Chris Cooper Biography
Born: July 09, 1951
Date of Birth: July 9, 1951
Chris Cooper was born in Kansas City, Missouri and studied Drama at the University of Missouri. Pursuing his acting studies, he moved to New York and was tutored by Stella Adler as well as Wynn Handman at the American Place Theatre. He was directed by Harold Prince in the off-Broadway production of Sweet Bird of Youth.
His television credits are extensive and he is recognized for his work in the mini-series Lonesome Dove and Return to Lonesome Dove. He has also appeared on Law and Order.
Chris made his film debut in Matewan. Critics hailed his performance, but the film itself was not well received. Later, he appeared in Boys, Lone Justice, Guilty by Suspicion, Money Train and A Thousand Pieces of Gold.
Chris has done several movies with acclaimed filmmaker John Sayles, who directed him in Matewan, a story about the West Virginia Mining War of 1920. Sayles is known for quietly intense treatments of non-Hollywoodish themes, such as a mystery set along the U.S.-Mexican border in Lone Star, which also stars Cooper. (Movie buffs will recognize Sayles for his hauntingly beautiful The Secret of Roan Inish, set on the Irish seacoast.)
Chris continued to work steadily, playing Robert Redford's brother in The Horse Whisperer (1998), Frank in American Beauty (1999), Harry Burwell in The Patriot (2000) and Conklin in The Bourne Identity (2002). His performance in Adaptation won him not only an Oscar and a Golden Globe, but numerous awards from film critics societies all over the world. Showing his almost chameleon-like ability to completely alter his appearance and demeanor for a role, he again won much praise when he next played horse trainer Tom Smith in Seabiscuit (2003).
Over the next several years, the veteran actor has appeared in numerous films, including Syriana (2005), The Kingdom (2007), and Where the Wild Things Are (2009). More recently, he starred in The Town (2010), alongside Ben Affleck, August: Osage County (2013), opposite a stellar ensemble cast led by Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, and Demolition (2015), starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
In 2017, Chris again acted alongside Ben Affleck in the Prohibition-era crime drama Live by Night. He also lent his voice to the part of Smokey Yunick in the animated flick Cars 3 (2017), which also features Owen Wilson and Margo Martindale.
In 2019, he joined Greta Gerwig's feature Little Women, starring Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep. That same year, he also starred in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood alongside Tom Hanks.
Chris can currently be seen starring on the second season of Amazon Prime Video's popular series, Homecoming. He also played a starring role opposite Steve Carrell in the hilarious big budget motion picture Irresistible (2020), which was scheduled to hit theaters, but was eventually released online instead, due to the pandemic.
Chris lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Marianne Leone. Their son, Jesse Cooper, passed away in 2005 due to complications from cerebral palsy.
Filmography:
Irresistible (2020)
Little Women (2019)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
Cars 3 (2017)
Light on Broken Glass (2017)
Live by Night (2017)
Coming Through the Rye (2015)
Demolition (2015)
August: Osage County (2013)
The Company You Keep (2012)
The Muppets (2011)
The Tempest (2010)
The Town (2010)
The Tempest (2010)
Remember Me (2010)
The Company Men (2010)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) (voice)
New York, I Love You (2009)
Hurricane Mary (2008)
The Kingdom (2007)
Married Life (2007)
Breach (2006)
Conquistadora (2006)
Syriana (2005)
Jarhead (2005)
Capote (2005)
Silver City (2004)
Seabiscuit (2003)
The Ring (2002)
Adaptation (2002)
Interstate 60 (2002)
The Bourne Identity (2002)
The Patriot (2000)
Me, Myself and Irene (2000)
American Beauty (1999)
October SKy (1999)
The Horse Whisperer (1998)
Great Expectations (1998)
Lone Star (1996)
A Time To Kill (1996)
Boys (1996)
Pharaoh's Army (1995)
Money Train (1995)
This Boy's Life (1993)
City of Hope (1991)
Guilty By Suspicion (1991)
Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991)
Matewan (1987)