F. Murray Abraham

F. Murray Abraham (born Murray Abraham; October 24, 1939) is an American actor. He became widely known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus (1984). He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men (1976), Scarface (1983), The Name of the Rose (1986), Last Action Hero (1993), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), Finding Forrester (2000), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). He is also known for his television and theatre work and is now a regular cast member on the award-winning TV series Homeland.

Early life

Abraham was born as Murray Abraham on October 24, 1939 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Frederick Abraham, an auto mechanic, and his wife Josephine (née Stello), a housewife. His father was Assyrian and emigrated from Syria during the 1920s famine; his paternal grandfather was a chanter in the Syriac Orthodox Church. His mother, one of 14 children, was Italian American, and the daughter of an immigrant who worked in the coal mines of Western Pennsylvania. Abraham added "F." to his stage name in honor of his father Frederick. He has stated "Murray Abraham just doesn't seem to say anything. It just is another name, so I thought I'd frame it".