Bruce Dern | |
|---|---|
 Dern in 2015 | |
| Born | Bruce MacLeish Dern (1936-06-04)June 4, 1936 (age 89) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingLaura Dern |
| Relatives |
|
Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has received several accolades, including theCannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor forNebraska (2013) and theSilver Bear for Best Actor forThat Championship Season (1982). He was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor forComing Home (1978) and theAcademy Award for Best Actor forNebraska (2013). He is also aBAFTA Award, two-timeGenie Award, and three-timeGolden Globe Award nominee.
A member of theActors Studio, after portraying small roles in films likeMarnie (1964) andHush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), he rose to prominence during theNew Hollywood era. His notable film creditsThe Trip (1967),They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969),The Cowboys (1972),Silent Running (1972),The Great Gatsby (1974),Family Plot (1976),Black Sunday (1977),The Driver (1978),Tattoo (1981),The 'Burbs (1989),Monster (2003),The Hateful Eight (2015), andOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). He also starred in theHBO seriesBig Love (2006–2011).
He is the father of actressLaura Dern.
Dern was born in Chicago on June 4, 1936, the son of Jean (née MacLeish; 1908–1972) and John Dern (1903–1958), a utility chief and attorney.[1][2][3][4] He grew up inKenilworth, Illinois.[5] His paternal grandfather,George Dern, was aUtah governor andSecretary of War (he was serving in the latter position at the time of Bruce's birth). Dern's maternal grandfather was a Vice President of theCarson, Pirie and Scott stores,[6][7] which were established by his own father, Scottish-born businessmanAndrew MacLeish. Dern's maternal granduncles were poetArchibald MacLeish and Naval aviatorKenneth MacLeish.[8] His godfather was governor and two-time presidential nomineeAdlai Stevenson II.[8] Dern graduated fromNew Trier High School, where he was a track star and sought to qualify for the Olympic Trials in 1956. Dern attended theUniversity of Pennsylvania, but dropped out after two years.[7] Dern studied alongsideElia Kazan andLee Strasberg at theActors Studio, New York City.[8]
He starred withLyle Kessler in the Philadelphia premiere ofSamuel Beckett'sWaiting for Godot, and starred withPaul Newman andGeraldine Page in the original Broadway run ofTennessee Williams'Sweet Bird of Youth.[3]
In the 1960s, Dern played the sailor in a few flashbacks inMarnie,[9] and a murdered lover inHush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.[9] He played a murderous rustler inHang 'Em High,[9] a gunfighter inSupport Your Local Sheriff!,[9] and an impoverished farmer in the film adaptation ofHorace McCoy's novelThey Shoot Horses, Don't They?.[8][9]
In 1963, Dern starred in Season 1 - Ep.14 "The Zanti Misfits" of the originalThe Outer Limits.[3]
InMark Rydell's western filmThe Cowboys,[9] he played a cattle thief who kills a rancher (John Wayne). Dern had a leading role in the ecological science-fiction filmSilent Running,[8] and co-starred withJack Nicholson inThe King of Marvin Gardens.[9] Dern played Tom Buchanan in the film adaptation ofF. Scott Fitzgerald's novelThe Great Gatsby (1974).[8] InKirk Douglas'Revisionist Western filmPosse,[9] Dern played a train-robber who uses his wiles to turn the tables on his captor, an ambitious, politically mindedmarshal. Dern starred in the beauty pageant satire filmSmile,[9] and inAlfred Hitchcock's final filmFamily Plot.[9] He played a detective on the trail of a getaway driver (Ryan O'Neal) in theneo-noir filmThe Driver.[9] InJohn Frankenheimer's thriller filmBlack Sunday,[9] Dern played a vengeful Vietnam War veteran andGoodyear Blimp pilot who launches a massive terrorist attack at theSuper Bowl. Dern played another Vietnam veteran and the disturbed husband of a perplexed woman (Jane Fonda) inHal Ashby's war filmComing Home,[9] and was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[8]
InBob Brooks'erotic thriller filmTattoo,[9] Dern played an increasingly-deranged tattoo artist who imprisons a fashion model (Maud Adams). The film was dogged by controversy throughout its post-production and pre-release phase - the film's release was delayed by nearly a year - and for his lead performance, Dern was nominated for theGolden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor. However, he bounced back by winning theSilver Bear for Best Actor at the33rd Berlin International Film Festival for his performance inJason Miller'sThat Championship Season (1982).[10]
Over the next few decades, Dern played a Vietnam veteran and neighborhood survivalist inJoe Dante's suburban satireThe 'Burbs,[9] a local crime boss in Michael Ritchie'sDiggstown,[9] a rival ofWild Bill Hickok inWalter Hill'sWild Bill,[9] andGeorge Spahn inQuentin Tarantino'sOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood.[9] Dern's autobiography,Things I've Said, But Probably Shouldn't Have: An Unrepentant Memoir, was published in 2007.
