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Pollock
Background:
“One thing I learned about Mr. Pollock’s art, which
any art student knows I’m sure, but was indeed a revelation to
me, is that Jackson fully believed and lived by 'don't use the
accident, because I deny the accident.' One cannot even approximate
Pollock's work unless every stroke, every pour, every slap, every
fling, every shake, every splash, every splatter and every flick has
a specific intention.” Ed Harris
American actor Ed Harris first came to prominence as astronaut
John Glenn in the 1983 film The Right Stuff. Twelve years after the
talk-about performance, Harris stood out as NASA operation control
flight director Gene Kranz in Tom Hanks’ vehicle Apollo 13
(1995), for which he netted a Southeastern Film Critics Association
Award, The Actor Award and a Broadcast Film Critics Association
Award, in addition to a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. In
1998, Harris’ dazzling supporting performance as the God-like
Christof garnered several awards like a Golden Globe Award, a
National Board of Review Award and a Southeastern Film Critics
Association Award. He also received nominations at the Academy
Awards and BAFTA.
In a more recent film, talented actor Harris received recognition
and appreciation with his starring role of artist Jackson Pollock in
the Academy Award-winning movie Pollack (2000), wherein Harris also
served as a director. The role garnered the actor a Toronto Film
Critics Association Award and an Oscar nomination. Back to the
second-banana role, Harris earned another Oscar nomination, as well
as a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a SAG nomination, for his fine turn as
a grateful author dying of AIDS in The Hours (2002). His recent and
forthcoming credits include Enemy of the Gates (2001), Buffalo
Soldiers (2001), A Beautiful Mind (2001), The Human Stain (2003), the
southern drama Radio (2003), David Cronenberg’s masterful drama
A History of Violence (2005), the TV miniseries “Empire Falls”
(2005, earned an Emmy nomination), Winter Passing (2005), Copying
Beethoven (2006), Touching Home (2007), Gone Baby Gone (2007),
Cleaner (2007), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) and
Appaloosa (2008).
As a proficient stage actor, Harris made a name for himself when
he debuted on Broadway in a production of George Furth’s
autobiographical “Precious Sons” (1986), in which his
outstanding portrayal of a stern but loving father handed Harris a
Drama Desk Award, a Theater World Award, and a Tony nomination. In
1983, he picked up an Obie Award due to his bravura work in Sam
Shepard’s “Fool for Love.” Two years before,
Harris took home a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award after
presenting a noteworthy performance in “Prairie Avenue.”
As for his private life, 5’ 9’, blue-eyed Harris is
the husband of actress Amy Madigan, with whom he has shared his life
outside the limelight since 1983. The couple has a daughter named
Lily Dolores Harris (born in 1993).
Star Athlete
Childhood and Family:
Born Edward Allen Harris, on November 28, 1950, in Englewood, New
Jersey, Ed Harris was raised as the middle child of Robert L. Harris
(former singer, bookseller) and Margaret Harris (travel agent). He
has two brothers, Robert Harris (born in 1939) and Spencer Harris
(born in 1956).
“I was very happy playing sports until I was 18, and then
there were a couple of years where I really didn't know what I wanted
to do. I saw some theatre in Oklahoma and made a decision to learn
about acting. It wasn't really with an eye on making films or even
making a living; it was really about trying to focus on something
that had the potential of taking the place of sports in terms of
something to penetrate.” Ed Harris
A New Jersey native, Ed was educated at Tenafly High School, in
New Jersey, where he was known as an excellent football player. Upon
graduation, he went to New York’s Columbia University on a full
sports scholarship, but a few years later, he transferred as an
acting student to the University of Oklahoma (studied from
1972-1973). After several successful roles in local theater, Ed
headed for Los Angeles to find work and enrolled at the California
Institute of the Arts. In 1975, he graduated with a Fine Arts
degree.
Ed Harris has been married to actress Amy Madigan (born on
September 11, 1950) since 1983. The two met while working in a
production of Prairie Avenue at the Lee Strasberg Institute in 1981.
Ed and Amy share a daughter named Lily Dolores Harris (born on May 3,
1993).
The Right Stuff
Career:
A star athlete while in high school, and a sport scholarship
recipient at Columbia University, Ed Harris turned his attention to
acting after viewing several local theater productions. He then
transferred as a drama major to the University of Oklahoma and became
seriously involved with stage work. Harris made a professional stage
debut as King Arthur in a production of “Camelot” at the
Jewel Box Theater in Oklahoma City. After graduation, he flew to Los
Angeles to pursue an acting career.
Harris landed his first television role when he appeared as a
guest in an episode of “Gibbsville” (1976) and made a TV
movie debut in The Amazing Howard Hughes, starring Tommy Lee Jones, a
year later. He soon moved to the big screen with a tiny role in Coma
(1978) and got his first major film role in Borderline (1980),
opposite the late Charles Bronson. In 1981, Harris made an
impression with his first leading role in cult-favorite George
Romero’s Knightriders (1981). On stage, he took home a 1981
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle for his bright work in “Prairie
Avenue.”
1983 was Harris’ banner year since he was offered memorable
work both on screen and on stage. On film, the actor was launched
toward the spotlight with the supporting role of John Glenn, a NASA
astronaut, in the adventure The Right Stuff (1983). Harris’
career also skyrocketed when he won an Obie for Outstanding Actor
after making his New York stage debut in Sam Shepard’s “Fool
for Love.” Shortly after that, Harris became an actor in
demand.
