Early life

Harris was born November 28, 1950, at the Englewood Hospital in Englewood, New Jersey, and was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, the son of Margaret (née Sholl), a travel agent, and Bob L. Harris (1922-2014), who sang with the Fred Waring chorus and worked at the bookstore of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has two brothers, Paul and Robert. His parents were originally from Oklahoma. Harris was raised in a middle class Presbyterian family. He graduated from Tenafly High School in 1969, where he played on the football team, serving as the team's captain in his senior year.

A star athlete in high school, Harris competed in athletics at Columbia University in 1969. When his family moved to New Mexico two years later, Harris followed, having discovered his interest in acting in various theater plays. He enrolled at the University of Oklahoma to study drama. After several successful roles in local theaters, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts, where he spent two years and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1975.

Career

Harris began his career on the stage. Harris' first film role came in 1978 with a minor part in the suspense film Coma, starring Michael Douglas. His first major role in a film came two years later with Borderline (1980), in which he starred alongside Charles Bronson. In 1981, Harris played the lead, William "Billy" Davis, a king of a motorcycle-riding renaissance-fair troupe (a role modeled after King Arthur), in Knightriders. The following year, he co-starred as Hank Blaine in the black comedy horror anthology film Creepshow, directed by George A. Romero. In 1983, Harris became well-known after portraying astronaut John Glenn in The Right Stuff. In 1984, he co-starred in the Robert Benton-directed drama film Places in the Heart; during production of this film, Harris met and married his wife Amy Madigan.

In 1986, he received a Tony Award nomination in the Best Actor in a Play category for his role in George Furth's Precious Sons. He also won the Theatre World Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play for his performance. Harris then portrayed William Walker, a 19th-century American who appointed himself President of Nicaragua, in Walker (1987). That same year, he played the main role of Harry Nash in the HBO television thriller film The Last Innocent Man. In 1989, his role as David "Dave" Flannigan in Jacknife earned him his first Golden Globe Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture. Also in 1989, he portrayed Virgil "Bud" Brigman in the sci-fi film The Abyss, directed by James Cameron.

In 1992, Harris co-starred as Dave Moss in the drama film Glengarry Glen Ross, based on the play of the same name by David Mamet. He won the Valladolid International Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film. He next appeared in the films The Firm (1993) and Needful Things (1993), before portraying the lead role of Kyle Bodine in the neo-noir film China Moon (1994). In 1995, Harris portrayed Watergate figure E. Howard Hunt in the Oliver Stone biopic Nixon, and received his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance as NASA flight director Gene Kranz in Apollo 13. The following year, Harris starred in and executive produced the television adaptation of Riders of the Purple Sage. Also in 1996, Harris returned to the Broadway stage, appearing as Major Steve Arnold in the Ronald Harwood play Taking Sides. In 1998, his co-starring role in The Truman Show earned him a second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture win.

Harris made his directorial debut in 2000 with the drama biopic Pollock, in which he also starred as artist Jackson Pollock. He was nominated for his first Academy Award for Best Actor (and third Oscar overall) for his performance. To prepare for the role, he built a small studio in which to copy the painter's techniques. Two years later, Harris was nominated for his fourth Academy Award (third in the Best Supporting Actor category) for his role as Richard Brown in the British-American drama film The Hours. In between the two Oscar nominated roles, he appeared in the biographical drama A Beautiful Mind (2001) and portrayed German sniper Major Erwin König in the war thriller Enemy at the Gates (2001).

For his lead role as Miles Roby in the 2005 miniseries Empire Falls, Harris was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film. He then appeared as a vengeful mobster in David Cronenberg's A History of Violence (2005). In 2006, he portrayed composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the film Copying Beethoven, and starred in the television documentary film The Armenian Genocide as American diplomat Leslie Davis. He next appeared alongside Casey Affleck and Morgan Freeman in the Ben Affleck-directed neo-noir mystery film Gone Baby Gone (2007). Harris then co-starred as the antagonist Mitch Wilkinson in National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), alongside Nicolas Cage.

In 2010, he and wife Amy Madigan appeared together in Ash Adams' independent crime drama Once Fallen. Later that same year, Harris starred in the survival drama The Way Back as Mr. Smith. His performance received much critical praise, and he was suggested by critics to receive a fifth Oscar nomination. In 2012, he co-starred alongside Sam Worthington in the thriller film Man on a Ledge for Summit Entertainment. He then won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance as Senator John McCain in the HBO made-for-television drama Game Change. The following year, he appeared in the western thriller Sweetwater, and starred opposite Annette Bening in the romantic drama film The Face of Love. Harris then voiced Mission Control in Alfonso Cuarón's sci-fi epic Gravity (2013), starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.

