American actor
Chris Cooper
|
---|
|
Born
| Christopher Walton Cooper
(
1951-07-09
)
July 9, 1951
(age 72)
|
---|
Alma mater
| University of Missouri
|
---|
Occupation
| Actor
|
---|
Years active
| 1977?present
|
---|
Spouse
|
|
---|
Children
| 1
|
---|
Christopher Walton Cooper
[1]
(born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including
A Time to Kill
(1996),
October Sky
(1999),
American Beauty
(1999),
The Bourne Identity
(2002),
Seabiscuit
(2003),
Capote
(2005),
Syriana
(2005),
The Kingdom
(2007),
Where the Wild Things Are
(2009),
The Town
(2010),
The Muppets
(2011),
Live by Night
(2016),
Cars 3
(2017),
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
(2019), and
Little Women
(2019). He also portrayed Sheriff July Johnson in the acclaimed miniseries
Lonesome Dove
(1989), which became one of the most successful Westerns in history.
Cooper won both the
Academy Award
and
Golden Globe Award
for Best Supporting Actor for his role as
John Laroche
in the 2002 film
Adaptation.
He played a lead role in the historical and political thriller
Breach
(2007), playing FBI agent and traitor
Robert Hanssen
. He played Daniel Sloan in the 2012 political thriller
The Company You Keep
, and
Norman Osborn
in
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
(2014). He also portrayed Al Templeton on the 2016
Hulu
miniseries
11.22.63
.
He is a frequent collaborator with director
John Sayles
, including
Matewan
(1987),
City of Hope
(1991),
Lone Star
(1996),
Silver City
(2004) and
Amigo
(2010).
Early life
[
edit
]
Cooper was born on July 9, 1951, in
Kansas City, Missouri
, the son of Charles and Mary Ann (Walton) Cooper.
[1]
[2]
He has an older brother, Chuck Cooper (born 1948).
[3]
His father was both a
United States Air Force
doctor and a cattleman, and his mother was a housewife.
[4]
[5]
[6]
Both of his parents were from
Texas
.
[4]
Cooper grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City, and spent his summers at his family's cattle ranch, located about 15 miles west of
Leavenworth, Kansas
.
[4]
[6]
He was also raised in
Las Vegas
,
Phoenix
, and
Houston
.
[7]
While attending Southwest High School in Kansas City, Cooper worked for a local theater company: "I had a background in carpentry, so I could build sets and work in the wings and shift scenes in the evening."
[8]
After he graduated from high school, Cooper became the shop foreman for another repertory company.
[8]
He also considered helping his father raise cattle for a living.
[6]
Cooper served in the
Coast Guard Reserve
.
[4]
[9]
Cooper attended the
University of Missouri
and enrolled in the theater program, originally majoring in set design.
[4]
[8]
It was during his sophomore year when Cooper changed his major to acting in order to overcome his "overpowering shyness."
[4]
Cooper, therefore, took acting classes at the University of Missouri.
[6]
He recalled in a 1996 interview with
The Philadelphia Inquirer
, "I started going in and watching some shows at the theater department. I started taking theater classes and auditioned for plays. And once I got into it, it was pretty immediate. I really felt right, felt at home."
[8]
Cooper also took dance classes at
Stephens College
.
[5]
[9]
After he graduated from the University of Missouri, Cooper moved to
New York City
in 1976.
[5]
[10]
While living in New York, Cooper shared a one-bedroom railroad flat with four other aspiring actors and dancers.
[4]
He supported himself by renovating apartments.
[4]
In addition, he worked in construction and served as a janitor and a chauffeur.
[5]
At the same time, he studied with
Stella Adler
and
Wynn Handman
.
[4]
[5]
[8]
Prior to his film debut with
Matewan
(1987), Cooper spent the previous twelve years doing stage work with the
Actors Theater of Louisville
and the
Seattle Repertory
.
[5]
[6]
In 1985, Cooper appeared in the
London
revival of
Sweet Bird of Youth
.
[10]
Career
[
edit
]
Cooper's early performances include
John Sayles
' 1987 film
Matewan
; the 1989 CBS-TV Western miniseries
Lonesome Dove
; the 1991 indie Western drama
Thousand Pieces of Gold
, and the 1992 ABC-TV docudrama
Bed of Lies
, opposite
Susan Dey
.
Some of his more notable later performances include:
Money Train
, as a psychotic
pyromaniac
who terrifies
toll booth
operators;
Lone Star
, in a leading role as a Texas
sheriff
charged with solving a decades-old case; as Deputy Dwayne Looney in director
Joel Schumacher
's 1996 film
A Time to Kill
(based on the John Grisham novel); as Frank Booker in 1998's
The Horse Whisperer
; and as a closeted homophobic
Marine Corps
colonel in
American Beauty
, a role that garnered him a
Screen Actors Guild Award
nomination for Best Supporting Actor. To get into character, Cooper said he "depended on a friend who'd fought in Vietnam. I asked him to go deep. What would this man have done? What would be on his walls? On his desk?"
