Aaron Staton
Aaron Staton is an American actor best known for his role as advertising executive Ken Cosgrove in the AMC period drama series Mad Men (2007–2015).[1] Born on August 10, 1980, in Huntington, West Virginia, Staton earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Carnegie Mellon University before beginning his professional career in theater and television.[1] Staton's breakthrough came with Mad Men, where he portrayed the Midwestern account executive across all seven seasons, contributing to the ensemble cast's multiple Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.[2] He gained further acclaim for his motion-capture performance as LAPD detective Cole Phelps in the Rockstar Games video title L.A. Noire (2011), which utilized groundbreaking facial animation technology and earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Games Award for Best Performer.[3] His other notable television roles include a guest role in an episode of Person of Interest (2013) and appearances in Ray Donovan (2013–2020), alongside film credits such as The Nanny Diaries (2007) and The Goldfinch (2019).[2] In his personal life, Staton has been married to actress Connie Fletcher since December 18, 2006, and the couple has two children.[1]Early life
Childhood
Aaron Staton was born on August 10, 1980, in Huntington, West Virginia, to his mother, Susan Staton.[4] His early childhood was spent in Huntington until the age of nine, when he relocated with his mother to Jacksonville, Florida, a move he later described as establishing his sense of home.[5] In Jacksonville, Staton attended Terry Parker High School, from which he graduated in 1998.[4] His interest in acting began at age five but developed significantly during his high school years through participation in school plays and community theater productions.[5] By age 17, this passion led to his first professional acting opportunity, a furniture store commercial that earned him $150.[5] During high school, he also met his future wife, actress Connie Fletcher, through involvement in community theater.[5]Education
After graduating from Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville, Florida, Staton pursued formal training in acting by enrolling at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama.[4] He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater from the program in 2004.[6] As a drama student in Pittsburgh, Staton became acquainted with the city's vibrant arts community and began building his performance skills through early opportunities in the field.[5] During his studies, he appeared in a Screen Actors Guild-sanctioned public service announcement addressing the dangers of drunken driving, marking one of his initial professional acting involvements.[7]Career
Early career
Following his graduation from Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama in 2004, Staton made his Broadway debut as a replacement in the role of Sky in the long-running musical Mamma Mia!, performing from October 2004 to October 2005 at the Winter Garden Theatre. This ensemble position marked his entry into New York theater, where he honed his stage presence amid the production's high-energy ABBA-inspired choreography and songs.[8] In 2006, Staton took on a more prominent stage role, starring as the titular American pilot in David Greig's drama The American Pilot at the Manhattan Theatre Club's City Center Stage II, running from November 14 to December 31.[9] The play, which explored themes of war and cultural clash in a fictional Middle Eastern village, received critical attention for its tense narrative and Staton's portrayal of the downed aviator caught in moral dilemmas. Staton's early television work began with a guest appearance as Andy Wall in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Hooked," which aired on February 15, 2005.[10] He followed this in 2006 with a recurring role as Daniel across multiple episodes of 7th Heaven, including "The Replacements" and "Broken Hearts and Promises," depicting a young family man navigating personal challenges. Transitioning to film, Staton debuted on screen in 2007 with supporting parts as John, a fraternity brother, in The Nanny Diaries and as Nick, a musician, in August Rush, both released that year and showcasing his versatility in comedic and dramatic contexts.[11] He also appeared as Hugh Dolan in the Without a Trace episode "Driven," broadcast on January 18, 2007.Mad Men and breakthrough
Aaron Staton was cast as Ken Cosgrove in the AMC drama series Mad Men, which aired from 2007 to 2015 over seven seasons.[12] Originally auditioning for the role of Pete Campbell in March 2006, Staton impressed creator Matt Weiner during a callback and secured the part of the optimistic account executive as a series regular following the pilot episode.[13] He signed a multi-year contract, portraying Cosgrove—a Midwesterner with literary ambitions who rises through the ranks at Sterling Cooper—as a sensitive counterpoint to the agency's more cynical figures.[13] Staton's character underwent significant development across the series, evolving from an eager junior executive into a battle-scarred senior VP navigating intense professional rivalries. Key arcs highlighted Cosgrove's dual life as a secret science-fiction writer publishing under a pseudonym, balancing his advertising duties with creative passions that nearly led him to abandon the industry after a firing.[14] Instead, he pursued revenge on rivals like Pete Campbell and Roger Sterling by ascending to head of advertising at Dow Chemical, becoming their firm's powerful client.[15] Personal growth came through sacrifices, such as losing an eye in a hunting accident—dramatized by an eye patch that underscored the physical and emotional costs of his ambitions—transforming his initial idealism into resilient pragmatism.[15] The role bolstered Mad Men's critical acclaim by enriching the ensemble's portrayal of 1960s Madison Avenue, where Staton's nuanced performance as the "everyman" executive added layers of humor and humanity to the show's examination of ambition and identity.[16] This breakthrough elevated Staton's visibility in Hollywood, positioning him as a standout in the series' lauded cast and opening doors to further opportunities beyond his early television work.[13] Behind the scenes, Staton immersed himself in the era's etiquette, adopting 1960s gentlemanly mannerisms like standing for women and opening doors to authentically capture Cosgrove's polite demeanor.[13] For revealing scenes, such as one where Ken tap-dances to showcase hidden talents, he rehearsed for two weeks with a choreographer, drawing on prior stage experience while navigating the challenge of delivering dialogue mid-routine.[17] The production's ensemble dynamics fostered strong bonds, with Staton collaborating closely with co-stars like Jon Hamm and Vincent Kartheiser during table reads and filming, contributing to the cast's cohesive chemistry.[13]Post-Mad Men projects
