"I chose films made by people I wanted to work with, about subject matter I thought was intriguing."
Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director.
A chameleon who's as comfortable playing ruthless villains as he is playing tortured, sensitive heroes, he is instantly recognizable due to his deep voice and undeniable screen presence.
With four Academy Award nominations under his belt, Harris is widely considered one of the most captivating and talented character actors to have ever lived. His Oscar nominations were for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Apollo 13, The Truman Show, and The Hours, along with a Best Actor nomination for his role in Pollock (which he also directed).
Filmography on TV Tropes:
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Film roles
- Coma (1978) as Pathology Resident #2
- Knightriders (1981) as King Billy
- Creepshow (1982) as Hank Blaine
- The Right Stuff (1983) as John Glenn
- Under Fire (1983) as Oates
- Places in the Heart (1984) as Wayne Lomax
- Swing Shift (1984) as Jack Walsh
- Sweet Dreams (1985) as Charlie Dick
- Walker (1987) as William Walker
- The Abyss (1989) as Virgil "Bud" Brigman
- Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) as Dave Moss
- The Firm (1993) as Wayne Tarrance
- Needful Things (1993) as Sheriff Alan Pangborn
- Milk Money (1994) as Tom Wheeler
- Just Cause (1995) as Blair Sullivan
- Apollo 13 (1995) as Gene Kranz
- Nixon (1995) as E. Howard Hunt
- Eye for an Eye (1996) as Mark McCann
- The Rock (1996) as Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel
- Absolute Power (1997) as Police Detective Seth Frank
- The Truman Show (1998) as Christof
- Stepmom (1998) as Luke Harrison
- Enemy at the Gates (2001) as Major König
- Buffalo Soldiers (2001) as Colonel Berman
- A Beautiful Mind (2001) as William Parcher
- The Hours (2002) as Richard Brown
- Radio (2003) as Coach Jones
- A History of Violence (2005) as Carl Fogarty
- Gone Baby Gone (2007) as Remy Bressant
- National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (2007) as Mitch Wilkinson
- Appaloosa (2008) as Virgil Cole (also director and co-writer)
- The Way Back (2010) as Mr. Smith
- Salvation Boulevard (2011) as Dr. Paul Blaylock
- Man on a Ledge (2012) as David Englander
- Game Change (2012) as John McCain
- Sweetwater (2013) as Sheriff Jackson
- Gravity (2013) as Mission Control (voice)
- Pain & Gain (2013) as Ed Du Bois
- Snowpiercer (2013) as Wilford
- Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014) as Blade Ranger (voice)
- Run All Night (2015) as Shawn Maguire
- In Dubious Battle (2016) as Joy
- mother! (2017) as Man
- Geostorm (2017) as Leonard Dekkom
- Resistance (2020) as George S. Patton
- The Lost Daughter (2021) as Lyle
- Top Gun: Maverick (2022) as Rear Admiral Chester "Hammer" Cain
- Love Lies Bleeding (2024) as Lou's father
Television roles
- Delvecchio (1 episode, 1977) as Davey Bresnihan
- The Rockford Files (1 episode, 1978) as Rudy Kempner
- Barnaby Jones (1 episode, 1979) as Glenn Morgan
- Lou Grant (3 episodes, 1979–81) as Warren/Rick Reiner/Ralph Cooper
- CHiPs (1 episode, 1981) as Lonny Wilson
- Hart to Hart (1 episode, 1981) as Arnold Harmon
- The Stand (1994) as General Starkey
- Frasier (1 episode, 1995) as Rob (voice)
- Empire Falls (2005) as Miles Roby
- Westworld (2016–22) as The Man in Black
Video game roles
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) as CIA Special Agent Jason Hudson (voice)
Tropes in his works:
- Death Glare: Can pull an absolutely epic one, assisted in no small part by his striking blue eyes.
- Enforced Method Acting: During The Abyss, when James Cameron almost drowned him. Harris responded by punching Cameron in the face.
- Happily Married: He and Amy Madigan have been married since 1983, an extraordinarily long time for a Hollywood marriage.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Jean-Jacques Annaud, director of Enemy at the Gates, said he wanted Harris specifically for the part of the villain because his eyes were so striking. One reviewer of The Rock said he "has a glare that could give Clint Eastwood chills". His eyes were even given a Shout-Out in Archer
- Lovable Jock: Played these quite often.
- Method Acting:
- He's such a professional that he'll stay in character even when flubbing a take. While shooting The Rock he was so deep into the character of General Hummel that he started calling Michael Bay "Sir" because that was the only way a military man like Hummel would have addressed someone giving him orders.
- He spent 10 years prior to filming Pollock learning to paint like Jackson Pollock himself, to the point that most, if not all of the artwork that appears as Pollock's was actually painted by Harris himself. He also gained 30 pounds and grew a beard just to play a middle-aged Pollock for the last 20 minutes of the film, taking 6 weeks out of the shooting schedule to do so.
- Old Shame: He absolutely refuses to speak about The Abyss due to the absolutely hellish production and his terrible working relationship with James Cameron (although the two later patched things up).
- Romance on the Set: Met his wife Amy Madigan while filming Places in the Heart.
