One of the most versatile actresses of her generation currently working in both film and television, Linda Cardellini is well-known for her portrayal of Nurse Samantha Taggart on NBC’s highly-rated, critically acclaimed series, ER, and before this as teenager Lindsay Weir on the Judd Apatow/Paul Feig television series, Freaks and Geeks.
Most recently, Cardellini was almost unrecognizable, but turned heads, for her provocative portrayal of Sylvia Rosen, Don Draper’s married mistress, in a guest arc in the sixth season of the critically acclaimed AMC series, Mad Men.
In February 2012, Cardellini starred as Kelli in the independent film Return, opposite Michael Shannon and John Slattery. Return was featured in the Director’s Fortnight section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was an official entry at The Deauville, London and Palm Springs International Film Festivals. Return follows Kelli as she returns home from war and learns how to adjust to a slower, normal life. Appearing in almost every scene of the film, Cardellini was nominated for a 2013 Best Female Lead Independent Spirit Award for her performance.
Also in 2011, Cardellini co-starred in Jonathan Hensleigh’s independent feature film Kill the Irishman, alongside Christopher Walken, Ray Stevenson and Val Kilmer. The film was based on the true story of Danny Greene, a tough Irish thug working for mobsters in Cleveland during the 1970’s.
In 2008, Cardellini portrayed the lead role of Julie Ingram in the feature film The Lazarus Project starring alongside actor Paul Walker. Directed by John Glenn, this thriller tells the story of a former criminal who is drawn into an illicit endeavor and subsequently finds himself living an inexplicable new life working at a psychiatric facility.
In 2005, Cardellini starred in the ensemble film American Gun for IFC Films alongside Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker and Marcia Gay Harden. American Gun was the debut feature of director/co-writer Aric Avelino, which was earned a Best Picture nomination at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2007. In the same year, Cardellini delivered a heartfelt performance as a jilted lover in Ang Lee’s highly acclaimed drama, Brokeback Mountain, which garnered major accolades from critics, including an Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe win for Best Picture and Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture Drama by the Screen Actor’s Guild. It was upon working with Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana on this film, that they later cast her in CBS’s Hallmark Hall of Fame mini-series Comanche Moon, a testament to their trust in Cardellini’s talent and presence on screen.
Cardellini captured the hearts of young girls, boys and teenagers worldwide for her portrayal of Velma in Warner Bros. pair of popular Scooby-Doo films. She also appeared in Legally Blonde, Brian Robbins’ Good Burger, and Tom McLoughlin’s The Unsaid with Andy Garcia, as well as in the Adam Sandler produced comedy, Grandma’s Boy.
On the small screen, Cardellini was seen as a guest star as Dr. Megan Tillman, in CBS’, Persons of Interest. The crime drama show was created by Jonathan Nolan and stars Jim Caviezel, Taraji P. Henson and Michael Emerson.
Cardellini also lends her voice to a diverse group of animated series including Nickelodeon’s Sanjay & Craig wherein she plays Megan, IFC’s Out There wherein she voices Starla, and Disney’s Gravity Falls, in which she is Wendy. Cardellini’s past voiceover work includes the role of Bliss, the family daughter in the ABC animated television program, The Goode Family.
Cardellini also starred alongside Val Kilmer and Steve Zahn in the six-hour, epic mini-series for CBS entitled Comanche Moon, written by Larry McMurtry, (based on McMurtry’s novel of the same name) directed by Simon Wincer and executive produced by Diana Ossana. This western, which was the prequel to Lonesome Dove, (the television series created in 1989 by Larry McMurtry) aired on three consecutive evenings for two hours each night. Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana is the same partnership behind Brokeback Mountain, for which they won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Cardellini first came to prominence starring as academic decathlete Lindsay Weir on the celebrated NBC series Freaks and Geeks, which won an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series.
She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre from Loyola Marymount University and completed a summer study program at the National Theatre in London. Cardellini currently resides in Los Angeles.
