# Tom Lipinski
**Tom Lipinski** (born 1982) is an American actor and documentary producer best known for playing Trevor Evans in the legal drama *Suits* and for co-creating the Edward R. Murrow Award-winning investigative podcast *Gone South*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) • [2](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/sidebar-a-suits-watch-podcast/hanging-out-with-vanessa-ray-tom-lipinski) In film he played the younger version of [Josh Brolin](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-brolin)'s character in [Jason Reitman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-reitman)'s drama *[Labor Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/labor-day-film)*, and on television he has held recurring roles in *The Knick*, *Billions*, and *Snowpiercer*.[3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982, United States; raised in Massachusetts, just outside Boston[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) • [4](https://www.fandango.com/people/tom-lipinski-397820/biography) |
| Signature TV role | Trevor Evans in *Suits*, 11 episodes across five seasons (2011–2016)[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/15615/tom-lipinski) • [2](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/sidebar-a-suits-watch-podcast/hanging-out-with-vanessa-ray-tom-lipinski) |
| Film role | Young Frank Chambers, the younger version of Josh Brolin's character, in *Labor Day* (2013)[3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski) |
| Television recurring roles | Phillip Showalter in *The Knick* (11 episodes); Kevin McMann in *Snowpiercer* (9 episodes); Tim Dones in *Billions* (6 episodes)[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/15615/tom-lipinski) |
| Education | Concord Public High School, Massachusetts; Brown University, history major (graduated 2004)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) • [6](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2062113/) |
| Podcast | Co-creator of *Gone South*, an investigative journalism podcast about crime in the deep south; recipient of an Edward R. Murrow Award for the production[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) |
| Career count | Credited as actor on 62 titles, plus one producer, director, and writer credit each, per IMDb[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) |
## Background and training
Lipinski grew up in New England, in Massachusetts, the son of a neurologist and a teacher.[3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski) In his own telling, he knew no one in the entertainment business while growing up, and his father urged him toward medicine; he recalled resisting because he considered himself bad at science and took no enjoyment from it.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) • [3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski) At Concord Public High School he was an All-American athlete, and he went on to [Brown University](https://www.edgepedia.org/brown-university), where he majored in history and played on the lacrosse team.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) • [3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski)
**Experimental theater.** His introduction to acting came through a university theater troupe at Brown, and after graduating in 2004 he stayed involved with experimental theater, notably with the Obie Award-winning Theatre of a Two-Headed Calf in [Providence, Rhode Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/providence-rhode-island).[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/tom-lipinski-397820/biography) • [6](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2062113/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) That involvement led him to move to New York City, where he performed at La MaMa and the Ontological, Richard Foreman's former theater, and in site-specific work before moving toward straight plays at the Flea.[3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski) His theater credits also include leading roles in plays by A.R. Gurney and Christopher Shinn.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/)
## Film and television career
Lipinski's first film role was in [Darren Aronofsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/darren-aronofsky)'s *The Wrestler* (2008), obtained through a paid open audition; his scene ended up on the cutting room floor, but the experience led him to a manager and serious auditioning.[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/tom-lipinski-397820/biography) • [3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski) His first television role came in the final year of *Law & Order* (NBC, 1990–2010), followed by parts in the miniseries *Mildred Pierce* (HBO, 2011) and the 1960s period series *[Pan Am](https://www.edgepedia.org/pan-am-tv-series)* (ABC, 2011–12).[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/tom-lipinski-397820/biography)
