He started high school at theRuth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts[6] withMargaret Cho andAisha Tyler, but received his high school diploma from Urban Pioneers, anOutward Bound-stylealternative school. Rockwell explained, "I just wanted to get stoned, flirt with girls, go to parties." The school "had a reputation as a place stoners went because it was easy to graduate."[7] The school helped him regain an interest in performing. After appearing in anindependent film during his senior year, he moved to New York to pursue an acting career.[8] He later enrolled in the Professional Actor Training Program at theWilliam Esper Studio in New York.[9]
After his debut role in the controversialhorror filmClownhouse in 1989, which he filmed while living in San Francisco, he moved to New York and trained at theWilliam Esper Studios with teacher William Esper.[10] His career slowly gained momentum in the early 1990s, when he alternated between small-screen guest spots in TV series likeThe Equalizer,NYPD Blue andLaw & Order and small roles in films such asLast Exit to Brooklyn andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He also appeared as the title character inThe Search for One-eye Jimmy (1994). During this time, Rockwell worked in restaurants as a busboy and delivered burritos by bicycle.[11] At one point, Rockwell worked as aprivate detective's assistant. "I tailed a chick who was having an affair and took pictures of her at this motel", he toldRolling Stone in 2002. "It was pretty sleazy." A well-payingMiller commercial in 1994 finally allowed him to pursue acting full-time.
The turning point in Rockwell's career wasTom DiCillo's filmBox of Moonlight (1996), in which he played an eccentric man-child who dresses likeDavy Crockett and lives in an isolated mobile home. The ensuing acclaim put him front and center with casting agents and newfound fans alike, with Rockwell himself acknowledging that "That film was definitely a turning point... I was sort of put on some independent film map after 10 years in New York."[8]
He also received strong reviews for the filmLawn Dogs (1997), where he played a working-class lawn mower who befriends a wealthy 10-year-old girl (Mischa Barton) in an upper-classgated community inKentucky; Rockwell's performance won him Best Actor honors at both theMontreal World Film Festival and theCatalan International Film Festival. In 1999, Rockwell played the deranged prisoner William "Wild Bill" Wharton in theStephen King prison dramaThe Green Mile. At the time of the film's shooting, Rockwell explained why he was attracted to playing such unlikable characters. He said, "I like that dark stuff. I think heroes should be flawed. There's a bit of self-loathing in there, and a bit of anger... But after this, I've really got to play some lawyers, or a Britisharistocrat, or they'llput a label on me."[4]
Rockwell played Victor Mancini in the filmChoke (2008), based on the novel byChuck Palahniuk. CriticRoger Ebert said of his performance that he "seems to have become the latter-day version ofChristopher Walken – not all the time, but when you need him, he's your go-to guy for weirdness."[13]
Rockwell at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival forMoon
In 2007, Rockwell guest-starred in the web seriesCasted: The Continuing Chronicles of Derek Riffchyn, Greatest Casting Director in the World. Ever. He appears oppositeJonathan Togo as Derek andJustin Long as Scott. Rockwell plays an aspiring young actor named Pete Sampras.[14] In 2009, he starred in the critically acclaimed science fiction filmMoon, directed byDuncan Jones. His performance as a lonely astronaut on a long-term solo mission to the Moon was widely praised, with some critics calling for anAcademy Award for Best Actor nomination.[15] On May 3, 2010, it was announced that Rockwell would team up again withIron Man 2 directorJon Favreau for Favreau'sadaptation of the graphic novelCowboys & Aliens. He played a bar owner named Doc who joins in the pursuit of the aliens.[16]
In January 2014, it was announced that Rockwell was cast inThe Eel, in which he played an escaped convict. The film was produced by Kevin Walsh, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash, marking Rockwell's second collaboration with all three.[21] Additionally, in 2015 Rockwell starred in two films,remake ofPoltergeist andMr. Right.Mr. Right is about an ex-CIA agent turned hitman who gained a conscience and turned the tables on those that hired him as a hitman. He was also brutally honest with his girlfriend, portrayed byAnna Kendrick, on what he does. She then turns herself into a hitwoman. On May 3, 2016, it was announced that Rockwell would voice Mortimer Ramsey in the action video gameDishonored 2. Rockwell was cast along with otherMarvel Cinematic Universe actors.[22]
Rockwell has never been married, and said in a 2007 interview, "I definitely don't want to become a parent. It's not my bag."[35] He has been in a relationship with actressLeslie Bibb since 2007. They met in Los Angeles while he was filmingFrost/Nixon.[36] Rockwell and Bibb appeared together inIron Man 2,Don Verdean, andThe White Lotus.[37][38]
