1978 in film

Years in film
1870s
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1978 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

• February 1 – Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California.
• March 1 – Charlie Chaplin's coffin is stolen from a Swiss cemetery three months after burial. After recovery a few weeks later, the casket is sealed in a concrete vault which is then buried in the same grave.
• March – Leigh Brackett completes the first draft for The Empire Strikes Back, but dies only two weeks later.
• June 4 – Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, has its world premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
• August – Production begins on Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
• September – George Lucas purchases Bulltail Ranch, on Lucas Valley Road, for the development of Skywalker Ranch.
• November 17 – Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS. The special gives fans their first glimpse of Boba Fett, a character from the upcoming sequel.
• December – Superman premieres at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC on December 10 and has a European Royal Charity Premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square in London three days later in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew.

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: The Deer Hunter – EMI Films/Cimino, Universal

Best Director: Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter

Best Actor: Jon Voight – Coming Home

Best Actress: Jane Fonda – Coming Home

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken – The Deer Hunter

Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Smith – California Suite

Best Foreign Language Film: Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Preparez vos mouchoirs), directed by Bertrand Blier, France

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: Midnight Express

Best Actor: Jon Voight – Coming Home

Best Actress: Jane Fonda – Coming Home

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: Heaven Can Wait

Best Actor: Warren Beatty – Heaven Can Wait

Best Actress (tie): Ellen Burstyn – Same Time, Next Year

Best Actress (tie): Maggie Smith – California Suite

Other

Best Director: Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter

Best Foreign Language Film: Autumn Sonata, Sweden

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L'Albero degli zoccoli), directed by Ermanno Olmi, Italy

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Trout (Las Truchas), directed by José Luis García Sánchez, Spain

What Max Said (Las Palabras de Max), directed by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro, Spain

1978 film releases

January–March

• February 1978
  • Remember My Name
  • 1 February
    • Coma
  • 2 February
    • The Boys in Company C
  • 3 February
    • The One and Only
  • 10 February
    • The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2
    • Blue Collar
• March 1978
  • 5 March
    • An Unmarried Woman
  • 10 March
    • Return from Witch Mountain
    • Gray Lady Down
    • The Fury
  • 15 March
    • House Calls
  • 17 March
    • Casey's Shadow

April–June

• April 1978
  • 20 April
    • Dawn of the Dead
    • FM
  • 21 April
    • I Wanna Hold Your Hand
• May 1978
  • Warlords of Atlantis
  • 10 May
    • It Lives Again
  • 12 May
    • Nunzio
  • 18 May
    • The Buddy Holly Story
  • 19 May
    • Thank God It's Friday
• June 1978
  • 2 June
    • Corvette Summer
  • 5 June
    • Hot Lead and Cold Feet
  • 6 June
    • Damien: Omen II
  • 9 June
    • The Cat from Outer Space
  • 10 June
    • The Driver
  • 16 June
    • Grease
    • Jaws 2
  • 21 June
    • Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
  • 23 June
    • The Cheap Detective
  • 28 June
    • Heaven Can Wait

July–September

• July 1978
  • 19 July
    • Revenge of the Pink Panther
    • International Velvet
  • 28 July
    • Hopper
    • Animal House
• August 1978
  • 2 August
    • Eyes of Laura Mars
• September 1978
  • 8 September
    • Almost Summer
  • 15 September
    • Up in Smoke
  • 22 September
    • Paradise Alley
  • 29 September
    • Somebody Killed Her Husband
    • Death on the Nile

October–December

• October 1978
  • 6 October
    • The Big Fix
    • Midnight Express
    • Goin' South
  • 15 December
    • Oliver's Story
  • 20 October
    • Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
  • 24 October
    • The Wiz
  • 25 October
    • Halloween
• November 1978
  • 1 November
    • Watership Down
  • 2 November
    • Caravans
  • 22 November
    • Same Time, Next Year
• December 1978
  • 8 December
    • Force 10 from Navarone
    • The Deer Hunter
  • 15 December
    • California Suite
    • Superman
  • 20 December
    • Every Which Way but Loose
    • Invasion of the Body Snatchers
  • 31 December
    • Ice Castles

Notable films released in 1978

U.S.A. unless stated
#

• The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Shao Lin san shi liu fang), starring Gordon Liu – (Hong Kong)

