John C. McGinley biography, photos, personal life, wife and children, height, age 2025

Biography of John C. McGinley

John C. McGinley is an American actor who built his career on supporting roles but became the face of an entire generation. His sharp, high-energy performance style turns even brief appearances into unforgettable moments.

Real fame came in 2001 with his role as Dr. Perry Cox on Scrubs—a caustic, sarcastic doctor with a heart of gold.

Actor John C. McGinley wearing a baseball cap, standing with arms crossed and grinning widely — John C. McGinley

Childhood and Family

John Christopher McGinley was born on August 3, 1959, in New York's Greenwich Village. His mother, Patricia, was a schoolteacher. His father, Gerald, was a stockbroker. Besides John, the family raised four other children.

John's paternal great-grandfather emigrated from Ireland to the United States, and this detail always remained an important part of the family story.

McGinley's childhood unfolded in Short Hills, New Jersey. He attended Millburn High School and played on the school's football team.

Young John C. McGinley in shorts showing off his muscles — Young John C. McGinley

After high school, McGinley enrolled at Syracuse University, where he discovered acting. He then tried his hand at various jobs: working as a runner at the New York Stock Exchange, caddying at the U.S. Open Golf Championship. Later, he continued his acting training at the renowned Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, graduating in 1984. "When I got to Tisch, everything started making sense," McGinley recalls.

Acting Career

Theater and Collaboration with Oliver Stone

Right after graduation, McGinley dove straight into Off-Broadway theater. "That's what we'd been trained for three years to do. Everything we did was focused on getting into Off-Broadway theater after leaving the School," he explained.

That same year, 1984, he landed the understudy role for John Turturro in John Patrick Shanley's play "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" at Circle-in-the-Square Theatre. That's where Oliver Stone's agent spotted him and invited him to audition for Platoon.

Though technically, his first film role was Floyd in Alan Alda's Sweet Liberty (1986). In Platoon, McGinley initially got a small part as a radio operator. Then producer Dino De Laurentiis decided to pull the plug on financing. Two years later, when Oliver Stone finally scraped together the money, McGinley was listed as Sergeant Red O'Neill, one of the central characters.

John C. McGinley in khaki jacket and panama hat — John C. McGinley in Platoon

Audiences absolutely hated his character. They couldn't stand how this impulsive, pretty brutal guy covered his mistakes with bravado, witnessed atrocities but couldn't stop them, tried to go on leave before the decisive battle, and during a firefight with the Vietnamese, cowardly hid under a corpse. The actor himself said O'Neill in Platoon was one of his favorite performances. Either way, the film won the Oscar for Best Picture and became McGinley's launching pad in Hollywood.

After Platoon, John worked with Oliver Stone several more times: Wall Street (1987), where he played Marv, Talk Radio (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Nixon (1995), and Any Given Sunday (1999).

Though some of those roles could've been much bigger. In 1988, McGinley got stuck shooting Shadowlands and couldn't be in Born on the Fourth of July, even though he really wanted to play the orderly caring for Tom Cruise's character.

I wanted that role so badly, but Paramount wouldn't release anyone. Oliver was pissed at me, and as a result, I missed a couple of his next films.

John C. McGinley

To make amends, McGinley did play a tiny role in the finale of Born on the Fourth of July and a brief part as a motivational speaker at the beginning of Nixon.

But in Any Given Sunday, Stone wrote the role of acerbic sports reporter Jack Rose specifically for McGinley, though the actor still had to audition alongside other candidates.

People always expect me to say something nasty about him, but Stone cast me in six films. End of story. There's no such thing as loyalty in Los Angeles, but damn if Oliver wasn't the most loyal person I've ever met.

John C. McGinley

90s Roles

In the 90s, McGinley worked practically non-stop. In 1991, Kathryn Bigelow's cult action film "Point Break" came out, starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, in which McGinley played FBI agent Ben Harp.

That same year, he appeared in the "Highlander" sequel with Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert as the main antagonist. And he wasn't happy with that work:

I sucked in that. I was obsessed with Orson Welles' filmography at the time, so I wanted to see if I could make my voice as low as his, and I did. But I look like an idiot in the film.

John C. McGinley

In 1992, he appeared in the medical drama "Article 99," in 1995 he showed up in David Fincher's cult thriller "Se7en," and in 1996 he played Captain Hendrix in Michael Bay's blockbuster "The Rock" with Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.

In 1997, McGinley earned well-deserved praise from critics for his lead role in the three-hour TV movie "Intensity," based on Dean Koontz's novel, for Fox. He played a ruthless serial killer stalking Molly Parker's character. At the time, "Intensity" became Fox Television's highest-rated miniseries. McGinley later worked with Koontz and Fox again on the project "Sole Survivor" in 2000.

John C. McGinley with a serious expression stands near a staircase with a frightened girl behind him — John C. McGinley in the miniseries "Intensity"

In 1999, he shined in Mike Judge's cult comedy "Office Space," where he played Bob Slydell, one of two efficiency consultants.

Producing Work

McGinley wrote the screenplay for and starred in the 1990 film "Suffering Bastards." He produced several independent films, including the romantic comedy "Watch It" (1993) with Peter Gallagher and Lili Taylor.

