2008–2012: Early career After moving to New York, Abbott began going to large open calls for plays while in school, which is how Abbott got his two first acting jobs
off-Broadway. The first play,
Good Boys and True, opened in the spring of 2008 and was written by
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by
Scott Ellis. It followed a scandal at a
prep school. Abbott played the lead character's (
Brian J. Smith) gay best friend, Justin. The second play,
Mouth to Mouth, opened in the fall of 2008. The play depicted the limits of friendship and family, and was written by
Kevin Elyot and directed by
Mark Brokaw. Abbott played the sympathetic 15-year-old son of Laura (
Lisa Emery). Abbott received positive reviews for both productions. He followed this with guest-starring roles in the comedy series
Nurse Jackie and the
police procedural series
Law & Order: Criminal Intent . Abbott made his feature film debut in the 2011
drama thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene opposite
Elizabeth Olsen. Written and directed by
Sean Durkin, the film
premiered at the
2011 Sundance Film Festival in January, and had a
limited release in the United States on October 21, 2011. It was met with positive reviews. The same year, Abbott made his
Broadway debut in the revival of the play
The House of Blue Leaves opposite
Ben Stiller and
Edie Falco. Directed by
David Cromer, the play opened in April 2011. Abbott played the part of the sullen, recently drafted son, Ronnie Shaughnessy, for which Abbott received positive reviews.
2012–present: Girls and film roles In 2012, Abbott co-starred opposite
Melanie Lynskey in the
comedy-drama film
Hello I Must Be Going. The film premiered at the
2012 Sundance Film Festival, and was released theatrically in the United States on September 7, 2012. Critic
Roger Ebert praised the film and Abbott's performance. Abbott gained public recognition for his role as the docile boyfriend of Marnie (
Allison Williams), Charlie Dattolo in the
HBO comedy-drama series
Girls. Created by
Lena Dunham, the series premiered on April 15, 2012. Abbott quit the series after the show’s season-two finale, stating that the reason why he left was because he couldn't relate to the character. He returned to the series for the season 5 episode
"The Panic in Central Park". Before leaving
Girls in 2013, Abbott starred in a series of
short films opposite model-actress
Sheila Márquez for
Free People and guest-starred in an episode of the comedy-drama series
Enlightened opposite
Luke Wilson. After leaving the series, Abbott returned to the theatre in the fall of 2013 in the play ''Where We're Born
by Lucy Thurber at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. The Jackson Gay-directed play featured Abbott opposite a cast that included Betty Gilpin. Abbott received positive reviews for his role as Tony. In 2014, Abbott co-starred in the drama film The Sleepwalker'', co-written by his good friend
Brady Corbet. It was met with mixed to positive reviews. Abbott also co-starred opposite
Sam Rockwell and
Nina Arianda in the 2014 production of
Sam Shepard's play
Fool for Love at the
Williamstown Theatre Festival. Abbott received positive reviews for his performance in the Daniel Aukin-directed play. In his second film of 2014, Abbott played the supporting role of Louis Servidio in
J. C. Chandor's
crime drama film
A Most Violent Year. Starring
Oscar Isaac and
Jessica Chastain, the film had its
world premiere at the
AFI Fest on November 6, 2014, at the
Dolby Theatre in
Hollywood and received a limited release on December 31, 2014. In the fall of 2015, Abbott played Elias Schreiber-Hoffman in the
Annie Baker play
John opposite
Georgia Engel and
Lois Smith. Directed by
Sam Gold, the play took place at the
Signature Theatre. Abbott's performance received positive reviews and the play was chosen as one of the best plays of 2015 by
The New York Times. Abbott starred as the
title character in the drama
James White opposite
Cynthia Nixon, directed by
Josh Mond. The film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2015 and received a theatrical limited release on November 13, 2015. It was met with positive reviews and Abbott received a nomination for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. In 2016, Abbott co-starred in the comedy
war film Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, opposite
Tina Fey and
Martin Freeman, released on March 4, 2016. Abbott also returned for an episode of
Girls, in the series' fifth season. The episode was critically acclaimed and lauded as one of the series' best episodes ever. In the summer of 2016, Abbott co-starred opposite
Marisa Tomei in the Trip Cullman production of
Tennessee Williams' play
The Rose Tattoo at the
Williamstown Theatre Festival, for which Abbott received positive reviews. Abbott co-starred opposite
Olivia Cooke in the American
independent drama film Katie Says Goodbye, which premiered at the
2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Abbott starred alongside
Joel Edgerton and
Riley Keough in
Trey Edward Shults's horror film
It Comes at Night, which was released on June 9, 2017. He co-starred in
Jamie M. Dagg's 2017 thriller
Sweet Virginia, opposite
Jon Bernthal,
Imogen Poots and
Rosemarie DeWitt. He also co-starred opposite
Jessica Biel and
Bill Pullman in the television series
The Sinner, which debuted in 2017. Abbott also starred opposite
Mia Wasikowska in
Nicolas Pesce's film
Piercing (2018), based on the
novel of the same name. In 2021, Abbott starred in
John Michael McDonagh's
The Forgiven, followed by
Zachary Wigon's second feature film
Sanctuary in 2022 and
Yorgos Lanthimos'
Poor Things in 2023
. In 2023, he also returned to TV in the role of Stan in the
Apple TV+ anthology series
The Crowded Room, alongside
Tom Holland and
Amanda Seyfried.
Recent projects In March 2022, he joined
Aaron Taylor-Johnson in
Kraven the Hunter as the film's main villain, which was reported to be the
Foreigner. Principal photography began on March 20, 2022. In February 2022, it was announced that Abbott would reteam with
John Michael McDonagh in
Fear Is The Rider, co-starring
Abbey Lee. However, he would later dropped out of the project. In May 2022, he signed to star in
Justin Anderson's directorial debut
Swimming Home, an adaptation of the
Booker Prize-nominated
novel of the same name by
Deborah Levy. He has also voiced Reed, an art dealer, in the
adult animated music television series
Entergalactic, based on the
album of the same name by American musician and actor
Kid Cudi. The series premiered September 30, 2022, on
Netflix. In July 2023 it was announced that Abbott would return to the stage playing Danny in the
Off-Broadway revival of the
John Patrick Shanley play
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. In September 2024, it was reported that Abbott would join
Florence Pugh in the
Netflix adaptation of
John Steinbeck's novel
East of Eden, in the role of Adam Trask. In 2026, he co-starred as Biff Loman in the Broadway revival of
Arthur Miller's
Death of a Salesman opposite
Nathan Lane,
Laurie Metcalf, and
Ben Ahlers. The production was directed by
Joe Mantello and played at the
Winter Garden Theatre for a 22-week engagement, with previews beginning March 6, 2026, opening night on April 9, and closing night on August 9. ==Personal life==