**Suits.** His first real break, in Fandango's account, was the recurring role of Ben Preswick on *Deception* (NBC, 2013), which he followed with Charlie Mead opposite [Kevin Bacon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-bacon) in *The Following* (FOX, 2013–15).[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/tom-lipinski-397820/biography) The role viewers know him for is Trevor Evans in *[Suits](https://www.edgepedia.org/suits-american-tv-series)*, which he won after callbacks in front of the series creator Aaron Korsh and director Kevin Bray; he appeared in 11 episodes over five seasons.[7](https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/goddamn-oral-history-suits-pilot-140000523.html) • [2](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/sidebar-a-suits-watch-podcast/hanging-out-with-vanessa-ray-tom-lipinski) Trevor is [Mike Ross](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-ross-character)'s drug-dealing best friend, and the role resurfaced for Lipinski in an unexpected way: after *Suits* reached Netflix, strangers began recognizing him as Trevor, often addressing him as if he were the character.[3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski)
**Work with established directors.** In feature film, Lipinski played the younger version of Josh Brolin's wanted criminal Frank in the flashback scenes of Jason Reitman's *Labor Day* (2013), a casting built on the frequent observation that he resembles Brolin.[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/tom-lipinski-397820/biography) • [3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski) He appeared as the [Screenwriter](https://www.edgepedia.org/screenwriter) in Love in [Paolo Sorrentino](https://www.edgepedia.org/paolo-sorrentino)'s *Youth* (2015) and played Phillip Showalter across both seasons of [Steven Soderbergh](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-soderbergh)'s Cinemax medical drama *The Knick* (2014–15).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/15615/tom-lipinski)
The bulk of his television work has been as a guest and recurring player across network and streaming series. TVmaze lists him as Kevin McMann in nine episodes of *Snowpiercer* (2021–2022), the television adaptation of Bong Joon Ho's film, as Tim Dones in six episodes of *Billions*, as Cade in *Blindspot*, and as Detective Farrell in the first episode of *When They See Us* (2019).[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/15615/tom-lipinski) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) Later guest credits include *Chicago P.D.*, *FBI: Most Wanted*, and *Tires*.[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/15615/tom-lipinski)
## Gone South and producing
Beyond acting, Lipinski co-created *Gone South*, an investigative journalism podcast about crime in the deep south, and won an Edward R. Murrow Award for his producing work on it.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) Across its three seasons, the podcast examined the still-unsolved killing of a well-known Assistant District Attorney in New Orleans, the [Dixie Mafia](https://www.edgepedia.org/dixie-mafia), a loosely organized band of roving criminals, and the murders of four sex workers committed by a serial killer in [Laredo, Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/laredo-texas), a town on the border.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/) He has also worked behind the camera in short-form film: he directed the short *Ben* (2013), and his credits include one director and one writer entry each on IMDb.[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/tom-lipinski-397820/biography) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/)
## Typecasting
Lipinski has described a persistent gap between the roles he expected and the ones he receives. He imagined himself playing the nice guy next door, the buddy, the harmless friend; instead, he said in a 2025 podcast appearance, he is cast as "a killer, a bad guy, a rapist, a man with a secret," which he attributes partly to his heavy brow.[8](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/sidebar-a-suits-watch-podcast/hanging-out-with-vanessa-ray-tom-lipinski) His best-known roles fit that pattern: Trevor in *Suits* prompted strangers to call him a punk on the subway, and Charlie Mead in *The Following* was, in Fandango's wording, a television heavy.[3](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski) • [4](https://www.fandango.com/people/tom-lipinski-397820/biography)
## References
1. [Tom Lipinski, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906174/)
2. [Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast – Hanging Out with Vanessa Ray & Tom Lipinski](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/sidebar-a-suits-watch-podcast/hanging-out-with-vanessa-ray-tom-lipinski)
3. [Discovery: Tom Lipinski, Interview Magazine (January 30, 2014)](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/discovery-tom-lipinski)
4. [Tom Lipinski Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/tom-lipinski-397820/biography)
5. [Tom Lipinski, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/15615/tom-lipinski)
6. [Tom Lipinski, elCinema](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2062113/)
7. [A goddamn oral history of the "Suits" pilot, AOL](https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/goddamn-oral-history-suits-pilot-140000523.html)
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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 Le to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 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