The Good Wife - Series 5 cast biographies

Category: News Release

Christine Baranski (Diane Lockhart)

Christine Baranski, who received a 2011 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and was nominated for a 2012 Emmy Award in the same category for her work on The Good Wife, continues to achieve acclaim for her performances across a range of mediums, including film, television and theatre. The two-time Tony, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild and American Comedy Award winner's feature film credits include Mamma Mia, Chicago, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Bowfinger, Bulworth, Cruel Intentions, Jeffrey, Reversal of Fortune, Legal Eagles, Welcome to Mooseport, The Ref, Lovesick, Addams Family Values, Life With Mikey, 9 ½ Weeks and The Birdcage, for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award. She also received two Golden Globe Award nominations and nine additional Emmy nominations, three of which were for her role on The Good Wife and two for her role as Leonard’s mother in The Big Bang Theory.

Josh Charles (Will Gardner)

Josh Charles received a 2011 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor on a Drama Series for his work on The Good Wife. Recently, Charles completed production in Paris on Pascale Ferran’s new film, Bird People. Prior to The Good Wife, he co-starred in season one of the HBO series In Treatment. Charles also starred for two seasons as sports anchor Dan Rydell in the series Sports Night, for which the cast earned a Screen Actors Guild nomination. Charles made his feature film debut in John Waters' original film, Hairspray, which was followed by his performance as Knox Overstreet in the Academy Award-winning film Dead Poets Society.

Alan Cumming (Eli Gold)

Alan Cumming’s work as Eli Gold on The Good Wife has earned the actor numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Satellite Award and Critics Circle Award nominations. Cumming made his professional acting debut in Michael Boyd’s production of “Macbeth” at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow in 1985. He went on to work extensively in the Scottish theatre before his West End debut in Conquest of the South Pole earned him his first Olivier Award nomination. His eclectic film career has seen him work with Stanley Kubrick and The Spice Girls, and make appearances in the X-Men, Spy Kids, Flintstones” and The Smurfs franchises as well as roles in many independent films such as Sweet Land, Titus and The Tempest and most recently Travis Fine’s Any Day Now, for which he received several awards.

Matt Czuchry (Cary Agos)

Matt Czuchry's television credits include Gilmore Girls, Friday Night Lights, Veronica Mars, Hack, and The Practice. In 2008, he played Tucker Max in the movie adaptation of the New York Times bestselling book I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. In addition to his acting credits, Czuchry is also a published author. His first book, titled Brothers On Life, was released in the summer of 2012 and has reached number four on Amazon’s bestseller list for poetry.

Zack Grenier (David Lee)

Zach Grenier has appeared in a number of critically acclaimed series, including 24 and Deadwood, and was a regular on the C16: FBI and Touching Evil. Recently, he joined Bill Nighy and Christopher Walken in Turks and Caicos, the second installment of David Hare’s BBC thriller, The Worricker Trilogy. Grenier’s feature film credits include the cult classics A Shock to the System and Liebestraum, Tommy Boy, Twister" and Donnie Brasco. He has worked with David Fincher on Fight Club and Zodiac; Ang Lee on Ride with the Devil, and Clint Eastwood on J. Edgar. He will be seen in the Robocop remake, directed by José Padilha, scheduled for release in 2014.

Julianna Margulies (Alicia Florrick)

As an Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award winner, Julianna Margulies has achieved success in television, theatre and film. Margulies won the 2011 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and was nominated for a 2012 Emmy Award in the same category for her work on The Good Wife. Margulies' television credits include The Sopranos, The Grid for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination, and the mini-series The Mists of Avalon. She also starred as one of the original members of ER, for which she received both an Emmy Award and SAG Award. Margulies will next be seen in Stand Up Guys with Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. Her other feature film credits include City Island, Snakes on a Plane, The Darwin Awards, Slingshot, Ghost Ship, Evelyn, What's Cooking, The Newton Boys, A Price Above Rubies, Traveller, Paradise Road" and The Man From Elysian Fields.

Archie Panjabi (Kalinda Sharma)

Archie Panjabi was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award in 2011 and 2012 for her portrayal of Kalinda Sharma on The Good Wife. A performance which lead the New York Times to name her one of “Eight Actors Who Turn Television into Art.”

Panjabi made her film debut in the British hit East Is East. Her additional feature film credits include Traitor, Bend It Like Beckham, The Constant Gardener, A Mighty Heart, A Good Year and the title role in Yasmin, for which she earned the Best Actress Award at the Reims Festival, and the Shooting Star Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. She was named one of the Top 10 Faces on TV to Watch by Variety, celebrated as one of the Breakout TV Stars of the Year by Entertainment Weekly, and was named as one of the Most Original Performances in Prime Time by People Magazine.

Graham Phillips (Zach Florrick)

Graham Phillips' television credits include Judging Amy and King of Queens, Crossing Jordan and the television film Love's Long Journey. He will next be seen in the lead role of the film Goats, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and stars David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga and Ty Burrell. His additional film credits include Stolen Lives, Evan Almighty, for which he received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance by a Supporting Young Actor in a Feature Film, Ben 10: Race Against Time, where he starred as Ben 10 and received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Young Actor in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special. Phillips also recorded a voice solo composed by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for the film Noel, starring Robin Williams and Susan Sarandon, as well as being a soloist on Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell III album.

Makenzie Vega (Grace Florrick)

At a young age, Makenzie Vega already has an impressive resume of feature film credits to her name. She appeared in The Family Man, Made, Saw, Sin City, Just My Luck and X-Men: The Last Stand. On television, she appeared in The Geena Davis Show on CBS. She is the younger sister of actress Alexa Vega.