InAlexander Payne's filmNebraska, Dern played a resident believing he has won a million dollars, and undertakes a road trip fromBillings, Montana toLincoln, Nebraska to get the prize. He won theBest Actor Award at the2013 Cannes Film Festival[11][12] and was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actor.[13]
In the course of his long and prolific career, Dern collaborated with film directors, including Walter Hill (The Driver,[9]Wild Bill andLast Man Standing),[9] Joe Dante (The 'Burbs,Small Soldiers andThe Hole), and Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained,The Hateful Eight andOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood). In an interview forThe A.V. Club, Dern said: "I always say that I feel like I've worked for six geniuses in my career... And the six directors, not in any order, would be Mr. Kazan, Mr. Hitchcock,Douglas Trumbull, Alexander Payne, Quentin Tarantino, andFrancis Coppola."[14] In an interview withJosh Olson and Joe Dante for thepodcast seriesThe Movies That Made Me, and while discussing his career, Dern cited the films ofDavid Lean (specifically,Lawrence of Arabia,Great Expectations andThe Bridge on the River Kwai), as among the films that inspired him.[15] When asked if he has ever contemplated retirement, Dern said: "If you think I'm gonna retire soJimmy fucking Caan can get another part from me, you're dead wrong. Because I'm gonna go till I'm 100. My goal is to do stuff with older characters that people never got the chance to do, because they never lived long enough... And because I don't have anything else I can do."[16][unreliable source]
Dern was married to Marie Dawn Pierce from 1957 to 1959.[17] He marriedDiane Ladd in 1960. Their first daughter died from head injuries after falling into a swimming pool in 1962.[18] The couple's second daughter is actressLaura Dern, born in 1967. After his divorce from Ladd, Dern married Andrea Beckett in 1969.[19]
Dern has been an avid runner his whole life. In high school, he recorded a half-mile best time of 1:55.8, and he later was on the track team at the University of Pennsylvania.[20] He said that between the ages of 28 and 70 he ran between 2,500 and 4,000 miles per year. In the 1986 filmOn the Edge, he played a runner seeking redemption in a contest based on theDipsea Race, and the 1978 filmComing Home both begins and ends with scenes of Dern running. In a 2014 interview at age 77, he said he still ran nearly every day, albeit more slowly.
