1965–1978: Early roles Abraham began his professional acting career on the stage, debuting in a Los Angeles production of
Ray Bradbury's
The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit in 1965. He made his
Broadway debut in the 1968 play
The Man in the Glass Booth. He made his film debut as an usher in the
George C. Scott comedy
They Might Be Giants (1971). He can be seen as one of the undercover police officers along with
Al Pacino in
Sidney Lumet's
Serpico (1973) and in television roles including the bad guy in one fourth-season episode of
Kojak ("The Godson"). His early film roles include small parts as a cabdriver in the theatrical version of
Neil Simon's
The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), a mechanic in the theatrical version of Simon's
The Sunshine Boys (1975). He also played a police officer in the
Alan J. Pakula Watergate film ''
All the President's Men (1976), and acted in the comedy films The Ritz (1976) opposite Rita Moreno and The Big Fix'' (1978) alongside
Richard Dreyfuss. By the mid-1970s, he also had steady employment doing commercials and voice-overs. Most notably, he played "the leaf", one of four costumed characters, in television and print commercials for
Fruit of the Loom underwear. In 1978, he gave up this work. Frustrated with the lack of substantial roles, he said: "No one was taking my acting seriously. I figured if I didn't do it, then I'd have no right to the dreams I've always had." His wife, Kate Hannan, went to work as an assistant and Abraham became a "house husband". As he described it: "[S]he was paying the bills and I swallowed my Tex-Mex macho-ism and learned a little humility. It was a harsh lesson, but an important one, good lesson."
1983–1986: Breakthrough and acclaim , whom Abraham portrayed in
Amadeus (1984) Abraham gained greater prominence when he appeared as drug dealer Omar Suárez in the gangster film
Scarface (1983). Then, in 1984, he played envious composer
Antonio Salieri in the
Academy Award for Best Picture-winning
Amadeus (1984), directed by
Miloš Forman. Abraham won the
Academy Award for Best Actor for his role, an award for which his co-star in the film
Tom Hulce, playing
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, had also been nominated. He also won a
Golden Globe Award, among other awards, and his role in the film remains his most famous. Abraham's relatively low-profile film career subsequent to his
Academy Award win has been considered an example of the "Oscar jinx". According to film critic
Leonard Maltin, professional failure following an early success is referred to in Hollywood circles as the "F. Murray Abraham syndrome." Abraham rejected this notion and told Maltin, "The Oscar is the single most important event of my career. I have dined with kings, shared equal billing with my idols, lectured at Harvard and Columbia. If this is a jinx, I'll take two." In the same interview, Abraham said, "Even though I won the Oscar, I can still take the subway in New York, and nobody recognizes me. Some actors might find that disconcerting, but I find it refreshing." Abraham also joined
The Mirror Theater Ltd's Mirror Repertory Company in 1984. He joined MRC the week after winning his Oscar for Best Actor for his work in
Amadeus because he wanted to work with MRC Artist-in-Residence
Geraldine Page (to whom he would eventually present her own
Academy Award the following year) and would star opposite her in MRC's
The Madwoman of Chaillot. Following
Amadeus, he made many stage appearances, starring in
Shakespearean productions such as
Othello and
Richard III. He appeared in other plays by the likes of
Samuel Beckett and
Gilbert and Sullivan and played the lead in
Anton Chekhov's
Uncle Vanya (for which he received an
Obie Award). He also gave notable performances as Pozzo in
Mike Nichols's production of
Waiting for Godot and
Malvolio in
Twelfth Night for the
New York Shakespeare Festival. His next film role was in
The Name of the Rose (1986), in which he played
Bernardo Gui, nemesis to
Sean Connery's
William of Baskerville. In its DVD commentary, the director of the film,
Jean-Jacques Annaud, described Abraham as an "egomaniac" on the set, who considered himself more important than Connery because Connery did not have an Oscar. Despite the on-set tensions, the film was a critical and commercial success.
