James Woods

For other people named James Woods, see James Woods (disambiguation).
James Woods

Woods at the 47th Primetime Emmy Awards, 1995
Born James Howard Woods
April 18, 1947
Vernal, Utah, U.S.
Nationality American
Education Pilgrim High School
Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Occupation Actor, producer, voice artist
Years active 1970–present
Religion Roman Catholic[1]
Spouse(s)
  • Kathryn Morrison (1980–83)
  • Sarah Owen (1989–90)

James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor, producer and voice artist. After his first Golden Globe nomination for a breakthrough role in The Onion Field (1979), Woods starred in Once Upon a Time in America, the Oliver Stone films Salvador and Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, and in the legal series Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards – for television movies Promise and My Name Is Bill W., and for the animated series Hercules. He has been nominated twice for an Academy Award. His voice work has been heard in the animated series The Simpsons, Family Guy, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and in films Stuart Little 2 (as Falcon) and Disney's Hercules (as Hades).

Early life

Woods was born in Vernal, Utah.[2] His father, Gail Peyton Woods, was an army intelligence officer who died in 1960[3] after routine surgery. His mother, Martha A. (née Smith), operated a pre-school after her husband's death[4] and later married Thomas E. Dixon.[5] Woods grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island, where he attended Pilgrim High School. He is of part Irish descent and was raised Catholic, briefly serving as an altar boy.[6][7]

Woods ultimately chose to pursue his undergraduate studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he majored in political science[8] (though he originally planned on a career as an eye surgeon). While at MIT, Woods pledged to Theta Delta Chi Fraternity. He was also an active member of the student theatre group "Dramashop" where he both acted in and directed a number of plays. In order to pursue a career in acting, he dropped out of MIT in 1969 before his graduation.[9] Woods has said that he became an actor thanks to Tim Affleck (father of actor Ben Affleck), who was a stage manager at the Theatre Company of Boston while Woods was a student there.[10]

Career

Theater

Woods appeared in 36 plays before making his Broadway debut in 1970 at the Lyceum Theatre, in the first US production of Frank McMahon's Borstal Boy. He got the part by pretending he was British. He returned to Broadway the following year to portray David Darst in Daniel Berrigan's The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. In 1971, he played Bob Rettie in the American premiere of Michael Weller's Moonchildren at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The production moved to Broadway the following year and Woods won a Theatre World Award for his performance. He returned to Broadway in 1973 to portray Steven Cooper in the original production of Jean Kerr's Finishing Touches.

Film and television

Woods at an AIDS Project Los Angeles benefit in September 1990

A prominent Hollywood character actor, Woods has appeared in over 130 films and television series as of 2013, beginning with his first television appearance All the Way Home in 1971 and his film debut The Visitors in 1972. He is known for his dark, intense characters and villains. Early examples include his portrayals of a sadistic murderer in 1979's The Onion Field,[8] and of serial killer Carl Panzram in 1994's Killer: A Journal of Murder. He appeared in an episode of The Rockford Files, playing a son whose parents were murdered. He has been twice nominated for an Academy Award: first, for Best Actor, for playing a journalist chronicling events in El Salvador in the early Oliver Stone film Salvador (1986), and again in 1996, for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance as real-life white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith in drama Ghosts of Mississippi.[8] One of his favorite film roles is Max, the domineering gangster, in Sergio Leone's epic Once Upon a Time in America (1984).[11] In 1995, Woods took the role of pimp Lester Diamond in Martin Scorsese's Casino. That same year, he portrayed H. R. Haldeman in Nixon, the biopic of Richard M. Nixon, directed by Oliver Stone. In one of his most prominent television roles, Woods starred in the CBS legal drama series Shark, which ran for two seasons between 2006 and 2008. He played an infamous defense lawyer who, after growing disillusioned when his client commits a murder, becomes a successful prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

