Television Schreiber's first television appearance was as
Nick Sobotka in season 2 of the critically acclaimed
HBO series
The Wire (2003). After his final appearance in the last episode of season 2, he also made a cameo appearance in the season 5 episode "
The Dickensian Aspect". He went on to play minor roles in the series
Law & Order: Criminal Intent and
Law & Order before playing the recurring guest role of serial rapist William Lewis on
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He appeared in an eight episode arc playing the
antagonist to
Olivia Benson's (
Mariska Hargitay) character. From 2008 to 2009, he appeared in multiple series including
Dirt,
Army Wives,
The Beast,
Numbers, and ''
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In 2011, he was cast as Johnny Leary in the FX series Lights Out which only aired for one season. From 2011 to 2012, he played both Demetri Ravitch in the Showtime series Weeds and Anton Little Creek on the show A Gifted Man''.
BuddyTV ranked him #77 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011". In October 2012, Schreiber was cast in the recurring role of George "Pornstache" Mendez on the
Netflix original drama series
Orange Is the New Black. For his role on the show, he won the "We Love to Hate You Award" at the
2014 Young Hollywood Awards and received a
Primetime Emmy nomination for
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2015. He played the role from 2013 to 2017 and had a guest appearance in a 2019 episode. In February 2013, he co-starred as Virgil in
NBC's drama pilot
Ironside, a
reboot of the
1967 series of the same name. However ratings and reviews were unfavourable and it was canceled after only four episodes had aired. Schreiber was cast as Mad Sweeney in the 2017
Starz series
American Gods, based on the
novel of the same name written by
Neil Gaiman. In April 2019, he was cast as
Master Chief / John-117 in the
Halo live-action series, based on the
video game franchise of the same name. The series was released on March 24, 2022, by
Paramount+ and has received mostly positive reviews with 71% on
Rotten Tomatoes. To prepare for his role in the series, Schreiber worked with a trainer and a chef to bulk up adding muscle to play the
supersoldier. Paramount confirmed that the series was renewed for season 2 with Schreiber reprising the main role of Master Chief. Schreiber co-starred in the
biographical crime drama streaming television miniseries
Candy as Allan Gore, opposite
Jessica Biel's character,
Candy Montgomery. It is based on the true story of how Candy Montgomery was accused of the
axe murder of her neighbour, Betty Gore in 1980 in
Texas. The series premiered May 9, 2022, with the last episodes airing on May 13, 2022.
Film Schreiber's first film was a minor role in the 2001 American
black comedy film Bubble Boy. He appeared in the 2004 film
The Manchurian Candidate which starred his half-brother
Liev Schreiber. He had supporting roles in the films
Lords of Dogtown (2005),
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008),
Nights in Rodanthe (2008), and
Happythankyoumoreplease (2010). In 2016, he co-starred as Kris "Tanto" Paronto, GRS team member and former
U.S. Army Ranger in the American
biographical war film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, opposite
John Krasinski and
James Badge Dale. The film was directed and co-produced by
Michael Bay, written by
Chuck Hogan, and is based on
Mitchell Zuckoff's 2014
book of the same name. In 2018, he starred in the American
action heist film Den of Thieves with
Gerard Butler. He played Ray Merrimen, a
MARSOC Marine veteran who is the crew's leader and schemer, and one of the robbers who sets out to rob the
Federal Reserve Bank of downtown
Los Angeles. Schreiber underwent extensive military training for his role in the film, saying "... with the weapons training, we had extensive military movement, team movement, weapons training boot camp, a couple of weeks before we started shooting". In the same year he co-starred with
Dwayne Johnson in the
action thriller film Skyscraper. He played the role of American
astronaut Jim Lovell in the biographical drama
First Man which was also released in 2018. Schreiber starred in the 2021 drama film
Lorelei with
Jena Malone. It received mostly positive reviews from critics. Brian Tallerico from
RogerEbert.com said of Schreiber, "Schreiber uses his massive size in an interesting way in that he’s such an imposing figure but he allows himself to also be fascinatingly vulnerable at the same time... He has remarkable range".
Theatre Schreiber's stage work includes both
Broadway and off-Broadway plays. In 2006, he starred in the Broadway play
Awake and Sing!, earning him a nomination for a
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He also starred in the 2008 Broadway play
reasons to be pretty with
Piper Perabo and
Alison Pill. For that role he won the 2009
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. He played Eben in the 2009 play
Desire Under the Elms opposite
Carla Gugino's Abbie. In 2011, Schreiber starred in the Off-Broadway play
Gruesome Playground Injuries at
Second Stage Theatre. == Personal life ==