1989–2000: Established actor After the release of
The Name of the Rose, Abraham tired of appearing as villains and said he wanted to return to his background in comedy. From May 10 through July 14, 1991, Abraham portrayed
the title character in
American Repertory Theater's (A.R.T.) production of
King Lear, directed by
Adrian Hall, in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1994, Abraham portrayed
Roy Cohn in the first Broadway production of
Tony Kushner's
Angels in America at the
Walter Kerr Theater, replacing
Ron Leibman in the role. Over the next decade or so, Abraham had fewer prominent roles, but he did have substantial supporting roles in
Peter Yates'
An Innocent Man (1989),
Woody Allen's
Mighty Aphrodite (1995), and
Gus Van Sant's
Finding Forrester (2000), where he again played the nemesis to Connery. He played Ahdar Ru'afo, the villain in
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998). He had a significant role in
Brian De Palma's adaptation of
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), but chose not to be credited due to a contract dispute. He has also taught theater at
Brooklyn College.
2001–present: Career resurgence In 2001, Abraham played Cyrus Kriticos in the supernatural horror film Thirteen Ghosts. Abraham played Shylock in The Merchant of Venice'' for the
Off-Broadway Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) in March 2007, which was performed at the
Duke Theater in New York and also at the
Swan Theater, part of the
Royal Shakespeare Company. He reprised this role in February 2011, when he replaced Al Pacino in the Public Theater's production. Abraham was the primary narrator for the PBS series
Nature between 2007 and 2010, narrating 32 episodes (plus one more in 2013). A 2009 guest appearance on
Saving Grace began a new phase of Abraham's career, wherein he became gradually more prolific onscreen. Further guest appearances include roles on
Law & Order: Criminal Intent,
Louie, and
Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as a recurring role on
The Good Wife between 2011 and 2014. Abraham's most notable television role came about through
Showtime's drama series
Homeland, in which he portrayed black ops specialist
Dar Adal. This role resulted in his first
Emmy Award nomination in 2015, followed by a second in 2018. In the 2010s, he featured prominently in two widely acclaimed films: first as folk music impresario Bud Grossman in the
Coen brothers' drama
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), then as the mysterious Mr. Moustafa in
Wes Anderson's
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). He was nominated along with the ensemble for the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for the latter. That same year he returned to Broadway portraying Ira Drew in the revival of
Terrence McNally's comedic play ''
It's Only a Play''. Abraham starred alongside
Nathan Lane,
Matthew Broderick,
Stockard Channing, and
Rupert Grint. For his performance he earned a nomination for the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. In 2016, he played the title role in
Classic Stage Company's production of
Nathan the Wise. He reunited with Wes Anderson voicing a role in
stop-motion animated film
Isle of Dogs (2018), voiced Grimmel in
DreamWorks'
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019), and played Tony in the
Disney+ 2019 live-action
Lady and the Tramp. From 2020 to 2021 he acted in the
Apple TV+ comedy series
Mythic Quest. In 2022, he was fired after being accused of inappropriate behavior while on set. In a response statement, Abraham apologized and stated that he never intended "to offend anyone, I told jokes, nothing more, that upset some of my colleagues and as a result lost a great job with wonderful people." In February 2022, it was revealed that Abraham would be voicing
Khonshu in the superhero limited series
Moon Knight, set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe. He starred in the 2022 film adaptation of
The Magic Flute based on the
opera of the same name. That same year he played Dr. Carl Withers in the
Netflix series ''
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (2022). In 2023, he portrayed Judge John Sirica in the HBO political drama limited series White House Plumbers''. Murray acted in the second season of the
HBO series
The White Lotus (2022) playing the flirtatious widower Bert Di Grasso, earning nominations for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Also in 2023 he acted in the film
Mother, Couch alongside
Ewan McGregor,
Taylor Russell, and
Ellen Burstyn. The film premiered at the
2023 Toronto International Film Festival. In 2024 it was announced that Abraham would return to the stage as
David Siegel in the
Stephen Schwartz musical
The Queen of Versailles starring
Kristin Chenoweth at the
Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston. The production then moved to
Broadway, with previews beginning at the
St. James Theatre on October 8, 2025, opening night on November 9, and closing on December 21st after 32 previews and 49 regular performances. ==Personal life==