In 2015, he portrayed the title character in the film version of the Shakespeare tragedy Cymbeline. In 2016, he appeared alongside Madigan and Taissa Farmiga in The New Group's revival of Sam Shepard's Buried Child, for which he was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play. Harris is then set to co-star in James Franco's In Dubious Battle, based on the novel of the same name by John Steinbeck. Also in 2016, he will portray the villainous Man in Black in HBO's sci-fi thriller series Westworld, and will have a role in the ensemble cast of Warren Beatty's romantic comedy-drama Rules Don't Apply, also starring Lily Collins and Alden Ehrenreich. In 2017, he is set to appear in Dean Devlin's sci-fi film Geostorm, alongside Gerard Butler and Andy García. That same year, Harris will star in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Starz drama series The One Percent with Hilary Swank and Ed Helms. Harris has also been cast in Darren Aronofsky's untitled drama film, alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Domhnall Gleeson.

Personal life

Harris married actress Amy Madigan on November 21, 1983, while they were filming Places in the Heart together. They have one daughter, Lily Dolores Harris, born on May 3, 1993.

On March 20, 2012, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) completed a merger of equals to form a new union SAG-AFTRA. Harris, along with Edward Asner, Martin Sheen, Valerie Harper, Michael Bell, and Wendy Schall (to name a few) were adamantly opposed to such a merger and filed a lawsuit against SAG President Ken Howard and several SAG Vice Presidents, seeking to have the merger overturned and the two unions separated to their pre-merger organizations. The lawsuit was dismissed on May 22, 2012.

Harris has a reputation for being serious on the film set. He told a journalist in 2006: "I don't like bullshittin'... so, I guess that comes across as serious." He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 13, 2015. Harris received an honorary degree from Muhlenberg College on May 17, 2015.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Coma	Pathology Resident
1980	Borderline	Hotchkiss "the Marine"
1981	Knightriders	William "Billy" Davis
1982	Creepshow	Hank Blaine
1983	The Right Stuff	John Glenn
1983	Under Fire	Oates
1984	Swing Shift	Jack Walsh
1984	Places in the Heart	Wayne Lomax
1985	Code Name: Emerald	Gus Lang
1985	Alamo Bay	Shang Pierce
1985	Sweet Dreams	Charlie Dick
1987	Walker	William Walker
1988	To Kill a Priest	Police Captain Stefan
1989	Jacknife	David "Dave" Flannigan
1989	Field of Dreams	The Voice	Voice
1989	The Abyss	Virgil "Bud" Brigman
1990	State of Grace	Frankie Flannery
1991	Paris Trout	Harry Seagraves
1992	Glengarry Glen Ross	Dave Moss
1993	The Firm	Wayne Tarrance
1993	Needful Things	Sheriff Alan Pangborn
1994	Milk Money	Tom Wheeler
1994	China Moon	Kyle Bodine
1995	Nixon	E. Howard Hunt
1995	Apollo 13	Gene Kranz
1995	Just Cause	Blair Sullivan
1996	Eye for an Eye	Mack McCann
1996	The Rock	Gen. Francis X. Hummel
1997	Absolute Power	Det. Seth Frank
1998	The Truman Show	Christof
1998	Stepmom	Luke Harrison
1999	The Third Miracle	Father Frank Shore
2000	Pollock	Jackson Pollock	Also director and producer
2000	The Prime Gig	Kelly Grant
2000	Waking the Dead	Jerry Charmichael
2001	A Beautiful Mind	William Parcher
2001	Buffalo Soldiers	Colonel Berman
2001	Enemy at the Gates	Major Erwin König
2002	The Hours	Richard Brown
2003	Masked and Anonymous	Oscar Vogel
2003	Radio	Coach Harold Jones
2003	The Human Stain	Lester Farley
2005	Winter Passing	Don Holden
2005	A History of Violence	Carl Fogarty
2006	Two Tickets to Paradise	Melville
2006	Copying Beethoven	Ludwig van Beethoven
2007	Gone Baby Gone	Det. Remy Bressant
2007	Cleaner	Eddie Lorenzo
2007	National Treasure: Book of Secrets	Mitch Wilkinson
2008	Touching Home	Charlie Winston
2008	Appaloosa	Virgil Cole	Also writer, director and producer
2010	Once Fallen	Liam Ryan
2010	The Way Back	Mr. Smith
2010	Virginia	Sheriff Dick Tipton
2011	That's What I Am	Mr. Steven Simon
2011	Salvation Boulevard	Dr. Peter Blaylock
2012	Man on a Ledge	David Englander
2013	Phantom	Captain Demi
2013	Pain & Gain	Ed Du Bois, III
2013	Snowpiercer	Minister Wilford
2013	Sweetwater	Sheriff Cornelius Jackson
2013	The Face of Love	Tom Young / Garret Mathis
2013	Gravity	Mission Control	Voice
2014	Planes: Fire & Rescue	Blade Ranger	Voice
2014	Frontera	Roy McNary
2015	Cymbeline	King Cymbeline
2015	Run All Night	Shawn Maguire
2015	The Adderall Diaries	Neil Elliott
2016	In Dubious Battle	Joy	Post-production
2016	Rules Don't Apply	Mr. Bransford	Completed
2017	Geostorm	Secretary Dekkom	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Gibbsville	Steve	Episode: "Trapped"
1977	Delvecchio	Davey Bresnihan	Episode: "Cancelled Contract"
1977	The Amazing Howard Hughes	Russ	Television film
1978	The Rockford Files	Rudy Kempner	Episode: "Kill the Messenger"
1978	David Cassidy: Man Undercover	Ben	Episode: "Deadly Convoy"
1979	The Seekers	Lt. William Clark	Television film
1979	Barnaby Jones	Glenn Morgan	Episode: "School of Terror"
1979-81	Lou Grant	Warren	3 episodes
1980	Paris	John Dantley	Episode: "America the Beautiful"
1980	The Aliens Are Coming	Chuck Polcheck	Television film
1981	CHiPs	Lonny	Episode: "Vegabonds"
1981	Hart to Hart	Arnold Harmon	Episode: "Hart of Darkness"
1984	American Playhouse	Jimmy Wing	Episode: "A Flash of Green"
1987	The Last Innocent Man	Harry Nash	Television film
1992	Running Mates	Hugh Hathaway	Television film
1994	The Stand	General Starkey	Miniseries, episode: "The Plague"
1995	Frasier	Guest Caller Rob	Episode: "Leapin' Lizards"
1996	Riders of the Purple Sage	Jim Lassiter	Television film; also executive producer
2005	Empire Falls	Miles Roby	Miniseries
2006	The Armenian Genocide	Leslie Davis	Documentary
2012	Game Change	John McCain	Television film
2016	Westworld	The Man in Black	Upcoming series
2017	The One Percent	Nathaniel Cobb	Upcoming series

