Betty Gilpin’s Husband, Cosmo Pfeil, Once Acted with Her Before Completely Changing Careers

From Actor to Nurse: Cosmo Pfeil’s Career Shift

Betty Gilpin’s husband, Cosmo Pfeil, embarked on an unexpected career journey that saw him transition from acting and directing in the entertainment industry to nursing and humanitarian work. This transformation began when he was working as a part of the cast and crew for “The Northern Kingdom,” a 2009 film directed by Dorothy Lyman.

According to Betty Gilpin, Pfeil’s career shift was not just a change in profession but also an evolution in his involvement with humanitarian efforts. After working in the entertainment industry, he became more deeply involved with nursing and started contributing to organizations like CAN-DO (Compassion into Action Network – Direct Outcome Organization) and GiveLove, which focuses on ecological sanitation in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.

Early Career: Acting and Behind-the-Scenes

Cosmo Pfeil’s journey began with a strong foundation in the arts. He studied fine and studio arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 2000. His early career saw him work both as an actor and an assistant director.

Pfeil appeared in films such as “Company K” (2004) and “Shotgun Stories” (2007), and he also served as the assistant director on these projects, including the 2011 film “Take Shelter.”

While working behind the scenes as an assistant director, Pfeil often found himself in front of the camera. He appeared in television series such as “The Good Wife” and “Person of Interest,” further establishing his presence in the industry.

The Meet Cute: A Film Set Romance

Betty Gilpin and Cosmo Pfeil’s relationship began on a film set. They met while working together in 2009, portraying siblings in the drama “The Northern Kingdom.” Their connection was so strong that they eventually got married in 2016, approximately seven years later.

Gilpin shared an amusing anecdote from their early days together about Pfeil’s homemade slippers made of paper grocery bags and blue duct tape. This story highlighted the practical yet thoughtful side of Pfeil, which Gilpin appreciated during a holiday visit to her parents’ home. She wrote: “Realizing that all of us had aging Christmas Walmart ‘house socks,’ a look formed in his blue eyes that I could later identify as Must Do Immediate Elaborate Inconvenient Project to Fix Social Situation.”

Family and Partnership

The couple has two daughters, Mary (born in November 2020) and an unnamed child born in January 2024. Gilpin reflected on the challenges of being a working mother when she spoke with The Los Angeles Times about her experiences filming “American Primeval.” She stated: “I would spend my days screaming bloody murder in a petticoat on a horse, then get home and hunch over in a candy-cane position and do bath and bedtime. Being a mom in an Airbnb is way harder than filming on top of a ski mountain in below-zero degrees.”

Despite their different upbringings, Gilpin and Pfeil complement each other well.

In her book “All the Women in My Brain: And Other Concerns,” she described them as having distinct personalities: “While we were both pilgrim-looking people from New England, we couldn’t have been raised more differently. He was born on a barn floor into a circle of capable hallucinating lumberjacks and nurses wearing wolfskin. A family of hippies with trades, people you want on your deserted island, both for the hugs and the skills.”

Gilpin added: “He knew every tree type by leaf and liked to cook obscure organs with peppers that made my eyes rain.

He could talk for an hour straight about the make of a table leg or a hawk’s itinerary. As for me, when a printer is out of ink, I fantasize about throwing the printer away.”

This unique blend of interests and complementary skills has allowed them to maintain a harmonious partnership in their personal lives while pursuing different careers in Hollywood.