# Michael Gladis
**Michael Gladis** (full name Michael James Gladis) is an American actor best known for playing the bohemian advertising copywriter Paul Kinsey on the AMC period drama *Mad Men*. Born in 1977 in Houston, Texas, and raised in Farmington, Connecticut, he began his career in New York theater before building a long run of television and film roles, including recurring parts on *Eagleheart*, *Reckless*, *Feed the Beast*, and *[Penny Dreadful: City of Angels](https://www.edgepedia.org/penny-dreadful-city-of-angels)*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0321591/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977, Houston, Texas; grew up in Farmington, Connecticut[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [3](https://patch.com/connecticut/farmington/farmingtons-mad-man-and-wolf-shine-with-sibling-success) |
| Signature role | Paul Kinsey, a Sterling Cooper copywriter on *Mad Men* (AMC, 2007–2015), a multi-season part running 2007–2013[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [4](https://www.fernsehserien.de/michael-gladis/filmografie) |
| Screen debut | Senior seaman Yevgeny Borzenkov in the submarine thriller *K-19: The Widowmaker* (2002)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) |
| Training | Studied Theater at the State University of New York at New Paltz; began acting at Miss Porter's School, an all-girls school that needed male performers[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [5](https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Gladis) |
| Ensemble recognition | Screen Actors Guild Award drama ensemble nominations for *Mad Men* in 2008, 2009, and 2010[6](https://www.actorawards.org/sites/default/files/nominee_histories_0.pdf) |
| Spouse | Actress Beth Behrs[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) |
## Early life and training
Gladis was born in Houston, Texas, in 1977 and grew up in Farmington, Connecticut, where he graduated from Farmington High School.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [3](https://patch.com/connecticut/farmington/farmingtons-mad-man-and-wolf-shine-with-sibling-success) • [5](https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Gladis) His first ambition was painting; a profile in *Backstage* describes him as a promising draftsman in a neo-classicist tradition influenced by the old masters, and he started college at the SUNY School of Art and Design at Alfred University before turning to acting, taking a leading role in a college production of *12 Angry Men*.[7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/low-keyed-self-assured-newcomer-48277/) He went on to study Theater at the [State University of New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/state-university-of-new-york) at New Paltz.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/)
His entry into performance came through an unusual door: he volunteered for theater productions at [Miss Porter's School](https://www.edgepedia.org/miss-porters-school), a private all-girls school that needed male performers.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [5](https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Gladis)
## Theater work in New York
Before *Mad Men*, Gladis spent roughly seven years working in New York City theater alongside film and television parts.[8](https://www.amc.com/shows/mad-men/cast/michael-gladis--1033190) His stage credits include the revival of [Lanford Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/lanford-wilson)'s *Fifth of July* at the Signature Theatre, in which he played Jed, the quiet lover of [Robert Sean Leonard](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-sean-leonard)'s character, opposite a cast that also included [Parker Posey](https://www.edgepedia.org/parker-posey); the title role in Bertolt Brecht's *Baal* at the Flea Theater; *Dog Sees God*, cited as among the best of the 2004 NY Fringe Festival; and a national tour of *Romeo & Juliet*.[8](https://www.amc.com/shows/mad-men/cast/michael-gladis--1033190) • [7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/low-keyed-self-assured-newcomer-48277/) With his theater company, Partial Comfort Productions, he appeared in *The Main(e) Play* and *'Nami*.[8](https://www.amc.com/shows/mad-men/cast/michael-gladis--1033190)
In the *Backstage* interview, published around the time of *Fifth of July*, he described the stage as "the only place that's safe and sacred" and named [Orson Welles](https://www.edgepedia.org/orson-welles), to whom his appearance is often compared, as his greatest influence; a planned independent film casting him as Welles had been unable to raise financing.[7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/low-keyed-self-assured-newcomer-48277/)
## Mad Men and Paul Kinsey
Gladis played Paul Kinsey, a copywriter at the Sterling Cooper agency, across multiple seasons of *Mad Men*, from the show's 2007 debut through 2013.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [4](https://www.fernsehserien.de/michael-gladis/filmografie) The character was written as an Orson Welles-esque figure who, in the course of the series, reluctantly converted to Hare Krishna.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) As part of the show's ensemble, Gladis received Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for outstanding drama ensemble in 2008, 2009, and 2010.[6](https://www.actorawards.org/sites/default/files/nominee_histories_0.pdf)
