Stephen Paul Schnetzer (born June 11, 1948) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Cass Winthrop on Another World from 1982 to 1986, returning in 1987 until the show's cancellation in 1999. He won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Comic Actor in 1989 for his role on Another World and received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 1990 for Outstanding Lead Actor.
Early life
Schnetzer was born in Canton, Massachusetts on June 11, 1948.
Schnetzer attended Catholic Memorial School and The University of Massachusetts, earning a degree in French, with a minor in Spanish. He studied acting at Juilliard and The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1976, he played Lucentio in a TV movie production of The Taming of the Shrew and guest-starred on Hawaii Five-O (credited for both roles as Stephen St. Paul). He guest-starred on The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.
In 1980, he made his Broadway debut in Filumena, playing the son of Joan Plowright. The play was directed by Laurence Olivier. On television, he appeared in the 1983 TV movie Rage of Angels. He won a Soap Opera Digest Award in 1989 for Outstanding Comic Actor for his work on the show. He also received Soap Opera Digest Award nominations in 1986, 1991, 1992, and 1999. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1990.
During his time on Another World, Schnetzer appeared in the TV movie Shattered Innocence. He guest-starred on The Cosby Mysteries and Prince Street. He made guest appearances on Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Schnetzer returned to Broadway in 2002, replacing Bill Pullman in the role of Ross in Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? He went on to play the role of Martin in a production of The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at Lyric Stage in Boston, opening in February 2006. He starred as Garry Lejeune in Noises Off at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. from December 2006 to 2007. He co-starred with his son, Ben Schnetzer, in the 2007 film Ben's Plan.
From 2008 to 2013, he had guest-starring roles on The Wire, Fringe, Damages, The Good Wife, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Person of Interest. He returned to the same venue in September 2009, appearing in The Quality of Life, co-starring with Annette O'Toole and Kevin O'Rourke. In October 2015, he starred in Arthur Miller's Broken Glass at the Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut. Schnetzer appeared in the 2017 film Aardvark. He starred as Richard in the independent film A Case of Blue.
In 2024, it was announced that he would be returning to Days of Our Lives as Steven Olson. They later divorced. They are now divorced.
Filmography
Film
{|class="wikitable"
|+
!| Year
!| Title
!| Role
!| Notes
|-
| 1972
| Hail
| The People
| Also known as Hail to the Chief, Mr. President,<br/> and Washington, B.C<br/> Credited as Steven Schnetzer
|-
| 2005
| Brooklyn Lobster
| Mr. Hammon
|
|-
| 2007
| Ben's Plan
| Carl Stephens
|
|-
| 2011
| Keys. Wallet. Phone
| Handsome Man
| Short film
|-
| 2017
| Aardvark
| Don Herremans
|
|-
| 2020
| A Case of Blue
| Richard
|
|-
| 2022
| Laurina
| Dr. Porter
| Short film
|-
|2023
|Nyad
|Commentator
|
|}
Television
{|class="wikitable"
|+
!| Year
!| Title
!| Role
!| Notes
|-
| rowspan=2| 1976
| The Taming of the Shrew
| Lucentio
| Television film<br/> Credited as Steve St. Paul
|-
| Hawaii Five-O
| Officer Blankenship
| Episode: "Target - A Cop"<br/> Credited as Stephen St. Paul
|-
| 1978
| Fantasy Island
| Cebee Singh
| Episode: "Return/The Toughest Man Alive"
|-
| 1978–1980; 2024
| Days of Our Lives
| Steven Olson
| Series regular (1978–1980); guest (2024)
|-
| 1979
| The Love Boat
| Francois
| Episode: "April's Return/Super Mom/I'll See You Again"
|-
| 1980–1982
| One Life to Live
| Marcello Salta
| Contract role
|-
| 1982–1999
| Another World
| Cass Winthrop / Rex Allingham
| Contract role
1,123 episodes
|-
| 1983
| Rage of Angels
| Lawyer
| Miniseries
|-
| 1984
| Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour
| Himself
| Panelist<br/> 10 episodes
|-
| 1988
| Shattered Innocence
| Danny Calloway
| Television film
|-
| 1994
| The Cosby Mysteries
| Marty Brackett / Howard Brackett
| Episode: "Mirror, Mirror"
|-
| 1997
| Prince Street
|
| Episode: "God Bless America"
|-
| 1999–2006
| As the World Turns
| Cass Winthrop
| Recurring role
28 episodes
|-
| 2002
| Guiding Light
| Cass Winthrop
| Recurring role
|-
| 2003; 2006
| Law & Order
| Mitchell Lowell / Dr. Freeman
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2003; 2004; 2008
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
| Dr. Engles / Rabbi Birnbaum
| 4 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2008
| New Amsterdam
| Toby Hardwick's Lawyer
| Episode: "Pilot"
|-
| The Wire
| Robert Ruby
| 2 episodes
|-
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent
| Ajay Khan
| Episode: "Assassin"
|-
| rowspan=2| 2009
| Fringe
| Professor Miles Kinberg
| Episode: "Bound"
|-
| Damages
| ADA Carl Deevers
| Episode: "Hey! Mr. Pibb!"
|-
| rowspan="2"|2010
| Rubicon
| Arnold Hopper
| 2 episodes
|-
| The Good Wife
| Glenn Childs' Lead Attorney
| Uncredited<br>Episode: "Infamy"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| Person of Interest
| Tug Brantley
| Episode: "Booked Solid"
|-
| Homeland
| Dr. Cass Winthrop
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2014
| Forever
| Lawrence Forester
| Episode: "New York Kids"
|-
| rowspan=3| 2015
| The Blacklist
| Lester Charles Conway
| Episode: "Vanessa Cruz (No. 117)"
|-
| The Following
| Malcolm Tower
| Episode: "Flesh & Blood"
|-
| Flesh and Bone
| LeRan Brousseau
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2016
| The Path
| Dr. Alan Rothstein
| Originally titled The Way<br/>Episode: "Breaking and Entering"
|-
| rowspan=2| 2017
| Blue Bloods
| Hassan Nejari
| Episode: "The One That Got Away"
|-
| Billions
| Antoine Casson
| Episode: "With or Without You"
|-
| 2018
| Elementary
| Adam Braun
| Episode: "The Geek Interpreter"
|-
| 2020
| The Show Must Go Online
| Brabantio / Julius Caesar
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2022
| The Endgame
| Moustakas
| Episode: "#1 with a Bullet"
|-
| 2022–2024
| The Bay
| Richard Kaufman
| 15 episodes
|}
Video games
{|class="wikitable"
|+
!| Year
!| Title
!| Role
!| Notes
|-
| rowspan=2| 2004
| Red Dead Revolver
| Sheriff O'Grady / Charger / Union Soldier
| Voice
|-
| Conflict: Vietnam
|
| Voice
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Title
!Result
!Ref.
|-
|1989
|Soap Opera Digest Award
|Outstanding Comic Performance by an Actor: Daytime
|Another World
|
|