Reed Birney

referencennJune 12, 2016, was a big night for “The Humans”—and for the incredible actor who snagged the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. If you blinked, you missed one of the most talked-about moments in live theater that year. “The Humans” basically swept the awards circuit, but this particular win? People went nuts. Critics had already been buzzing about his role, saying he pretty much stole the show with a blend of raw nerves and dark humor. The Tony win just, I dunno, cemented his place as one of those actors who actually makes you forget you’re watching a play. That takes serious chops. And hey, it’s not every day someone’s performance gets a standing ovation and then walks off with Broadway’s top prize. If you’re curious about stage history or just love a good underdog story, this moment’s a real gem. The buzz from that night still lingers.

Man, Jeff Lipsky’s movies are just… weirdly magnetic. His characters aren’t just quirky—they’re flat-out peculiar, like you’re eavesdropping on some private, offbeat universe. You’ll catch these people doing or saying things that make you squint and wonder, “Wait, do real humans talk like that?” But then, somehow, it rings true. There’s this raw curiosity about what people are like when no one’s watching, the stuff that’s not usually up on the big screen. And honestly, it’s a field day for actors, since you don’t land roles like these every day—roles where you get to peel back layers and dive into the messier, darker corners of the mind. Lipsky isn’t afraid to get strange with it, to let his stories wander into uncomfortable territory, which, let’s be real, is weirdly refreshing. He just digs into those shadows and finds something uniquely fascinating.