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Wild River | Jack Roper | Uncredited |
| 1962 | The Crimebusters | Joe Krajac | |
| 1964 | Marnie | Sailor | |
| Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte | John Mayhew | ||
| 1966 | The Wild Angels | Joe "Loser" Kearns | |
| 1967 | The War Wagon | Hammond | |
| The St. Valentine's Day Massacre | John May | ||
| The Trip | John | ||
| Waterhole No. 3 | Deputy Sam Tippen | ||
| Will Penny | Rafe Quint | ||
| 1968 | Psych-Out | Steve Davis | |
| Hang 'Em High | Miller | ||
| 1969 | Support Your Local Sheriff! | Joe Danby | |
| Castle Keep | Lt. Billy Byron Bix | ||
| Number One | Richie Fowler | ||
| The Cycle Savages | Keeg | ||
| They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | James Bates | ||
| 1970 | Bloody Mama | Kevin Dirkman | |
| The Rebel Rousers | J.J. Weston | ||
| 1971 | The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant | Dr. Roger Girard | |
| Drive, He Said | Coach Bullion | ||
| 1972 | The Cowboys | Asa Watts (Long Hair) | |
| Silent Running | Freeman Lowell | ||
| Thumb Tripping | Smitty | ||
| The King of Marvin Gardens | Jason Staebler | ||
| 1973 | Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid | Deputy | Uncredited |
| The Laughing Policeman | Leo Larsen | ||
| 1974 | The Great Gatsby | Tom Buchanan | |
| 1975 | Posse | Jack Strawhorn | |
| Smile | Big Bob Freelander | ||
| 1976 | Family Plot | George Lumley | |
| Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | Grayson Potchuck | ||
| The Twist | William Brandels | ||
| 1977 | Black Sunday | Michael Lander | |
| 1978 | Coming Home | Captain Bob Hyde | |
| The Driver | The Detective | ||
| 1980 | Middle Age Crazy | Bobby Lee Burnett | |
| 1981 | Tattoo | Karl Kinsky | |
| 1982 | That Championship Season | George Sitkowski | |
| Harry Tracy, Desperado | Harry Tracy | ||
| 1986 | On the Edge | Wes Holman | |
| 1987 | The Big Town | Mr. Edwards | |
| World Gone Wild | Ethan | ||
| 1988 | 1969 | Cliff Denny | |
| 1989 | The 'Burbs | Mark Rumsfield | |
| 1990 | After Dark, My Sweet | Garrett "Uncle Bud" Stoker | |
| 1992 | Diggstown | John Gillon | |
| 1995 | Wild Bill | Will Plummer | |
| 1996 | Down Periscope | Admiral Yancy Graham | |
| Mulholland Falls | The Chief | Uncredited | |
| Last Man Standing | Sheriff Ed Galt | ||
| 1998 | Small Soldiers | Link Static (Voice) | |
| 1999 | The Haunting | Mr. Dudley | |
| If... Dog... Rabbit... | McGurdy | ||
| 2000 | All the Pretty Horses | The Judge | |
| 2001 | The Glass House | Alvin Begleiter | |
| 2003 | Masked and Anonymous | Editor | |
| Milwaukee, Minnesota | Sean McNally | ||
| Monster | Thomas | ||
| 2005 | Madison | Harry Volpi | |
| Down in the Valley | Charlie | ||
| 2006 | Believe in Me | Ellis Brawley | |
| Walker Payne | Chester | ||
| The Astronaut Farmer | Hal | ||
| The Hard Easy | Gene | ||
| 2007 | The Cake Eaters | Easy Kimbrough | |
| The Death and Life of Bobby Z | Hippy Narrator | Uncredited | |
| 2008 | Swamp Devil | Howard Blame | |
| The Golden Boys | Captain Perez Ryder | ||
| 2009 | American Cowslip | Cliff | |
| The Hole 3D | Creepy Carl | ||
| The Lightkeepers | Bennie | ||
| 2010 | Trim | Dale Banks | |
| 2011 | Choose | Dr. Ronald Pendleton | |
| Inside Out | Vic Small | ||
| Twixt | Bobby LaGrange | ||
| 2012 | From Up on Poppy Hill | Yoshio Onodera (voice) | English dub |
| Hitting the Cycle | James | ||
| Django Unchained | Curtis Carrucan | ||
| 2013 | Coffin Baby | Vance Henrickson | |
| Northern Borders | Austin Kittredge Sr. | ||
| Nebraska | Woody Grant | ||
| Fighting for Freedom | Christian Dobbe | ||
| 2014 | Cut Bank | Georgie Wits | |
| 2015 | The Hateful Eight | General Sanford Smithers | |
| 2017 | American Violence | Richard Morton | |
