Christopher Denham is an American actor and director. He is known for supporting roles in Oppenheimer, Shutter Island, Argo, Being the Ricardos, Charlie Wilson's War and Sound of My Voice. Television credits include For All Mankind, Billions, Shining Girls opposite Elisabeth Moss, and Amazon Prime's Utopia, created by Gillian Flynn. Denham has appeared on Broadway in Master Harold...and the Boys, Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and David Mamet's China Doll, opposite Al Pacino. In 2025, he co-starred opposite George Clooney in the Broadway adaptation of Good Night and Good Luck, directed by David Cromer.
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Early life
Denham grew up on the south side of Chicago. He attended theater school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two years before finishing his degree in English literature and creative writing. Denham was a member of the Celebration Company at the Station Theatre in Urbana, IL during its existence from 1971-2021. While living in Urbana, he appeared at the Station Theatre in This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan (2000), American Buffalo by David Mamet (2001), and The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh (2002). In 2000, he co-directed and appeared in Sam Shepard's True West in a Penny Dreadful Players production at the historic Channing-Murray Foundation. He self-produced and directed his first play, In Film, in 2001 in a found space on the University of Illinois campus.
Career
Professional theatrical career
Denham made his Broadway debut opposite Danny Glover in the Roundabout Theatre revival of Master Harold"...and the Boys. Denham originated the role of Matt in the Steppenwolf Theater production of Adam Rapp's Red Light Winter. The production moved to New York where Denham won Outstanding Lead Actor at the 2006 Lucille Lortel Awards. His other Broadway credits include the title role in Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore and David Mamet's China Doll, opposite Al Pacino. He co-starred opposite George Clooney in the Broadway production of Good Night and Good Luck, directed by David Cromer. Off-Broadway, Denham appeared at Playwright's Horizons in Adam Rapp's Kindness opposite Katherine Waterston, Charles Mee's Wintertime at Second Stage, and Steven Levenson's The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin, opposite David Morse at Roundabout Theatre Company. Regionally, Denham has worked with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, New York Stage and Film and the Sundance Lab for Directors and Screenwriters.
Film and television career
Denham's first major film role was as CIA paramilitary operations officer Mike Vickers in Charlie Wilson's War, directed by Mike Nichols. He starred opposite Brit Marling in the acclaimed psychological thriller Sound of My Voice which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. His breakout film role was as Mark Lijek, one of the six escaped hostages rescued by Tony Mendez in Argo. Denham later portrayed scientist Jim Meeks on the Emmy-nominated AMC show, Manhattan. In 2017, he joined the cast of Billions as attorney Oliver Dake. He appeared as Sheriff Peter Trask in Craig Zobel's One Dollar, which premiered on CBS All Access. In 2020, he was a series regular in Gillian Flynn's Utopia as Arby. Denham has collaborated with directors Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island), Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson's War), Barry Levinson (The Bay), Tony Gilroy (Duplicity), Jodie Foster (Money Monster), and Aaron Sorkin (Being the Ricardos). Other TV credits include Rubicon, Person of Interest, The Good Wife, Prodigal Son, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Following, and The Hunting Party.
Denham wrote and directed the 2008 horror film Home Movie (IFC Films) which premiered at Toronto After Dark and for which he won the Citizen Kane Award for up-and-coming director at the Sitges Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the critically acclaimed thriller, Preservation, starring Wrenn Schmidt, Pablo Schreiber and Aaron Staton. which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival and was distributed by The Orchard. In 2022, he directed the psychological thriller, Old Flame, which is distributed by Gravitas Ventures.
Denham plays the German spy Klaus Fuchs in Christopher Nolan’s film, Oppenheimer, for Universal Pictures, which was released in July 2023. In 2025, he joined the cast of Apple TV's For All Mankind. Denham is slated to appear in A24's upcoming Friday the 13th prequel series, Crystal Lake. In 2027, he will appear in Tom McCarthy's The Statement, opposite Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti.