[11]
In 2000, Cooper played Colonel Harry Burwell (inspired by Lieutenant Colonel
Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee
) in
The Patriot
. He was nominated for another Screen Actors Guild Award, a
BAFTA Award
, and won an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
and a
Golden Globe Award
in 2003 for playing the role of John Laroche in
Adaptation.
In 2002, Cooper also appeared in
The Bourne Identity
as a ruthless
CIA
special ops
director, a role he reprised (in flashbacks) in
The Bourne Supremacy
.
Cooper received another Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his supporting role as racehorse trainer Tom Smith in 2003's
Seabiscuit
. In 2004, Cooper starred in
Silver City
, playing an inept
Republican
gubernatorial candidate, a character noted for similarities to U.S. President
George W. Bush
.
[
citation needed
]
Cooper appeared in three acclaimed films in 2005:
Jarhead
(which reunited him with
American Beauty
director
Sam Mendes
and
October Sky
actor
Jake Gyllenhaal
);
Capote
; and
Syriana
. He also acted in the thriller
Breach
, playing real-life
FBI
agent and traitor
Robert Hanssen
. Cooper commented that
Breach
was "the first studio film where they've considered me the lead [actor]". In 2007, he appeared as a government agent in dangerous territory in the action thriller
The Kingdom
and voiced the character Douglas in the film adaptation of
Maurice Sendak
's book,
Where the Wild Things Are
(2009).
At the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Cooper appeared alongside
Ben Affleck
in
The Company Men
, early reviews of which praised Cooper's performance as "pitch-perfect".
[12]
In 2011, Chris Cooper appeared in
The Muppets
as Tex Richman, the antagonistic oil tycoon who is unable to laugh. In the musical film, Cooper performed the rap and dance number "Let's Talk About Me".
[13]
In 2013, he played Charles Aiken, Sr. in
August: Osage County
alongside an all-star cast that included
Meryl Streep
and
Julia Roberts
.
In 2017, he and
Laurie Metcalf
starred in
A Doll's House, Part 2
, a Broadway play by Lucas Hnath based on
Henrik Ibsen
's
A Doll's House
, for which he received a
Tony Award
nomination. Cooper played Nora Helmer's husband, Torvald.
[14]
Cooper portrayed
Norman Osborn
in the 2014 film
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
. He appeared in an uncredited role in Ben Affleck's crime drama
Live by Night
, which was released in December 2016.
In 2019, Cooper starred in two acclaimed films,
Marielle Heller
's
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
, with
Tom Hanks
,
[15]
and
Greta Gerwig
's
adaptation
of
Little Women
with an ensemble cast featuring
Saoirse Ronan
,
Emma Watson
,
Florence Pugh
,
Timothee Chalamet
,
Laura Dern
, and
Meryl Streep
.
[16]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Cooper met his future wife,
Marianne Leone
, in 1979 at an acting class in New York City.
[3]
[4]
[8]
On their first date, she helped him carry sheet rock up eight flights of stairs: "That's when I knew this was the girl for me."
[4]
They married in July 1983.
[2]
[3]
Their son, Jesse Lanier Cooper,
[17]
was born three months prematurely in October 1987.
[18]
Three days after he was born, Jesse suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and developed cerebral palsy.
[6]
[18]
[19]
Jesse was eventually mainstreamed into
Silver Lake Regional High School
, where he became an honor student.
[17]
[18]
Cooper recalled in a 2003 interview with
The Morning Call
, "(Jesse) is the best thing that ever happened to us. He's in a wheelchair and he communicates only by computer, but he's taught me so much because he's just so incredibly focused. Now he's in a regular school, which we fought to get him into. He's an honors student, and he's doing great."
[6]
On January 3, 2005, Jesse Cooper
died suddenly and unexpectedly from epilepsy
.
[17]
[18]
A memorial fund was set up in his name, the Jesse Cooper Foundation.
[20]
Cooper has said that the death of his son has somewhat helped him understand several characters he played, such as Charles Aiken in
August: Osage County
(2013)
[21]
and Phil Eastwood in
Demolition
(2015).
[22]
Cooper formerly maintained residences in
Hoboken, New Jersey
, and
Plymouth, Massachusetts
.
[8]
As of 2003, he resides in
Kingston, Massachusetts
.
[23]
[24]
He has been close friends with frequent collaborator
John Sayles
since 1985.
[8]
[25]
On May 14, 2016, Cooper received an honorary doctorate from the
University of Massachusetts Lowell
.
[26]
He and his wife Marianne adopt and live with rescue dogs.
[27]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Stage
[
edit
]
Video games
[
edit
]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Mary Ann Walton Cooper 1925 - 2015 Obituary"
.
Muehlebach Funeral Care
. Retrieved
August 21,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Chris Cooper Biography (1951-)"
.
