Brad Dourif
Brad Dourif (born18 March1950; age 75) is the actor who playedLon Suder in theStar Trek: Voyagersecond andthird season episodes "Meld", "Basics, Part I" and "Basics, Part II".
A veteran character actor, he has portrayed a number of memorable characters on both the small and the big screen, with his most well-known including Billy Bibbit in the acclaimed filmOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Doc Cochran in the HBO television seriesDeadwood, Chucky in theChild's Play series of horror films, andGríma Wormtongue in theLord of the Rings trilogy.
Early life[]
Dourif was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He attended Aiken Preparatory School in Aiken, South Carolina, from 1963 to 1965, where he briefly considered becoming an artist before deciding on an acting career. He later attended Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from which he graduated in 1969.
Career[]
1970s[]
Dourif made an impression on audiences and critics in one of his first major film roles: that of mental patient Billy Bibbit inOne Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975, withLouise Fletcher,Michael Berryman,Christopher Lloyd,Peter Brocco, andVincent Schiavelli, and make-up byFred Phillips). He won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award and a Golden Globe and received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for this role, while his co-star Louise Fletcher won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.
In 1978, Dourif worked alongsideStar Trek: Deep Space Nine'sRené Auberjonois inEyes of Laura Mars. The following year, Dourif received critical acclaim for his lead role as Hazel Motes in John Huston'sWise Blood, which co-starredDan Shor and which was cast byStratton Leopold. Dourif also worked with Dan Shor in the 1979 miniseriesStuds Lonigan, which was directed byJames Goldstone.
He appeared in the TV movieSergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force (1978, withWilliam Wintersole,Harv Selsby,Tom Ormeny,Steven Anderson,Gavan O'Herlihy,William Daniels,Mitchell Ryan,Alfred Ryder,David Spielberg, andDavid Ogden Stiers).
1980s[]
Dourif was one of severalStar Trek alumni to appear inTragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980, co-starringMeg Foster,Albert Hall,Madge Sinclair,Ed Lauter, andStar Trek: The Next Generation regularLeVar Burton). Dourif then had a supporting role inHeaven's Gate (1980, withTerry O'Quinn. Afterward, Dourif played the role of Younger Brother inRagtime (1981, withCuckoo's Nest directorMilos Forman. This film also featuredRobert Joy.
Dourif's next film role was that of sinister mentat Piter DeVries inDune (1984, withPatrick Stewart,Max von Sydow,Virginia Madsen andDean Stockwell). Dourif again worked with both Lynch and Stockwell when he played a hoodlum inBlue Velvet (1986). He subsequently co-starred withWhoopi Goldberg andHarris Yulin inFatal Beauty (1987) and played a deputy inMississippi Burning (1988).
During this time, Dourif also continued to make appearances on television. He worked alongsideDennis Christopher in a 1984 episode ofTales of the Unexpected, directed byLeo Penn. He also appeared in aRichard Compton-directed episode ofThe Equalizer withStephen McHattie and guest-starred onSpenser: For Hire, starringDeep Space Nine'sAvery Brooks. He was then seen onMoonlighting (1986, withRichard Beymer), and onThe Hitchhiker, working withKirstie Alley. In addition, he co-starred in such TV movies asVengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo (directed byMarc Daniels) andRage of Angels: The Story Continues (withMichael Nouri), both of which aired in 1986.
Child's Play[]
Dourif is well-known for voicing for the serial killer-possessed doll, Charles Lee Ray (Chucky), in theChild's Play horror films series. The first film in the series, 1988'sChild's Play, starredStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home'sCatherine Hicks andDeep Space Nine guest actorChris Sarandon. Dourif returned to voice the sadistic toy inChild's Play 2 (1990, featuringGerrit Graham),Child's Play 3 (1991, withDakin Matthews andAndrew Robinson),Bride of Chucky,Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, andCult of Chucky. He also reprised the role in the 2021 TV seriesChucky (withBarbara Alyn Woods andRachael Ancheril). Dourif even voiced the character for a cameo appearance onNBC'sSaturday Night Live.
