# Corey Stoll
**Corey Stoll** is an American stage and screen actor best known for his Golden Globe-nominated role as Congressman Peter Russo in the Netflix series *House of Cards* and for playing [Ernest Hemingway](https://www.edgepedia.org/ernest-hemingway) in [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen)'s *Midnight in Paris*, which brought him an Independent Spirit Award nomination[1](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-strain/corey-stoll-ephraim-goodweather). Born in New York City, he built his career first in theater before moving into television and film[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/corey-stoll).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthplace | New York City, New York[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/corey-stoll) |
| Training | M.F.A. from N.Y.U./Tisch, 2003[3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf) |
| Breakout television role | Congressman Peter Russo in Netflix's *House of Cards*, earning a Golden Globe nomination[1](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-strain/corey-stoll-ephraim-goodweather) |
| Signature film role | Ernest Hemingway in *Midnight in Paris*, Independent Spirit Award nomination[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/corey-stoll) |
| Marvel villain | Darren Cross in *Ant-Man* (2015), opposite Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas[3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf) |
| Broadway recognition | Tony Award nomination, featured actor in a play, for the 2024 revival of *Appropriate*[4](https://www.thedailybeast.com/from-billions-to-broadway-how-acting-saved-corey-stoll/) |
| Family | Lives in Brooklyn with his wife, actress Nadia Bowers, and their son Nikolai[3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf) |
## Training and theater beginnings
Stoll graduated from N.Y.U./Tisch with an M.F.A. in 2003, and his first professional acting job came in Lynn Nottage's play *Intimate Apparel*, in which he played [Viola Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/viola-davis)'s love interest[3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf). The production earned him a Drama Desk Award nomination in New York and a Drama Critics Circle Award in Los Angeles[3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf).
His stage work continued alongside his screen career. He appeared in the 2010 Broadway revival of [Arthur Miller](https://www.edgepedia.org/arthur-miller)'s *A View from the Bridge* opposite [Liev Schreiber](https://www.edgepedia.org/liev-schreiber) and [Scarlett Johansson](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarlett-johansson), and in Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of *The Cherry Orchard*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/corey-stoll) • [3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf). Other theater credits include *Beast*, the revival of *Some Americans Abroad*, and a New York revival of *Plenty* opposite Rachel Weisz[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/corey-stoll) • [1](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-strain/corey-stoll-ephraim-goodweather).
## Television
**House of Cards.** Stoll's first starring television role was as Detective Tomas "TJ" Jaruszalski on NBC's *Law & Order: LA*[3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf). His breakthrough came as Peter Russo in Netflix's *House of Cards*, a playboy congressman whose partying makes him an easy pawn in Washington's political game; the role brought a Golden Globe nomination[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/corey-stoll) • [1](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-strain/corey-stoll-ephraim-goodweather).
He followed it with the lead role of Dr. Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather in FX's thriller *The Strain*, produced by [Guillermo del Toro](https://www.edgepedia.org/guillermo-del-toro), and later appeared in HBO's *The Normal Heart* and *Girls*, Showtime's *Homeland*, *The Good Wife*, *Billions*, and *Scenes from a Marriage*[1](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-strain/corey-stoll-ephraim-goodweather) • [3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf) • [5](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621229390).
In 2025 he played Adam, a New York lawyer murdered early in the Prime Video limited series *The Better Sister*, opposite [Jessica Biel](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessica-biel) and [Elizabeth Banks](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-banks); because the character dies at the start, most of what viewers learn about him comes through flashbacks and the conflicting memories of his widow, ex-wife, and son[6](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2025/05/28/corey-stoll-better-sister-interview/7121748388205/). In 2026 he joined [Joel Kinnaman](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-kinnaman) in Apple TV's *Imperfect Women*, based on Araminta Hall's novel, playing Howard alongside Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington, and Kate Mara[7](https://www.thegate.ca/television/072491/joel-kinnaman-and-corey-stoll-on-imperfect-women/).
## Film
Stoll's film career spans independent and studio work. His credits include *North Country*, *Push*, *Lucky Number Slevin*, *Salt*, *The Bourne Legacy*, *Brief Interviews with Hideous Men*, and the Sundance competition film *C.O.G.*, based on a short story by [David Sedaris](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-sedaris)[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/corey-stoll) • [3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf).
