He studied acting privately with teachers around Manhattan, and started his career as an
off-Broadway actor. He has appeared in episodes of the television series
Law & Order,
Third Watch, and
Medium. He had a recurring role in the fifth and final season of the
HBO drama series
Six Feet Under as
Ted Fairwell. His film credits include
Rounders,
The Siege, ''
You've Got Mail, and Towelhead''. He starred in an HBO pilot
Anatomy of Hope, directed by
J. J. Abrams. Simon Callow also starred, but the pilot was not picked up to series. In October 2007,
Daily Variety named him as one of ten actors to watch. He starred in
Devil, under the direction of
John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle, for producer
M. Night Shyamalan and Universal Pictures. In April 2010,
Monogamy, directed by Dana Adam Shapiro and starring Messina and
Rashida Jones, premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival, where the film won the jury prize for Best New York Narrative. Messina joined the cast of
Damages for its fourth and fifth seasons. He played a recurring character on HBO's
The Newsroom. Messina was a series regular on the Fox/Hulu sitcom
The Mindy Project, playing Dr. Danny Castellano, until his character was eventually phased out in seasons 4 and 5. He made his return in three episodes, including the season and series finale, in season 6. In 2014, Messina played the role of a cheating spouse in the music video for
Sam Smith's "
I'm Not the Only One". That same year, he directed the independent drama,
Alex of Venice, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Don Johnson and Matthew Del Negro. He co-starred in
Ben Affleck's crime drama
Live by Night, which was released in December 2016. In 2018, Messina starred in a leading role alongside
Amy Adams in the HBO series
Sharp Objects. In 2020, Chris Messina starred as mob killer
Victor Zsasz in
Birds of Prey. When asked how he felt about playing a twisted character, Messina replied, "I've played too many nice guys in my career. So it was like just really a lot of fun to let loose." In 2021, Messina portrayed attorney Dean Ericson in the black comedy thriller
I Care a Lot. ==Personal life==