Biography
Thanks to his uncanny ability to make annoyingly vain, pompous, whiny or supercilious characters seem both heroic and likable, he rose to the top of the Hollywood heap with memorable turns in "American Graffiti" (1973), "Jaws" (1975) and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977). Though he was the epitome of cockiness on screen, there was always something reassuring about his presence, though he did gain the dubious off-screen reputation for …
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Career Milestones
| Began acting at age 9 at the West Side Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles, CA | ||
| Worked at New York Playboy Club with comedy troupe; was fired after his first performance for insulting customers | ||
1964 | At 15 made professional stage debut with "In Mama's House" at the Gallery Theatre in Los Angeles | |
1964 | First television appearance, the NBC sitcom "Karen" | |
1966 | Directed by Rob Reiner in the stage production of "The Session" with Larry Bishop (son of Joey), Reiner, and David Arkin | |
1967 | First film part, uncredited role in "The Graduate" | |
1968 | Delivered memorable role as a cocky car thief in "The Young Runaways" | |
1969 | Made Broadway debut in "But, Seriously..." | |
1971 | Appeared in Israel Horowitz's off-Broadway play "Line" | |
1972 | TV movie debut, "Two for the Money" (ABC) | |
1973 | Garnered notice for his turn as the college-bound Curt in George Lucas' "American Graffiti" | |
1973 | Played Baby Face Nelson in John Milius' "Dillinger" | |
1974 | Landed first lead role in the Canadian film "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" | |
1975 | Breakthrough role, played marine biologist Matt Hooper in Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" | |
1977 | Second collaboration with Spielberg, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" | |
1977 | Won Best Actor Academy Award for his role as a struggling actor opposite Marsha Mason in Neil Simon's "The Goodbye Girl" | |
1978 | Played Cassius in "Julius Caesar" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music | |
1978 | Produced and starred in feature film "The Big Fix" | |
1979 | Starred as Iago in "Othello" with the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park | |
1981 | Turned in remarkable performance as paralyzed sculptor who argues for his right to die in John Badham's "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" | |
1986 | Narrated director Rob Reiner's "Stand By Me" | |
1986 | Started as part of the fine ensemble of Paul Mazursky's "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" | |
1987 | Offered excellent turns in both Barry Levinson's "Tin Men" and Badham's "Stakeout" | |
1987 | Produced, wrote and hosted TV special "Funny You Don't Look 200!" (ABC) | |
1988 | Re-teamed with Mazursky as the very broad actor-cum-dictator of "Moon Over Parador" | |
1989 | Third film with director Spielberg, starring opposite Holly Hunter in "Always" | |
1991 | Executive produced Ken Russell's "Prisoner of Honor" (HBO); also co-starred as George Picquart | |
1991 | Portrayed Bill Murray's shrink in "What About Bob?" | |
1991 | Re-teamed with Hunter for Lasse Hallstrom's "Once Around" | |
1992 | Returned to Broadway in "Death and the Maiden" with Glenn Close and Gene Hackman | |
1993 | Appeared in feature film version of Neil Simon's play "Lost in Yonkers" | |
1994 | Stage directorial debut, "Hamlet" for the Birmingham Theatre Company at the Old Rep in England | |
1995 | Acted opposite Christine Lahti in the Los Angeles stage production of "Three Hotels" | |
1995 | Earned second Best Actor Academy Award nomination for "Mr. Holland's Opus" | |
1996 | Directed the short film "Present Tense, Past Perfect" (Showtime) | |
1996 | Made cameo appearance as Senator Bob Rumson in Reiner's "The American President" | |
1996 | Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (October) | |
1997 | Co-produced and starred as Fagin in the TV adaptation of "Oliver Twist" (ABC) | |
1997 | Played a civil rights attorney based on William Kunstler for Sidney Lumet's "Night Falls on Manhattan" | |
1998 | Re-teamed with Mason for the stage play "House," co-authored by Jon Robin Baitz and Terrence McNally | |
1998 | Starred opposite Jenna Elfman in "Krippendorf's Tribe" | |
1999 | Co-starred with Mason in the London stage production of Simon's "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" | |
1999 | Portrayed infamous Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky in HBO's "Lansky"; scripted by David Mamet and directed by John McNaughton | |
2000 | Cast as an aging gangster in the comedy "The Crew" | |
2001 | Co-starred in "The Old Man Who Loved to Read Stories" | |
2001 | Played U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig in Showtime drama "The Day Reagan Was Shot" | |
2001 | Starred in the CBS TV drama "The Education of Max Bickford" | |
2004 | Co-starred with Chris Cooper in John Sayles' political satire "Silver City" | |
2004 | Returned to Broadway in "Sly Fox" opposite Elizabeth Berkley | |
2006 | Starred in director Wolfgang Petersen's remake of "The Poseidon Adventure" | |
2008 | Portrayed U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in Oliver Stone's biopic "W." | |
2009 | Cast in Joe Sutton's "Complicit" at London's Old Vic theater; directed by Kevin Spacey | |
2009 | Earned a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word for the album The Lincoln-Douglas Debates | |
2010 | Acted opposite Elisabeth Shue in the action thriller "Piranha 3-D" | |
2010 | Played a local drug lord in Tim Blake Nelson's "Leaves of Grass" | |
2010 | Portrayed Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel in the Colin Greer play "Imagining Heschel" at New York's Cherry Lane Theater | |
2012 | Co-starred with Lauren Ambrose and Geena Davis in A&E miniseries "Coma," based on 1978 film | |
Awards
1973 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical in American Graffiti |
1975 | BAFTA Award for Actor in Jaws |
1977 | Academy Award for Actor In a Leading Role in The Goodbye Girl |
1977 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical in The Goodbye Girl |
1977 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor in The Goodbye Girl |
1978 | BAFTA Award for Actor in The Goodbye Girl |
1987 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture in Nuts |
1995 | Academy Award for Actor In a Leading Role in Mr. Holland's Opus |
1995 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama in Mr. Holland's Opus |
1997 | Palm Springs International Film Festival for Desert Palm Achievement Award |
1999 | Montreal World Film Festival for Special Grand Prix of the Americas |
2002 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in The Education of Max Bickford |
2002 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries in The Day Reagan Was Shot |