| Class Rank | Oswald Flannigan | ||
| The Lears | Davenport Lear | ||
| Hickok | Doc Rivers O'Roark | ||
| Our Souls at Night | Dorlan Becker | ||
| Chappaquiddick | Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. | ||
| 2018 | Nostalgia | Ronnie Ashemore | |
| White Boy Rick | Ray Wershe | ||
| Freaks | Alan/Mr. Snowcone | ||
| Warning Shot | Calvin | ||
| American Dresser | King | ||
| Lez Bomb | Grandpa | ||
| 2019 | The Mustang | Myles | |
| The Peanut Butter Falcon | Carl | ||
| Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | George Spahn | ||
| Remember Me | Claude | ||
| Swing Low (subsequently titledRavage) | Mallinckroft | ||
| Inherit the Viper | Clay Carter | ||
| QT8: The First Eight | Himself | Documentary[21] | |
| The Artist's Wife[22] | Richard Smythson | ||
| Badland[23] | Reginald Cooke | ||
| 2020 | Emperor | Levi Coffin | |
| Death in Texas | Reynolds | ||
| 2021 | Last Call | Coach Finnegan | |
| Buck Alamo | Death | ||
| Overrun | Arkadi Dubkova | ||
| The Gateway | Marcus | ||
| Hands That Bind | Hank | ||
| Christmas vs. the Walters | Cliff Walters | ||
| Last Shoot Out | Blair Callahan | ||
| 2022 | The Hater | Frank | |
| Hellblazers | Bill Unger | ||
| Mid-Century | Emil Larson | ||
| The Most Dangerous Game | Whitney Tyler | ||
| 2023 | The Weapon | Doris | |
| Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch | Mike Cassidy | ||
| Accidental Texan | Scheermeyer | ||
| Butch vs. Sundance | Mike Cassidy | ||
| Hunting Games | Henry | ||
| Old Dads | Richie Jacobs | ||
| 2024 | Bloodline Killer | Dr. Lucien | |
| The Devil's Trap | Mr. Cohen | ||
| 2025 | The World's Happiest Man | Tom | |
| Bad Men Must Bleed | George Wells | ||
| Feathered † | Rock | Post-production | |
| TBA | Fractured † | Papa Joe | |
| Northbound † | Arthur |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Route 66 | Albert | Episode: "The Man on the Monkey Board" |
| 1961 | Naked City | Nicky | Episode: "Bullets Cost Too Much" |
| Hollis | Episode: "The Fault in Our Stars" (uncredited) | ||
| Sea Hunt | FBI Agent John Furillo | Episode: "Crime at Sea" | |
| Surfside 6 | Johnny Page | Episode: "Daphne, Girl Detective" | |
| Thriller | Johnny Norton | Episode: "The Remarkable Mrs. Hawk" | |
| Ben Casey | Billy Harris | Episode: "A Dark Night for Billy Harris" | |
| The Detectives | Jud Treadwell | Episode: "Act of God" | |
| Cain's Hundred | Joe Krajac | Episode: "Crime and Commitment: Part 1" | |
| 1962 | Cain's Hundred | Eddie Light | Episode: "The Left Side of Canada" |
| The Dick Powell Show | Deering | Episode: "Squadron" | |
| 1962–1963 | Stoney Burke | E.J. Stocker | 17 episodes |
| 1963 | The Dick Powell Show | Hank Fairbrother | Episode: "The Old Man and the City" |
| Kraft Suspense Theatre | Maynard | Episode: "The Hunt" | |
| The Outer Limits | Ben Garth | Episode: "The Zanti Misfits" | |
| Wagon Train | Seth Bancroft | Episode: "The Eli Bancroft Story" | |
| The Fugitive | Deputy Martin | Episode: "The Other Side of the Mountain" | |
| 1964 | The Virginian | Pell | Episode: "First to Thine Own Self" |
| Lee Darrow | Episode: "The Payment" | ||
| Wagon Train | Jud Fisher | Episode: "Those Who Stay Behind" | |
| The Fugitive | Charley | Episode: "Come Watch Me Die" | |
| 77 Sunset Strip | Ralph Wheeler | Episode: "Lovers' Lane" | |
| The Greatest Show on Earth | Vernon | Episode: "The Last of the Strongmen" | |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Roy Bullock | Episode: "Night Caller" | |
| Jesse | Episode: "Lonely Place" | ||
| 12 O'Clock High | Lieutenant Michaels | Episode: "Golden Boy Had Nine Black Sheep" | |
| 1965 | Lieutenant Danton | Episode: "The Lorelei" | |
| Lieutenant Michaels | Episode: "The Mission" | ||
