Michael Pitt

Michael Carmen Pitt (born 1980 or 1981) is an American actor and model. He is best known for his film roles in projects such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Dreamers, Last Days, Funny Games, and Ghost in the Shell. On television, he portrayed Henry Parker in Dawson's Creek, Jimmy Darmody in the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire, and Mason Verger in the NBC series Hannibal.

Pitt was born in West Orange, New Jersey. His father, Donald B. Pitt, worked as an auto mechanic, and his mother, Eleanor Carol Pitt, worked as a waitress. He has two older sisters and an older brother. Pitt is of Italian and Irish heritage on his mother's side and English descent on his father's. By age 16, he had attended three or four high schools, including Morris Catholic High School, before dropping out. He also spent a brief stint at the Essex County Youth House youth detention center.

Pitt made his Off-Broadway debut in 1999 in The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek. A casting agent noticed him during his theater run and recommended him for television, leading to a recurring role as Henry Parker in the third season of Dawson's Creek. In 2010, he was cast as Jimmy Darmody in Boardwalk Empire, appearing in the show's first two seasons. His role earned him nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics' Choice Award. In 2014, Pitt played the recurring role of Mason Verger in the second season of Hannibal.

In film, Pitt portrayed Tommy Gnosis in the 2001 musical adaptation Hedwig and the Angry Inch. This performance was followed by roles in Bully, Murder by Numbers, and a starring role in The Dreamers in 2003. He appeared in The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things and The Village in 2004, and starred as a musician inspired by Kurt Cobain in the 2005 film Last Days, performing all of his character's songs. Pitt's later film appearances include Delirious, Silk, the 2007 remake of Funny Games, Rob the Mob, I Origins, and Ghost in the Shell.

Beyond acting, Pitt sang and played guitar in the band Pagoda, which released a self-titled album in 2007, and recorded music for The Dreamers soundtrack under the name Jimi Pitt and the Twins of Evil. In modeling, he became the face of Prada's menswear line in 2012 and featured in campaigns for Rag & Bone. In 2015, he made his official directorial debut with a campaign film for Rag & Bone, having also directed music videos for Pagoda and an unreleased Italian film titled Nocturnal.

Pitt was engaged to Asia Argento from 2003 to 2004 and was later engaged to model Jamie Bochert until 2014. In July 2022, he was arrested and charged with assault and petty larceny, and he was hospitalized later that year in September. In May 2025, Pitt was arrested and arraigned in Brooklyn on multiple charges involving alleged incidents between 2020 and 2021, including sexual abuse, assault, and strangulation. He pleaded not guilty to nine charges.