Terry Kinney
A foundational pillar of American theater who helped build Steppenwolf from a church basement into an engine for raw, transformative acting.
Born 1954 (age 72)·American actor·Birthday: January 29·Baby Boomers
Biography
Terry Kinney didn't just join a theater company; he helped invent one. Alongside friends Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry, he co-founded the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in a church basement in suburban Chicago, driven by a desire for a more visceral, emotionally charged style of performance. That collective hunger defined his career, both on stage and off. As an actor, Kinney possesses a lean intensity, often playing men of quiet conviction or simmering conflict. While television audiences know him as the idealistic, often-frustrated Tim McManus on HBO's groundbreaking prison drama 'Oz,' his heart has always remained in the theater. He has directed and acted in numerous Steppenwolf productions, helping to nurture the talents of actors like John Malkovich and Laurie Metcalf. Kinney's legacy is that of a builder—an artist who valued the ensemble over the individual and whose work helped shift the center of American theatrical gravity to Chicago.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Terry was born in 1954, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Terry Was Born
The biggest hits of 1954
#1 Movie
White Christmas
Best Picture
On the Waterfront
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Terry's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1954Born
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1959Started school
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1967Became a teenager
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Could drive
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1972Could vote
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Turned 21
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1984Turned 30
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 40
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 50
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 60
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 70
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 72 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the influential Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago with Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry.
- Portrayed Tim McManus, a central character, across all six seasons of HBO's seminal drama series 'Oz'.
- Directed the original Steppenwolf production of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' which later moved to Broadway.
- Earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for his role in the Broadway production of 'The Grapes of Wrath'.
Did You Know?
He is married to actress Kathryn Erbe, who played his on-screen love interest, Shirley Bellinger, on 'Oz'.
Kinney made his film debut in the 1988 adaptation of John Irving's 'The Cider House Rules'.
He directed episodes of the Showtime series 'The Borgias' and Netflix's 'Mindhunter'.
He attended Illinois State University with fellow Steppenwolf founders Sinise and Perry.
“The work is about getting to the truth, not about being comfortable.”
