
Erik Jensen
Acting
Biography
Erik Jensen (born July 20, 1970) is an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, and director. Jensen was born and raised in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. He graduated from Apple Valley High School in Minnesota in 1988. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Carnegie Mellon University. An actor, writer, and director, Erik Jensen regularly appears on the ABC Network Television series For Life as ADA Dez O'Reilly. Notably, he appeared as Thurman Munson of the New York Yankees in the ESPN miniseries The Bronx Is Burning, and as conspiracy talk show host Frank Cody in Mr. Robot, as well as Dr. Stephen Edwards on The Walking Dead. Jensen appeared alongside Aasif Mandvi in Ayad Akhtars' Disgraced at Lincoln Center. He also appeared as rock critic Lester Bangs in the one-man play How to Be a Rock Critic (based on the writings of Lester Bangs) which he co-wrote with his wife Jessica Blank. How to Be A Rock Critic received a completion commission from Center Theatre Group and was produced at the Kirk Douglas Theater, ArtsEmerson, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company before being produced Off-Broadway at The Public Theater. In 2017 he co-directed the film Almost Home with Jessica Blank based on her novel of the same name. Now In 2020, Jensen and Blank's co-written plays, Coal Country and The Line, both premiered at The Public Theater. In 2022/2023, Jensen appeared on Broadway as Bruno Bischofberger opposite Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope in Anthony McCarten's 'The Collaboration'. Jensen and Blank have cited the works of Anna Deavere Smith, Emily Mann, and Studs Terkel as influences
Known For

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.
Law & Order

Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious crimes with the California Bureau of Investigation.
The Mentalist

A Las Vegas team of forensic investigators are trained to solve criminal cases by scouring the crime scene, collecting irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that solve the mystery.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent

A drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry, during his stint as Chief.
Blue Bloods

Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.
The Walking Dead

After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard "Rick" Castle receives permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.
Castle

John Reese, former CIA paramilitary operative, is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With the special training that Reese has had in Covert Operations and Finch's genius software inventing mind, the two are a perfect match for the job that they have to complete. With the help of surveillance equipment, they work "outside the law" and get the right criminal behind bars.
Person of Interest

The exploits of the Los Angeles–based Office of Special Projects (OSP), an elite division of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that specializes in undercover assignments.
NCIS: Los Angeles

Alicia Florrick boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail.
The Good Wife

A modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson.
Elementary

Four egocentric friends run a neighborhood Irish pub in Philadelphia and try to find their way through the adult world of work and relationships. Unfortunately, their warped views and precarious judgments often lead them to trouble, creating a myriad of uncomfortable situations that usually only get worse before they get better.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Liz Lemon, the head writer for a late-night TV variety show in New York, tries to juggle all the egos around her while chasing her own dream.
30 Rock

The exploits of a group of men and women who serve the City of New York as police officers, firemen, and paramedics, all working the same fictional 55th precinct during the 3pm to 11pm shift - the 'Third Watch'.
Third Watch

Betrayed by the White House, Congressman Frank Underwood embarks on a ruthless rise to power. Blackmail, seduction and ambition are his weapons.
House of Cards

Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent.
The Americans

A young programmer, Elliot, suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that he cares about. Elliot finds himself in the intersection between a cybersecurity firm he works for and the underworld organizations that are recruiting him to bring down corporate America.
Mr. Robot

The lives of staff in the womens' health clinic of a fictitious hospital in Philadelphia.
Strong Medicine

Former Syracuse, New York, police detective Carrie Wells has hyperthymesia, a rare medical condition that gives her the ability to visually remember everything. She reluctantly joins the New York City Police Department's Queens homicide unit after her former boyfriend and partner asks for help with solving a case. The move allows her to try to find out the one thing she has been unable to remember, which is what happened the day her sister was murdered.