Biography:
Karl Kenzler was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. After graduating from the University of Evansville with a BFA in Theater, he left the Midwest and moved to New York to begin work on his MFA at the prestigious NYU Graduate Acting Program. Since then, he has worked professionally in New York, across the country and in Europe.
While at NYU, Karl first created his critically acclaimed one-man show, Fire in the Head, which tells the story of his great-great-grandparents' emigration during the Irish Famine. The show helped earn him a Fox Fellowship, allowing him to travel to Ireland, where he studied the art of storytelling and it's impact on the art of acting.
As an actor/writer, Karl also co-wrote and performed in The September 11th Project at the Chautauqua Theater Company. Drawn from the written, verbal and visual contributions of a community effected by the tragic events of September 11th, this provocative piece was performed by professional actors, conservatory students and local members of the community.
Onstage, Karl has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway and across the United States at some of the country's leading regional theaters. He has worked with such esteemed directors as Daniel Sullivan, Scott Ellis, Gerald Gutierrez, David Jones, Ethan McSweeny, Brian Kulick and Austin Pendleton. He currently appears in the role of "George Banks" in the national tour of MARY POPPINS, directed by Richard Eyre and choreographed by Matthew Bourne.
On television, he can be seen in the recurring role of Father Denis on NBC's "Law & Order: SVU".
Karl is an acting company member of Food For Thought Productions, where he has premiered new and lost one-act works from such writers as Tony Kushner, Harold Pinter, Tennessee Williams, Mark O'Donnell and Joyce Carol Oates. He also serves on the board of directors for the New Harmony Project, a writer's workshop dedicated to serving the writer and celebrating the human spirit.
He currently lives in the Journal Square neighborhood of Jersey City, NJ, with his wife, Iza, and his dog, Po.