Chris Cooper Biography
Summary
"Christopher W. 'Chris' Cooper" (born July 9, 1951) is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s, having appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including "American Beauty", "Capote", "Syriana", "October Sky", "Seabiscuit", and "Adaptation.", for which he won an Academy Award.
Early life
Cooper was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Mary Ann, a homemaker, and Charles Cooper, who served as a doctor in the United States Air Force and operated a cattle ranch. He has an older brother, Chuck, and grew up, in his words and despite being the son of an educated professional, as a 'blue-collar cowpoke' in Houston, Texas and Kansas City. During his time in Kansas City, Cooper performed with The Barn Players, a local community theater that has operated since 1955. He went on to serve in the United States Coast Guard Reserve. He attended Stephens College and the University of Missouri, where he double-majored in the school of Agriculture and the school of Drama. After graduation, Cooper moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.
Career
Cooper's early performances include "Matewan", the 1987 picture by John Sayles; the 1989 miniseries "Lonesome Dove"; and the 1990 picture "Thousand Pieces of Gold", which is based on the novel of the same title.
Some of his more notable later performances include: "Money Train", as a psychotic pyromaniac who terrifies toll booth operators; "Lone Star", in a rare leading role as a Texas sheriff charged with solving a decades-old case; as Deputy Dwayne Looney in director Joel Schumacher's 1996 film "A Time to Kill" (based on the John Grisham novel); and as a homophobic but closeted gay Marine Corps Colonel in "American Beauty", a role that garnered him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2000, Cooper played Colonel Harry Burwell (inspired by Lighthorse Harry Lee) in "The Patriot". He was nominated for another Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA Award, and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award in 2003 for playing the role of John Laroche in "Adaptation." In 2002, Cooper also appeared in "The Bourne Identity" as a ruthless CIA special ops director, a role he reprised (in flashbacks) in "The Bourne Supremacy". He received another Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his supporting role as racehorse trainer Tom Smith in "Seabiscuit".
Cooper has played his share of low-key heroic and non-heroic types. In 2005, for example, he starred in Silver City, playing an inept Republican gubernatorial candidate, a character noted for similarities to U.S. President George W. Bush.
Cooper was generally busy in 2005, appearing in three acclaimed films: "Jarhead" (which reunited him with "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes and "October Sky" actor Jake Gyllenhaal);
"Capote"; and "Syriana".
He also acted in the thriller "Breach", playing real-life FBI agent and traitor Robert Hanssen. Cooper commented that "Breach" was 'the first studio film where they've considered me for the lead'. He appeared as a government agent in dangerous territory alongside Jamie Foxx, Ashraf Barhom, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman in the action thriller "The Kingdom" and most recently voiced the character Douglas in the film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's book, "Where the Wild Things Are".
Personal life
Cooper and wife , April 2007.
Cooper resides in Kingston, Massachusetts, with his wife, Marianne Leone Cooper, whom he married in 1983. In 1987, their son Jesse Lanier Cooper was born. Three months premature, Jesse developed a cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral palsy. After searching for the best schools for children with special needs, Cooper and Leone moved to Kingston, Massachusetts, where they became strong advocates for exceptional children. Jesse was eventually mainstreamed into Silver Lake Regional High School, where he became an honor student. On January 3, 2005, Jesse Cooper died from complications of cerebral palsy. A memorial fund was set up in his name, the Jesse Cooper Foundation.
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Chris Cooper.
