Evan Handler - Biography

Evan Handler (born January 10, 1961) is an American actor who is best known for playing Harry Goldenblatt, Charlotte's divorce attorney and later husband, on Sex and the City, and Charlie Runkle, Hank's comically bumbling friend and agent, on Californication.

Early life

Handler was born in New York City, the son of Enid Irene, a mental health administrator, and Murry Raymond Handler, an agency owner and advertising designer. He attended Hendrick Hudson High School in Montrose, New York. He moved to New York City again at 17 to attend the Juilliard School. He left school to accept a role in the film Taps in 1980.

Career

Acting

Handler has appeared in television dramas and sitcoms including Six Feet Under,Friends,Law & Order, The West Wing, Miami Vice, Sex and the City, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (as staff writer Ricky Tahoe), Ed, Friends, Lost and 24. He was a co-star in the ABC sitcoms It's Like, You Know... and Hot Properties and starred in the ill-fated FOX sitcom Woops!. In 2000, Handler portrayed Larry Fine in a made-for-TV biopic of The Three Stooges. Handler can currently be seen on Californication where he plays Charlie Runkle, the best friend and agent to David Duchovny's character, Hank Moody. Handler has also appeared in several major feature film roles, including Ransom, 1996; The Chosen, 1981; Sweet Lorraine, 1987; and Taps, 1981.

In 1991, Handler famously walked off stage during the first act of a performance of the Broadway play, I Hate Hamlet after co-star Nicol Williamson broke choreography during a swordfighting scene and struck Handler on the back. Handler responded later, stating, "I removed myself from the production because from the first day of rehearsals I have endured the show's producers condoning Nicol Williamson's persistent abusiveness to other cast members." Handler's understudy continued the performance, for which Gregory Peck and Elaine Stritch were in attendance.

Writing

Handler is also an author. His first book, Time On Fire: My Comedy of Terrors, tells the story of his unlikely recovery from Acute Myeloid Leukemia in his mid-twenties. His second, It's Only Temporary...The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive, tells the story of his long journey toward gratitude in the years after his illness. The book was released in May 2008. Handler has written for several nationally distributed magazines, including ELLE, O, the Oprah Magazine, and Mirabella. Handler contributes regularly to The Huffington Post.

Personal life

Handler has a brother Lowell Handler who is also a writer as well as a photographer. He is known for his book Twitch & Shout: A Touretter’s Tale. Lowell was also the star, narrator, guide, and associate producer of the Emmy-nominated PBS television documentary Twitch & Shout, which Evan appeared in.

Evan married Elisa Atti, an Italian-born chemist, in 2003, and they have a daughter, Sofia Clementina Handler, born 17 January 2007.

External links

• Evan Handler talks about being crass on Sex and the City, being Jewish, and his bout with leukemia
• Evan Handler: Living Through It