## Television and film after Mad Men
**Recurring television roles.** After leaving *Mad Men*, Gladis took recurring parts on the [Adult Swim](https://www.edgepedia.org/adult-swim) action parody *Eagleheart* (2011–2014), playing the chief; the CBS legal drama *Reckless* (2014), as Deputy Chief Holland Knox in 13 episodes; the AMC crime series *Feed the Beast* (2016), as the mobster Patrick Woichik in 10 episodes; and the Showtime series *Penny Dreadful: City of Angels* (2020), as Councilman Charlton Townsend in 10 episodes.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [9](https://beenama.com/en/people/55596-michael-gladis) Guest appearances span a wide range of dramas, including *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*, *House*, *The Good Wife*, *Justified*, *The Mentalist*, *Criminal Minds*, *How I Met Your Mother*, *Extant*, *[Elementary](https://www.edgepedia.org/elementary-tv-series)*, *Lucifer*, and *The Librarians*, where he played [Frankenstein's monster](https://www.edgepedia.org/frankensteins-monster).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [9](https://beenama.com/en/people/55596-michael-gladis)
**Film.** His screen debut came as Yevgeny Borzenkov in *K-19: The Widowmaker* (2002).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) Later film work includes a club owner cameo in the biopic *J. Edgar* (2011), defense attorney Dan Stidham, representing Jessie Misskelley Jr., in the [West Memphis Three](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-memphis-three) drama *Devil's Knot* (2013), the LARPer King Diamond in the comedy horror *Knights of Badassdom* (2013), and Lieutenant Matias in *Terminator Genisys* (2015).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [9](https://beenama.com/en/people/55596-michael-gladis) He also executive produced and appeared in the crime comedy *Armed Response* (2013) and the film *In Security* (2014), and later produced *Without Ward* (2022), in which he also acted.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) • [9](https://beenama.com/en/people/55596-michael-gladis) • [10](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/michael-gladis/credits/3030400389/)
**Recent work.** In 2024 he appeared as Tim Rutten in three episodes of the [Ryan Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-murphy-producer) anthology installment *Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story* on Netflix, and as Keith Trubitsky in six episodes of the Hulu mystery series *Death and Other Details*.[9](https://beenama.com/en/people/55596-michael-gladis) • [11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0321591/news/)
## Personal life
Gladis is married to actress [Beth Behrs](https://www.edgepedia.org/beth-behrs).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/) He is a Legacy Ambassador of the Wild Beauty Foundation, an equine-focused nonprofit, and volunteers for a program providing equine therapy for veterans and children with disabilities; he has adopted a [Percheron](https://www.edgepedia.org/percheron) draft horse named Rosie.[12](https://wildbeautyfoundation.org/about-us/team/michael-gladis/) He plays acoustic guitar, clawhammer banjo, and ukulele, and has described himself as an avid chess player since childhood.[12](https://wildbeautyfoundation.org/about-us/team/michael-gladis/)
## References
1. [Michael Gladis – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-gladis/)
2. [Michael Gladis – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0321591/)
3. [Farmington's 'Mad Man' and Wolf Shine with Sibling Success, Farmington, CT Patch](https://patch.com/connecticut/farmington/farmingtons-mad-man-and-wolf-shine-with-sibling-success)
4. [Filmografie Michael Gladis, fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/michael-gladis/filmografie)
5. [Michael Gladis, Criminal Minds Wiki](https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Gladis)
6. [SAG Awards Nominee Histories, Actor Awards](https://www.actorawards.org/sites/default/files/nominee_histories_0.pdf)
7. [Low-Keyed But Self-Assured Newcomer, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/low-keyed-self-assured-newcomer-48277/)
8. [Michael Gladis, Mad Men Bios, AMC](https://www.amc.com/shows/mad-men/cast/michael-gladis--1033190)
9. [Michael Gladis – Filmography and biography, Beenama](https://beenama.com/en/people/55596-michael-gladis)
10. [Michael Gladis List of Movies and TV Shows - TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/michael-gladis/credits/3030400389/)
11. [Michael Gladis – News, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0321591/news/)
12. [Michael Gladis, Wild Beauty Foundation](https://wildbeautyfoundation.org/about-us/team/michael-gladis/)
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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: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames G to Go*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 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