Biography
A personable Everyman with a knack for both deadpan comedy and heavy drama, Craig T. Nelson was a Los Angeles-based comic and gag writer before making his acting debut in 1971. Featured in largely minor roles for much of the 1970s and early 1980s, he hit pay dirt as the protective father of a suburban family under attack by supernatural forces in the monster summer hit, "Poltergeist" (1982). Television brought him wider exposure as the star of …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
| Began career as writer/performer (with Barry Levinson) on the "Lohman and Barkley" radio show | ||
| Formed stand-up comedy act with Levinson; performed stand-up in Los Angeles | ||
| Performed in such stage productions as "The Fantasticks" and "The Taming of the Shrew" | ||
1970 | Wrote for "The John Byner Comedy Hour" (CBS) | |
1973 | Took hiatus from comedy and moved to Mount Shasta, CA with family | |
1973 | Was a guest performer on the CBS pilot, "Bachelor at Law" | |
1978 | Returned to Los Angeles to raise financing for documentaries; produced 52 programs syndicated under the title, "America Still" | |
1979 | Made feature debut in the Levinson-scripted, "...And Justice for All"; directed by Norman Jewison | |
1980 | Returned to TV in the CBS movie "The Promise of Love" | |
1982 | Co-starred with JoBeth Williams in the Spielberg-produced "Poltergeist" | |
1983 | Co-starred in the Mike Nichols directed "Silkwood" | |
1983 | Played a high school football coach, opposite Tom Cruise, in "All the Right Moves" | |
1984 | Played a US Air Force colonel in the ABC series "Call to Glory" | |
1986 | First association with director Brian Gibson, "Poltergeist II: The Other Side" | |
1989 | Acted the role of Chief Hyde in "Turner and Hooch" | |
1989 | Played the title role in the ABC sitcom "Coach"; also produced and directed starring in 1992 | |
1989 | Portrayed Shelly Long's husband in "Troop Beverly Hills" | |
1990 | Played a drug enforcement agent in the Emmy-winning miniseries "Drug Wars: The Camarena Story" (NBC); directed by Brian Gibson | |
1991 | Portrayed Walter Winchell in the HBO movie "The Josephine Baker Story"; directed by Gibson | |
1993 | Starred in the sci-fi miniseries "The Fire Next Time" (CBS) | |
1994 | Executive produced and starred in the ABC movie "Ride with the Wind"; also adapted for the screen from a Harry Grant story | |
1994 | Played Kirk Douglas's son in the NBC movie "Take Me Home Again" | |
1996 | Cast as District Attorney Ed Peters in Rob Reiner's "Ghosts of Mississippi" | |
1996 | Played the Cowboy, a drug dealer, in Herb Gardner's "I'm Not Rappaport" | |
1997 | Portrayed weathy developer Alexander Cullen in "The Devil's Advocate" | |
1997 | Reunited with director Barry Levinson in the David Mamet-scripted feature "Wag the Dog" | |
1998 | Had starring role in the ABC miniseries "Peter Benchley's 'Creature'" | |
1998 | Made Broadway debut in Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!" | |
2000 | Returned to series TV as the star of the fall CBS crime drama "The District"; also produced and directed | |
2004 | Voiced the character of Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible in the Pixar animated movie "The Incredibles" | |
2005 | Cast as the family patriarch, opposite Diane Keaton, in the holiday comedy "The Family Stone" | |
2007 | Appeared in four episodes of "My Name Is Earl" (NBC) as an eccentric prison warden | |
2007 | Co-starred with Jon Heder and Will Ferrell in the comedy, "Blades of Glory" | |
2009 | Played Ryan Reynolds' father in the comedy "The Proposal" | |
2010 | Cast as Zeek Braverman on NBC's updated version of the 1989 film, "Parenthood" | |
Awards
1990 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in Coach |
1991 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy Or Musical in Coach |
1991 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in Coach |
1992 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy Or Musical in Coach |
1992 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in Coach |
1993 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy Or Musical in Coach |
1994 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy Or Musical in Coach |
2005 | MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team in The Incredibles |