Following the conclusion of Mad Men in 2015, Aaron Staton diversified his career across television and film, taking on roles in thrillers, historical dramas, comedies, and limited series that showcased his range beyond the period advertising world. In film, he starred as Mike in the 2014 survival horror thriller Preservation, directed by Christopher Denham, where he portrayed a family man on a hunting trip turned deadly by masked assailants.[18] He later appeared as Michael, the supportive husband of the protagonist's best friend, in the 2017 romantic comedy Alex & the List, a lighthearted indie exploring personal growth and relationships through a quirky "improvement" list.[19] In 2025, Staton led as Michael in the sci-fi short Anesthesia, directed by Jeff Osborne, playing a businessman trapped in a surreal childhood memory via a virtual anesthesia app.[20] On television, Staton secured recurring and guest roles in high-profile series, often blending drama with suspenseful elements. He portrayed DEA agent Butch Sears across 10 episodes of Netflix's Narcos: Mexico in 2018, and Reverend Appleton in seven episodes of Hulu's Castle Rock from 2018 to 2019. He played Curtis McCarthy in the 2019 Netflix miniseries Unbelievable, and astronaut Wally Schirra in the 2020 Disney+ miniseries The Right Stuff, a historical drama chronicling NASA's early space program and the Mercury Seven's rivalries. In 2022, he guest-starred as Scott in an episode of ABC's crime thriller Big Sky, navigating a tense murder investigation in Montana's wilderness, and as Robert across five episodes of the Paramount+ series Partisan.[21] Staton also took on the recurring role of Simon, a suspicious husband entangled in a web of true-crime obsessions, in Peacock's dark comedy-thriller Based on a True Story (2023–2024), appearing in multiple episodes across its first two seasons. Further highlighting his versatility, Staton co-starred as Coach in the 2020 limited series Everyone Is Doing Great, a Hulu dramedy co-created by and starring James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti, delving into the post-fame struggles of former teen idols with humor and introspection. He made guest appearances in the 2020s procedural 9-1-1, notably as Daniel Buckley, the alternate-reality brother of a main character, in a 2023 episode exploring family trauma and "what if" scenarios. These projects reflect Staton's transition to multifaceted genres, from sci-fi-tinged historical epics and gritty thrillers to comedic explorations of modern life, sustaining his momentum from Mad Men while embracing ensemble-driven narratives.[22]Video game roles
Aaron Staton is best known in video games for his lead role as Detective Cole Phelps in the 2011 action-adventure title L.A. Noire, developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games.[23] In this capacity, Staton provided both the voice acting and full performance capture for Phelps, a principled LAPD officer navigating post-World War II Los Angeles amid a series of murders and corruption scandals.[24] The role demanded extensive motion capture sessions using the innovative MotionScan technology, which recorded over 32 different facial expressions per actor to enable realistic interrogation mechanics where players analyzed subtle cues like eye contact and micro-expressions for truthfulness.[25] This approach marked a significant advancement in capturing nuanced emotional depth, allowing Staton's portrayal of Phelps' internal conflicts—stemming from his wartime trauma and moral dilemmas—to translate seamlessly into interactive gameplay.[26] Staton's performance as Phelps authentically evoked the 1940s film noir aesthetic, drawing on hard-boiled detective archetypes with a focus on stoic demeanor, moral ambiguity, and period-specific dialogue delivery.[27] The MotionScan system facilitated this by synchronizing facial animations with body movements and voice work, creating a protagonist whose reactions felt lifelike and responsive to player choices, thereby enhancing the game's narrative immersion in a richly detailed 1947 Los Angeles recreated with historical accuracy.[28] Critics praised the technical fidelity of these elements, noting how Staton's captured expressions elevated interrogation scenes beyond typical video game acting, making Phelps a compelling figure whose arc from traffic patrol to vice detective mirrored classic noir antiheroes.[29] The reception of Staton's work in L.A. Noire highlighted its role in elevating actor recognition within the gaming industry, as his motion-captured performance was lauded for its emotional range and authenticity, contributing to the game's widespread acclaim for blending cinematic quality with interactivity.[30] Gaming outlets commended how the technology showcased Staton's abilities, with his Phelps described as one of the most convincing lead characters in video games at the time due to the seamless integration of TV-honed subtlety into digital form.[29] This bridged traditional film and television acting with interactive media, influencing subsequent titles by demonstrating the potential for full-performance capture to deepen player empathy and narrative engagement.[24] Since L.A. Noire, Staton has not taken on additional video game roles as of 2025.[31]Filmography
Film
Staton has appeared in several films, including:- The Nanny Diaries (2007) as Calvin[32]
- August (2011) as Troy[33]
- Lost Revolution (2011) as Rodney[34]
- The Truth About Emanuel (2013) as Anthony[35]
- Preservation (2014) as Mike Neary[36]
- Spectral (2016) as Marks[37]
- Alex & The List (2017) as Michael[38]
- The Goldfinch (2019) as James[39]
- Anesthesia (2025) as Michael[40]