**Midnight in Paris and Woody Allen.** His portrayal of Ernest Hemingway in *Midnight in Paris* earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and he returned in Allen's *Café Society* (2016)[1](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-strain/corey-stoll-ephraim-goodweather) • [3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf).
**Marvel and other studio films.** He played the villain [Darren Cross](https://www.edgepedia.org/darren-cross) in Marvel's *Ant-Man* opposite [Paul Rudd](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-rudd) and [Michael Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-douglas), and appeared in *Black Mass* alongside Johnny Depp, *This Is Where I Leave You* opposite Tina Fey and Jason Bateman, *The Good Lie* opposite Reese Witherspoon, *Non-Stop* opposite Liam Neeson, Tim Blake Nelson's *Anesthesia*, *Dark Places*, Stephen Gaghan's *Gold*, and Noah Buschel's *Glass Chin*[3](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf). He later reprised the Ant-Man role in *Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania*[5](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621229390).
## Appropriate and the Tony nomination
In 2024 Stoll returned to Broadway in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's play *Appropriate* at the Belasco Theatre, directed by Lila Neugebauer, playing Bo opposite [Sarah Paulson](https://www.edgepedia.org/sarah-paulson)'s Toni as warring siblings in a family confronting its racist past[4](https://www.thedailybeast.com/from-billions-to-broadway-how-acting-saved-corey-stoll/). The production received eight Tony Award nominations, and both Paulson and Stoll were first-time nominees, he in the featured actor in a play category[4](https://www.thedailybeast.com/from-billions-to-broadway-how-acting-saved-corey-stoll/). Stoll said the role felt "the least flashy of all the roles" on the page, and described the audience response to Bo's central rant as a moment of recognition he did not expect[4](https://www.thedailybeast.com/from-billions-to-broadway-how-acting-saved-corey-stoll/).
## Approach to roles
Stoll has described himself as having begun his career as a character actor, a self-image tied to his heavier physique and longer hair early on, before his look became more neutral and leading-man opportunities followed the *House of Cards* breakout[8](https://www.thedailybeast.com/meet-marvels-next-big-villain-corey-stoll-on-graduating-from-house-of-cards-to-ant-man/). In interviews he emphasizes playing the scene in front of him rather than the whole arc, an approach he applied to the decade-spanning, out-of-order shooting schedule of *The Better Sister*[6](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2025/05/28/corey-stoll-better-sister-interview/7121748388205/). He has said he often plays strong, high-status, in-control characters, and that the struggling Adam in *The Better Sister* offered a different space, a man overshadowed by his more successful wife and raising a floundering son[9](https://scifivision.org/interviews/7264-corey-stoll-lorraine-toussaint-star-in-the-better-sister-now-on-prime-video).
## References
1. [Corey Stoll as Dr. Eph Goodweather, FX Networks](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-strain/corey-stoll-ephraim-goodweather)
2. [Corey Stoll, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/corey-stoll)
3. [Corey Stoll (Ben), Café Society press kit, Festival de Cannes](https://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com/film_film/0002/16/1f46311d0a403ab44faac4bfc955bc9315ff922e.pdf)
4. [From 'Billions' to Broadway: How Acting 'Saved' Corey Stoll, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/from-billions-to-broadway-how-acting-saved-corey-stoll/)
5. [Corey Stoll, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621229390)
6. [Father-son relationship drew Corey Stoll to 'Better Sister' role, UPI](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2025/05/28/corey-stoll-better-sister-interview/7121748388205/)
7. [Joel Kinnaman and Corey Stoll on Imperfect Women, The GATE](https://www.thegate.ca/television/072491/joel-kinnaman-and-corey-stoll-on-imperfect-women/)
8. [Meet Marvel's Next Big Villain: Corey Stoll on Graduating From 'House of Cards' to 'Ant-Man', The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/meet-marvels-next-big-villain-corey-stoll-on-graduating-from-house-of-cards-to-ant-man/)
9. [Corey Stoll & Lorraine Toussaint Star in The Better Sister, SciFi Vision](https://scifivision.org/interviews/7264-corey-stoll-lorraine-toussaint-star-in-the-better-sister-now-on-prime-video)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Sp to S*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license