Which actor portrays FBI profiler Holden Ford in Mindhunter?

Jonathan Groff portrays FBI profiler Holden Ford in Mindhunter. The character leads the series’ exploration of serial-killer psychology and the early development of criminal profiling at the FBI.

Holden Ford is loosely based on real FBI agent John E. Douglas, whose 1995 book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit inspired the show. The fictional Ford works with Bill Tench and psychologist Wendy Carr to interview imprisoned murderers and study their motives.

Mindhunter was created by Joe Penhall, with David Fincher serving as an executive producer and the show’s most frequent director. Groff’s performance presents Ford as ambitious and intellectually curious, but also socially inexperienced and sometimes reckless.

A common mix-up is confusing Ford with Holt McCallany’s Bill Tench or Cameron Britton’s Ed Kemper. Groff plays the investigator; Britton plays the convicted killer whose interviews help shape Ford and Tench’s research.