His dark, sincere good looks were steadily put to use on the small screen during the 80s, but, in retrospect, actor Ken Olin will probably be considered more of a major force behind the camera. Born in Chicago, Ken went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and headed for Hollywood in the late 70s. After the typical route of bit parts, he started moving up in leaps and bounds on TV's top shows. A couple of strong, single season regular parts on both Hill Street Blues (1981)and Falcon Crest (1981) ultimately led to his casting as the introspective and quietly sexy Michael Steadman on Thirtysomething (1987), which ran for four seasons and nabbed numerous awards for its liberal writing and sensitive content. Ken co-starred with wife Patricia Wettig on the show, but the multi-Emmy winner Wettig did not play Ken's wife (actress Mel Harris did) and the public was often confused as to who Ken's wife really was. Ken also earned the chance to direct occasionally on Thirtysomething (1987) and this would have a significant impact as to the direction of his career in the years to come. Following Thirtysomething (1987), Ken pursued acting work in mini-movies as both hero ( Police Story: Cop Killer (1988) ) and villain ( Dead by Sunset (1995) ), but almost always seemed on the verge of leaving acting altogether. It was his burgeoning interest in directing that took over, and he has since found steady helming duties on such popular shows as Felicity (1998) and The West Wing (1999). His TV drama Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992)was nominated for three Emmys.

Filmography

• Paradise — Director
• Tracker — Executive Producer, Director
• Grand Hotel — Director
• This Is Us — Director, Executive Producer
• The Man in the High Castle — Director
• The Slap — Director
• Zoo — Professor Robert Oz
• Sleepy Hollow — Director, Executive Producer
• 2012Americana — Martin Garano
• The Mob Doctor — Director
• Eli Stone — Director, Producer
• 2007Brothers & Sisters: Family Album — Executive Producer
• Brothers and Sisters — David Caplan, Director, Executive Producer
• 2005The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie — Ken Olin
• 2003Phenomenon II — Director, Executive Producer
• Breaking News — Producer
• Alias — David McNeil (uncredited), Director, Co-Executive Producer
• 1999Evolution's Child
• Freaks and Geeks — Director
• Judging Amy — Director
• The West Wing — Director
• 1999Y2K — Nick Cromwell
• Felicity — Director
• L.A. Doctors — Roger Cattan, Director
• 1997'Til There Was You — Gregory
• 1997The Advocate's Devil — Abe Ringel
• EZ Streets — Cameron Quinn, Director
• Dead by Sunset
• 1995In Pursuit of Honor — Director
• 1995Kansas — Executive Producer
• 1995Nothing But the Truth — Dr. Peter Clayman
• 1994White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf — Director
• 1993Telling Secrets — Det. Jay Jensen
• 1992Doing Time on Maple Drive — Director
• 1992The Broken Cord — Director
• 1991Queens Logic — Ray
• 1990Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston — Charles Stuart
• 1988A Stoning in Fulham County — Jim Sandler
• Police Story — Officer Manny Mandell
• 1988Police Story: Cop Killer — Officer Manny Mandell
• I'll Take Manhattan — Nat Lammerman
• 1987Tonight's the Night — Henry Fox
• thirtysomething — Michael Steadman, Director
• 1986There Must Be a Pony — Jay Savage
• 1984Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac — David Frank
• Murder, She Wrote — Perry Revere
• Bay City Blues — Rocky Padillo
• The Hitchhiker — Steve
• Hotel
• Falcon Crest — Christopher Rossini
• 1981Ghost Story — Young Sears James
• Hill Street Blues — Harry Garibaldi, Det. Harry Garibaldi
• 1979Women at West Point — Board Member

Appearances as themselves (4)

• Stars in the House — Self
• 2020The Story of Soaps — Self
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien — Self - Guest
• Golden Globe Awards — Self - Audience Member, Self - Presenter