Bio: By transforming into his characters and pulling the audience in, Ed Harris has earned a reputation as one of the most talented actors of our time.Ed Harris was born in Tenafly, New Jersey, to Margaret (Sholl), a travel agent, and Robert Lee Harris, a bookstore worker who also sang professionally. Both of his parents were originally from Oklahoma. Harris grew up as the middle child. After graduating high school, he attended New York's Columbia University, where he played football. After viewing local theater productions, Harris took a sudden interest in acting. He left Columbia, headed to Oklahoma, where his parents were living, and enrolled in the University of Oklahoma's theater department. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles to find work. He started acting in theater and television guest spots. Harris landed his first leading role in a film in cult-favorite George A. Romero's Knightriders (1981). Two years later, he got his first taste of critical acclaim, playing astronaut John Glenn in The Right Stuff (1983). Also that year, he made his New York stage debut in Sam Shepard's "Fool for Love", a performance that earned him an Obie for Outstanding Actor. Harris' career gathered momentum after that. In 2000, he made his debut as a director in the Oscar-winning film Pollock (2000).
Tivia: Became a father for the 1st time at age 42 when his wife Amy Madigan gave birth to their daughter Lily Dolores Harris on May 3, 1993.Admitted in a Movieline interview that he would have loved to play Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).Credits acting for helping him get over his shyness as a young man.He and Amy Madigan were married by a justice of the peace in Waxahachie, Texas, during the filming of Places in the Heart (1984).Plays the antagonist to Nicolas Cage in The Rock (1996) and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007). In both films, he redeems himself in death.Was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (2001).Has appeared in three films based on Stephen King stories: Creepshow (1982), Needful Things (1993) and The Stand (1994).To learn how to paint in Jackson Pollock's style and portray his art in the film Pollock (2000), he had a studio built on his property and spent some time painting and working on Pollock pieces.Is a huge fan of Father Ted (1995).Has three films on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. They are: A Beautiful Mind (2001) at #93, The Right Stuff (1983) at #19, and Apollo 13 (1995) at #12.He says his most embarrassing moment was modeling tuxedos at the Oklahoma State Fair in 1971.Due to injuries he sustained while filming The Abyss (1989), he was almost unable to accept the role of Frankie Flannery in State of Grace (1990).He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2015.Originated the role of Eddie in the stage production of "Fool for Love" by Sam Shepard. He later worked with Shepard himself in The Right Stuff (1983) and then Shepard went on to succeed him in the film adaptation of the play.Good friends with Fred Ward and has shared 3 credits with him: The Right Stuff (1983), Swing Shift (1984) and Masked and Anonymous (2003).Received an honorary degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2003.He has worked with 9 directors who have won a Best Director Oscar: Jonathan Demme, Robert Benton, James Cameron, Sydney Pollack, Ron Howard, Oliver Stone, Clint Eastwood, Alfonso Cuar��n, and Warren Beatty.One of his favorite books is John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath".Nominated for the 2018 Emmy Award in the Lead Actor in a Drama Series category for his role as Man in Black in Westworld (2016), but lost to Matthew Rhys from The Americans (2013).His father was a singer with the Fred Waring chorus.A veteran stage actor, he made his European debut in Ireland in 2006 with Neil LaBute's play "Wrecks".In 1973, he moved to Los Angeles, California and attended the California Institute of the Arts, receiving his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.As of 2014, has appeared in six films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Right Stuff (1983), Places in the Heart (1984), Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), The Hours (2002) and Gravity (2013). Only A Beautiful Mind (2001) won in the category. Three of them were space-related films: The Right Stuff (1983), Apollo 13 (1995) and Gravity (2013).Was considered for the role of Remo in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985). The role later went to his friend Fred Ward.Attended Columbia University, New York and the University of Oklahoma.New York: Announced that he, wife Amy Madigan, Glenne Headly and Bill Pullman will co-star in the to New York City premiere of Beth Henley's play "The Jacksonian", for a limited run from October to December in the The New Group's Off-Broadway Acorn Theater. Robert Falls is set to direct. (August 2013)He was nominated for the 2017 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts category.Owing to his intense sexuality and political activism, Harris has been dubbed "the thinking woman's sex symbol".Was ready to star in Danny Boyle's firefighter drama "Worcester Cold Storage" with Woody Harrelson, but the project never came to fruition.Was nominated for Broadway's 1986 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for "Precious Sons".He was nominated for the 2016 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Performance Arts category.Has an older brother, Robert Harris, and a younger brother, Spencer Harris.Attended and graduated from Tenafly High School in Tenafly, New Jersey in 1969.Is the second of three sons of Robert Lee and Margaret Harris.He won an Obie Award for his performance in "Fool for Love".He was inducted into the 2019-2020 Class of New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Entertainment Category.Son-in-law of John Madigan.He was nominated for the 2018 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts category.1 of 3 actors who have had a primary or secondary role in a Nicolas Cage movie produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and a primary or secondary role in a Tom Hanks movie also starring Gary Sinise. The other 2 actors are David Morse and Mykelti Williamson. Harris appeared in the Cage/Bruckheimer collaborations "The Rock" (1996) and "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (2007) and the Hanks/Sinise collaboration "Apollo 13" (1995).Not a relation of Richard Harris nor his son Jared Harris.