Later horror and sci-fi works[]
Following his work onDune andChild's Play, Dourif has acted in many horror, science fiction, or fantasy genre films. In 1990, he was seen in several horror films, includingThe Exorcist III,Graveyard Shift (co-starringDavid Andrews andStephen Macht), andSpontaneous Combustion (withDey Young). He later had a supporting role inCritters 4 (1992, withAnne Elizabeth Ramsay), andTrauma (1993, withJacqueline Kim).
In 1994, Dourif guest-starred onThe X-Files (starringGillian Anderson) and subsequently appeared onMillennium (starringLance Henriksen andMegan Gallagher, with Terry O'Quinn, andMorgan Woodward) andBabylon 5 (starringClaudia Christian,Andreas Katsulas,Bill Mumy, andPatricia Tallman). He also appeared inEscape to Witch Mountain (1995, withHenry Gibson,Kevin Tighe, andCuckoo's Nest co-star) Vincent Schiavelli).
In 1997, Dourif appeared inAlien Resurrection, along withRaymond Cruz,Leland Orser,Ron Perlman, andWinona Ryder. In 2002, he appeared as the evil Grima Wormtongue inThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, co-starringJohn Rhys-Davies andKarl Urban. Dourif's only scene in the third film,Return of the King, was cut from the theatrical release but was restored in the special edition DVD.
Dourif's other genre credits includeSoulkeeper (2001, withTommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr.),Vlad (2003, withPaul Popowich andGuy Siner), andPulse (2006, withZach Grenier). He also appeared inThe Wizard of Gore (2007, withJeffrey Combs).
Dourif later played Sheriff Lee Brackett inHalloween (2007, starringMalcolm McDowell, withSid Haig,Clint Howard,Richard Lynch,Daniel Roebuck,Tom Towles, andAdrienne Barbeau, although Barbeau's scenes were cut from the final product). Dourif, McDowell, and Roebuck reprised their roles inHalloween II (2009).
Other film and television credits[]
Dourif played ruthless drug dealer Joey Wyatt inMiami Vice (1987, starringEdward James Olmos). He was seen inJungle Fever (1991), and also appeared inColor of Night (1994, featuringScott Bakula,Erick Avari,Eriq La Salle andJeff Corey). Dourif then had a supporting role inMurder in the First (1995, starringChristian Slater, withBen Slack,Eve H. Brenner,Mia Kirshner,Time Winters, andStefan Gierasch).
Some of Dourif's lesser-known film credits include 1997'sSworn to Justice withStar Trek: The Original Series starWalter Koenig and 2000'sShadow Hours withThe Next Generation'sMichael Dorn andStar Trek: Enterprise guest starPeter Weller. He portrayed Dr. Wheedon inSenseless (1998, withJenette Goldstein,Richard McGonagle,Greg Grunberg,Alexander Enberg,Manu Intiraymi,Ivar Brogger,Cyia Batten,Jack Shearer,Len Costanza,John Wilkie,Janet Dey,Bruce Dobos,Andray Johnson, andRubin Knight), and in 2001, he acted withCary-Hiroyuki in the action-thriller filmThe Ghost.
From 2004 through 2006, Dourif starred as Doc Cochran onDeadwood, which earned him an Emmy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. This series starredTimothy Olyphant and featuredLeon Rippy,Alice Krige,Jim Beaver,Titus Welliver,Larry Cedar, andKeone Young.
In 2008, Dourif guest-starred on NBC'sLaw & Order, in an episode withMichael McKean. That same year, he appeared withLee Meriwether inTouching Home. He also had a supporting role inBad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), inspired by the 1992'sBad Lieutenant.
Video games[]
Dourif played the part of the villain Saavedro inMyst III: Exile (2001). He lent his voice toRun Like HelL (2002, withVoyager starKate Mulgrew,Enterprise guestClancy Brown, Lance Henriksen,Kevin Michael Richardson andThomas F. Wilson). Also, both Dourif and Ron Perlman voiced two of the villains in the hit 2005 gameGun. Additionally, Dourif performed voice acting for the Natural Philosopher Piero Joplin, a supporting character in the 2011 gameDishonored.