Mandy Patinkin was born on November 30, 1952 in Chicago, Illinois. Aside from being a stage and screen actor, he is also a renowned tenor. As far as acting is concerned, he already garnered several recognitions, one of which is winning a Tony Award for Best Actor. The award was given after he played the part of Che in the Broadway production of Evita in 1979. Previously, he starred in films like Dick Tracey, The Secret Garden, True Colors, The Doctor, Run Ronnie Run and Life with Mikey to name a few. Mandy Patinkin was born as Mandel Bruce Patinkin, and was raised in Conservative Judaism. He attended religion school since he was seven years old until his early teens. He was educated at South Shore High School and graduated from Kenwood Academy, before he moved to the University of Kansas and eventually the Juilliard School of Drama. He had a number of radio and television commercial appearances, and had his initial success in theater. In 1987, he played the part of Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, and he lists it as his favorite role. This was followed by other musical performances and various movies, and he soon landed a part on CBS' Chicago Hope. He won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Dr. Jeffrey Geiger. Patinkin's next project, Mamaloshen, was his most personal one. It was a collection of traditional, classic and contemporary songs completely in Yiddish, and was performed on and off-Broadway. In 2005, Mandy Patinkin debuted the role of Jason Gideon, a tormented FBI BAT Supervisory Special Agent coming back to work, in the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds. Two years later, he was reported to have left the series due to creative differences. Patinkin was not fond of the violence on the show and his character was eventually written off the series.