Ed Harris
Biography
Life Story
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).
Family
Trivia
He won an Obie Award for his performance in "Fool for Love".
Attended Columbia University, New York and the University of Oklahoma.
Attended and graduated from Tenafly High School in Tenafly, New Jersey in 1969.
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.
He and Amy Madigan were married by a justice of the peace in Waxahachie, Texas, during the filming of Places in the Heart (1984).
His father was a singer with the Fred Waring chorus.
Is the second of three sons of Robert Lee and Margaret Harris.
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.
Credits acting for helping him get over his shyness as a young man.
Was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (2001).
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).
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.
Was ready to star in Danny Boyle's firefighter drama "Worcester Cold Storage" with Woody Harrelson, but the project never came to fruition.
In 1973, he moved to Los Angeles, California and attended the California Institute of the Arts, receiving his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.
Was nominated for Broadway's 1986 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for "Precious Sons".
Has an older brother, Robert Harris, and a younger brother, Spencer Harris.
Personal Quotes
[on painter Jackson Pollock]: One thing I learned about Mr. Pollock's art, which any art student knows I'm sure, but was indeed a revelation to me, is that Jackson fully believed and lived by "Don't use the accident, because I deny the accident." One cannot even approximate Pollock's work unless every stroke, every pour, every slap, every fling, every shake, every splash, every splatter and every flick has a specific intention.
As soon as I went on stage, I wanted to do nothing else with my life but act. I always liked the attention that playing sports had brought, but acting fulfilled that need even better.
I was very happy playing sports until I was 18, and then there were a couple of years where I really didn't know what I wanted to do. I saw some theatre in Oklahoma and made a decision to learn about acting. It wasn't really with an eye on making films or even making a living; it was really about trying to focus on something that had the potential of taking the place of sport in terms of something to penetrate.
I don't intentionally choose movies that aren't going to be successful commercially. It just happens that the most interesting scripts I read are outside the mainstream. I like characters who have an edge to them, who are going to do something unexpected.
Acting is not a competition to me. One of the first things I learned about acting was, the only person you compete against is yourself.
[on Senator John McCain, whom he portrayed in Game Change (2012)] He's a man with a tremendous sense of honor and duty. And I think, when he decided to go into politics, his ambition and his ego were in constant conflict with this sense of honor and duty and patriotism.
