Scott Wilson (actor)

Scott Wilson

Wilson in October 2013.
Born March 29, 1942
Thomasville, Georgia, U.S.
Years active 1967–present
Spouse(s) Heavenly Wilson (1977–present)

Scott Wilson (born March 29, 1942) is an American film and television actor. Wilson has more than 50 film credits from the 1960s to the 2010s, including In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Great Gatsby, Dead Man Walking, Pearl Harbor, and Junebug.[1] In 1980, Wilson received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his role in The Ninth Configuration.[2][3] Wilson was mostly known for acting as a main cast member on the AMC television series The Walking Dead, played from 2011 to 2014[4] in which he played veterinarian and Greene family patriarch Hershel Greene. Wilson is well-known especially for his recurring role on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as casino mogul Sam Braun, the father of investigator Catherine Willows.

Career

Wilson made his screen debut portraying characters suspected of murder in his first three films. In his debut film, Wilson played a murder suspect in 1967's In the Heat of the Night, which starred Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger and Warren Oates.[2] His follow-up role, in the same year, was In Cold Blood, based on the book of the same name by Truman Capote.[3] Wilson portrays real-life murderer Richard Hickock, while Robert Blake played his partner, Perry Smith.[3] Director Richard Brooks cast Wilson and Blake in the starring roles specifically because they were unknown at the time.[3] The director passed over better-known actors, including Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, for the parts.[3] Wilson later explained Brooks' casting motivations: "Brooks hired two 'unknowns' and he wanted to keep it that way. We were treated like two killers he had somehow run across."[3] Wilson appeared in Sparta on March 15th, 2014 to celebrate the city's 175th anniversary in reference to his debut appearance in the film.

The film earned Wilson an appearance on the cover of Life Magazine, published on May 12, 1967.[3] Wilson was just 24 years old at the time.[3] The cover features Truman Capote standing between Wilson and Blake on an empty highway in Kansas.[3] The caption, Nightmare Revisited, appears with them on the cover.[3] Wilson appeared in The Great Gatsby in 1974 opposite Robert Redford.[2] He received a 1980 Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Ninth Configuration by director and friend William Peter Blatty.[2][3] He lost the Golden Globe to Timothy Hutton. In 1995 Wilson got attention for his role as a prison chaplain in Dead Man Walking, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, based on the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean.[2][3]

Wilson's long filmography also includes The Gypsy Moths, The Right Stuff, A Year of the Quiet Sun, Malone, The Grass Harp, Junebug, The Host, Monster, Young Guns II, Pearl Harbor, Big Stan, Judge Dredd, the Shiloh film series and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Wilson has filmed on location in South Korea, Japan and Spain.[2] Wilson had a recurring role in several episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Sam Braun, father of crime-scene investigator Catherine Willows (portrayed by Marg Helgenberger).[5] Braun was killed off in the episode "Built to Kill, Part 2". In the fall of 2011 he also made an appearance opposite Laura Dern in the HBO series, Enlightened.

Wilson was cast as veterinarian, Hershel Greene in the second season of The Walking Dead in June 2011.[4] The role has earned him positive reviews, including a "cheer" from TV Guide, which wrote that he had contributed "subtle shades of humanity to the character of Hershel Greene."[5] Wilson was offered the opportunity to join the show while visiting his 97-year-old mother in Georgia.[2] He has described his mother as "a fan of the show."[2] Wilson left the show in December 2013 after his character was killed off in the Season 4 mid-season finale Too Far Gone. However, he has made two appearances since his character's death.