Woods at the Emmy Awards 1993

He was briefly considered for the role of the Joker by Tim Burton and Sam Hamm for Batman. Hamm recalls that he and Burton thought, "James Woods would be good and wouldn't need any makeup, which would save a couple of hours' work every morning." The role ended up going to Jack Nicholson.[12] Quentin Tarantino wrote a part in Reservoir Dogs with Woods in mind, but Woods' agent rejected the script without showing it to the actor. When Woods learned of this some time later, he fired his agents (CAA), replacing them with ICM.[13][14] Woods was also considered for the part of Donald Kimball in American Psycho, but he turned it down. Eventually, the part was given to Willem Dafoe. In 2006, Woods starred in End Game. He makes a cameo appearance as himself in the first episode of the third season of Entourage. In 2011, Woods appeared as Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers, in HBO's Too Big to Fail, for which he gained an Emmy Award[15] nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Mini-series or Movie.[16]

Voice work

Woods has lent his voice talents to many animated television shows and feature films. He garnered critical praise for his voice work as Hades in the 1997 Disney film Hercules[17] and he won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2000 for the role in the follow-up television series (for the 1999 season). He also voiced Phillium Benedict, the twisted former headmaster who attempts to abolish summer vacation in the 2001 film, Recess: School's Out. He also appeared as a fictional version of himself in the episode of The Simpsons entitled "Homer and Apu" and in seven episodes of Family Guy, which is set in Woods's home state of Rhode Island. Other references in Family Guy include the local high school, James Woods High School, and a forest named James Woods briefly mentioned in "The Fat Guy Strangler". In 2004, Woods voiced Jallak in the animated film Ark and Mike Toreno in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He was also in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

Personal life

During a press interview for Kingdom Hearts II, Woods noted that he is an avid video game player.[18] He is an active dealer of antiques in Rhode Island.[19] Some of his favorite activities are playing golf and cooking.

Poker

Woods playing poker at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in California in 2005

Woods is an avid poker player, playing in cash games and many tournaments. He played in the WPT's Hollywood Home Game series in 2004 for the American Stroke Association charity. As of 2013, he has to his credit 22 major event[20] finishes, including two 2nd place, a 3rd place, and a 24th-place finish (of 692) at the 2006 L.A. Poker Classic $10K final event, paying $40K.[21] Living part-time in the northeast, while not filming, he plays many tournaments at Foxwoods Casino in eastern CT throughout the year.

Lawsuits

In 1988, Woods sued Sean Young for $2 million, accusing her of stalking him after they appeared together in the movie The Boost.[22] Young later countered that he had overreacted after she had spurned his advances on set.[23] The suit was settled out of court in August 1989.[24][25] On July 26, 2006, Woods' younger brother, Michael Jeffrey Woods, died from cardiac arrest at the age of 49. Woods sued Kent Hospital in Warwick, Rhode Island, alleging negligence. The suit was settled in 2009.[26][27]

Activism

Politics

Woods was a vocal supporter of former U.S. President George W. Bush and the Iraq War, though he is still a registered Democrat. He is a supporter of former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani. Woods lobbied hard to play Giuliani in the biopic Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story, and considers the role one of the favorites of his career.[28] In 2008, Woods appeared in David Zucker's comedy An American Carol (presented from a conservative-leaning perspective), along with active Republican actors Kelsey Grammer and Kevin Farley. Woods's name was in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times (August 17, 2006) that condemned Hamas and Hezbollah and supported Israel in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.[29] Woods endorsed John McCain and Mitt Romney for President in 2008 and 2012, respectively.[30][31]

