Born Oct. 31, 1939 in New York, NY, Rifkin climbed his way up the New York theatre world through out the late 1950s. He made his Broadway debut in the original 1960 production of Neil Simon’s “Come Blow Your Horn.” He made his film debut in the chain-gang adventure film, “The Devil’s 8” (1969), followed up with the sci-fi actioner, “Silent Running” (1971). After sampling both mediums, Rifkin found he was more enamored by the stage than by the silver screen. He continued to work prolifically as a stage actor, doing so well in certain parts that in some cases, his theatrical work led to film reprisals (i.e. “The Sunshine Boys” (1975).

Throughout the 80s and 90s, Rifkin appeared in various TV movies and series, including “Hill Street Blues” (NBC, 1981–1987), “Concealed Enemies” (1984), “The Winds of War” (NBC, 1983), the long-running “Law & Order” (NBC, 1990- ), “Dress Gray” (1986), “The Sunset Gang” (1991), “Norma Jean and Marilyn” (ABC, 1996) and “Flowers for Algernon” (2000).

In 1998, Rifkin received a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor for the Broadway revival of “Cabaret.” Rifkin’s other theatre credits included David Hirson's “Wrong Mountain,” Arthur Miller's “Broken Glass,” Turgenev's “A Month in the Country” and Neil Simon's “Proposals.” Rifkin originated the role of Isaac Geldhart in the Jon Robin Baitz play, “Substance of Fire,” for which he won the Obie, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and Drama-Logue awards for Best Actor. As was becoming common, Rifkin later reprised the role in the 1996 feature film version of the play. The following year he performed in Baitz's “Three Hotels,” for which he received a second Lucille Lortel Award and Drama Desk nomination. He also appeared in “Light Up the Sky” at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Next up for Rifkin was a brilliant performance in Curtis Hanson’s Oscar-winning crime drama from the pungent James Ellroy novel, “L.A. Confidential” (1997), where he played the corrupt and compromised District Attorney Lowe. This role energized Rifkin’s feature film career, leading to memorable roles in such films as F. Gary Gray’s police actioner, “The Negotiator” (1999) with Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson, the romantic comedy “Keeping the Faith” (2000) with Ben Stiller and Ed Norton, the Tom Clancy nuclear thriller “The Sum of All Fears” (2002) with Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman, “The Majestic” (2001) with Jim Carrey, and the mysterious “Dragonfly” (2002) with Kevin Costner.

In 2001, J.J. Abrams came calling when he was readying his new super-spy serial for ABC – “Alias,” starring a then unknown Jennifer Garner. The hit TV show amped Rifkin’s status, which then led to the television film “Deliberate Intent” (2000), opposite Timothy Hutton, and appearances in several episodes of “Nero Wolfe” (2001), which Hutton directed.

During the summer of 2002, Rifkin reunited with Baitz in a production of “Ten Unknowns” at Boston’s Huntington Theatre. The following year, Rifkin was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series, for his role on “Alias.” Unfortunately he did not win.

In the winter of 2004, Rifkin yet again reunited with Baitz to star in his new play, “The Paris Letter” at the Kirk Douglas Theater in Los Angeles, which was followed by a production in the summer of 2005 at the Laura Pels Theatre in New York. Rifkin was nominated in 2005 at the Teen Choice Awards in the Choice TV Parental Units category for his work on “Alias.” He shared this nomination with Victor Garber and Lena Olin, but they did not take home the award.

With the end of “Alias” in the spring of 2006, Rifkin was poised to again appear in high profile film and TV projects.