Some lawyers turn to acting or writing as a career. They may have taken law degrees to pay the bills, or because they liked law, but they also honed the legal skills that allowed them to shine in other areas.<\/p>\n
John Cleese, who got his start as a comedic and improvisational actor during his university years and later went on to become a founding member of the immensely influential comedy troupe Beyond the Fringe, studied law at Cambridge.<\/a> He is very familiar to today\u2019s audiences as a founding member of the comedic group Monty Python<\/a>, its series and its spin-off films (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python\u2019s Life of Brian) and as the star of Fawlty Towers, as well as as the star of such films as A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures.<\/p>\n Liz Glazer went from teaching law to standup comedy. <\/a> After a number of years as a death-penalty lawyer, Josh Pickar left the law for standup comedy.\u00a0<\/a> We’re sensing a pattern here.<\/p>\n The late Ross Martin<\/a> (1920-1981) graduated from the National University School of Law (now George Washington University School of Law) before turning to acting.<\/p>\n John Davis Lodge<\/a> graduated from Harvard Law, and was both an ambassador (to Argentina among other countries) and an actor (The Scarlet Empress<\/a> (with Marlene Dietrich) and Bulldog Drummond at Bay<\/a>) Those Bulldog Drummond films were very popular.<\/p>\n Sheila James<\/a>, who as Zelda Gilroy <\/a>ceaselessly chased Dobie Gillis in the popular sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, left acting for Harvard Law, graduated at the top of the class (1978) and has served as a member of the California Legislature. She now uses the name Sheila (James) Kuehl.<\/p>\n Bruno Campos,<\/a> who had recurring roles in such series as E.R. (as Dr. Eddie Dorset), The D.A. (as Mark Camacho), and Nip\/Tuck (as Dr. Quentin Costa), left acting in 2010 to earn a J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School.\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>He is now an associate with Covington & Burling<\/a>.<\/p>\n Isaac Lidsky, who turned up on Saved By the Bell after Dustin Diamond (Screech) left the show, also left acting for Harvard Law (\u201904); he later clerked for Justice Sandra Day O\u2019Connor, and is now in London as a Temple Bar scholar<\/a>. Johnny Kastl, who played Dr. Doug Murphy on Scrubs and Todd Jaracki on The Beast, also had roles in the films Hulk (2003) and War of the Worlds (2005), before he left acting for law school at the University of Iowa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>He practiced law for a few years and is now Vice President for Business Development at Acorn Finance.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n William Sanderson<\/a>, famous from the Nick at Nite television network as the marvelously eccentric Larry, of \u201cLarry, Darryl and Darryl\u201d on Bob Newhart\u2019s Newhart television series, and from the cult film Blade Runner, graduated from Memphis State Law School (now the University of Memphis Law School).<\/p>\n Paul Robeson<\/a> was a noted actor, as well as a gifted singer (see under Composers and Musicians). Taylor Simpson-Wood, a Tulane Law School graduate, appears in such films<\/a> as Monster\u2019s Ball, French Silk, False Witness and House of Secrets, a remake of the classic thriller Diabolique. She is also a member of the law school faculty at Barry University.<\/a><\/p>\n Former Senator Fred Thompson <\/a>(TN) had a fairly successful motion picture career before turning to politics. He received his JD from Vanderbilt University.<\/p>\n Portia de Rossi<\/a> (\u201cNelle Porter\u201d on Ally McBeal) was in law school when the acting bug bit. And of course, some practicing attorneys parlay their success as lawyers into acting or writing careers<\/a>, with varying degrees of success.<\/p>\n Johnnie Cochran<\/a>, one of the members of the \u201cDream Team\u201d that defended O.J. Simpson, has tried his hand at acting.<\/p>\n Jim Pritchett<\/a> became known as Dr. Matt Powers on the daytime drama The Doctors after earning a JD from the University of North Carolina Law School; here\u2019s more<\/a> about his long career.<\/p>\n Lawyer Dean Obeidallah<\/a> co-founded the Arab American Comedy Festival<\/a>. Jeff Cohen <\/a>was a child actor (The Goonies) who got his law degree at UCLA and opened his own firm in Los Angeles. Josh Saviano (The Wonder Years) earned a law degree from Cardozo Law School and practices in New York (curiously enough) at Morrison, Cohen<\/a>.