John Carroll Lynch was born August 1st, 1963 in Boulder, Colorado. He was raised most of his young life in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he stayed to attend the University of Minnesota. It was there where John found a passion for acting and auditioned for the school of drama & theatre arts. He graduated in the mid-80s with a B.F.A. in theatre from the The Catholic University of America / Hartke Theatre Acting program. From there, he continued to work in theatre around the country, but concentrated mostly on his work at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Through the mid-90s, he was a member of the Guthrie Theater Acting Company, acting in many plays from Shakespeare to Shaw to Chekhov. In the early nineties, John was able to find time away from the theatre to work in film, as productions came through Minnesota. In 1996, he received critical acclaim for his role as Marge Gunderson's simple husband Norm Gunderson in 'Fargo'. He went on to make two more films that year, both of which were convienently set in Minnesota, the acclaimed 'Beautiful Girls' and 'Feeling Minnesota'. Since then, John's film career has been on an amazing climb. Much like other well respected actors from the theatre, such as John Malcovich and Gary Sinese, he chooses to play very interesting and diverse roles.
During the 1990s, John was a company member of the world-renowned Guthrie Theater Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota as well as being a mentor for the graduate acting program of the University of Minnesota. Much like other well-trained theatre actors, such as Gary Sinese and John Malkovich, he chooses to play very diverse roles. Graduated from The Catholic University of America, B.F.A., Theatre program. He was Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. May 10, 1986. Member of the Guthrie Theater Acting Company.