A

• The Adventures of Jody Shanan
• Almost Summer, directed by Martin Davidson, starring Bruno Kirby and Lee Purcell
• American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince, directed by Martin Scorsese (documentary)
• American Hot Wax, a biopic of Alan Freed, starring Tim McIntire, Fran Drescher, Laraine Newman, Jay Leno
• L'argent des autres (Other People's Money), starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Catherine Deneuve – (France)
• The Astral Factor, starring Robert Foxworth and Stefanie Powers
• Autumn Sonata (Höstsonaten), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann – (Sweden)
• Avalanche, starring Rock Hudson, Robert Forster, Mia Farrow

B

• The Bad News Bears Go to Japan, starring Tony Curtis and Jackie Earle Haley
• Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron (Kumokiri Nizaemon) – (Japan)
• Battlestar Galactica (Canada and most European countries only; released in U.S. theatres the following year)
• The Betsy, starring Laurence Olivier, Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Katharine Ross, Kathleen Beller, Lesley-Anne Down
• The Big Fix, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Anspach, F. Murray Abraham, John Lithgow
• The Big Sleep, starring Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Oliver Reed, Richard Boone, Candy Clark, Joan Collins, James Stewart – (U.K.)
• Big Wednesday, directed by John Milius, starring Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, Gary Busey
• Bloodbrothers, starring Richard Gere and Paul Sorvino
• Blue Collar, directed by Paul Schrader, starring Richard Pryor, Yaphet Kotto, Harvey Keitel
• Born Again, starring Dean Jones and Anne Francis
• The Boys from Brazil, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason – (U.K./U.S.A.)
• The Boys in Company C, starring Stan Shaw, Andrew Stevens and Craig Wasson
• The Brink's Job, directed by William Friedkin, starring Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, Peter Boyle, Paul Sorvino, Warren Oates
• The Buddy Holly Story, starring Gary Busey, Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith
• Bye Bye Monkey (Rêve de singe / Ciao maschio), starring Gérard Depardieu and Marcello Mastroianni – (France/Italy)

C

• La Cage aux Folles, directed by Édouard Molinaro, starring Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault – (France/Italy)
• California Suite, starring Alan Alda, Jane Fonda, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Elaine May, Walter Matthau
• Capricorn One, directed by Peter Hyams, starring Elliott Gould, James Brolin, O. J. Simpson, Sam Waterston, Hal Holbrook, Brenda Vaccaro
• Caravans, starring Anthony Quinn, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Sarrazin
• Casey's Shadow, starring Walter Matthau, Alexis Smith, Robert Webber
• The Cat from Outer Space, starring Ronnie Schell and Sandy Duncan
• Centennial, TV miniseries, starring Raymond Burr, Richard Chamberlain, Richard Crenna, Andy Griffith, David Janssen, Alex Karras
• La chambre verte (The Green Room), directed by and starring François Truffaut – (France)
• The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, directed by Fred Schepisi – (Australia)
• The Cheap Detective, starring Peter Falk, Ann-Margret, Marsha Mason, Sid Caesar
• China 9, Liberty 37 (Amore, piombo e furore), starring Fabio Testi, Jenny Agutter, Warren Oates – (Italy/Spain)
• The Class of Miss MacMichael, starring Glenda Jackson - (U.K.)
• Closed Circuit (Circuito chiuso) – (Italy)
• Coma, directed by Michael Crichton, starring Geneviève Bujold, Michael Douglas, Richard Widmark
• Comes a Horseman, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Jane Fonda, James Caan, Jason Robards
• Coming Home, directed by Hal Ashby, starring Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford
• Convoy, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw and Ernest Borgnine
• Corvette Summer, starring Mark Hamill
• Cosi' come sei (aka Stay As You Are) starring Marcello Mastroianni and Nastassja Kinski – (Italy)
• Crippled Avengers (Can que), directed by Chang Cheh – (Hong Kong)

D

• The Dain Curse, mini-series for TV, starring James Coburn and Jean Simmons
• Damien: Omen II, starring William Holden and Lee Grant
• d'Artagnan and Three Musketeers (d'Artanyan i tri mushketera) – (U.S.S.R.)
• Dawn of the Dead, directed by George A. Romero – (U.S.A./Italy)
• Days of Heaven, directed by Terrence Malick, starring Richard Gere, Sam Shepard, Brooke Adams
• Death on the Nile, directed by John Guillermin, starring Peter Ustinov, David Niven, Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, Olivia Hussey, Mia Farrow – (U.K.)
• Deathsport, starring David Carradine
• Debbie Does Dallas, pornographic comedy
• The Deer Hunter, directed by Michael Cimino, starring Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep
• The Demon (Kichiku) – (Japan)
• A Different Story, starring Meg Foster, Perry King, Valerie Curtin
• El diputado (The Deputy) – (Spain)
• Don, starring Amitabh Bachchan – (India)
• A Dream of Passion (Kravgi gynaikon), directed by Jules Dassin, starring Melina Mercouri and Ellen Burstyn – (Greece)
• The Driver, directed by Walter Hill, starring Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani, Ronee Blakley
• Drunken Master (Jui kuen), starring Jackie Chan – (Hong Kong)

E

• Ecce bombo, directed by and starring Nanni Moretti – (Italy)
• Empire of Passion (Ai no Bōrei), directed by Nagisa Oshima – (Japan)
• The End, directed by and starring Burt Reynolds, with Dom DeLuise, Joanne Woodward, Pat O'Brien, Myrna Loy, Sally Field
• An Enemy of the People, starring Steve McQueen
• Enter the Fat Dragon (Fei Lung gwoh gong), starring Sammo Hung – (Hong Kong)
• Every Which Way but Loose, directed by James Fargo, starring Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis
• Eyes of Laura Mars, directed by Irvin Kershner, starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones

F

• F.I.S.T., directed by Norman Jewison, starring Sylvester Stallone, Melinda Dillon, Rod Steiger
• FM, starring Cleavon Little and Eileen Brennan
• Fedora, directed by Billy Wilder, starring William Holden and Marthe Keller
• Fingers, directed by James Toback, starring Harvey Keitel
• Five Deadly Venoms
• Force 10 from Navarone, starring Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford – (U.K.)
• Foul Play, directed by Colin Higgins, starring Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Dudley Moore and Billy Barty
• The Fury, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress, Andrew Stevens, Amy Irving

G

• Gates of Heaven, a documentary film
• Germany in Autumn (Deutschland im Herbst) – (West Germany)
• Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Preparez vos mouchoirs), directed by Bertrand Blier – (France)
• Girlfriends, directed by Claudia Weill, starring Melanie Mayron – Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner
• Go Tell the Spartans, starring Burt Lancaster
• Gray Lady Down, starring Charlton Heston, David Carradine, Stacy Keach, Ronny Cox, Ned Beatty
• Grease, directed by Randal Kleiser, starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Jeff Conaway, Stockard Channing, Sid Caesar, Eve Arden

H

• Halloween, directed by John Carpenter, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence
• Harper Valley PTA, starring Barbara Eden
• Heaven Can Wait, directed by Buck Henry and Warren Beatty, starring Beatty, Julie Christie, Charles Grodin, Dyan Cannon, Jack Warden, James Mason
• The Herd (Sürü) – (Turkey)
• High-Ballin', starring Peter Fonda, Michael Ironside, Helen Shaver, Jerry Reed
• Holocaust, TV miniseries, starring Meryl Streep, James Woods, Michael Moriarty, Tovah Feldshuh, Fritz Weaver, Ian Holm
• Hooper, directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jan-Michael Vincent, Robert Klein, Brian Keith
• Hot Lead and Cold Feet, directed by Robert Butler, starring Jim Dale, Karen Valentine, Don Knotts
• House Calls, directed by Howard Zieff, starring Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Richard Benjamin, Art Carney
• A Hunting Accident (Moy laskovyy i nezhnyy zver) – (U.S.S.R.)

I–J

• I Wanna Hold Your Hand, directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Nancy Allen, Marc McClure, Bobby Di Cicco
• Ice Castles, directed by Donald Wrye, starring Lynn-Holly Johnson and Robby Benson
• In a Year of 13 Moons (In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder – (West Germany)
• In Praise of Older Women, starring Tom Berenger, Karen Black, Helen Shaver – (Canada)
• Interiors, directed by Woody Allen, starring Geraldine Page, Diane Keaton, E. G. Marshall, Mary Beth Hurt, Maureen Stapleton
• International Velvet, starring Tatum O'Neal, Nanette Newman and Anthony Hopkins
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers, remake of 1956 movie, directed by Philip Kaufman, starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum
• Jaws 2, directed by Jeannot Szwarc, starring Roy Scheider and Lorraine Gary

K–L

• Killer of Sheep, directed by Charles Burnett
• King of the Gypsies, starring Eric Roberts, Sterling Hayden, Judd Hirsch, Shelley Winters, Brooke Shields
• Kondura (The Boon), directed by Shyam Benegal – (India-Bollywood/Telugu)
• Lady on the Bus (A Dama do Lotação), starring Sônia Braga – (Brazil)
• The Left-Handed Woman (Die linkshändige Frau) – (West Germany)
• The Last Waltz, directed by Martin Scorsese, featuring The Band, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Bob Dylan
• Long Weekend, starring John Hargreaves – (Australia)
• The Lord of the Rings, animated film by Ralph Bakshi, with voices of William Squire, John Hurt, Anthony Daniels

M

• Magic, directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Ed Lauter
• De Mantel der Liefde (The Mantle of Love) – (Netherlands)
• Mean Dog Blues, starring Gregg Henry, Kay Lenz, Tina Louise and George Kennedy
• The Medusa Touch, starring Richard Burton, Lino Ventura and Lee Remick – (U.K.)
• Midnight Express, directed by Alan Parker, starring Brad Davis, Randy Quaid, John Hurt – (U.K./U.S.A.)
• Moment by Moment, directed by Jane Wagner, starring John Travolta and Lily Tomlin
• Movie Movie, directed by Stanley Donen, starring George C. Scott, Harry Hamlin, Barry Bostwick, Trish Van Devere, Red Buttons, Art Carney
• Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (Conqueror of Destiny), starring Amitabh Bachchan – (India)

N–O

• National Lampoon's Animal House, directed by John Landis, starring John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert, Tom Hulce, Karen Allen, John Vernon
• Newsfront, directed by Phillip Noyce, starring Wendy Hughes and Bryan Brown – (Australia)
• A Night Full of Rain (Una notte piena di pioggia), directed by Lina Wertmüller, starring Giancarlo Giannini and Candice Bergen – (Italy/U.S.A.)
• The Night the Prowler, directed by Jim Sharman – (Australia)
• Occupation in 26 Pictures (Okupacija u 26 slika) – (Yugoslavia)
• Oliver's Story, directed by John Korty, starring Ryan O'Neal and Candice Bergen
• The One and Only, directed by Carl Reiner, starring Henry Winkler and Kim Darby
• Orchestra Rehearsal (Prova d'orchestra), directed by Federico Fellini – (Italy)

P–Q

• Paradise Alley, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone, with Armand Assante and Anne Archer
• Passion Flower Hotel (Leidenschaftliche Blümchen), starring Nastassja Kinski – (West Germany)
• Perceval le Gallois (Percival the Gaul), directed by Éric Rohmer – (France)
• Piranha, directed by Joe Dante, starring Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy
• The Place Without Limits (El lugar sin límites) – (Mexico)
• Pretty Baby, directed by Louis Malle, starring Keith Carradine, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields
• The Prophet, the Gold and the Transylvanians (Profetul, aurul si Ardelenii) – (Romania)
• Pugachev – (U.S.S.R.)

R

• Rabbit Test, directed by Joan Rivers, starring Billy Crystal
• Remember My Name, starring Geraldine Chaplin and Anthony Perkins
• Renaldo and Clara, directed by and starring Bob Dylan
• Return from Witch Mountain, starring Bette Davis and Christopher Lee
• Revenge of the Pink Panther, starring Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom and Dyan Cannon – (U.K./U.S.A.)
• Rhinegold – (West Germany)
• Ringing Bell (Chirin no Suzu), an anime film – (Japan)
• Rockers, starring Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs and Big Youth – (Jamaica)

S

• The Sailor's Return, starring Tom Bell – (U.K.)
• Same Time Next Year, starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn
• The Second Awakening of Christa Klages, directed by Margarethe von Trotta – (West Germany)
• Sextette, starring Mae West, Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, George Hamilton, Alice Cooper
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, starring Peter Frampton, Steve Martin and the Bee Gees with music by The Beatles
• Shogun's Samurai (Yagu ichizoku no inbō), starring Sonny Chiba – (Japan)
• The Shout, directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Alan Bates, John Hurt and Susannah York – (U.K.)
• The Silent Partner, directed by Daryl Duke, starring Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer, Susannah York
• Slow Dancing in the Big City, directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Paul Sorvino
• The Small One
• Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (Shé xíng diāo shǒu), starring Jackie Chan – (Hong Kong)
• Somebody Killed Her Husband, starring Farrah Fawcett and Jeff Bridges
• Stevie, starring Glenda Jackson and Trevor Howard – (U.K.)
• Straight Time, directed by Ulu Grosbard, starring Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey
• The Stud, starring Joan Collins – (U.K.)
• Superman, directed by Richard Donner, starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, Glenn Ford
• The Swarm, starring Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Fred MacMurray, Olivia de Havilland, Ben Johnson, Lee Grant
• The Swissmakers (Die Schweizermacher) – (Switzerland)

T

• Thank God It's Friday, starring Debra Winger, Donna Summer, Jeff Goldblum
• Three from Prostokvashino (Troye iz Prostokvashino) – (U.S.S.R.)
• Toplo (Heat) – (Bulgaria)
• The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L'Albero degli zoccoli), directed by Ermanno Olmi – (Italy) – Palme d'Or winner
• Trishul, starring Sanjeev Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan – (India)
• Las truchas (The Trout) – (Spain) – Golden Bear winner
• Two Solitudes, starring Jean-Pierre Aumont and Stacy Keach – (Canada)

U–V

• Uncle Joe Shannon, starring Burt Young
• An Unmarried Woman, directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy
• Up in Smoke, starring Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong
• Violette Nozière, directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Isabelle Huppert and Stéphane Audran – (France)

W

• Ward Six (Paviljon VI) – (Yugoslavia)
• Warriors Two (Zan xian sheng yu zhao qian Hua), starring Bryan Leung and Sammo Hung – (Hong Kong)
• The Water Babies, directed by Lionel Jeffries, starring James Mason, Bernard Cribbins, Billie Whitelaw – (U.K./Poland)
• Watership Down, animated film directed by Martin Rosen, with the voices of John Hurt and Richard Briers – (U.K.)
• A Wedding, directed by Robert Altman, starring Desi Arnaz, Jr., Carol Burnett, Geraldine Chaplin, Lauren Hutton, Paul Dooley, Mia Farrow
• Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?, starring George Segal and Jacqueline Bisset – (West Germany/U.S.A.)
• Who'll Stop the Rain, directed by Karel Reisz, starring Nick Nolte and Tuesday Weld
• The Wild Geese, starring Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris – (U.K.)
• Without Anesthesia (Bez znieczulenia), directed by Andrzej Wajda – (Poland)
• The Wiz, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell
• Wolf Lake, directed by Burt Kennedy, starring Rod Steiger

XYZ

• You Are Not Alone (Du er ikke alene) – (Denmark)

