Chris Cooper
One of the most respected character actors of our time, Chris Cooper was recognized in 2003 with an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of John Laroche in Columbia Pictures Adaptation, written by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) and directed by Spike Jonze. The film, loosely based on Susan Orlean’s novel, The Orchid Thief, followed a sexually frustrated screenwriter’s attempts to adapt Orlean’s anecdotal novel for the screen. Cooper was also recognized for his performance in this film by numerous critics associations including the Broadcast Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and Toronto Film CriticsAssociation.
Cooper recently completed production on two films. Alongside Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman, Cooper co-stars in the Universal film The Kingdom, which tells the story of a team of U.S. government agents who are sent to investigate the bombing of an Americanfacility in the Middle East. Directed by Peter Berg, the film will be released on September 28.
Most recently, Cooper starred in the Universal Pictures film Breach, playing the title role of Robert Hanssen, a renowned operative for the FBI who was found guilty of spying for the Russians. Cooper received extraordinary praise from movie critics around the country for his deft performance. The film was directed by Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) and co-stars Ryan Phillipe.
In 2006, Cooper also had strong supporting roles in Sony Classics’ Capote, Universal’s Jarhead, for director Sam Mendes, and Warner Bros.’ Syriana, for writer and director Stephen Gaghan.
In 2005, Cooper re-teamed with director and friend John Sayles in New Market Film’s Silver City, a political drama and murder mystery which chronicled the story of a small town in Colorado and the events leading up to a local election. The impressive cast included Maria Bello, Thora Birch, Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Roth, Daryl Hannah and Billy Zane. The film was screened at the Toronto Film Festival.
In 2003, Cooper starred in the Universal Pictures film, Seabiscuit based on the best-selling novel. Cooper was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for his portrayal of Seabiscuit’s trainer, Tom Smith. Seabiscuit was directed by Gary Ross and also starred Tobey Macguire and Jeff Bridges. In the same year, Cooper was nominated for an Emmy Award for his supporting performance in the HBO film My House in Umbria starring Maggie Smith.
In 2002, Cooper was seen in The Bourne Identity for Universal Pictures in the strong supporting role as the mastermind of the CIA’s controversial clandestine operation, Treadstone. In 2004, he appeared in the flashback scenes in the second installment, The Bourne Supremacy.
In 2000 Cooper portrayed Colonel Burwell opposite Mel Gibson in Sony Pictures The Patriot, a Revolutionary War epic directed by Roland Emmerich. In the same year, Cooper appeared with Jim Carrey in the comedy Me, Myself and Irene, for directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly.
In 1999 Cooper received a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for his supporting performance alongside Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening in Dreamworks’ Academy Award winning film, American Beauty. In a stunning and dramatic display, Cooper portrayed a stern ex-Marine Colonel who persistently monitored his son’s every move.
In 1999 Cooper starred as the father of an amateur rocket enthusiast in the acclaimed coming-of- age drama October Sky, which was screened at the 1999 Venice and Deauville Film Festivals with great notice. He had previously earned a Best Actor nomination in 1997 from the Independent Spirit Awards for his work in John Sayles’ Lone Star. Nearly a decade earlier, Cooper made his feature film debut in Sayles’ Matewan.
Among his film credits are Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer, Great Expectations, A Time to Kill, Money Train, This Boy’s Life, Guilty by Suspicion and City of Hope.
On the small screen, he has had roles in a number of long form projects, including the miniseries Lonesome Dove, and Return to Lonesome Dove. He most recently starred in HBO’s Breast Men, and includes among his other credits Alone, One More Mountain, Ned Blessing, Bed of Lies, Darrow, In Broad Daylight, A Little Piece of Sunshine, Law and Order and Journey to Genius.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Cooper attended the University of Missouri School of Drama and started his professional career on the New York stage. His theater credits include “Of the Fields Lately” on Broadway, “The Ballad of Soapy Smith” and “A Different Moon.”
Cooper resides in Massachusetts.