John Edward Cariani (born July 23, 1969) is an award-winning American actor and an accomplished playwright. Cariani is best known to television viewers as the unwavering forensic expert Julian Beck in Law & Order. On stage, he earned a Tony Award nomination for his role as Motel the Tailor in the 2004 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. As a playwright, he is best known for his first play, Almost, Maine, which has become one of the most frequently produced plays in the United States. He starred on Broadway in the Tony Award winning musical Something Rotten! as Nigel Bottom and is scheduled to star in the Broadway musical The Band's Visit .