Francis Elliott Kranz is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. He is best known for his portrayal of Topher Brink in Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon

Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...

's science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 television series Dollhouse

Dollhouse (TV series)

Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...

.

Early life

Kranz started acting in third and fourth grade and knew from a very young age that he wanted to be an actor. Kranz grew up in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California and attended Harvard-Westlake High School. Kranz graduated in 2004 from Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, where he was a member of the improv comedy group The Ex!t Players

Ex!t Players

The Yale Ex!t Players, or the Ex!t Players, is an improvisational comedy group at Yale University in New Haven, CT, United States. The Ex!t Players was founded in 1984, making it the oldest improv group on Yale’s campus. It specializes in short-form improvisational comedy.-History:The Yale Ex!t...

.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Donnie Darko Donnie Darko Donnie Darko is a 2001 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Noah Wyle, Jena Malone, and Mary McDonnell...	Passenger
2001	Training Day Training Day Training Day is a 2001 crime drama film directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by David Ayer, starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. The film follows two LAPD narcotics detectives over a 24-hour period in the gang neighborhoods of South and East Los Angeles.The film was a box office success and...	College Driver
2002	Orange County Orange County (film) Orange County is a 2002 American comedy film starring Colin Hanks and Jack Black. It was released on January 11, 2002. The movie was distributed by Paramount Pictures and produced by MTV Films and Scott Rudin. The movie was directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Mike White.-Plot:Shaun Brumder is a...	Shane Brainard
2003	Matchstick Men Matchstick Men Matchstick Men is a 2003 American drama film directed by Ridley Scott. Based on Eric Garcia's novel Matchstick Men: A Novel about Grifters with Issues , the motion picture stars Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman.-Plot:...	Slacker Boyfriend
2003	Swordswallowers and Thin Men	Adrian
2004	The Village The Village (2004 film) The Village is a 2004 American fantasy-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan about a end-of-the-19th-century village whose inhabitants live in fear of the creatures inhabiting the woods beyond it. The movie was shot in a recreation of a 19th-century village outside Philadelphia,...	Christop Crane
2004	Admissions	James Parks
2006	Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas is a 2006 film directed by Scott Lew, starring Patrick Fugit and Olivia Wilde.-Plot:Bickford Shmeckler is a lonely college student who keeps a journal of his philosophical ideas and theories. One night, during a party, his book is stolen by an inebriated Sarah Witt ...	Ralph
2006	The Night of the White Pants The Night of the White Pants The Night of the White Pants is a 2006 comedy drama film directed by Amy Talkington. It was shot on location in Dallas, Texas on digital video.-Plot outline:The film follows Max Hagan, a Dallas oil tycoon who is going through another rough divorce...	Millian Hagan
2006	The TV Set The TV Set The TV Set is a 2006 comedy about an idealistic writer attempting to bring his vision for a TV show to fruition on the small screen.-Plot:...	Zach Harper
2006	Whirlygirl	Freddie
2007	Rise: Blood Hunter	Alex
2007	Careless	Mitch
2008	Wieners	Joel
2008	Shades of Ray Shades of Ray Shades of Ray is a 2008 independent film written and directed by Jaffar Mahmood. The film stars Zachary Levi as a half-white, half-Pakistani man wrestling with his mixed identity while waiting for his white girlfriend to respond to his marriage proposal...	Sal Garfinkle
2008	Last Meal	Noah	Short film
2009	My Two Fans	Thad
2009	Homeland	Arne
2010	Don't Fade Away Don't Fade Away Don't Fade Away is a 2009 coming-of-age drama film starring Mischa Barton and Ryan Kwanten. The film has been produced by Origin Entertainment Group and was shot in Los Angeles and North Carolina.It was released on DVD in Australia on April 6, 2011.-Plot:...	Ben
2011	Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (film) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is a 2011 comedy film based on Jeff Kinney's book of the same name. The film stars Zachary Gordon and Devon Bostick. Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn, and Peyton List also have prominent roles...	Bill Walter
2011	Fanboy	Jeremiah Brennan	Short film
2011	The Five Stages of Grief	Daniel	Short film
2012	Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing (2012 film) Much Ado About Nothing is an independent film made by Joss Whedon and based on the Shakespeare play of the same name. The film is due to be released in 2012.-Production:...	Claudio	completed
2012	The Cabin in the Woods The Cabin in the Woods The Cabin in the Woods is an upcoming American tongue-in-cheek thriller-horror film, co-written and directed by Drew Goddard and co-written and produced by Joss Whedon. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Amy Acker.-Plot:...	Marty Mikalski	completed

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Frasier Frasier Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...	Aaron	Episode: "Good Grief"
2007	Untitled Christine Taylor Project	Brian	TV movie
2008	Welcome to the Captain Welcome to The Captain Welcome to The Captain is an American television comedy created, executive produced and directed by John Hamburg. Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen also serve as executive producers...	Josh Flug	Series regular
2008	Private Practice	Brian	Episode: "Equal & Opposite"
2008	It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...	College Student (uncredited)	Episode: "Who Pooped the Bed?"
2009–2010	Dollhouse Dollhouse (TV series) Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...	Topher Brink	Series Regular
2011	Goodnight Burbank	Chaz Parker	Episode: "Lesbians on Acid"

External links

• Interview with Kranz - "Fran Kranz on theater, film, and his haircut"