McGinley was executive producer and starred alongside John Cusack in the HBO western "The Jack Bull," directed by John Badham.

Bearded John C. McGinley in a cowboy hat — John C. McGinley in "The Jack Bull"

"Scrubs" and Television Stardom

In 2001, McGinley landed the role that would change his life – Dr. Perry Cox in NBC's medical comedy series "Scrubs." He starred in the show for ten seasons, all the way through 2010.

The pilot script's character description literally read "John C. McGinley type." The actor recalled with a laugh:

I don't know what that type is, but I said, 'Well, you got him.' And I still had to audition five times for the network.

John C. McGinley

McGinley signed on for another deeply personal reason. At that point, his four-year-old son from his first marriage, Max McGinley, had been diagnosed with Down syndrome. Shooting "Scrubs" meant he could stay close to home and be there for his boy.

Throughout the series, Dr. Cox served as the reluctant mentor to main character J.D., played by Zach Braff. He acted like the role was a burden, but over time Cox revealed himself as a wise teacher who was secretly proud of his protégé.

John C. McGinley in a white coat holding a baby, with Zach Braff standing nearby in a blue coat — John C. McGinley in "Scrubs"

McGinley revealed that at least three of Cox's signature quirks were completely improvised: calling J.D. by girl's names (because he does that with all his buddies and started addressing Zach Braff that way early in shooting), the whistling (which he describes as "a bad habit"), and the nose tap – a tribute to Robert Redford's character in "The Sting." That gesture means "Everything's gonna be okay."

Later Career

In 2012, McGinley landed a recurring role as Tom Card in USA Network's "Burn Notice." His character first appeared in the sixth season's second episode. That same year, he starred in a State Farm insurance commercial as a dad trying to get his college graduate son to move out.

Around the same time, he returned to Broadway in a new production of David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross" as Dave Moss, sharing the stage with Al Pacino and Bobby Cannavale. "Those were the best couple of months of my life," the actor said about the experience.

John C. McGinley sitting at a cafeteria table yelling at a man wearing glasses sitting next to him — John C. McGinley in "Glengarry Glen Ross"

Also in 2013, TBS ordered "Ground Floor" with McGinley in the lead role. But the show was canceled after two seasons.

From 2016 to 2018, McGinley starred in (and produced) the comedy-horror series "Stan Against Evil" as the hot-tempered former sheriff Stanley Miller, who recently lost his job after an angry outburst at his wife's funeral. Then he discovers their small town is under demon attack and starts fighting back.

John C. McGinley in a red plaid shirt stands in the dim light with a shovel over his shoulders — John C. McGinley in "Stan Against Evil"

Other projects include the biographical film "42" (2013) about baseball player Jackie Robinson's life, where McGinley played sportscaster Red Barber.

John C. McGinley's Personal Life

The actor's first wife was attorney and broker Lauren Lambert. They married in 1997, and their son Max was born that same year.

The couple divorced in late 2001. By that point, it had become clear that Max had Down syndrome. John decided to dedicate his life to ensuring his son could live a normal life and never feel less than anyone else. And he succeeded. Max is now an adult who writes music and plays sports, including surfing.

Collage: John C. McGinley and his son Max in blazers; John C. McGinley with his son Max on vacation — John C. McGinley with his son Max

McGinley has participated in campaigns to raise awareness about Down syndrome and urged people to stop using the word "retarded."

I don't want to tell people how to speak. I just want to see even a milligram of compassion for children with special needs, their families, and caregivers.

John C. McGinley

In April 2007, McGinley married Nichole Kessler. They have two daughters together – Billie Grace and Kate Alina.

In a 2011 interview, McGinley talked about the challenges he and his second wife faced: Max couldn't speak, while Billie was an incredibly talkative little girl.

...Raising Max and raising Billie are two polar opposites on the spectrum of spoken language. It's really interesting trying to find that happy medium.

John C. McGinley

The actor is a passionate fan of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and often rocks their jersey. He narrated the documentary about the team's 2008 Stanley Cup championship.

John C. McGinley with wife Nichole Kessler and children Max, Billie, and Kate at a social event — John C. McGinley with his family

John C. McGinley Now

2025 brought a new surge in McGinley's career. In February 2025, it was announced that the actor would reunite with Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence and writer Matt Tarses for their new HBO comedy series starring Steve Carell. McGinley will play Walter Mann, the university president where the series takes place.

John C. McGinley and the cast of Scrubs in 2024 — John C. McGinley now

And in September of that year, it was revealed that McGinley would join the Scrubs reboot and return as Dr. Perry Cox. The official description of the new series reads:

J.D. and Turk are putting on their scrubs together for the first time in a long time – medicine has changed, the interns have changed, but their bromance has stood the test of time.

Interesting Facts

Despite decades of successful work on stage and screen, McGinley joked that he wasn't pretty enough for television: "They like Ken dolls, and I'm more like Ken's creepy uncle."
In 2005, McGinley wrote a book called "Untalkative Bunny: How to be Heard Without Saying a Word," explaining how to improve communication skills using active performance techniques.
John has a brother, Mark, who miraculously survived the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Mark McGinley worked on the 62nd floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. After the plane hit the North Tower, Mark immediately left the building and escaped death.