Robert Forster

Infobox actor


caption =
birthname = Robert Wallace Foster, Jr.
birthdate = Birth date and age|1941|7|13|mf=y
birthplace = Rochester, New York

Robert Forster (born Robert Wallace Foster, Jr.; July 13, 1941) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor.

Early life

Forster was born in Rochester, New York, the son of Grace Dorothy (née Montanarella) and Robert Wallace Foster, Sr., who worked as an elephant trainer for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and later as an executive for a baking supply company. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/15/Robert-Forster.html Robert Forster Biography (1941-)] ] [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800015942&cf=biog&intl=us Robert Forster Biography - Yahoo! Movies] ] His mother was Italian-born and his father has English/Irish ethnicity. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F7081EF83A5910738DDDAD0894DE405B828BF1D3 Robert Forster - How To Succeed in Flops; About Robert Forster Robert... - Free Preview - The New York Times ] ] The two divorced in 1949. As a tribute to his father, Forster was allowed to hang one of his father's Barnum & Bailey Circus posters in the office of his character "Max Cherry" in the Quentin Tarantino film "Jackie Brown".

Career

After smaller roles, such as Private Williams in "Reflections in a Golden Eye", he starred in the critically acclaimed 1969 film "Medium Cool". After starring roles in the TV shows Banyon (1972) and Nakia (1974), he played mostly supporting roles in action and horror films including Disney's "The Black Hole" (1979). Forster had lead roles in cult B-movies in 1980s like "Alligator" (1980), "Vigilante" (1983), "The Delta Force" (1986), and "The Banker" (1989). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1997 for "Jackie Brown", which he credits with reviving his career. A busy actor, he has since gone on to appear in "Like Mike", "Mulholland Drive", "Me, Myself, & Irene", "Lucky Number Slevin" and "Firewall", to name a few. He recently appeared in the made for television movie "The Hunt for the BTK Killer", as the detective intent on capturing serial killer Dennis Rader.

Forster recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign, encouraging reading of books by Elmore Leonard (he starred in the movie adaption of Leonard's book "Rum Punch", "Jackie Brown"). Forster is also a motivational speaker.

Robert Forster was recently cast as Arthur Petrelli in the hit NBC show Heroes, the father of Nathan and Peter Petrelli. It is unclear if Arthur Petrelli is alive (since his character has been said to be dead numerous times) or if his appearances will be flashback in nature.

elected filmography

*"Reflections in a Golden Eye" (1967)
*"Justine" (1969)
*"Medium Cool" (1969)
*"Cover Me Babe" (1970)
*"The Black Hole" (1979)
*"Alligator" (1980)
*"The Delta Force" (1986)
*"Checker Flag" (1990)
*"29th Street" (1991)
*"Original Gangstas" (1996)
*"Demolition University" (1997)
*"American Perfekt" (1997)
*"Jackie Brown" (1997)
*"Psycho" (1998)
*"Outside Ozona" (1998)
*"It's the Rage" (1999)
*"Kiss Toledo Goodbye" (1999)
*"Supernova" (2000)
*"Lakeboat" (2000)
*"Me, Myself & Irene" (2000)
*"Diamond Men" (2000)
*"Mulholland Dr." (2001)
*"Human Nature" (2001)
*"Finder's Fee" (2001)
*"Like Mike" (2002)
*"Confidence" (2003)
*"" (2003)
*"Grand Theft Parsons" (2003)
*"Firewall" (2006)
*"Lucky Number Slevin" (2006)
*"D-War" (2007)
*"Rise" (2007)
*"Cleaner" (2007)
*"Jack and Jill vs. the World" (2008)
*"Thick as Thieves" (2008)
*"The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" (2009)

References

External links

* [http://www.robertforster.com Official Website]
*imdb name|id=0001233|name=Robert Forster
* [http://thestickingplace.com/html/LOHIR.html/ 'Look Out Haskell, It's Real', a documentary about Medium Cool]
* [http://www.dvdtalk.com/robertforsterinterview.html DVD Talk Interview]
* [http://www.einsiders.com/features/interviews/robertforster1.php EI Interview]

Persondata
NAME= Forster, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= 1941-7-13
PLACE OF BIRTH= Rochester, New York
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=