Malcolm Goodwin

Malcolm Goodwin was born in Brooklyn in 1982. He trained at the SUNY Purchase conservatory of theater arts, where he realized that acting is hard, grinding work. His first professional steps weren't glamorous, but they taught him the rhythm of the New York industry.

In 2007, he landed a supporting role in American Gangster directed by Ridley Scott. Working on a blockbuster of that scale alongside Denzel Washington gave him the visibility he needed to break into national television. That shoot was his real film school.

Television came along shortly after.

The Typecasting That Paid the Bills

In 2011, he played Shea Daniels in the series Breakout Kings. The show lasted only two seasons, but his character, a former convict turned law enforcement helper, caught the attention of casting directors in Los Angeles. It was the start of a run of roles tied to law and justice.

In 2015, he joined the cast of iZombie to bring detective Clive Babineaux to life. For five seasons, he anchored a plot about the living dead with a sense of realism. He shot 71 episodes in total for this production from The CW.

And audiences connected with his restraint.

But Goodwin didn't want to just wait for his agent's calls. So he founded Vision Vehicle Productions with Victor Williams to finance projects of their own and keep control over the final cut. This producing side gave him a true understanding of the business from behind the camera.

Total Control Behind the Camera

In 2022, he took on the role of Oscar Finlay in the first season of Reacher. The Amazon Prime Video series was a massive ratings hit and required him to shoot action scenes in harsh weather in Ontario. His portrayal of the Boston police captain brought a dry tone to the story.

It was a demanding physical challenge.

For 2023, Mike Flanagan recruited him for the miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher. In this Netflix adaptation, he played the young version of the investigator C. Auguste Dupin. The role demanded a very high level of technical precision to match the version of the character played by Carl Lumbly in the alternate timeline.

He directed A True Story in 2013 on a budget of under one million dollars.