Biography
Mitchell Whitfield was already a seasoned, albeit low-profile, actor when he won a part in the hit 1992 comedy "My Cousin Vinny," a role that would prove to be a turning point in his career. A native Brooklynite, Whitfield started appearing in film and TV during his teenage years. His first credit was in 1983 as a kid with a bedwetting problem in the provocatively named summer-camp comedy "The First Turn-On!." Thankfully, less embarrassing roles in more highbrow efforts followed; he had a small part in Barbet Schroeder's true-life courtroom drama "Reversal of Fortune," and acted in one episode of the durable Agatha Christie-esque series "Murder, She Wrote." Although "My Cousin Vinny" was a vehicle for the comic stylings of its stars Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei, Whitfield more than held his own as the goofy, puzzled and intimidated character Stan. Subsequent to that hit film, the actor worked steadily throughout the 1990s, particularly in the beloved sitcom "Friends," in which he played the recurring role of orthodontist Barry. Following this, Whitfield mainly concentrated on TV jobs, though from time to time he acted in movies such as the turtle superhero fantasy "TMNT" in 2007, for which he provided the voice of Donatello, one of the title characters.
