Josh Lucas

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Josh Lucas

Lucas at the 2009 premiere of Poliwood
Born Joshua Lucas Easy Dent Maurer
(1971-06-20) June 20, 1971
Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Occupation Actor
Years active 1990–present
Spouse(s) Jessica Ciencin Henriquez (m. 2012) (separated)
Children 1

Joshua Lucas Easy Dent Maurer[1] (born June 20, 1971) is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, Sweet Home Alabama, A Beautiful Mind, Stealth, Poseidon and J. Edgar.

Early life

Lucas was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1971, the son of Michele (nΓ©e LeFevre), a nurse midwife, and Don Maurer, an ER doctor. His paternal grandparents were Polish.[2]

Career

Lucas began his career when he was 19, having moved to Hollywood after his high school graduation. He appeared as a guest star on several TV sitcoms in his early twenties, including Fox's True Colors and Parker Lewis Can't Lose, the family drama Life Goes On, and CBS's private-eye show Jake and the Fatman.[3]

Other projects included the horror-thriller Child of Darkness, Child of Light, an adaptation of James Patterson's novel Virgin, a tale of two Catholic schoolgirls who find themselves pregnant under mysterious and supernatural circumstances. Lucas followed this appearance by working with executive producer Steven Spielberg and then-unknown actor Clive Owen in the TV-movie Class of '61, which follows the stories of a group of West Point cadets in 1861 as the Civil War breaks out. Lucas played George Armstrong Custer.

Soon afterward, he made his feature film debut in Frank Marshall's Alive about a group of Uruguayan rugby players who, after crashing in the Andes mountains, resort to cannibalism to stay alive. After a brief appearance in the Patrick Swayze comedy Father Hood, Lucas relocated to Australia to play the hotheaded American cousin Luke McGregor opposite Andrew Clarke and Guy Pearce in the first season of the family western Snowy River: The McGregor Saga. Lucas appeared in all thirteen episodes of the first season but claimed in a later interview that despite the friendly environment, he was homesick for the United States, and his character was killed off in the last episode of season one. Upon returning to the States, he was still receiving offers as high school/college boyfriends and felt he was not getting the age-appropriate roles he sought. While working with George C. Scott on a TV-movie from the Heat of the Night series, Scott told him he needed to take acting lessons and develop his talent for both stage and screen. Shortly thereafter, he departed Hollywood and moved to New York City, where he studied privately with various acting coaches.

The second part of his career began with a lead role in the British rowing film True Blue (released in the US as Miracle at Oxford), in which he played a hotshot Navy rower who was recruited along with three other Americans to help Oxford win its annual boat race with Cambridge. He followed that with relatively small roles in the dramas Minotaur and Harvest. He took his first stab at comedy in The Definite Maybe, in which he played a recent college graduate who gets fired from his job and schemes with an old friend to purchase a house in the Hamptons.

Lucas at a Vanity Fair party in New York City, April 21, 2009

He appeared as an American businessman in Jule Gilfillan's romantic comedy-drama Restless. He also appeared in an Off-Broadway production of Terrence McNally's controversial Corpus Christi, a re-telling of the Passion, with the Jesus character (named Joshua) and his disciples all being gay. Lucas played the role of Judas as a gay predator, a role he would later recreate as doomed club owner Darby Reese in the suspense thriller The Deep End. Right before the play was to open, Lucas was mugged and beaten on his way to the theater for dress rehearsal. He played the role of Judas with bloody bandages across his broken nose and black eyes. The audience thought the bandages were part of the play.[4] Following a series of operations to reset his nose, he began gathering larger roles in films like American Psycho, The Weight of Water, Session 9, The Dancer, When Strangers Appear, and You Can Count on Me.

One of Lucas' first feature roles was playing Jace "Flash" Dillon in the cinematic PC flight simulator Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger.

Lucas gained mainstream exposure after his roles in Sweet Home Alabama, A Beautiful Mind, and as Glenn Talbot in Hulk. He later gained success in leading roles in movies such as Glory Road, Poseidon, and Stealth. In Glory Road, he starred as basketball coach Don Haskins, a role for which he gained 40 lb (18 kg).

His next project was Boaz Yakin’s Death in Love. Peacock is another film he starred in. Lucas starred in the 2009 Ridley Scott-produced Tell-Tale, a film based on the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. Earlier that year, Lucas was seen on stage in the off-Broadway run of Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell. Lucas also completed his second collaboration with documentary film maker Ken Burns, after being involved in Burns’ The War. Lucas' other documentary work includes Operational Homecoming, Trumbo, and the Los Angeles Film Festival Audience Award-winning Resolved. In February 2010, he was cast in the Anders Anderson thriller Stolen the single father of a mentally challenged boy, starring alongside Rhona Mitra and Jon Hamm; the film had a limited theatrical release in March 2010.[5] Lucas also co-stars in the 2010 film Shadows and Lies alongside James Franco and Julianne Nicholson. In 2011, Lucas co-starred with Rachael Taylor in the film Red Dog, based on the true story of an Australian Kelpie. Lucas won an Inside Film Award for his role.[6] He also starred in the NBC television show The Firm, which takes place ten years after the John Grisham novel it is based on. The show lasted one season.

