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Alan Rosenberg

Alan Rosenberg has built a wide-ranging acting career across film, television and the stage, often bringing an alert, grounded presence to lawyers, advisers and other figures who know how to work a room. Born on October 4, 1950, and raised in Passaic, New Jersey, Rosenberg graduated from Passaic High School before studying political science at Case Western Reserve University. He initially planned to pursue law, but his path eventually led to the Yale School of Drama, which he left during his second year. One of Rosenberg’s early film roles came in 1979, when he played Turkey in The Wanderers. He later appeared in Paul Bartel’s Not for Publication and the comedy Stewardess School, while his voice work included bounty hunter Boba Fett in NPR’s adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back. Television became a major part of his career. Rosenberg played Ira Woodbine in the sitcom Cybill and received an Emmy nomination in 1995 for a guest role on ER. He portrayed manager Shelly Berger in the 1998 miniseries The Temptations, joined Chicago Hope as hospital legal counsel Stuart Brickman and played Alvin Masterson in the legal drama The Guardian. That ease with complicated professional characters continued in later roles. He appeared as defense attorney Adam Novak on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, played divorce attorney Bruce Steinerman on House M.D. and took recurring parts as Dr. William Golliher in Bosch and investor William Sutter in Suits. From 2016 to 2017, he appeared in Shameless as Professor Youens, an alcoholic college professor and mentor to Lip Gallagher. Rosenberg’s stage work includes Broadway productions of What’s Wrong With This Picture and Lost in Yonkers, along with several off-Broadway appearances. His career has also extended beyond performance: in 2005, he was elected the 24th president of the Screen Actors Guild, reflecting his parallel work as a trade unionist.