Bruce Dern
☼ Born on 4 December 1936, in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Biography
Two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern's tremendous career is made up of playing both modern day heroes and legendary villains. Through decades of lauded performances, Dern has acquired the reputation of being one of the most talented and prolific actors of his generation.
Dern currently appears opposite Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney and his daughter Laura in Apple+ TV's acclaimed comedy series "Palm Royale." He also received critical praise for the last season of the Amazon series "Goliath" opposite Oscar winners Billy Bob Thornton and JK Simmons.
Dern appeared as real-life rancher George Spahn in Quentin Tarantino's 10-time Academy Award nominated "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." The film also won the Golden Globes & Critics Choice Awards for Best Picture, among others. He also co-starred in the #1 independent film of 2019, "The Peanut Butter Falcon" and he earned rave reviews for Focus Features' "The Mustang." He has recently appeared in several recent independent film projects including "Reminisce," "The Accidental Texan," "Remember Me," "The Artist's Wife," "Emperor," "Badland," "Death in Texas," "Last Call," and "The Gateway."
In 2018, he starred in two high profile independent films - as Joe Kennedy in "Chappaquiddick" and opposite Matthew McConaughey in Sony's "White Boy Rick." In 2017, he appeared with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford in the Netflix film "Our Souls at Night."
On the television side in 2019 - he memorably guested on Showtime's comedy "Black Monday" and was
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seen in the Stephen King series "Mr. Mercedes" for the AT&T AUDIENCE Network.
In 2015, Dern reteamed with his "Django Unchained" director Quentin Tarantino in the ambitious & critically-acclaimed "The Hateful Eight." In 2013, Dern earned his second Academy Award nomination for his heralded role in Alexander Payne's "Nebraska." That role also garnered him a Best Actor Award from the Cannes Film Festival and the National Board of Review. He was also nominated for a BAFTA, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and Screen Actors Guild Award.
Dern was also nominated for an Emmy in 2011 for his portrayal of polygamist patriarch Frank Harlow in HBO's hit drama "Big Love." A celebrated stage actor, Dern was trained by famed director Elia Kazan at the legendary The Actor's Studio and made his film debut in Kazan's "Wild River" in 1960. In the 60's, Dern also found success as a distinguished television actor. He appeared regularly in contemporary Western TV series, as well as on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Mr. Hitchcock was such a fan of Dern's that he cast him in "Marnie" and "Family Plot" (Hitchcock's final film).
Also during the 60's, Dern went on to work with director Roger Corman and appeared in several of his classic and decade defining films including "Wild Angels." He also received critical success during that time for films such as "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "Drive, He Said." Dern goes down in history for his role as Long Hair in "The Cowboys," in which he became the only man ever to kill John Wayne on screen.
Dern went on to star in such classic films like "The King of Marvin Gardens" with Jack Nicholson and Ellen Burstyn as well as playing Tom Buchanan in "The Great Gatsby" (for which he received a Golden Globe nomination). It was his brilliant and powerful performance in Hal Ashby's "Coming Home" that earned him both an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination.
Dern has starred in over 100 films in his career, including: "Monster," "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte," "Silent Running," "Smile," "Middle Age Crazy," "That Championship Season," "Tattoo," "The 'Burbs," "The Haunting," "All the Pretty Horses," "Masked and Anonymous," "Down in the Valley," "Astronaut Farmer," "The Cake Eaters," "Black Sunday," "After Dark, My Sweet," "Madison," "Diggstown," "Twixt" and "Last Man Standing."
Dern has received several Lifetime Achievement Awards from various film festivals. In 2010, Dern received the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame star along with his ex-wife Diane Ladd & daughter Laura Dern, the only family in history to receive their Stars in one ceremony.
In the role of actor
Freaks (28/07/2019)
A young girl wants to escape from her father’s protective control in Freaks. Seven year old Chloe (Lexy Kolker) has spent her whole life living in hiding with her father Henry (Emile Hirsch), who warns her of the dangers outside. However, Chloe soon becomes fed up with her captivity and ventures outside, where she meets ice cream […]
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (28/07/2019)
Quentin Tarantino brings us back to 1969 Los Angeles in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In February 1969, fading 1950s television star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is struggling to find work for himself and his stuntman best friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), other than the various villain of the week roles on TV pilots. […]
Freaks (11/09/2018)
A young girl wants to escape from her father’s protective control in Freaks. Seven year old Chloe (Lexy Kolker) has spent her whole life living in hiding with her father Henry (Emile Hirsch), who warns her of the dangers outside. However, Chloe soon becomes fed up with her captivity and ventures outside, where she meets ice cream […]
The Hateful Eight (30/12/2015)
Note: This review is for the 187 minute 70mm roadshow cut of the film Quentin Tarantino returns with the snowbound Western The Hateful Eight. Stuck in a blizzard, bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) hitches a ride with “The Hangman” John Ruth (Kurt Russell), who is heading into the town of Red Rock to deliver […]
Nebraska (19/11/2013)
Last night Alexander Payne appeared at the TIFF Bell Lightbox to present a screening of his new film Nebraska, which is scheduled to open in limited release this Friday. The film focuses on Woody Grant (Bruce Dern), an overtly trusting curmudgeonly old man, who receives a letter in the mail, saying that he has “won” […]
Once (11/06/2007)
It’s time once again for my monthly look at independent film. This month, I went to see the Irish film Once. This film can be classified as a romantic musical. However, unlike most musicals, where singing starts for no apparent reason, this is a more realistic type of musical. The romantic part of the film […]