9/11

On August 1, 2001, Woods was on a flight from Boston to Los Angeles. On the flight he noticed four men near him acting suspiciously. He said that they never drank anything, ordered food service or talked to anybody. They were just whispering to each other. Woods reported his suspicions to the co-pilot in flight, and he claimed that those concerns were passed on to the FAA. On the evening of September 11, Woods called the FBI and repeated his concerns; they interviewed him at his home the next morning. Woods believed that he had encountered four of the nineteen terrorists/hijackers, who were just on the flight to study it in preparation for the attacks.[32][33] Woods claims he has been interviewed several times by FBI agents regarding this incident. He has confirmed that he looked at pictures of the hijackers and has identified two terrorists as being among the men that he had seen on his flight.[34]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1972 Hickey & Boggs Lt. Wyatt
1972 The Visitors Bill Schmidt
1973 The Way We Were Frankie McVeigh
1974 The Gambler Bank Officer
1975 Night Moves Quentin
1976 The Billion Dollar Bubble Art Lewis
1976 The Disappearance of Aimee Asst. Disty. Atty. Joseph Ryan Television movie
1976 Raid on Entebbe Capt. Sammy Berg Television movie
1977 The Choirboys Harold Bloomguard
1978 The Gift of Love Alfred Browning Television movie
1979 The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel Sin Eater Television movie
1979 The Onion Field Gregory Ulas Powell
1979 And Your Name Is Jonah Danny Corelli Television movie
1981 Eyewitness Aldo Mercer
1982 Fast-Walking Fast-Walking
1982 Split Image Charles Pratt
1983 Videodrome Max Renn
1984 Against All Odds Jake Wise
1984 Once Upon a Time in America Maximilian 'Max' Bercovicz
1985 Cat's Eye Dick Morrison
1985 Badge of the Assassin Robert K. Tannenbaum / Assistant District Attorney Television movie
1985 Joshua Then and Now Joshua Shapiro
1986 Promise D.J. Television movie
1986 Salvador Richard Boyle
1987 Best Seller Cleve
1987 In Love and War James B. 'Jim' Stockdale Television movie
1988 Cop Lloyd Hopkins Also producer
1988 The Boost Lenny Brown
1989 True Believer Eddie Dodd
1989 My Name Is Bill W. Bill Wilson Television movie
1989 Immediate Family Michael Spector
1991 The Hard Way Detective Lt. John Moss, NYPD
1991 The Boys Walter Farmer Television movie
1992 Citizen Cohn Roy Marcus Cohn Television movie
1992 Straight Talk Jack Russell
1992 Diggstown Gabriel Caine
1992 Chaplin Joseph Scott
1994 The Getaway Jack Benyon
1994 Curse of the Starving Class Weston Tate
1994 The Specialist Ned Trent
1994 Jane's House Paul Clark Television movie
1994 Next Door Matt Coler Television movie
1995 For Better or Worse Reggie Makeshift
1995 Killer: A Journal of Murder Carl Panzram
1995 Casino Lester Diamond
1995 Indictment: The McMartin Trial Danny Davis Television movie
1995 Nixon H. R. Haldeman
1996 Ghosts of Mississippi Byron De La Beckwith
1996 The Summer of Ben Tyler Temple Rayburn Television Movie
1997 Kicked in the Head Uncle Sam
1997 Hercules Hades Voice
1997 Contact Michael Kitz
1998 Vampires Jack Crow
1998 Another Day in Paradise Mel Also producer
1999 True Crime Alan Mann
1999 The Virgin Suicides Ronald Lisbon
1999 Hercules: Zero to Hero Hades (voice) Direct-to-video
1999 The General's Daughter Col. Robert Moore
1999 Any Given Sunday Dr. Harvey Mandrake
1999 Play It to the Bone Ringside Fan
2000 Dirty Pictures Dennis Barrie Television movie
2001 Recess: School's Out Dr. Philliam "Phil" Benedict Voice
2001 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within General Hein Voice
2001 Scary Movie 2 Father McFeely
2001 Riding in Cars with Boys Mr. Leonard Donofrio
2001 Race to Space Dr. Wilhelm von Huber
2002 John Q Dr. Raymond Turner
2002 Stuart Little 2 The Falcon Voice
2002 Mickey's House of Villains Hades (voice) Direct-to-video
2003 Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story Rudolph 'Rudy' Giuliani Television movie
2003 Northfork Walter O'Brien Also executive producer
2003 This Girl's Life Pops
2005 Pretty Persuasion Hank Joyce
2005 Be Cool Tommy Athens
2005 Ark Jallak Voice
2006 End Game Vaughn Stevens
2007 Surf's Up Reggie Belafonte Voice
2008 Big Fat Important Movie Agent Grosslight
2010 Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths Owlman (Voice) Direct-to-video
2011 Straw Dogs Tom Heddon
2011 Too Big to Fail Richard Fuld Television movie
2012 Officer Down Captain Verona
2013 White House Down Martin Walker
2013 Jobs Dean Jack Dudman
2013 Mary and Martha Tom Television movie
2014 Jamesy Boy Lt. Falton