Film Reference
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Chris Cooper"
.
Hollywood.com
. February 27, 2013
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
Ryan, James (June 30, 1996).
"Mr. 'Last-Minute' Gets a Plum Role"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Dutka, Elaine (January 3, 2003).
"For this role, Cooper was willing to adapt (Part 2 of 2)"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Longsdorf, Amy (July 26, 2003).
"Like Seabiscuit, Oscar winner Chris Cooper beats the odds"
.
The Morning Call
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
Ivry, Bob (March 10, 1999).
"Chris Cooper's New Role"
.
Lakeland Ledger
. Retrieved
September 5,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Rea, Steven (July 15, 1996).
"From Actor, Echoes Of Another Cooper Chris Cooper Isn't Related To Gary, But The Star Of 'Lone Star' Has A Similar Presence"
.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
. Archived from
the original
on September 15, 2015
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Pringle, Gill (August 17, 2007).
"Chris Cooper: The man who played a patriot in American Beauty is now turning traitor in Breach"
.
Belfast Telegraph
. Retrieved
September 5,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Blau, Eleanor (September 4, 1987).
"NEW FACE; FINDING A PERFECT FIT IN A ROLE IN 'MATEWAN'
"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
August 21,
2016
.
- ^
"In Step With: Chris Cooper"
.
Parade
. October 24, 2004.
- ^
Peck, Aaron (January 24, 2010).
"Review: The Company Men ? Sundance Film Festival"
.
film.com
. Archived from
the original
on January 31, 2010.
- ^
Fowler, Tara (November 22, 2011).
"Chris Cooper: 'Muppets hip-hop number went well'
"
.
Digital Spy
. Retrieved
February 10,
2021
.
- ^
Barone, Joshua (October 7, 2016).
"
'A Doll's House, Part 2' to Open on Broadway"
.
The New York Times
– via www.nytimes.com.
- ^
Kroll, Justin (August 21, 2018).
"Chris Cooper Joins Tom Hanks in Mr. Rogers Film 'You Are My Friend' (Exclusive)"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
September 6,
2018
.
- ^
N'Duka, Amanda (September 28, 2018).
"Oscar Winner Chris Cooper Boards Greta Gerwig's 'Little Women' Adaptation"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
October 1,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Son of actor Chris Cooper dead at 17 in Kingston"
.
The Boston Globe
. January 5, 2005
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Lehner, Marla (January 6, 2005).
"Oscar Winner Chris Cooper's Son Dies at 17"
.
People
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
Oney, Steve (September 16, 2010).
"Book review: 'Knowing Jesse' by Marianne Leone"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
"Jesse Lanier Cooper memorial"
.
Variety
. January 5, 2005. Archived from
the original
on August 18, 2016
. Retrieved
July 24,
2016
.
- ^
"Chris Cooper Brings A Lifetime Of Experience To 'August: Osage County'
"
.
WBUR-FM
. January 10, 2014
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
Shanahan, Mark (April 1, 2016).
"For Chris Cooper, a study in grief"
.
The Boston Globe
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
"Chris Cooper gives 'Seabiscuit' the silent treatment"
.
The Augusta Chronicle
. July 28, 2003. Archived from
the original
on October 31, 2017
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
Shanahan, Mark; Goldstein, Meredith (November 6, 2014).
"Chris Cooper to play J.D. Salinger"
.
The Boston Globe
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
Moore, Roger (April 7, 2008).
"Chris Cooper: One tough character"
.
Orlando Sentinel
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
"Actor Chris Cooper honored at UMass Lowell"
.
WHDH (TV)
. May 14, 2016
. Retrieved
August 16,
2016
.
- ^
Cooper ML. A father’s soothing ways: Boston Globe June 18, 2021, 5:19 a.m. Accessed June 20, 2021
- ^
"Chris Cooper, Playbill"
.
Playbill.com
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"The 6th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards"
.
sagawards.org
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"2003 Oscars"
.
oscars.org
. October 5, 2014
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"Winners & Nominees Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture"
.
goldenglobes.com
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"Film Actor in a Supporting Role in 2003"
.
bafta.org
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"The 9th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards"
.
sagawards.org
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"F55th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners"
.
emmys.com
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"The 10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards"
.
sagawards.org
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"The 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards"
.
sagawards.org
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"The 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards"
.
sagawards.org
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
- ^
"The Tony Award Nominations 2017"
.
tonyawards.com
. Retrieved
December 4,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
Awards for Chris Cooper
|
---|
|
---|
1936?1950
| |
---|
1951?1975
| |
---|
1976?2000
| |
---|
2001?present
| |
---|
|
---|
1943?1975
| |
---|
1976?2000
| |
---|
2001?present
| |
---|
|
---|
1954?1975
| |
---|
1976?2000
| |
---|
2001?present
| |
---|
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|