Brad Dourif

Infobox actor

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imagesize=
caption=Dourif at the Lord of the Rings Convention in Bonn, Germany
birthdate=birth date and age|mf=yes|1950|03|18
birthname=Bradford Claude Dourif
birthplace=Huntington, West Virginia, U.S.
spouse=Joni Dourif (divorced)
baftaawards=Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1977 "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
goldenglobeawards=Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture - Male
1976 "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

Bradford Claude Dourif (born March 18, 1950) is a BAFTA-winning and Academy Award- and Emmy-nominated American film and television actor, best known for his role as Billy Bibbit in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", Gríma Wormtongue in "", and as the voice of Chucky in the "Child's Play" series.

Biography

Early life

Dourif was born in Huntington, West Virginia. His father, Jean Dourif, was an art collector and owned and operated a dye factory. After Dourif's father died in 1953, his actress mother, Joan (née Bradford), [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/24/Brad-Dourif.html Brad Dourif Biography (1950-) ] ] remarried champion golfer William C. Campbell, who helped raise Dourif and his five siblings (three sisters and two brothers). From 1963 to 1965, Dourif attended Aiken Preparatory School in Aiken, South Carolina. There he pursued his interests in art and acting. Although he briefly considered becoming an artist, he was eventually inspired to become an actor by his mother's participation as an actress in a community theater. After Aiken Prep, he attended Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, graduating in 1969.

Early career

Starting in school productions, he progressed to community theater, joining up with the Huntington Community Players, while attending Marshall University of Huntington. At age 19, he quit his hometown college and headed to New York City, where he worked with the Circle Repertory Company. During the early 1970s, Dourif appeared in a number of plays, off-Broadway and at Woodstock, New York, including "The Ghost Sonata", "The Doctor in Spite of Himself", and "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?", in which he was spotted by director Miloš Forman who cast him in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975).

Although this film is frequently cited as his film debut, in fact, Dourif made his first big-screen appearance with a bit part in "W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings" (1975). Nevertheless, his portrayal of the vulnerable Billy Bibbit in Forman's film was undoubtedly his big break, earning him a Golden Globe (Best Actor Debut) and a British Academy Award (Supporting Actor): he was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Skeptical of his instant stardom, Dourif returned to New York, where he continued in theater and taught acting and directing classes at Columbia University until 1988, when he moved to Hollywood.

Film and television

Despite his attempts to avoid typecasting, he frequently plays eccentric or disturbed characters, starting in "Eyes of Laura Mars" (1978), John Huston's "Wise Blood" (1979), Forman's "Ragtime" (1981) and Marc Didden's "Istanbul" . Dourif then teamed up with director David Lynch for "Dune" (1984) and "Blue Velvet" (1986).

He has appeared in a number of horror films, notably as the voice of the evil killer doll Chucky in "Child's Play" (1988) and its sequels, as well as in "Exorcist III" as the Gemini Killer (1990). Dourif broke from the horror genre with roles in "Fatal Beauty" (1987), "Mississippi Burning" (1988), "Hidden Agenda" (1990), and "London Kills Me" (1991). He also played Gríma Wormtongue in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

On television, Dourif appeared in "The X-Files" episode "Beyond the Sea", for which he received an Emmy nomination portraying Luther Lee Boggs. He also played Lon Suder, a murderous psychopath who eventually redeems himself, in a three-episode story arc on "", and has guest-appeared in shows such as "Babylon 5".

He is a fan of video games and appeared as Saavedro in "" (2001), the third game in the popular "Myst" franchise, and as the sadistic preacher Reed in "GUN" (2005).

Dourif was cast as The Scarecrow in "Batman Forever", while Tim Burton was attached to the project. However, Joel Schumacher eventually took over the project, and instead cast Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Jim Carrey as The Riddler.

Dourif played Doc Cochran in the HBO series "Deadwood". He recently voiced Chucky in the fifth "Child's Play" film, "Seed of Chucky", appeared in the film "Sinner", and played Sheriff Brackett in Rob Zombie's version of "Halloween".

Personal life

Dourif was formerly married to businesswoman and remote viewer Joni Dourif, with whom he has two daughters, Kristina and Fiona. He lives in Manhattan and plays the didgeridoo, an Australian Aboriginal musical instrument.

Filmography

Movies

Television

* "The Hitchhiker" (one episode, 1987)
* "Tales From The Crypt" (one episode, 1993) - "People Who Live In Brass Hearses" as Virgil DeLuca
* "The X-Files" (one episode, 1994) - "Beyond the Sea" as Luther Lee Boggs
* "" (three episodes, 1996) - as Lon Suder
* "Millennium" (one episode, 1997) - "Force Majeure"
* "Law & Order" (one episode, 2008) - "Called Home" as Dr. David Lingard "Dr. Death"
* "Deadwood" - as Doc Cochran
* "Babylon 5" - as Brother Edward

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0000374|name=Brad Dourif
* [http://www.dourif.net Dourif.net]