- Billy Crudup
Infobox actor
name = Billy Crudup
imagesize = 150px
birthname = William Gaither Crudup
birthdate = birth date and age|1968|7|8
birthplace =Manhasset, New York , U.S.
spouse =
tonyawards = Best Featured Actor in a Play
2007 "The Coast of Utopia "William Gaither “Billy” Crudup (IPA2|ˈkruːdəp; born
July 8 ,1968 ) is an AmericanTony Award -winningactor offilm and stage. He is well known for his roles as guitarist Russell Hammond in "Almost Famous ", Will Bloom in "Big Fish " andDoctor Manhattan in the upcoming 2009 film "Watchmen".Biography
Early life
Crudup was born in
Manhasset, New York , the grandson of Billy Gaither, a well-knownFlorida trial lawyer. [cite web | author= | title=Billy Crudup Biography | url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/2/Billy-Crudup.html | work=filmreference | date=2008 | accessdate=2008-05-21] [cite news | author=Jesse Green| title=Billy Crudup: Almost Infamous | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/10/movies/10gree.html | work=The New York Times | date=10 October 2004 | accessdate=2008-05-21] His parents divorced during his childhood, and later remarried, before divorcing a second time. [cite news | author= | title=Billy Crudup Biography | url=http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800019546&cf=biog&intl=us | work=Yahoo! Movies | date= | accessdate=2008-05-21] Crudup has two brothers: Tommy, an executive producer, and Brooks, also a producer. He left New York with his family when he was about eight years old, first living in Texas, then in Florida. He graduated from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1986.Crudup attended the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , where he received an undergraduate degree, and he continued his passion for acting with the undergraduate acting company, Lab!Theatre. He was a member of the Beta Chapter ofDelta Kappa Epsilon . He then studied at theTisch School of the Arts atNew York University , where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in 1994. A year after graduating, he made his debut on Broadway in theLincoln Center Theater production ofTom Stoppard 's "Arcadia".Career
Crudup began acting in such films as 1996's "Sleepers" and 1997's "
Inventing the Abbotts ". While he has appeared in many films, he regularly returns to the stage. His first role in an animated feature was in 1999's English release of "Princess Mononoke ", in which he starred as Ashitaka. He then played Russell Hammond, the lead guitarist of the fictional bandStillwater inCameron Crowe 's "Almost Famous " (2000). He has also been the voice ofMasterCard "Priceless" commercials in the U.S. since 1997, making his first appearance in an ad in 2005. In 2006's "The Good Shepherd ," he played British spy Arch Cummings, a stand-in forKim Philby .Crudup received a
Tony Award nomination for his performance in "The Elephant Man" on Broadway, as well as for his role asKaturian in the Broadway production of "The Pillowman ", also starringJeff Goldblum , which closed onSeptember 18 ,2005 . From October 2006 through May 2007, he was featured in the first two parts of "The Coast of Utopia " byTom Stoppard atLincoln Center , playing literary criticVissarion Belinsky , for which he received another Tony Award nomination and subsequent win.Crudup is currently filming "Watchmen" with director
Zack Snyder inVancouver , Canada. He is portraying the iconic superheroDoctor Manhattan .He is on the Board of Directors for
The Actors Center inNew York City .Personal life
From 1996 to November 2003, Crudup dated actress
Mary-Louise Parker , with whom he had a son, William Atticus Parker, born onJanuary 7 ,2004 . Crudup left Parker while she was seven months pregnant. Widespread speculation was that Crudup left Parker for his "Stage Beauty " co-starClaire Danes . In 2004, Danes and Crudup confirmed that they were dating, but denied the press reports that they were together at the time of Crudup's split with Parker. In December 2006, the couple split after Danes was seen together with her "Evening" co-starHugh Dancy .Filmography
References
External links
*imdb|0001082
*ibdb|36805
* [http://themovie-fanatic.com/spotlights/stars/billy_crudup/ Billy Crudup comprehensive profile]
* [http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Listing.aspx?ct=6&pn=2 Q&A: Billy Crudup] at Broadway.com
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