Other credits

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Call of Duty: Black Ops	Jason Hudson	Voice

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Location
1983	Fool for Love	Eddie	Douglas Fairbanks Theater, Off-Broadway
1986	Precious Sons	Fred	Longacre Theatre, Broadway
1994	Simpatico	Lyle Carter	The Public Theater, Off-Broadway
1996	Taking Sides	Major Steve Arnold	Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway
2003	Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted	Dalton Trumbo	Westside Theatre, Off-Broadway
2006	Wrecks	Edward Carr	The Public Theater, Off-Broadway
2013	The Jacksonian	Bill Perch	Theatre Row, Off-Broadway
2016	Buried Child	Dodge	The New Group, Off-Broadway

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Nominated work	Result
1983	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor	The Right Stuff	Nominated
1984	Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actor	Fool for Love	Won
1986	Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play	Precious Sons	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play		Won
	Theatre World Award		Won
1989	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	Jacknife	Nominated
	Saturn Award for Best Actor	The Abyss	Nominated
1992	Valladolid International Film Festival Award for Best Actor	Glengarry Glen Ross	Won
1995	Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nixon, Apollo 13, and Just Cause	Won
	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nixon	Nominated
		Apollo 13	Won
	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role		Won
	Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor		Won
	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor		Nominated
	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture		Nominated
	Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor		Runner-up
	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor		Nominated
	Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor	Simpatico	Won
1996	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	Riders of the Purple Sage	Nominated
	Bronze Wrangler for Television Feature Film		Won
1998	Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor — Drama	The Truman Show	Won
	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture		Won
	National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor		Won
	Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor		Won
	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor		Nominated
	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role		Nominated
	Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor		Nominated
	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor		Nominated
2000	Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor	Pollock	Won
	Academy Award for Best Actor		Nominated
	Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama		Nominated
2001	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	A Beautiful Mind	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Nominated
2002	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor	The Hours	Nominated
	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role		Nominated
	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture		Nominated
	Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble		Nominated
	Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor		3rd Place
	London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year		Nominated
	Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role		Nominated
	Italian Online Movie Award for Best Cast		Won
	Italian Online Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor		Won
2005	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Empire Falls	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie		Nominated
	Satellite Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie		Nominated
	Women's Image Network Award for Best Actor in a Made-for-TV Movie/Miniseries		Won
	National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor	A History of Violence	Won
2007	Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance	Wrecks	Nominated
	Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance		Nominated
2008	Boston Film Festival Prize for Best Screenplay Adaptation	Appaloosa	Won
	Bronze Wrangler for Theatrical Motion Picture		Won
	Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble	Gone Baby Gone	Nominated
2012	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Game Change	Won
	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie		Nominated
	Golden Nymph Award for Best Performance by an Actor - Television Film		Nominated
2016	Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play	Buried Child	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]