig, so, I felt right at home from day one.

Some fun recent stuff: I worked on Donald Marguiles' lovely play, Long Lost, at Manhattan Theatre Club. It was directed by the brilliant Daniel Sullivan and co-starred Annie Parise, Alex Wolff, and Lee Tergesen. I played Ted Caccioppi in HBO's The Wizard Of Lies. Ted was the FBI agent who brought in Bernie Madoff. I still can't quite believe that I handcuffed Robert DeNiro and lived to tell the tale. You think a goofy wig makes you punchable, try arresting Robert freaking DeNiro.

I love, and am grateful for, all the TV I've been able to do. But, without question, my first love is theater. There's nothing like it. Actors and audience sharing a space, breathing the same air. It's a primal, communal thing. And it's the ensemble nature of theatre, and the community it creates, that really drew me to acting in the first place. Consequently, one of the things most proud of is having been a part of
the extraordinary cast of Signature Theatre's The Wayside Motor Inn, which was honored in 2015 with a special Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding Ensemble."

​Just FYI, I also wore a wig in that show.

Some of my favorite theatre gigs: I played Octavius Caesar opposite Denzel Washington in the Broadway revival of Julius Caesar, and I played Jim Warnock in the west coast premier of JT Rogers' Blood and Gifts at La Jolla Playhouse, directed by the fabulous Lucie Tiberghien. I have been lucky enough to do two of my favorite Tom Stoppard plays, Arcadia and The Real Thing (playing Septimus and Henry), and the lovely Born Yesterday. Jailbait at Cherry Lane Theatre. And, I'd say, my first big break was probably joining the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. As an Oregon boy, I had grown up seeing plays at OSF, and the two seasons I spent with that company were Little Boy Me's dream come true.

So, that's some stuff about me. Thanks for coming by.
#WigLife  
​My follicular acting career:
Picture
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