Fran Kanz

Fran Kanz discovered his passion for acting when he landed a leading role in his 9th grade school play and has been working as a professional actor ever since. In 2021, Kranz turned his creative attention to writing and directing, with his debut feature Mass premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. Starring Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd and Reed Birney, Mass was released by Bleecker Street Films in October 2021. It was nominated for Best Screenplay and won the Robert Altman Award at the 2022 Independent Spirit Awards. Previously, Kranz produced and starred opposite Lily Rabe and Finn Wittrock in an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which premiered at the 2017 Los Angeles Film Festival. His other feature acting credits include The Dark Tower, opposite Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, Mary Pickford: Love Wild, opposite Cary Elwes and Sophie Kennedy Clark, the independent horror films Half Lives and They Whisper, the Netflix film Rebirth, Mojave, opposite Garrett Hedlund and Oscar Isaac, The Truth About Lies, the horror comedy Bloodsucking Bastards, The Living, Last Weekend, opposite Patricia Clarkson, Murder of a Cat, opposite J.K. Simmons and Greg Kinnear, Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, The Cabin in the Woods, directed by Drew Goddard and produced by Whedon, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men, The TV Set, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2, Orange County, Antoine Fuqua’s Training Day and Donnie Darko. On television, Kranz will next be seen in a recurring role in Season 3 of the Apple TV+ series “Invasion.” Prior to that, Kranz starred as Russ Morash in the HBO Max series “Julia,” created by Chris Keyser and starring Sarah Lancashire as Julia Child. He recurred in Showtime’s Roger Ailes series “The Loudest Voice,” starring Russell Crowe, and Amazon’s “Homecoming,” created by Sam Esmail and starring Julia Roberts. Kranz is also well-known for playing the role of ‘Topher,’ the sarcastic tech wunderkind, on Joss Whedon’s FOX sci-fi series “Dollhouse” alongside Eliza Dushku. He also played the lead role in the CBS comedy series “Welcome to the Captain,” created and directed by John Hamburg. Other television credits include “Party Down, Ballers;” “Major Crimes;” “Elementary;” “The Good Wife;” “Dallas;” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia;” “Private Practice;” and “Frasier.” Kranz starred on Broadway opposite Rose Byrne and James Earl Jones in the much-praised revival of You Can’t Take It with You. He made his Broadway debut in director Mike Nichols’ Death of a Salesman, opposite Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield, which won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. In 2017, Fran starred as ‘Merle Debuskey’ in the world premiere of Illyria, written and directed by Richard Nelson, at the Public Theater. He also starred in the critically acclaimed staging of Bachelorette, written by Leslye Headland and directed by Trip Cullman, at the Second Stage Theatre Off-Broadway. Kranz attended high school at the Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, where he was active in theater and also studied at the prestigious Oxford Tradition program, where he won a Best Actor Award for his portrayal of ‘Petruchio’ in The Taming of the Shrew. Fran went on to Yale University, where he was a member of the improv troupe The Ex!t Players, and performed in such plays as Angels in America, A Bright Room Called Day, Henry IV, Antony & Cleopatra, and Twelfth Night.