Ari Graynor

A favorite on the independent film circuit for over a decade, actress Ari Graynor gave expert portrayals of young women under duress in "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" (2008) and "For a Good Time, Call " (2012). She made an auspicious debut as Meadow Soprano's manic-depressive roommate on "The Sopranos" (HBO 1999-2007) before essaying variations on that role in numerous independent projects.

Network television soon took note of her abilities, allowing Graynor to add appearances on "Veronica Mars" (UPN 2004-2007) to her growing c.v., which also included roles on Broadway in "Relatively Speaking" (2011). By the mid-2000s, Graynor was appearing in mainstream features like "Conviction" (2010), which eventually led to leading roles and producer duties in her own project, the raunchy comedy "For a Good Time, Call." Graynor's effortless turns in difficult roles, as well as her inherent versatility, minted her as an in-demand character actress in a wide variety of media.

Born Ari Geltman Graynor on April 27, 1983 in Boston, Massachusetts, she was the daughter of Joani Geltman, a parenting expert and amateur actress. Graynor caught the acting bug after seeing her mother perform in various productions, and soon followed suit in school plays. Her own professional career launched shortly after graduation from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut: Graynor was cast as the hopelessly needy Caitlin on "The Sopranos."

She followed this with a brief appearance in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning "Mystic River" (2003) before settling into supporting turns in a string of independent features, including "Game 6" (2005) as tormented playwright Michael Keaton's daughter. Graynor also made her Broadway debut in 2005 in Donald Margulies' drama "Brooklyn Boy" opposite Alan Arkin before moving Off-Broadway for "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenaged Blockhead" (2005).

Graynor soon came to the attention of casting agents for series like "Veronica Mars," and by the mid-2000s, she was alternating appearances on episodic television with film work in Christopher Guest's "For Your Consideration" (2006). In 2008, she captured critics' attention as Kat Dennings' alcoholic best friend in "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," and enjoyed supporting roles in "Youth in Revolt" (2010) and Drew Barrymore's "Whip It" (2009) while also logging a recurring role as Anna Torv's sister on the cult science fiction series "Fringe" (Fox, 2008-2013).

After nearly a decade in independent film, Graynor finally broke into studio features with the Steve Carell-Tina Fey comedy "Date Night" (2010) and as Sam Rockwell's estranged daughter in "Conviction" (2010). She was soon back on the Broadway stage, co-starring in the Woody Allen-penned segment of "Relatively Speaking" (2011). That same year, Graynor graduated to lead actress in the black comedy "Lucky" (2011), though it, the broad sex comedy "What's Your Number?" (2011) and David Gordon Green's "The Sitter" (2011) found few interested viewers.

She then made her debut as producer on writer/producer Lauren Miller's "For a Good Time, Call " playing a writer who moonlights as a phone sex operator, and the Rashida Jones/Andy Samberg comedy "Celeste and Jesse Forever" (2012). The following year, she starred in a CBS pilot for a sitcom based on the hit comedy "Bad Teacher" (2011).