Award-winning actor Christian Clemenson was born on March 17, 1959 in Humboldt, Iowa. A straight-A student, he entered Phillips Academy on the back of a Des Moines Register scholarship, which he won because of his sideline as a newspaper boy. Upon graduation, he entered Harvard College, where he played numerous important roles in campus stage productions, and sometimes getting more praise than the productions themselves. After graduating from Harvard, he entered Yale’s School of Drama, and moved to Los Angeles.
Clemenson began acting for the screen in 1985, often tackling roles which reflected his bright and soft-spoken personality. His early roles include guest stints in Fame, The Golden Girls, The Paper Chase, L.A. Law, Cagney & Lacey, Family Ties, 21 Jump Street and Civil Wars. He also appeared in films, starting with the 1986 romantic comedy Hannah and Her Sisters, and moving on to roles in Making Mr. Right, Broadcast News, And The Band Played On, Apollo 13 and Mighty Joe Young. His first regular television role was in the modernized Western The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., where he played lawyer and the title character’s (Bruce Campbell) best friend, Socrates Poole.
Despite these roles, Clemenson never exactly got name recognition, despite his many appearances throughout the years. After a few more guest roles on television, notably a recurring role in Veronica Mars, and a main role in the award-winning biopic United 93, he finally became recognized for his recurring role in the legal television drama Boston Legal. He played the role of Jerry Espenson, whose diagnosis with Asperger’s Syndrome interferes with his ability to interact with other, but makes him a master of the law and its intricacies. In 2006, he earned an Emmy Award for Best Drama Guest Actor; he was nominated for the same award a year later.