Christian Slater

Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor.

Slater was born on August 18, 1969, in New York City, the son of Michael Hawkins (born Thomas Knight Slater), an actor also known as Michael Gainsborough; and Mary Jo Slater (née Lawton), an acting agent turned casting executive and producer.

He has a maternal half-brother, Ryan Slater, who also became an actor.

His great-uncle was radio personality Bill Slater.

He attended the Dalton School, the Professional Children's School and the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

Slater started acting from an early age.

His first television role was at the age of eight on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live.

Following a run on Ryan's Hope, he made his Broadway debut as the lisping Winthrop Paroo opposite Dick Van Dyke in the 1980 revival of The Music Man.

Additional Broadway credits include Copperfield, Merlin, Macbeth, Side Man, and The Glass Menagerie.

In addition he has performed in London's West End in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Swimming with Sharks.

He made his film debut with a leading role in The Legend of Billie Jean (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D."

Slater made his big screen debut in 1985's The Legend of Billie Jean, playing Billie Jean's brother Binx.

Though expected to be a big hit, the film fell short at the box office.

It has gained a cult following.

His other notable films include roles in The Name of the Rose (1986), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), Windtalkers (2002), Alone in the Dark (2005), Bobby (2006), He Was a Quiet Man (2007), Nymphomaniac (2013), The Wife (2017), and We Can Be Heroes (2020).

His career improved with his role in The Name of the Rose (1986) alongside Sean Connery.

Slater played Connery's apprentice monk while they investigated a series of murders at a Benedictine abbey.

Dean, a sociopathic high school student, in the satire Heathers (1988).

Slater followed this by playing Junior Tucker in Francis Ford Coppola's Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988).

At the age of 18, Slater played the dark character J.D. in the 1988 film Heathers alongside Winona Ryder.

Slater beat out many other actors such as Brad Pitt for the part, and his performance drew comparison with a young Jack Nicholson.

Gleaming the Cube (1989), Pump Up the Volume (1990) and True Romance (1993).

Slater also starred in Gleaming the Cube and appeared in Beyond the Stars (both 1989).

In the 1990s, Slater starred in a number of big-budget films, including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Broken Arrow (1996), and Hard Rain (1998) as well as cult films like

After Heathers, Slater had offers to play more troubled youths, including as a rebellious teen in Pump Up the Volume (1990) and a wild gunman in Young Guns II (1990), in which Slater acted alongside Emilio Estevez, Lou Diamond Phillips and Kiefer Sutherland.

The film was a commercial success, taking US$390 million worldwide, and Slater became one of the major A-list stars of the 1990s.

With Slater being a big Star Trek fan (in addition to his mother, Mary Jo Slater, serving as the casting director for the film), he accepted a cameo role in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, shortly after playing Charlie Luciano in the crime drama Mobsters.

The following year he expanded his film genre and starred in the comedy Kuffs opposite Milla Jovovich.

In 1991, Slater was cast as Will Scarlett in the Hollywood big budget production of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves alongside Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman and Alan Rickman.

In addition to his live-action roles, Slater has had an extensive voice-acting career, with roles like Pips in FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Slater in Archer (2014–2023), Ushari in The Lion Guard (2016–2019), Rand Ridley in Inside Job (2021–2022), and Floyd Lawton / Deadshot in the DC Animated Movie Universe.

In 1993, Slater again stretched his acting skills, playing opposite Marisa Tomei in Untamed Heart and playing Clarence Worley in True Romance, written by Quentin Tarantino, which received many rave reviews.

In his review of True Romance, Roger Ebert awarded the movie 3 stars out of 4 and said, "the energy and style of the movie are exhilarating. Christian Slater has the kind of cocky recklessness the movie needs."

He gained the role of the interviewer Daniel Molloy in Interview with the Vampire (1994) after the death of his friend River Phoenix, who was originally cast.

Slater subsequently donated his earnings from the film to Phoenix's favorite charities.

He played the character of Lewis in the romance film Bed of Roses in 1996 opposite Mary Stuart Masterson then that of Riley Hale in the big-budget John Woo film Broken Arrow (1996), which also starred John Travolta.

In 1998 Slater appeared in crime movie Hard Rain alongside Morgan Freeman.

The same year he also starred in the dark comedy Very Bad Things opposite Cameron Diaz.

Since 2000 Slater has mixed TV work with leading roles in mainly lower budget films, along with supporting roles in a few mainstream productions.

He appeared in the successful The West Wing and Alias TV series.

He has received critical acclaim for his title role in the USA Network television series Mr. Robot (2015–2019), for which he earned the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 2016, with additional nominations in 2017 and 2018.