Harris charmed moviegoers with his sexiness as the husband of
Goldie Hawn in Swing Shift (1984), offered a fine turn as a dishonest
spouse in Place in the Heart (1984, opposite future wife Amy Madigan)
and served as a script consultant, as well as a star, in the
independent flick A Flash of Green (1984). In 1985, Harris delivered
a strong, believable performance as hard-drinking, good old Southern
boy Charlie Dick in Sweet Dreams (1985). The following year, he was
seen on stage as the strict, but loving, father in George Furth’s
autobiographical “Precious Sons.” Due to his brilliant
performance, Harris netted a Drama Desk for Outstanding Actor and a
Theater World, as well as earned a Tony nomination
He returned to television by taking the role of a lawyer in the
HBO movie The Last Innocent Man (1987). The same year, Harris won
the title character of Walker (1987), an Alex Cox’s odd biopic
of the 19th-century adventurer William Walker who proclaimed himself
president of Nicaragua. Next up for Harris, he received a Golden
Globe nomination for his good supporting turn as David ‘High
School’ Flannigan in Jacknife (1989). Harris rounded out the
year with James Cameron’s big-budgeted underwater spectacle The
Abyss (1989), where he was teamed with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
After State of Grace (1990), Harris was back on the small screen
with two television movies. He was first cast as an attorney
employed to protect a racist in the Showtime Paris Trout (1991). He
then costarred with Diane Keaton in the HBO politically-themed,
comedy/drama Running Mates (1992). Harris followed that up with more
complex, and even alarming, portrayals, in the films Glengarry Glen
Ross (1992), The Firm (1993) and Just Cause (1995, played an uncanny
serial killer). 1994 saw the actor return to his theatrical roots by
costarring with Beverly D’Angelo and Marcia Gay Harden in the
Off-Broadway staging of Sam Shepard’s “Simpatico.”
In 1995, Harris turned the heads of critics when director Ron
Howard cast him in the supporting role of Gene Kranz, a NASA mission
control flight director, in the ensemble Apollo 13 (1995), which
starred Tom Hanks. Because of his virtuoso acting, Harris was handed
a Southeastern Film Critics Association award, an Actor Award and a
Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Supporting Actor. He
also picked up another Actor Award in the category of Outstanding
Ensemble Performance in a Motion Picture. The role also brought
Harris his first Oscar nomination.
Nixon (1995), Eye for an Eye (1996), Riders of the Purple Sage
(1996, TV), The Rock (1996) and Absolute Power (1997) followed before
the actor was garnered a second Best Supporting Actor nomination with
the Academy Awards for his notable turn as the God-like Christof in
the comedy The Truman Show (1998), starring popular comedian Jim
Carrey. The critical acclaimed performance also won Harris such
awards as a Golden Globe, a National Board of Review and a
Southeastern Film Critics Association, as well as a BAFTA nomination.
He then costarred opposite Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon in
Stepmom (1998), and ended the decade with The Third Miracle (1999),
playing Frank Shore, a disappointed priest sent to investigate claims
of miracles performed by a woman.
In 2000, Harris once again came to the attention of the public
when he made his debut as a director, as well as starred in, the
Oscar-winning film Pollock, a biopic of artist Jackson Pollock.
Starring in the title role, opposite Marcia Gay Harden as Lee
Krasner, Harris’ performance was critically applauded and he
was awarded the 2001 Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best
Actor. Additionally, the role garnered a third Oscar nomination, but
this time for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The film itself debuted
at the 2000 Venice Film Festival and was chosen as the centerpiece of
the 2000 New York Film Festival.
Harris next dotted his impressive resume with remarkable
performances in the WWII drama Enemy of the Gates (2001), Buffalo
Soldiers (2001) and Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind (2001, with
Russell Crow). Two years later, Harris was seen as Richard Brown, an
honored author dying of AIDS, in The Hours (2002, opposite Meryl
Streep). He was so good in the role that he received a number of
nominations, which included an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a
SAG for Best Supporting Role.
2003 saw roles in Masked and Anonymous (2003), the film adaptation
of Philip Roth’s novel The Human Stain (2003, portrayed Nicole
Kidman’s former husband Lester Farley) and the feelgood hit
Radio (2003, starred alongside Cuba Gooding Jr.). Returning to
filmmaking after a two-year hiatus, Harris remained a powerful actor
and starred as Carl Fogarty in the masterful drama A History of
Violence (2005) from director David Cronenberg. On television, he
earned an Emmy nomination for his affecting performance of New
England restaurateur Miles Roby in the humorous, poignant HBO
miniseries “Empire Falls” (2005). Harris' more recent
and upcoming credits include the drama Winter Passing (2005), the
musical Copying Beethoven (2006, as Ludwig van Beethoven), Two
Tickets to Paradise (2006), Touching Home (2007), Gone Baby Gone
(2007), Cleaner (2007), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) and
Appaloosa (2008).
Awards:
Toronto Film Critics Association: Best Actor, Pollock, 2001
Southeastern Film Critics Association: Best Supporting Actor,
The Truman Show, 1999
National Board of Review: Best Supporting Actor, Stepmom and
The Truman Show, 1998
Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, The
Truman Show, 1998
Southeastern Film Critics Association: Best Supporting Actor,
Apollo 13, 1996
Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Supporting Actor,
Apollo 13, Nixon and Just Cause; tied with Kevin Spacey, 1995
The Actor: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a
Supporting Role, Apollo 13, 1995
The Actor: Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Motion
Picture, Apollo 13; shared award with film’s cast, 1995
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle: Scar, 1992
Theater World: Precious Sons, 1986
Drama Desk: Outstanding Actor in a Play, Precious Sons, 1986
San Francisco Critics: Scar, 1985
Obie: Performance, Fool for Love, 1983/84
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle: Prairie Avenue, 1981
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