| Technical Sergeant Frank Jones | Episode: "The Jones Boys" | ||
| The Virginian | Bert Kramer | Episode: "A Little Learning" | |
| Wagon Train | Wilkins | Episode: "The Indian Girl Story" | |
| The Fugitive | Cody | Episode: "Corner of Hell" | |
| Hank | Episode: "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys" | ||
| Rawhide | Ed Rankin | Episode: "Walk into Terror" | |
| Laredo | Joe Durkee | Episode: "Rendezvous at Arillo" | |
| A Man Called Shenandoah | Bobby Ballantine | Episode: "The Verdict" | |
| The F.B.I. | Private First Class Byron Landy | Episode: "Pound of Flesh" | |
| Gunsmoke | Doyle Phleger | Episode: "Ten Little Indians" | |
| Judd Print | Episode: "South Wind" | ||
| 1966 | Lou Stone | Episode: "The Jailer" | |
| The Fugitive | Hutch | Episode: "The Devil's Disciples" | |
| Branded | Les | Episode: "The Wolfers" | |
| The Loner | Lud Grant | Episode: "To Hang a Dead Man" | |
| Disneyland | Turk | Episode: "Gallegher Goes West: Crusading Reporter" | |
| Run for Your Life | Alex Ryder | Episode: "The Treasure Seekers" | |
| The Big Valley | Jack Follet | Episode: "Under a Dark Star" | |
| Harry Dixon | Episode: "By Force and Violence" | ||
| Clovis | Episode: "The Lost Treasure" | ||
| 1967 | Gabe Skeels | Episode: "Four Days to Furnace Hill" | |
| Run for Your Life | Alex Ryder | 2 episodes | |
| 1968 | Lancer | Lucas Thatcher | Episode: "Julie" |
| The Big Valley | John Weaver | Episode: "The Prize" | |
| The F.B.I. | Virgil Roy Phipps | Episode: "The Nightmare" | |
| Bonanza | Cully Maco | Episode: "The Trackers" | |
| 1969 | Lancer | Tom Nevill | Episode: "A Person Unknown" |
| Gunsmoke | Guerin | Episode: "The Long Night" | |
| Then Came Bronson | Bucky O'Neill | Episode: "Amid Splinters of the Thunderbolt" | |
| 1970 | Bonanza | Bayliss | Episode: "The Gold Mine" |
| Land of the Giants | Thorg | Episode: "Wild Journey" | |
| The High Chaparral | Wade | Episode: "Only the Bad Come to Sonora" | |
| The Immortal | Luther Seacombe | Episode: "To the Gods Alone" | |
| 1985 | Space | Stanley Mott | 5 episodes |
| Toughlove | Rob Charters | Television film | |
| 1987 | Roses Are for the Rich | Douglas Osborne | |
| Uncle Tom's Cabin | Augustine St. Claire | ||
| 1989 | Trenchcoat in Paradise | John Hollander | |
| 1990 | The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson | Scout Ed Higgins | |
| 1991 | Into the Badlands | T.L. Barston | |
| Carolina Skeletons | Junior Stoker | ||
| 1993 | It's Nothing Personal | Billy Archer | |
| 1994 | Dead Man's Revenge | Payton McCay | |
| Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight | George Putnam | ||
| 1995 | A Mother's Prayer | John Walker | |
| Mrs. Munck | Patrick Leary | ||
| 1999 | Hard Time: The Premonition | Winston | |
| 2003 | King of the Hill | Randy Strickland (voice) | Episode: "Boxing Luanne" |
| Hard Ground | Nate Hutchinson | Television film | |
| 2006–2011 | Big Love | Frank Harlow | 29 episodes |
| 2007 | CSI: NY | Vet | Episode: "Boo" |
| 2013 | Pete's Christmas | Grandpa | Television film |
| 2016 | The Cowboy | Himself | Television documentary |
| 2019 | Black Monday | Rod "The Jammer" Jaminski | 2 episodes |
| Mr. Mercedes | John Rothstein | 8 episodes | |
| 2021 | Goliath | Frank Zax | 8 episodes |
| 2024 | Palm Royale | Skeet | 3 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Shadow Stalkers | The Director |
| 2020 | MegaRace: DeathMatch | Rabies |
andHe died the week I was born in 1936.
And I say, "Yeah, I like it. I'll do it. What else do I need to know?"
"Nothing," Krofft says. "You show up June sixth."
"That's two days after my birthday."
Dern, Bruce
June 4, 1936- Actor.
Diane died at just 18 months after she sustained a head injury from falling into a swimming pool.