Wilson reflected on his career in a 2011 interview with Access Atlanta's Rodney Ho: "It's been up and down. It's always been. You have dry spells. At different times, you are starting over. If you love it, you stay with it. That's what I'm doing. I've accomplished more than I would have hoped to have accomplished. I don't want to be a big movie star. I can be someone who walks the streets and not get mobbed. I want to be as fine an actor as I can be. I am still striving to be as good as I can be."[2] Wilson was filming scenes for The Walking Dead in Senoia, Georgia, at the time the interview took place.[2] In 2014, Wilson was cast in a recurring role as Dr. Guyot in the Amazon original series Bosch.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1967 In the Heat of the Night Harvey Oberst
1967 In Cold Blood Richard Hickock
1969 Castle Keep Corporal Clearboy
1969 The Gypsy Moths Malcolm Webson
1971 The Grissom Gang Slim Grissom
1972 The New Centurions Gus
1973 Lolly-Madonna XXX Thrush
1974 The Great Gatsby George Wilson
1976 The Passover Plot Judah
1979 La Ilegal Police Officer
1980 The Ninth Configuration Captain Billy Cutshaw Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
1983 The Right Stuff Scott Crossfield
1984 A Year of the Quiet Sun Norman
1984 Downstream Mitch
1985 The Aviator Jerry Stiller
1986 Blue City Percy Kerch
1987 Malone Paul Barlow
1988 Jesse Sam Maloney Television film
1988 Tracker John 'Red Jack' Stillwell Television film
1989 Johnny Handsome Mikey Chalmette
1990 The Exorcist III Dr. Temple
1990 Young Guns II Governor Lew Wallace
1990 La Cruz de Iberia Johnson
1991 Femme Fatale Dr. Beaumont
1991 Pure Luck Frank Grimes
1993 Geronimo: An American Legend Redondo
1993 Flesh and Bone Elliot
1993 Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story Vernon Presley Television film
1995 Tall Tale Zeb
1995 Judge Dredd Pa Angel Uncredited
1995 Soul Survivors Bradley Facemeyer Television film
1995 Dead Man Walking Chaplain Farley
1995 The Grass Harp Eugene Fenwick
1995 Mother Dr. Chase Direct-to-video
1996 Shiloh Judd Travers
1997 G.I. Jane Captain Salem
1997 Our God's Brother Albert Chmielowski
1998 Clay Pigeons Sheriff Dan Mooney
1998 Puraido: Unmei no Toki Joseph B. Keenan
1999 Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season Judd Travers
1999 The Debtors
1999 The Jack Bull Governor Television film
2000 South of Heaven, West of Hell Clete Monroe
2000 The Way of the Gun Hale Chidduck
2001 The Animal Mayor
2001 Pearl Harbor General George Marshall
2002 Bark! Harold
2002 Coastlines Pa Mann
2002 Don't Let Go Hershel Ray Stevens
2003 Monster Horton/Last "John"
2003 The Last Samurai Ambassador Swanbeck
2005 Junebug Eugene Johnsten
2006 Come Early Morning Lowell Fowler
2006 Open Window Eddie
2006 Saving Shiloh Judd Travers
2006 The Host US Doctor in Morgue
2006 Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon Eugene
2006 The Sensation of Sight Tucker
2007 The Heartbreak Kid Boo
2007 Big Stan Warden Gasque
2009 Saving Grace B. Jones Reverend Potter
2009 Bottleworld Murray
2009 For Sale by Owner Dr. Banks
2010 Radio Free Albemuth President Fremont
2011 Dorfman Winston Cooke Sr.
2011 Five Old Bill Television film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1986 The Twilight Zone Matthew Foreman Episode: "Quarantine"
2000 The X-Files Rev. Orison Episode: "Orison"
2001–2006 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Sam Braun Recurring, 9 Episodes
2003 Karen Sisco Homer Episode: "Dumb Bunnies"
2005 Law & Order Ben Chaney Episode: "Sport of Kings"
2011 Justified Frank Reasoner Episode: "Blaze of Glory"
2011 Enlightened Marv Episode: "Someone Else's Life"
2011–2014 The Walking Dead Hershel Greene Recurring (Season 2, 11 episodes)
Also Starring (Season 3, 13 episodes)
Main Cast (Season 4, 8 episodes)
2014–2015 Bosch Paul Guyot Recurring, 3 episodes

Other awards and nominations

Year Award Result
1968 Laurel Award for Male New Face Nominated
1998 Florida Film Festival Special Achievement Award Won
2007 Ralph Morgan Award Won

References

  1. ↑ "Scott Wilson". The New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Ho, Rodney (2011-10-25). "A talk with Atlanta native Scott Wilson, who plays Hershel on ‘The Walking Dead’". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 Lovell, Glenn (1996-03-17). "Actor Anonymous : Scott Wilson hopes 'Dead Man Walking' will lead to the visibility that has long eluded him in films". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ayres, Tom (2011-06-26). "'The Walking Dead' cast expands by two". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fretts, Bruce (2011-11-28). "Cheers & Jeers: The Walking Dead's Great Scott Wilson". TV Guide. Retrieved 2012-02-15.

External links