Lucas is also an owner and promoter of the company Filthy Food[7] with friends Marc and Daniel Singer.[8][9]

Personal life

Lucas met freelance writer Jessica Ciencin Henriquez at a dog park in 2011. They became engaged six weeks later,[10] and married on March 17, 2012 in Central Park.[11] Their son, Noah Rev Maurer, was born on June 29, 2012.[12] Ciencin Henriquez filed for divorce in New York in January 2014.[13]

Lucas with actress Ambre Anderson at the DNC in Denver, Colorado, August 2008

A YouthAIDS Ambassador, Lucas "first joined the YouthAIDS team when he shot the ALDO HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in April, 2005. Soon after, he officially accepted his role as a YouthAIDS Ambassador at the YouthAIDS 2005 Gala, Faces of Africa. HIV/AIDS prevention is particularly important to him as his mother 'has made a career counseling young men and women with the hopes of educating them about the ravaging and often deadly effects of this too common and easily preventable disease.'"[14]

Lucas supported Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, volunteering to help potential voters register at colleges in Pennsylvania.[15] Lucas knocked on doors and phone banked, wearing an Obama shirt for 45 days.[15] He was also in Denver, Colorado for the 2008 Democratic National Convention with a group of actors called the Creative Coalition.[16][17]

On Jimmy Kimmel Live! on July 16, 2009, he said he was an avid fan of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League, even joining the Bills Backers of LA.[18]

Filmography

Film and television

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Snowy River: The McGregor Saga Luke McGregor
Father Hood Andy
Alive Felipe
1996 True Blue Dan Warren
1998 Restless Jeff Hollingsworth
2000 You Can Count on Me Rudy Kolinski, Sr.
American Psycho Craig McDermott
The Weight of Water Rich Janes
2001 Session 9 Hank
The Deep End Darby Reese
When Strangers Appear Peter
A Beautiful Mind Martin Hansen
2002 Sweet Home Alabama Jake Perry
2003 Hulk Glenn Talbot
Secondhand Lions Adult Walter
Wonderland Ron Launius
2004 Around the Bend Jason Lair
Undertow Deel Munn
2005 Stealth Lt. Ben Gannon
An Unfinished Life Sheriff Crane Curtis
2006 Glory Road Don Haskins
Will & Grace Himself
Poseidon Dylan Johns
2007 The War Voices
2008 Death in Love Eldest son
T Takes: Room 115 Guest in room 115
Management Barry Credited as Easy Dent
2009 The National Parks: America's Best Idea Various historical figures Voice
Tell-Tale Terry
Stolen Matthew Wakefield
Peacock Officer Tom McGonigle
PoliWood Himself Documentary
2010 Shadows and Lies Boss
Little Murder Ben Chaney
Life as We Know It Sam
Daydream Nation Mr. Anderson[19]
2011 The Lincoln Lawyer Ted Minton
Red Dog John / Johnny
J. Edgar Charles Lindbergh
2012 Big Sur Neal Cassady[20]
The Firm Mitch McDeere
Stolen Vincent
2013 Space Warriors Colonel Roy Hanley
TBA Little Accidents Filming
2014 The Mend Mat

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
1994 Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger Major Jace "Flash" Dillon Voice

References

  1. ↑ Lucas disclosed his full name on The Tonight Show, May 3–4, 2006
  2. ↑ "Polska? Tak!". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-09-14. 
  3. ↑ "Josh Lucas". Retrieved 2009-01-16. 
  4. ↑ Interview in New York Times Magazine March 2005 "A Gentleman Comes To Call"
  5. ↑ Stolen Is IFC Films' Latest Acquisition
  6. ↑ "Red Dog is top dog at IF awards". The Age. AAP. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011. 
  7. ↑ Filthy Food, Premium Drink Garnishes
  8. ↑ Josh Lucas' Day Job: Making Pickles! - Life and Style
  9. ↑ Late Night - All Videos : Newest - Videos - NBC.com
  10. ↑ "Jessica Henriquez: I Have Cervical Cancer". People. September 23, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2014. 
  11. ↑ Michaud, Sarah (March 28, 2012). "Josh Lucas Weds Jessica Ciencin Henriquez: Photo". People. Retrieved January 24, 2014. 
  12. ↑ "Josh Lucas Welcomes Son Noah Rev Maurer". People. Retrieved 2012-07-02. 
  13. ↑ Nudd, Tim (January 24, 2014). "Josh Lucas and Jessica Ciencin Henriquez to Divorce". People. Retrieved January 24, 2014. 
  14. ↑ "POPULATION SERVICES INTERNATIONAL: YouthAIDS Ambassadors".  YouthAIDS.org
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Josh Lucas Has Been Wearing the Same Shirt for 45 Days Straight". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2008-12-08. 
  16. ↑ "Searching for Oprah in Denver". Capitol Hill Publishing Corp. Retrieved 2008-12-08. 
  17. ↑ "Chatting with Anne Hathaway and Josh Lucas". Politico/Capitol News Company. Retrieved 2008-12-08. 
  18. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnuxpy_CHCA
  19. ↑ "Daydream Nation". Toronto International Film Festival. 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010. 
  20. ↑ Baldwin, Stephen (April 15, 2011). "Cast set for film adaptation of Kerouac’s Big Sur". National Post. Retrieved September 4, 2011. 

External links

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