Early life

Jensen was born and raised in Minnesota. He graduated from Apple Valley High School in 1988, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Carnegie Mellon University.

Career

An actor, writer, and producer, Jensen has had roles in TV, film, and stage, most notably as legendary Thurman Munson of the New York Yankees in The Bronx Is Burning. He portrayed Dr. Stephen Edwards on "The Walking Dead", and appeared alongside Aasif Mandvi in the Pulitzer Prize-winning production of Ayad Akhtars Disgraced at Lincoln Center.

In spring 2015, Erik portrayed gonzo rock critic Lester Bangs in "How to Be a Rock Critic" (co-written with Jessica Blank) at Center Theater Group in Los Angeles.

Erik co-wrote the critically acclaimed play The Exonerated with his wife, Jessica Blank. It ran in Off Broadway in New York City for nearly two years.The play is based on interviews they conducted with more than 40 exonerated death row inmates. In 2002, it was staged at The Actors' Gang Theater. It was nominated for five Ovation Awards and three NAACP Awards, winning the Ovation for Best World Premiere Play. Bob Balaban's production of The Exonerated ran for more than 600 performances off-Broadway and toured nationally.

The Exonerated was made into a 2005 film for Court TV and was produced internationally in Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Japan, Mexico, and Italy. The Exonerated won the 2003 Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Fringe First, and Herald Angel Awards. It received awards from Amnesty International, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Death Penalty Focus. It has been translated into French, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. Jensen and Blank wrote a second documentary play, Aftermath, which was produced Off-Broadway in 2009, and are developing a film based on Blank's novel Almost Home. His writing has also been published in magazines and journals including The Believer, The Dramatist, Another Magazine, and Theatre History Studies.

Living Justice, Blank and Jensen’s book on the making of The Exonerated, was published in 2005 by Simon and Schuster.

Blank and Jensen also co-wrote the documentary play Aftermath based on interviews they conducted in 2008 with Iraqi civilian refugees in Jordan. Blank directed Aftermath off-Broadway at New York Theater Workshop in 2009; it was nominated for two Drama League awards and toured internationally for two years.

Erik authored and co-created the graphic novel "The Reconcilers" which was published in 2010 by Viking Warrior press.

Personal life

Jensen married writer and actress Jessica Blank in 2001. They live in New York, New York.

Filmography

Film

• 1991: Dead and Alive: The Race for Gus Farace as Boat Owner
• 1992: What She Doesn't Know as Thug
• 1993: The Dark Half as Male Student
• 1993: Striking Distance as Kid on Steps
• 1995: A Horse for Danny as Mooner
• 1995: Inflammable as Roland Fantaine
• 1996: Ripe as Dave
• 1996: Twisted as Man Who Kills Can Man
• 1997: Colin Fitz as Dean
• 1997: Julian Po as Tyler
• 1998: Anima
• 1998: Montana as Karl
• 1998: Above Freezing as Richie
• 1998: Arresting Gena as Stevie
• 1999: The Love Letter as Ray
• 1999: Cherry as Man #3
• 2000: Brooklyn Sonnet as Frankie the Snake
• 2000: Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 as Stoner #2
• 2001: Black Knight as Derek
• 2002: The Year That Trembled as Todd Franklin
• 2002: Heartbreak Hospital as HH Producer
• 2003: Undermind as Ian Waye
• 2004: Messengers as David Richards
• 2005: The Exonerated as Jeff
• 2005: Hitler, Stalin & Walter O'Malley as Jules (short film)
• 2005: The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie as Photographer
• 2006: The House Is Burning as Carl
• 2006: Sup 2down as Ewan
• 2007: Serial as Gary Whitlock
• 2007: Game of Life as Larry
• 2008: Quality Time as Tucker (short film)
• 2008: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 as Video Store Manager Phil
• 2009: Speed Grieving as Scott (voice) (short film)
• 2009: Stream as Marco (short film)
• 2009: Virtuality as Dr. Jules Braun
• 2011: The Loop as Bearded Man
• 2011: Gun Hill as Tommy Griffin

Television

• 1994: Law & Order as George Harding (1 episode - "Grief")
• 1995: Central Park West as Jeffrey (1 episode - "Lunar Eclipse")
• 1996: Swift Justice as Mutrix (1 episode - "Pilot")
• 1997: Dellaventura (1 episode - "Hell's Kitchen")
• 1998: Law & Order as Joey Springfield (1 episode - "Coma")
• 1998: The Last Don II as Frankie Lips (miniseries)
• 2000-2001: Deadline as Feldman (3 episodes - "Just Lie Back", "Perception", and "Pilot")
• 2002: Third Watch as Larry (1 episode - "Transformed")
• 2003-2007: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as A.D.A. Jeffrey Sinclair (7 episodes)
• 2004: Strong Medicine as Gaby's Father (1 episode - The Real World Rittenhouse")
• 2004: Alias as Philip Terrance (1 episode - in "Blood Ties")
• 2004: Century City as Randolph Clemens (1 episode - in "The Face Was Familiar")
• 2005: Rescue Me as Ringmaster (1 episode - in "Happy")
• 2006: Love Monkey as Jeff (8 episodes)
• 2007: The Bronx Is Burning as Thurman Munson (8 episodes)
• 2007: Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Boyd (1 episode - "Renewal")
• 2008: New Amsterdam as Durst (1 episode - "Honor")
• 2009: The Good Wife as Josh Baldwin (1 episode - in "Conjugal")
• 2010: Past Life as Patrick (1 episode - "Regressing Henry")
• 2010: Gravity as Ralph (TV series - 6 episodes)
• 2010: Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Richard Celeste (1 episode - "Palimsest")
• 2010: Drop Dead Diva (1 episode - "A Mother's Secret")
• 2011: Lie to Me as Wayne (1 episode - "Funhouse")
• 2011: NCIS: Los Angeles as FBI Agent Landon Frisbee (1 episode - "Archangel")
• 2011: Leverage as John Connell (1 episode - "The Carnival Job")
• 2011: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as Walter Harris (1 episode - in "Frank Reynolds' Little Beauties")
• 2014: Blue Bloods as Jimmy (1 episode - "The Bogeyman")
• 2014: The Walking Dead as Dr. Steven Edwards Season 5(Recurring;3 episodes)
• 2014: Person of Interest as Walter Dang (1 episode - "Pretenders")

Stage

• The Exonerated (writer; co-wrote with Jessica Blank)
• Y2K by Arthur Kopit (Manhattan Theater Club)
• Corpus Christi by Terrence McNally (Manhattan Theater Club)
• Spain (Manhattan Class Company)
• Schmucks as Lenny Bruce (Wilma Theater, Philadelphia)
• "Disgraced" by Ayad Akhtar (Lincoln Center) Pulitzer Prize 2014
• "How to Be a Rock Critic" (co-writer with Jessica Blank) Center Theater Group, Kirk Douglas Theater

[ Source: Wikipedia ]