At 22, he starred in Broadway’s “Gemini.” After that, Reed Birney says, “nothing happened” for the next 30 years. But 2008’s devastating play “Blasted” — in which his character was raped and partly cannibalized — put Birney back in business. TV viewers know him from “House of Cards” (milquetoast VP Donald Blythe) and “The Blacklist” (wicked Tom Connolly), but theatergoers relish his portraits of men living lives of quiet desperation, like the husband and father he plays in “The Humans,” which just opened to raves on Broadway. Of real-life wife Constance Shulman (Yoga Jones in “Orange is the New Black”), Birney says, “She can’t go 10 feet without someone asking for a picture. Me, I can go anywhere!”
Here’s what’s in this actor’s library:
Born With Teeth by Kate Mulgrew
Kate and I were in a Charles Busch play, “Our Leading Lady.” I had seven lines and was convinced my career was over, but she and I became good friends. This is about her early life in Iowa and her entrance into show business. It’s brutal and hilarious and terrifying to think that one human being endured all this.
These Things Happen by Richard Kramer
Kramer was one of the masterminds behind “Thirtysomething.” He’s also a playwright, and this book is based on his gorgeous play, “Theater District,” about a middle-aged gay couple who take in the 16-year-old son of one of them, and the boy’s father’s panic that the son may be gay, too. It’s a very cool story, and it’s so evocative of New York.
Pictures at a Revolution by Mark Harris
A breathtaking account of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967, [including] “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The Graduate” and “Doctor Dolittle.” It’s fun and also amazing to see the end of one era and the birth of another. There’s also great dish — about Rex Harrison and how he terrorized everyone on “Dolittle” with his demands.
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
I’m obsessed with Holocaust literature and the darker side of human nature. This is fiction but so meticulously researched that it captures pre-war Berlin in the most haunting way. Knowing it’s based on reality makes it completely chilling. It would also make a hair-raising film!