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1974 Kojak Caz Episode: "Death Is Not a Passing Grade"
1974 The Rockford Files Larry Kirkoff Episode: "The Kirkoff Case"
1975 Welcome Back, Kotter Alex Welles Episode: "The Great Debate"
1975 The Streets of San Francisco Doug Episode: "Trail of Terror"
1975 The Rookies Ted Ayres Episode: "A Time to Mourn"
1976 Barnaby Jones Danny Reeves Episode: "Sins of Thy Father"
1976 Police Story Lewis Packer Episode: "Thanksgiving"
1977 Family Dr. Robert Styles Episode: "An Eye to the Future"
1978 Holocaust Karl Weiss 4 episodes
1979–1980 Young Maverick Lem Fraker 2 episodes
1993 Dream On Dennis Youngblood Episode: "Oral Sex, Lies and Videotape"
1993 Fallen Angels Mickey Cohen Episode: "Since I Don't Have You"
1994 The Simpsons Himself (voice) Episode: "Homer and Apu"
1998–1999 Hercules: The Animated Series Hades (voice) 27 episodes
2001 Clerks: The Animated Series Major Baklava (voice) Episode: "Leonardo Is Caught in the Grip of an Outbreak of Randal's Imagination
and Patrick Swayze Either Does or Doesn't Work in the New Pet Store"
2001–2002 House of Mouse Hades (voice) 10 episodes
2005 Odd Job Jack Manny Kowalski Episode: "Orgy: The Musical"
2005–2014 Family Guy Himself (voice) 7 episodes
2006 ER Dr. Nate Lennox Episode: "Body & Soul"
2006 Entourage Himself Episode: "Aquamom"
2006–2008 Shark Sebastian Stark 38 episodes
2009 iCarly Security Guard #2 Episode: "iWant My Website Back"
2012 Coma Dr. Theodore Stark 2 episodes
2013 Ray Donovan Patrick Sullivan 6 episodes

