Gus Halper (born July 2, 1992) is an American actor best known for his roles in the series Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders (2017), Fear the Walking Dead (2021), and Law & Order: Organized Crime (2022–2023), and in the films Goat (2016) and Rustin (2023).[1][2][3][4] He also appeared in the 2016 off-Broadway production of the musical Ride the Cyclone, playing Mischa Bachinski.[5]
Halper was born on July 2, 1992 in Manhattan, New York City.[6] His mother, Deann Simmons Halper, is an actress and theater director.[7][8] Halper graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, which his mother had previously attended, in 2014.[9]
In 2014, while studying at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Halper played Romeo in the university's production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.[10] After graduating, he starred in the ABC television film The Kingmakers as Eli, a young man who infiltrates an Ivy League university to investigate his sister's death.[11] The following year, Halper appeared alongside Nick Jonas and Ben Schnetzer in Goat, which was produced by James Franco.[4] The same year, he portrayed Ukrainian teenager Mischa Bachinski in an off-Broadway production of Ride the Cyclone at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.[5]
In 2017, Halper portrayed convicted murderer Erik Menendez in the eight-part series Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.[1] In 2021, he appeared in two episodes of Fear the Walking Dead.[2] A year later, Halper appeared as Teddy Silas, a construction foreman, in Law & Order: Organized Crime.[12] In 2023, he portrayed activist Tom Kahn in Rustin, a film about civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.[3]
Halper married actress Emma Geer on October 15, 2023.[13]
| † | Denotes productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Rémy | Emmanuel Remy | Short film | |
| 2015 | Ricki and the Flash | Impatient Traveler | ||
| 2016 | Goat | Chance | [4] | |
| Couch | Jeff | Short film | ||
| 2017 | Guy | Guy | Short film | |
| 2018 | Maine | Dragon | ||
| 2019 | Cold Pursuit | Bone | ||
| Safe Space | Jacques | Short film | ||
| 2020 | Holler | Blaze | ||
| Winning Streak | Tyson Drake | Short film | ||
| 2023 | Rustin | Tom Kahn | [3] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Suite Life of Hudson & James | Warren | Voice; 1 episode | |
| 2014 | Galyntine | Kyree | TV Movie | |
| 2015 | Public Morals | Sergio Tedesco | 4 episodes | |
| The Kingmakers | Eli | TV Movie | [11] | |
| 2016 | Power | Alby | 3 episodes | |
| Chicago P.D. | Oliver Tuxhorn | 1 episode | ||
| 2017 | Mercy Street | 1 episode | ||
| Law & Order True Crime | Erik Menendez | 8 episodes | [1] | |
| 2017–2018 | Happy! | Mikey Scaramucci | 6 episodes | |
| 2018 | Madam Secretary | Nathan Cleminger | 1 episode | |
| 2019 | Ramy | Shawn | 1 episode | |
| Jett | Neal | 5 episodes | ||
| Dickinson | Joseph | 5 episodes | ||
| 2020 | Love Life | Danny Two Phones | 1 episode | |
| 2021 | Evil | Graham Lucian | 1 episode | |
| Fear the Walking Dead | Will | 2 episodes | [2] | |
| 2022–2023 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Teddy Silas | 8 episodes | [12] |
| TBA | Criminal † | Ricky Lawless |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | The Lip Sync Fables | Prince | [14] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Romeo and Juliet | Romeo | UNCSA production | [10] |
| 2016 | Ride the Cyclone | Mischa Bachinski | Off-Broadway | [5] |
