Stephen Lang (actor)

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Stephen Lang
Born July 11, 1952 (1952-07-11) (age 55)
New York City, U.S.

Stephen Lang (born July 11, 1952) is an American film actor who started in theatre on Broadway. He is currently co-artistic director (along with Carlin Glynn and Lee Grant) of the famed Actor's Studio at its headquarters in New York City. He is currently represented by Innovative Artists.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Lang was born in New York City, the son of Theresa (née Volmer) and Eugene Lang, who works in business and philantropy.[1] He married Kristina Watson, a costume designer and teacher, on June 1, 1980. They have four children, Lucy Jane, Noah, Grace and Daniel.[1] Lang attended the P S 178 school in Jamaica Estates, Queens.[2][3] He graduated from Swarthmore College in 1973 with a degree in Theatre.

[edit] Career

Lang played one of Dustin Hoffman's sons (Happy) in the Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman in 1985, and appeared in the first Hannibal Lecter film, Manhunter (1986), as reporter Freddy Lounds.[4] From 1986 to 1988, he played attorney David Abrams in the television series Crime Story. He played the title role in the NBC 1991 made-for-television film, Babe Ruth. He later played the "One Armed Man" in the 2000 revival of The Fugitive starring Tim Daly. The series was a modest success, but only lasted one season due to its expensive production budget.

In 1992, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his lead role in The Speed of Darkness. His role in the film Last Exit to Brooklyn garnered him universal acclaim and Oscar buzz, but its limited release prevented the film from reaching a wider audience. On stage, he was the first to play the role of Col. Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men, a role made famous on film (1992) by Jack Nicholson. He is the winner of over half a dozen theatre awards including the Drama Desk and Helen Hayes awards.

He played Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett in the 1993 film Gettysburg and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in the 2003 film Gods and Generals, both from director Ronald F. Maxwell. Arguably his most famous film role was his portrayal of the villainous Ike Clanton in the successful 1993 Western Tombstone, with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer.

Before Arthur Miller's death in February 2005, Lang appeared in his longtime friend's last play which was Titled Finishing the Picture. It premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in the Fall of 2004. This was the same theatre where Lang had the second run of his own play Beyond Glory, which had premiered in Arlington, Virginia early in 2004, and also his Tony-nominated portrayal for The Speed of Darkness. In 2006 he played the role of Colonel Littlefield in John Patrick Shanley's play Defiance. He brought Beyond Glory to Roundabout's Off-Broadway Laura Pels Theatre in 2007.[5] Since its New York City premiere, Beyond Glory has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Lucille Lortel Award both for outstanding solo performance. [1] [2]

Recently, he filmed a key role in the ESPN mini-series The Bronx is Burning as well as roles in the independent features Save Me and From Mexico With Love. On August 3rd, 2007, Twentieth Century Fox announced that Lang has signed on to play a lead role in James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar.[6]

He recently joined the cast of Michael Mann's film Public Enemies as Texas Ranger Charles Winstead, the man widely considered to have fired the shots that killed John Dillinger.[3] [4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Stephen Lang Biography (1952-)
  2. ^ Stephen Lang Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  3. ^ Stephen Lang, 'An Actor's Actor' - New York Times
  4. ^ Live Search - Images : STEPHEN LANG
  5. ^ The Wall Street Journal Online - Wonder Land
  6. ^ Lang, Rodriguez armed for 'Avatar' - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety

[edit] External links

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