Video games

Year Title Role
1998 Of Light and Darkness Gar (voice)
2002 Kingdom Hearts Hades (voice)
2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Mike Toreno (voice)
2005 Kingdom Hearts II Hades (voice)
2006 Scarface: The World Is Yours George Sheffield (voice)
Nominated - Spike Video Game Award for Best Supporting Male Performance
2007 Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ Hades (voice)
2010 Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
2011 Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
2013 Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix
2014 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result
1980 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actor The Onion Field Won
1980 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama The Onion Field Nominated
1980 National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor The Onion Field Nominated
1980 New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor The Onion Field Nominated
1987 Academy Awards Best Actor Salvador Nominated
1987 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Promise Won
1987 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Promise Won
1987 Independent Spirit Awards Best Male Lead Salvador Won
1988 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film In Love and War Nominated
1988 Independent Spirit Awards Best Male Lead Best Seller Nominated
1989 Independent Spirit Awards Best Male Lead The Boost Nominated
1989 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie My Name Is Bill W. Won
1990 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Hallmark Hall of Fame Nominated
1993 CableACE Awards Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Citizen Cohn Nominated
1993 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Citizen Cohn Nominated
1993 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Citizen Cohn Nominated
1994 CableACE Awards Best Actor in a Drama Series Fallen Angels Nominated
1995 CableACE Awards Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Indictment: The McMartin Trial Nominated
1995 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Indictment: The McMartin Trial Nominated
1996 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Indictment: The McMartin Trial Nominated
1996 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nixon Nominated
1997 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Ghosts of Mississippi Nominated
1997 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Ghosts of Mississippi Nominated
1997 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Ghosts of Mississippi Nominated
1997 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film The Summer of Ben Tyler Nominated
1997 Satellite Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film The Summer of Ben Tyler Nominated
1997 Satellite Awards Best Actor – Motion Picture Killer: A Journal of Murder Won
1999 Saturn Awards Best Actor Vampires Won
2000 Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program Hercules Won
2000 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor The Virgin Suicides Nominated
2001 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Dirty Pictures Nominated
2001 Satellite Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Dirty Pictures Won
2001 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Dirty Pictures Nominated
2003 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story Nominated
2004 Satellite Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story Won
2006 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series ER Nominated
2006 Satellite Awards Best Actor – Television Series Drama Shark Nominated
2011 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Too Big to Fail Nominated
2011 Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Too Big to Fail Nominated
2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Too Big to Fail Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "James Woods on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Utah Local News - Salt Lake City News, Sports, Archive - The Salt Lake Tribune". sltrib.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  3. ↑ Warwick Online: Michael Woods remembered for a smile, and a laugh at the Wayback Machine (archived November 11, 2007)
  4. ↑ "James Woods Biography (1947-)". filmreference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Martha A. Woods Dixon - Warwick Beacon". Warwick Beacon. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ "James Woods on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  7. ↑ McCardle, Kevin (September 17, 1999). "Face of the Day". The Herald.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2000
  9. ↑ New York Times Service, published by New York Times and Arno press, 1989, page 788
  10. ↑ Lidz, Franz (10 September 2000), "FILM; Ben Affleck Shocker: I Bargained With Devil for Fame", New York Times, retrieved 4 March 2012
  11. ↑ Turner Classic Movies biography, James Woods, accessed January 2, 2011
  12. ↑ Batmanmovieonline.com at the Wayback Machine (archived February 11, 2008)
  13. ↑ Hollywood's new radicalism: war, globalisation and the movies from Reagan to George W. Bush, by Ben Dickenson, 2006, page 157
  14. ↑ Film voices: Interviews From Post Script, by Gerald Duchovnay, 2004, pages 244–245
  15. ↑ "James Woods". Television Academy. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  16. ↑ 2011 Emmy Nominations List: 63rd Primetime Emmy Nominations Announced, Huffington Post, July 14, 2011. Accessed July 15, 2011
  17. ↑ New York Magazine, July 7, 1997, page 54
  18. ↑ Video on YouTube
  19. ↑ PAWT RI ANTIQUES WOODS The Times
  20. ↑ Generally, a major event is one with a prize pool of at least $10K.
  21. ↑ "James Woods Poker Tournament Results". CardPlayer.com. December 3, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
  22. ↑ Woods Suit May be Settled, by Anne Trebbe, USA Today, August 23, 1989
  23. ↑ "Young Revisits 20-Year-Old James Woods Harassment Controversy," ContactMusic.com, 17 September 2007
  24. ↑ "Time Out". Orlando Sentinel. August 25, 1989. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  25. ↑ Puig, Claudia; Cerone, Daniel (August 24, 1989). "Legal File". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  26. ↑ James Woods – Shark Halted After Woods' Brother Dies, ContactMusic.com, July 28, 2006
  27. ↑ James Woods settles suit over brother’s death, by Associated Press, published by MSNBC.com, December 1, 2009
  28. ↑ bob the moo (March 30, 2003). "Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story (TV Movie 2003)". IMDb. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Nicole Kidman and 84 Others Stand United Against Terrorism" Hollywood Grind. 18 August 2006.
  30. ↑ "James Woods, Friendly on Friday". Bauergriffinonline.com. April 25, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  31. ↑ "Other Hollywood Celebrities include:". Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  32. ↑ Woods, James. "Interview with Bill O'Reilly". YouTube. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  33. ↑ Newspaper article, Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes, by Glen Johnson, Boston Globe Staff, November 23, 2001
  34. ↑ James Woods Reported Suspicious Passengers to FBI, ABC News.com, September 19, 2001

External links

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