Thora Birch

Thora Birch
Thora Birch (crop).jpg
Thora Birch, 2006
Born March 11, 1982 (1982-03-11) (age 27)
Los Angeles, California,
United States
Years active 1988—present
Official website

Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actress. She was a leading child actor in the 1990s, starring in movies such as Hocus Pocus (1993), Now and Then (1995), and Alaska (1996). Since the 1990s she has moved on to more mature roles, in films such as American Beauty (1999) and Ghost World (2001).

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

Birch was born in Los Angeles, California, the eldest child of Jack Birch and Carol Connors. Both parents (her business managers from the start) are former adult film actors. Carol Connors appeared in the pornographic film Deep Throat.[1]

Birch, who has a brother named Bolt Birch, is of Jewish, Nordic, and Italian descent. The name 'Thora' is a feminized form of the name Thor, the God of the Sky and of Thunder in Norse mythology.

From an early age, Birch's parents encouraged her to audition for commercials. She landed several parts, including advertisements for Quaker Oats and Vlasic Pickles. Her first acting job followed. In 1988, she landed the role of Molly in the short-lived television series Day By Day. She was billed simply as "Thora." That same year she won a part in the movie Purple People Eater opposite Ned Beatty and Neil Patrick Harris. Her performance won her a Youth In Film Award.

Paradise

Birch's breakthrough role came in 1991 when she was cast as 'tomboy' Billie Pike in the movie Paradise which also starred Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith and Elijah Wood. To obtain the role, she had to compete with more than 4,000 other young hopefuls who auditioned for it. Birch received critical praise for her performance.

1991-1995

Birch's ability to portray herself as a young tomboy landed her several parts during the period 1991-1995, including the role of Dani in Hocus Pocus (1993). She won leading roles in such films as All I Want For Christmas (1991) and Monkey Trouble (1994). She appeared in two Harrison Ford films, Patriot Games (1992) and its sequel, Clear and Present Danger (1994).

Now & Then

Birch's performance in the 1995 film Now and Then teamed her with Gaby Hoffmann, Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Rosie O'Donnell and Melanie Griffith. Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, the film is about four friends who have been so preoccupied with their own lives that they have not seen one another for some time until the impending birth of one of their babies reunites them. Upon reuniting, they reminisce about events during the summer of 1970, when they were 12, which were ultimately influential in shaping their lives. It was during that summer, a mixture of both happy and sad events, that they realized that adulthood was fast approaching, that they began to work out what life was about and what they wished to do with their own lives. They also promised to be there for another, hence the reason why they were reuniting for the birth of the baby. The film was a female take on the film Stand by Me.

Alaska

In 1996, she landed a leading role in the adventure film, Alaska (1996). She played the role of Jessie Barnes, who has moved to Alaska with her father (played by Dirk Benedict) and brother after the death of her mother. Her father is a former airline pilot and upon moving to Alaska, he starts earning a living by delivering supplies to small towns in the Alaskan wilderness in his light aircraft. While making a delivery, his plane crashes into a mountainside. Concluding that not enough was being done to locate him, Jessie and her brother set out on a successful attempt to find him with the help of a baby polar bear.

1996-1999: break from acting

After guest-starring appearances in the The Outer Limits, Promised Land and Touched By An Angel, Birch took a break from acting. In 1999, she returned in the made-for-TV movie Night Ride Home and also took a small uncredited role in the Natalie Portman film Anywhere But Here. She was initially cast in the role of Tammy Metzler in the dark-comedy Election, but ended up leaving after only the third day of filming due to disagreements with director/writer Alexander Payne. Jessica Campbell was then given the role of Metzler.

American Beauty

Later in 1999, Birch won enormous critical praise playing the role of Jane Burnham in American Beauty and was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award. The movie itself went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. As Birch was barely 17 at the time she made the film, and thus classified as a minor in the United States, her parents had to approve her brief topless scene in the movie and they and child labor representatives were on the set for the shooting of it.[2]

Ghost World

After leading roles in The Smokers (2000), Dungeons & Dragons (2000), and The Hole (2001), Birch landed the leading role in Ghost World, alongside Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi and Brad Renfro. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.

2001 to 2008

Birch's most notable roles since 2001 have been that of Liz Murray in Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003) and April in Slingshot (2005). Recent films include Dark Corners (in which she appeared in the lead role as a woman who wakes up one day as a different person and ends up being stalked by gruesome creatures), Tainted Love, and Winter of Frozen Dreams.

An incident during the filming of the last of these has proven controversial.

The crew of The Winter of Frozen Dreams were horrified when the 25-year-old American Beauty star's father and manager - who is a former porn star - insisted on watching Thora's explicit scenes with 52-year-old Dean Winters. A source told the New York Post newspaper: "It was so wrong. The director is saying, 'Harder! Faster!' and the father is giving Winters the thumbs up."[3]

Birch will next star in the film Train alongside her brother, Bolt Birch. The movie entails a trip to Europe for a group of American college athletes who unknowingly board a train that is occupied by a brutal killer. Birch has also been negotiating to have a part in the 2009 film Frail.[4]

Future ambition

Birch has indicated that she aspires to become a director and has recently begun directing short video sketches for a sketch comedy troupe called The Doomed Planet. The sketches can be seen on her official website.

Awards

Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1988 Purple People Eater Molly Johnson (as Thora)
1988-1989 Day by Day Molly Television series
1990 Dark Avenger Susie Donovan Television movie
Parenthood Taylor Buckham Television series
1991 All I Want for Christmas Hallie O'Fallon
Paradise Billie Pike
1992 Patriot Games Sally Ryan
The Itsy Bitsy Spider Additional voice (voice)
1993 Hocus Pocus Dani Dennison
1994 Clear and Present Danger Sally Ryan
Monkey Trouble Eva
1995 Now and Then Young Tina "Teeny" Tercell
1996 Alaska Jessie Barnes
1999 American Beauty Jane Burnham
Anywhere but Here Mary uncredited
Night Ride Home Clea Mahler Television movie
2000 Dungeons & Dragons Empress Savina
The Smokers Lincoln Roth
2001 The Hole Liz Dunn
Ghost World Enid
2002 Shadow Realm Susan Thornhill Television movie
2003 Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story Liz Murray Television movie
2004 The Dot Narrator voice
Silver City Karen Cross
2005 Slingshot April
2006 Dark Corners Karen Clarke/Susan Hamilton
Tainted Love Mia
2008 Winter of Frozen Dreams Barbara Hoffman completed
Train Alana Maxwell
Cavegirl Cavegirl in production
Crossmaglen Nulla McGarvey pre-production
2009 Deadline Lucy post-production

Music videos

From the album 18, released in 2002.

From the album Results May Vary, released in 2003.

References

  1. ↑ "Thora Birch". Actress of the Week. AskMen.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  2. ↑ The Answer Man, by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, 10/10/99, p.5
  3. ↑ Thora Birch's fatherly sex advice, Life Style Extra (UK), 3/29/07
  4. ↑ "Fail Launches into Production in Vancouver Canada". Newswire, 2006. Retrieved on October 04, 2008.

External links

Persondata
NAME Birch, Thora
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION actress
DATE OF BIRTH March 11, 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles, California, United States of America
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH