| Brian Dennehy | |
|---|---|
| |
| About | |
| Character | Mitch Baldwin |
| Date of birth | July 9, 1938 |
| Origin | Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA |
| Gender | 
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| IMDb profile | |
Brian Dennehy is the actor who portrays Mitch Baldwin.
About[]
Silver-haired Brian Dennehy is a prolific US actor, well respected on both screen and stage for the best part of 25 years. He was born in July 1938 in Bridgeport, CT, and attended Columbia University in New York City on a football scholarship. He majored in history, before moving onto to Yale to study dramatic arts.
He first appeared in minor screen roles in such fare as Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Semi-Tough (1977) and Foul Play (1978) and proved popular with casting directors, leading to regular work. However, he really got himself noticed by movie audiences in the box-office hit First Blood (1982) as the bigoted sheriff determined to run Vietnam veteran "John Rambo" (played by Sylvester Stallone) out of his town. Dennehy quickly escalated to stronger supporting or co-starring roles in films including the Cold War thriller Gorky Park (1983), as a benevolent alien in Cocoon (1985), a corrupt sheriff in the western Silverado (1985), a tough but smart cop in F/X (1986) and a cop-turned-writer alongside hitman James Woods in Best Seller (1987).
In 1987, Dennehy turned in one of his finest performances as cancer-ridden architect "Stourley Kracklite" in Peter Greenaway's superb The Belly of an Architect (1987), for which he won the Best Actor Award at the 1987 Chicago Film Festival. More strong performances followed. He reprised prior roles for Cocoon: The Return (1988) and F/X2 (1991), and turned in gripping performances in three made-for-TV films: a sadistic small-town bully who gets his grisly comeuppance in In Broad Daylight (1991) (TV), real-life serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the chilling To Catch a Killer (1992) (TV) and a corrupt union boss in Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992) (TV).
In 1993, Dennehy appeared in the role of police "Sgt. Jack Reed" in the telemovie Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993) (TV), and reprised the role in four sequels, which saw him for the first time become involved in co-producing, directing and writing screen productions! Demand for his services showed no signs of abating, and he has put in further memorable performances in Romeo + Juliet (1996), as bad-luck-ridden "Willy Loman" in Death of a Salesman (2000) (TV) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award), he popped up in the Spike Lee film She Hate Me (2004) and appears in the remake Assault on Precinct 13 (2005).
The multi-talented Dennehy has also had a rich theatrical career and has appeared both in the United States and internationally in dynamic stage productions including "Death of a Salesman" (for which he picked up the 1999 Best Actor Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award), "A Touch of the Poet", "Long Day's Journey into Night" (for which he picked up another Tony Award in 2003) and in Eugene O'Neill's heart-wrenching "The Iceman Cometh".
Trivia[]
- Used to work as a stockbroker at the same firm as Martha Stewart. The two remain good friends.
- He served in the US Marine Corps, but contrary to previous press releases never saw any combat nor was he wounded.
- While performing in "Death Of A Salesman" and "Long Day's Journey into Night" on Broadway, so many of his fans wanted to meet him after the show that producers had to hire extra security to keep the crowds in control near the stage door.
- Joked on "The Tonight Show" that he is often mistaken for Charles Durning.