John Malkovich

John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor.

He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.

Malkovich was born in Christopher, Illinois, on December 9, 1953.

He grew up in Benton, Illinois.

His father, Daniel Leon Malkovich, was a state conservation director, who published the conservation magazine Outdoor Illinois.

His mother, Joe Anne (née Choisser), owned the Benton Evening News daily newspaper and Outdoor Illinois.

He grew up with an older brother, Danny, and three younger sisters, Amanda, Rebecca, and Melissa.

As a member of a local summer theater project, he co-starred in Jean-Claude van Itallie's America Hurrah in 1972.

After graduating from high school in 1972, Malkovich enrolled at Eastern Illinois University.

He then transferred to Illinois State University, where he majored in theater, but dropped out.

He studied acting at the William Esper Studio.

Malkovich started his career as a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 1976.

In 1976, Malkovich, along with Joan Allen, Gary Sinise, and Glenne Headly, became a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.

One of his first film roles was as an extra alongside Allen, Terry Kinney, George Wendt, and Laurie Metcalf in Robert Altman's film A Wedding (1978).

He moved to New York City acting in a Steppenwolf production of the Sam Shepard play True West (1980).

He moved to New York City in 1980 to appear in a Steppenwolf production of the Sam Shepard play True West, for which he won an Obie Award.

In early 1982, he appeared in A Streetcar Named Desire with Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theatre.

He made his Broadway debut as Biff in the revival of the Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman (1984).

Malkovich has received two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations for Places in the Heart (1984), and In the Line of Fire (1993).

Other notable film roles include in The Killing Fields (1984), Empire of the Sun (1987), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Of Mice and Men (1992), Con Air (1997), Rounders (1998), Being John Malkovich (1999), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Ripley's Game (2002), Burn After Reading (2008), and Red (2010).

Malkovich then directed a Steppenwolf co-production, the 1984 revival of Lanford Wilson's Balm in Gilead, for which he received a second Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award.

He made his feature-film debut as Sally Field's blind boarder Mr. Will in Places in the Heart (1984).

For his portrayal of Mr. Will, Malkovich received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

He also portrayed Al Rockoff in Roland Joffe's epic film The Killing Fields (1984).

His Broadway debut that year was as Biff in Death of a Salesman alongside Dustin Hoffman as Willy.

For his work on television he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Death of a Salesman (1985).

Malkovich won an Emmy Award for this role when the play was adapted for television by CBS in 1985.

He directed the Harold Pinter play The Caretaker (1986), and acted in Lanford Wilson's Burn This (1987).

He continued to have steady work in films such as Empire of the Sun, directed by Steven Spielberg, and the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie (both 1987) directed by Paul Newman (who appeared in the film) and Joanne Woodward.

He then starred in Making Mr. Right (also 1987), directed by Susan Seidelman.

Malkovich gained significant critical and popular acclaim when he portrayed the sinister and sensual Valmont in the film Dangerous Liaisons (1988), a film adaptation of the stage play Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton, who had adapted it from the 1782 novel of the same title by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.

He later reprised this role for the music video of "Walking on Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox.

His other Emmy-nominated roles were for portraying Herman J. Mankiewicz in RKO 281 (1999) and Charles Talleyrand in Napoléon (2002).

He has also produced films such as Ghost World (2001), Juno (2007), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012).

Other television roles include in Crossbones (2014), Billions (2018–19), The New Pope (2020), and Space Force (2020–2022).

In a May 2020 interview, he revealed that Melissa is his only surviving sibling.

His paternal grandparents were Croatian immigrants from the vicinity of Ozalj; his other ancestry includes English, Scottish, French, and German descent.

Malkovich attended Logan Grade School, Webster Junior High School, and Benton Consolidated High School.

During his high-school years, he appeared in various plays and the musical Carousel.

He was also active in a folk gospel group, with whom he sang at churches and community events.