Births

• January 1 – Christian Tessier, Canadian actor
• January 5 – Clarine Harp, voice actress
• January 8 – Scott Whyte, actor
• January 15 – Eddie Cahill, actor
• January 17
  • Ricky Wilson, English actor, singer
  • Pater Sparrow, Hungarian actor, filmmaker
• January 20 – Omar Sy, French actor
• January 24 – Mark Hildreth, Canadian actor, voice actor
• February 7 – Ashton Kutcher, actor
• February 9 – A. J. Buckley, Canadian actor
• February 17 - Ashton Holmes, actor
• February 20
  • Julia Jentsch, German actress
  • Jay Hernandez, actor
• March 1 – Jensen Ackles, actor
• March 5 – Kimberly McCullough, actress, dancer, director
• March 8 – Nick Zano, actor
• March 17
  • Patrick Seitz, voice actor
  • Jason M. Burns, American writer
• March 21 – Rani Mukerji, Indian actress
• March 23 – Nicholle Tom, actress
• April 1 – Anamaria Marinca, Romanian actress
• April 2 – Deon Richmond, former child actor
• April 3 – Matthew Goode, English actor
• April 12 – Riley Smith, actor
• April 13 – Kyle Howard, actor
• April 16 – Lara Dutta, Indian actress
• April 19 – James Franco, actor
• April 20
  • Matt Austin, Canadian actor
  • Clayne Crawford, actor
• April 23 - Ian Brennan, writer, actor, producer
• April 26 – Pablo Schreiber, Canadian actor
• April 29 – Tyler Labine, Canadian actor
• May 8 – Matthew Davis, actor
• May 10 – Kenan Thompson, actor, comedian
• May 12 – Jason Biggs, actor
• May 15
  • Caroline Dhavernas, Canadian actress
  • David Krumholtz, actor
• May 16 – Jim Sturgess, actor
• May 18 – Chad Donella, Canadian actor
• May 24 – Bryan Greenberg, actor
• June 2
  • Nikki Cox, actress
  • Dominic Cooper, actor
• June 4 - Robin Lord Taylor, actor
• June 6 – Judith Barsi, child actress (d. 1988)
• June 7 – Bill Hader, actor, comedian
• June 8 – Maria Menounos, actress
• June 10
  • Shane West, actor
  • DJ Qualls, actor
• June 11 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian actor
• June 13 – Ethan Embry, actor
• June 14 – Diablo Cody, Canadian writer
• June 16 – Daniel Brühl, German actor
• June 19 – Zoe Saldana, actress
• June 21 – Erica Durance, Canadian actress
• July 2 – Owain Yeoman, Welsh actor
• July 4 – Becki Newton, actress
• July 6 – Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry, actresses
• July 8 – Rachael Lillis, voice actress
• July 12
  • Michelle Rodriguez, actress
  • Topher Grace, actor
• July 19 – R. J. Williams, actor, television host, CEO of Young Hollywood
• July 20 – Charlie Korsmo, former child actor
• July 21
  • Josh Hartnett, actor
  • Justin Bartha, actor
• July 22 – A. J. Cook, Canadian actress
• August 3 - Tommy Dewey, actor, producer, writer
• August 8 – Countess Vaughn, actress
• August 10 - Leo Fitzpatrick, actor
• August 18 – Andy Samberg, actor, comedian
• August 22 – James Corden, singer, actor, television host
• August 25 – Kel Mitchell, actor, comedian
• August 31 – Mike Erwin, actor
• September 3 – Nick Wechsler, actor
• September 4 – Wes Bentley, actor
• September 7 – Devon Sawa, Canadian actor
• September 12 - Benjamin McKenzie, actor
• September 18 – Billy Eichner, American comedian, actor, writer, and television personality
• September 20 – Charlie Weber, actor
• September 23 – Anthony Mackie, American actor
• September 28 – Lucas Bryant, Canadian actor
• September 29 – Nathan West, actor
• October 3 – Shannyn Sossamon, actress
• October 9 – Randy Spelling, actor
• October 10 – Trevor Eyster, actor
• October 11 – Trevor Donovan, actor
• October 14 – Usher, singer, actor
• October 15 – Devon Gummersall, actor
• October 18 – Wesley Jonathan, actor
• October 21
  • Will Estes, actor
  • Michael McMillian, actor
• October 27 – David Walton, actor
• October 30 – Matthew Morrison, singer, actor
• October 31 – Brian Hallisay, actor
• November 1 – Mary Kate Schellhardt, actress
• November 9 – Sisqó, singer, actor, songwriter
• November 10
  • David Paetkau, Canadian actor
  • Diplo, actor, DJ, record producer, rapper, songwriter
• November 17
  • Tom Ellis, Welsh actor
  • Rachel McAdams, Canadian actress
• November 24 – Katherine Heigl, actress
• December 7 – Shiri Appleby, actress
• December 8 – Ian Somerhalder, actor
• December 9 – Jesse Metcalfe, actor
• December 16 – Joe Absolom, English actor
• December 18
  • Katie Holmes, actress
  • Josh Dallas, actor
• December 21 – Mike Vitar, American actor
• December 30 – Tyrese Gibson, actor, singer, model

Notable deaths

Film debuts

• Karen Allen – National Lampoon's Animal House
• Pedro Almodóvar (director) – Folle...folle...fólleme Tim!
• Kevin Bacon – National Lampoon's Animal House
• Jim Broadbent – The Shout
• Jake Busey – Straight Time
• Billy Crystal – Rabbit Test
• Jamie Lee Curtis – Halloween
• Corey Feldman – Born Again
• Daryl Hannah – The Fury
• Mark Harmon – Comes a Horseman
• Ed Harris – Coma
• Michael Keaton – Rabbit Test
• Cheech Marin – Up in Smoke
• James Spader – Team-Mates
• Mary Steenburgen – Goin' South
• Alfre Woodard – Remember My Name

References