Dunne was born Thomas Griffin Dunne in New York City, the son of Ellen Beatriz and Dominick Dunne. He is the older brother of Alexander and Dominique Dunne. His mother founded the victims' rights organization Justice for Homicide Victims after Dominique's murder in 1982. His father was a producer, writer, and actor. He is also the nephew of writers John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. Raised in Los Angeles, Dunne attended the Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts and then went to Fountain Valley school in Colorado Springs, Colorado where he developed an interest in acting, appearing in many school plays. He was scheduled to perform in a school production of Othello when on the eve of a performance, Dunne was found smoking marijuana by a teacher. He was immediately expelled and soon after, he moved back to New York to pursue his acting interests. He studied acting at HB Studio in New York City.
Career
Acting
Dunne began his professional acting career at age 19 with a small supporting role in The Other Side of the Mountain in 1975. He has since appeared on both film and television, starring in An American Werewolf in London as Jack Goodman, Johnny Dangerously as Tommy Kelly, After Hours as Paul Hackett, Who's That Girl as Loudon Trott opposite Madonna, My Girl as Jake Bixler, Quiz Show as the Geritol Account Executive, Game 6 as Elliott Litvak, and I Like It Like That as Stephen Price. Dunne also played Dr. Vass, opposite Matthew McConaughey, in the Oscar-nominated 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club. Dunne's TV appearances include Frasier , Saturday Night Live, Alias, and |5, 118, and Players. He portrayed Tony Mink in the comedy Trust Me on TNT. In 2012, Dunne guest-starred as management consultant Marco Pelios in seven episodes of the premiere season of the Showtime TV series House of Lies. In 2018 he joined the cast of This is Us where he currently stars as Nicky Pearson, Jack Pearson's brother.
Producing
In 1995, Griffin Dunne was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for Duke of Groove, which he directed and co-wrote. He shared the nomination with producer Thom Colwell. Along with his producing partner, actress/producer Amy Robinson, he has produced several films including Baby It's You, After Hours, Running on Empty and Game 6 through their company, Double Play Productions.
Directing
Dunne's directorial debut was the 1995 short film Duke of Groove. Since then, he has directed five feature films, including Addicted to Love and Practical Magic. He also directed one segment of the 2012 anthology filmMovie 43. Dunne produced and directed Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, a documentary about his aunt, author Joan Didion, whom Dunne interviews and appears with on screen.
Personal life
From 1989 to 1995, he was married to American actressCarey Lowell, with whom he has one daughter, actress Hannah Dunne. In July 2009, he married his second wife, Anna Bingemann, an Australian stylist.