<\/p>\n Charles (Charlie) Korsmo<\/a> (Dick Tracy, Hook) attended both M.I.T. (physics) and Yale Law School and clerked for the Hon. Ralph Winter (2d Circuit). He now teaches at Case Western University School of Law.<\/p>\n John Kerr<\/a> (South Pacific, Tea and Sympathy) enrolled at UCLA School of Law in 1966, graduating in 1969. He maintained a private practice until retiring in 2000.<\/p>\n Gerard Butler <\/a>(300, P.S. I Love You) earned a law degree from the University of Glasgow before the acting bug bit. He had worked at an Edinburgh law firm and almost qualified<\/a> as an attorney, but…\u00a0Ed McDonald<\/a> is a New York lawyer who had a part in the film \u201cGoodfellas.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Maguire<\/a>, who earned a music degree at the University of Michigan and went on to win a Tony for his performance on Broadway as the original Enjolras in Les Miserables<\/i> earned a J.D. from Southwestern Law School.<\/p>\n Lead singer for rock band Voyager Danny Estrin is also immigration lawyer Daniel Estrin<\/a> of the firm Estrin Saul; Voyager was the Australian 2023 Eurovision entrant.<\/p>\n Lara Jill Miller (“Gimme a Break!”) earned a law degree from Fordham<\/a>. She is admitted in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. She has returned to acting and voice-over work.<\/p>\n Oscar-nominated Leo Genn (Quo Vadis? (1952)) earned his law degree from Cambridge and was called to the Bar before beginning his acting career. A friend suggested he try out for some amateur theatricals and he discovered a love for the theater. Manager Leon M. Lion soon offered him a contract, and he started a second life as a stage actor and eventually in film. After seeing combat during the Second World War and prosecuting war crimes at Nuremberg, he returned to acting, appearing in the Olivier version of Henry V as the Constable of France, the 1946 film Another Part of the Forest, and many other movies, including Lady’s Chatterly’s LOver, The Longest Day, as Starbuck in Moby Dick, and many tv movies.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Less well known lawyer-actors include Edwin Adams<\/a> (JD University of Illinois) and James Brincefield <\/a>(\u201cBeau James\u201d). I can\u2019t overlook Melvin Belli<\/a>, who appeared as \u201cGorgan the Friendly Angel\u201d on an episode of Star Trek called \u201cAnd the Children Shall Lead.\u201d Michael Schwartz<\/a> is an actor-lawyer-teacher. Tom Schmid <\/a>quit a successful legal career to become a full-time thespian. Mike McLaren<\/a> (The People vs. Larry Flynt; A Time to Kill) is also a lawyer in Memphis.\u00a0Christopher Rich<\/a> (born 1657) was a lawyer and theater manager. Australian-born Julian McMahon<\/a>, son of a former Prime Minister, quit law school to star in a couple of primetime dramas.\u00a0Cajardo Lindsey<\/a>, an Indiana University Law graduate, works in Denver, but also carries on a career as an actor.\u00a0Jerry O\u2019Connell<\/a> (Sliders, Crossing Jordan) briefly pursued a law degree at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. He\u2019s married to actress Rebecca Romijn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The similarities between acting and lawyering are not lost on commentators. See the discussion of the film Trial and Error by Rob Waring<\/a> on the Picturing Justice website or Bernard Hibbitts\u2019 The Senses in Law<\/a>.\u00a0 Read suggestions on how to turn an actor into a lawyer in \u201cFrom a Distance\u201d<\/a>, by James C. Freund. If you\u2019re particularly interested in using your background or interest in literature, film or television during your law studies, consider writing a paper or doing some research into the area of law and film, law and literature, or law and popular culture. I have some difficulty knowing where to classify Sterling Johnson<\/a>. Trained as a lawyer and engineer, he is also a bubblemaker.\u00a0 Australian-born Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect 2,<\/em> What To Expect When You\u2019re Expecting<\/em>) earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2009 from the University of New South Wales\u00a0 <\/a>before embarking on an acting career.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gemma Chan earned her law degree from Oxford<\/a> but much prefers acting, as she told the Huffington Post.\u00a0 She did worry about getting work, but notes that Asian-Americans are underrepresented on the screen.<\/a><\/p>\n Jennifer Johnston<\/a> qualified as a barrister and practiced environmental law before turning fulltime to singing. <\/a><\/p>\n Hildegard Behrens earned a law degree from the University of Freiburg but became famous as an opera singer.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n