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Chris Cooper Bio
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Chris CooperAcademy Award-winning actor Chris Cooper was born on July 9, 1951, in Kansas City, Missouri. Chris developed an interest in drama during his late teens, when he designed and constructed sets for a local community group. Chris attended both Stephens College in Columbia, where he studied ballet; as well as the University of Missouri, where he majored in agriculture and drama. Before graduating from university, Chris served in the United States Coast Guard Reserves. After graduation, Chris decided to make the move to New York City to study under Stella Adler and pursue a professional career in acting.
By the early 80s, Chris had landed roles in such plays as Of the Fields Lately, The Ballad of Soapy Smith, and Cobb, in which he had the title role. Cooper made his big-screen debut in Nicholas Roeg's Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession in 1980. However, his breakthrough role would not come until nearly a decade later, when he was cast as Joe Kenehan, a coalminer's union member on a mission in John Sayles’ Matewan in 1987.
The 90s saw Chris teaming up again with director John Sayles in such films as City of Hope in 1991 and Lone Star in 1996, for which his portrayal of a cold-case cracking sheriff garnered rave reviews and earned him a nomination for Best Actor for an Independent Spirit Award. Also in 1996, Chris starred in Time to Kill. Two years later, he played Robert Redford's younger brother in The Horse Whisperer (1998). Chris rounded off a productive decade playing Ethan Hawke's brother-in-law in Great Expectations in 1998, a coalminer in October Sky in 1999, and Kevin Spacey's neighbor in American Beauty in 1999. For his portrayal in American Beauty of a closeted homosexual who also happened to be homophobic, Chris was recognized with a Screen Actors' Guild Award.
In 2002, Cooper starred in both The Bourne Identity and Adaptation. It was his performance in the latter that garnered him much praise. Starring opposite Meryl Streep, Chris showed-off his impressive range in his role as a toothless orchid hunter, for which he was recognized with both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Many people felt that the accolades Chris received for Adaptation were long-overdue for the often-overlooked actor. Chris himself has pontificated on this fact, stating, "I suspect that a lot of studio executives still think of me as 'what's-his-name'." Despite his dynamic performances, Chris is typically cast as a character connected with the government, either via the military or politics.
In 2003, Chris wrangled his equestrian skills to star in Seabiscuit. He had already had previous experience around horses; growing up, his father had raised registered Hereford cattle on their farm in Kansas. In addition, he called upon his experiences of working on the set of The Horse Whisper. Chris even won a Best Actor award from the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1991 for his work in Thousand Pieces of Gold.
2005 was another busy year for Chris. He re-teamed with American Beauty director Sam Mendes to star in the Gulf War memoir Jarhead alongside Jake Gyllenhaal; as well as the Academy Award-winning films Capote and Syriana.
Chris currently lives in Kingston, Massachusetts, with his wife, Marianne Leone Cooper. The couple had a son, Jesse Cooper in 1987, who passed away in 2005 from complications related to cerebral palsy. YUDDY |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Peter Gallagher in American Beauty |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Allison Janney in American Beauty |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Scott Bakula in American Beauty |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Sam Robards in American Beauty |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Clive Owen in The Bourne Identity |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Brian Cox in The Bourne Identity |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in The Bourne Identity |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Gabriel Mann in The Bourne Identity |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Walton Goggins in The Bourne Identity |
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Chris Cooper - Appeared with Josh Hamilton in The Bourne Identity |
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