Bruce Dern

"Bruce MacLeish Dern was born in 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, to Jean (MacLeish) and John Henry Dern, a utility chief and attorney. His grandfather, George Dern, was then FDR's Secretary of War.

In his first western appearance, an episode of Wagon Train (1957) in 1963, he played a character who was shot and killed. His character was shot and killed in the western The Hateful Eight (2015) 52 years later.

A celebrated stage actor, Dern was trained by famed director Elia Kazan at the legendary The Actor's Studio and made his film debut in Kazan's "Wild River" in 1960. In the 60's, Dern also found success as a distinguished television actor. He appeared regularly in contemporary Western TV series, as well as on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents. " Mr. Hitchcock was such a fan of Dern's that he cast him in "Marnie" and "Family Plot" (Hitchcock's final film). Also during the '60s, Dern went on to work with director Roger Corman and appeared in several of his classic and decade defining films including "Wild Angels. " He also received critical success during that time for films such as "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "Drive, He Said. " Dern goes down in history for his role as Long Hair in "The Cowboys," in which he became the only man ever to kill John Wayne on screen. Dern went on to star in such classic films like "The King of Marvin Gardens" with Jack Nicholson and Ellen Burstyn as well as playing Tom Buchanan in "The Great Gatsby" (for which he received a Golden Globe nomination). It was his brilliant and powerful performance in Hal Ashby's "Coming Home" that earned him both an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination. Dern has starred in over 100 films in his career, including: "Monster," "Hush. . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte," "Silent Running," "Smile," "Middle Age Crazy," "That Championship Season," "Tattoo," "The 'Burbs," "The Haunting," "All the Pretty Horses," "Masked and Anonymous," "Down in the Valley," "Astronaut Farmer," "The Cake Eaters," "Black Sunday," "Madison," "Diggstown," "Twixt" and "Last Man Standing.

Became a father for the first time at age 25 when his second [now ex] wife Diane Ladd gave birth to their daughter Diane Elizabeth Dern in 1961.

Acted with three generations of actresses. He was in Alfred Hitchcock's classic Marnie (1964) in which Tippi Hedren played the title role. He acted with Hedren's real-life daughter Melanie Griffith in Smile (1975) and Mulholland Falls (1996). Then, he acted with Griffith's real-life daughter Dakota Johnson in the sleeper hit film The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019).

Became a father for the second time at age 30 when his second [now ex] wife Diane Ladd gave birth to their daughter Laura Elizabeth Dern, aka Laura Dern on February 10, 1967.

Is one of the few actors to have killed John Wayne on screen (The Cowboys (1972)). He even received some death threats out of that.

He and his daughter Laura Dern have both appeared in films opposite Samuel L. Jackson. Bruce worked with him in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1987), Django Unchained (2012), and The Hateful Eight (2015), while Laura appeared with him in Jurassic Park (1993).

Seventeen years after daughter Laura Dern starred in Alexander Payne's first major film Citizen Ruth (1996), Bruce starred in Payne's Nebraska (2013) -- probably one of the few, if only, times in movie history that a father-daughter duo similarly starred in the same director's films, especially with the actress/daughter's performance preceding her actor/father's.

Became a grandfather for the first time at age 65 when his daughter Laura Dern gave birth to her son Ellery Walker Harper, with [now ex] husband Ben Harper, on August 10, 2001.

Became a grandfather for the second time at age 68 when his daughter Laura Dern gave birth to her daughter Jaya Harper, with [now ex] husband Ben Harper, on November 28, 2004.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6270 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 1, 2010.

Dern was also nominated for an Emmy in 2011 for his portrayal of polygamist patriarch Frank Harlow in HBO's hit drama "Big Love. "Dern has received several Lifetime Achievement Awards from various film festivals.

" In 2013, Dern earned his second Academy Award nomination for his heralded role in Alexander Payne's "Nebraska. " That role also garnered him a Best Actor Award from the Cannes Film Festival and the National Board of Review. He was also nominated for a BAFTA, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and Screen Actors Guild Award.

"In 2015, Dern reteamed with his "Django Unchained" director Quentin Tarantino in the ambitious & critically-acclaimed "The Hateful Eight.

Two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern's tremendous career is made up of playing both modern day heroes and legendary villains. Through decades of lauded performances, Dern has acquired the reputation of being one of the most talented and prolific actors of his generation. Dern has several high profile independent projects appearing in the film arena, including the highly anticipated Chappaquiddick (2017), where he portrays Joe Kennedy, "The Peanut Butter Falcon" and "White Boy Rick" opposite Matthew McConaughey (Sony Pictures).

He also stars with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford in the Netflix film "Our Souls at Night" (Fall 2017).

Dern's other 2017/2018 titles include "Class Rank," "Warning Shot," "Abilene," "The Lears," "American Dresser" and "Nostalgia.

As of 2020, has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Coming Home (1978), Django Unchained (2012), Nebraska (2013), and Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019).