John Malkovich Biography

While John Malkovich has earned a reputation as one of the most innovative screen stars of his generation, he doesn't take compliments well. When asked about his critical accolades following the release of Of Mice and Men, his response was, "I don't think talent is anything to be flattered about. I have a facility for what I do, but so what? It's only because I don't have to make a living in car repairs that I seem like a cool guy. If I had to make a living doing car repairs, I wouldn't seem like a cool guy at all. I'd seem like a jerk."

At the age of seven, the Illinois-born actor attended a production of Our Town, and was profoundly affected. But it wasn't until he hung around the drama department with his girlfriend at Eastern Illinois University, that he decided upon theater. He then transferred to Illinois State in search of a more sound drama program.

There, John landed the lead in a student production of The Lover. When he eventually left Illinois State without a degree in 1976, he ran into old pal Gary Sinise, who had founded a local theater in the basement of a church building. It eventually became the Steppenwolf Theater Company. John appeared in over 50 Steppenwolf productions staged within a span of six years.

In 1982, he scored his first New York-theater triumph alongside Sinise in an off-Broadway revival of True West. By 1984, Malkovich had made his big-screen debut in The Killing Fields and Places in the Heart, released later that same year. His portrayal in the latter earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Though he remained heavily involved in theater, both with Steppenwolf and in other venues, John's movie career burgeoned steadily with seven roles over the next four years. In 1988's Dangerous Liaisons, opposite Glenn Close, Malkovich proved himself a thoroughly competent leading man.

However, his career faltered slightly afterwards, losing steam through a string of little-seen character roles. A year later, Malkovich was back with a vengeance in In the Line of Fire's for which he garnered a second Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. With four movies in 1996 and with a lead role in Con Air following in 1997, John restored his cinematic profile to its pre-Liaisons glory. He resurfaced again in 1998's The Man in the Iron Mask, followed by the classic historic flick The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1998), and Being John Malkovich (1999), which fits into a category all its own.

Other credits include Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Lines of Wellington (2012), RED 2 (2013), Cut Bank (2015), Deepwater Horizon (2016) and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile (2019).

John played the role of Duke in the action crime drama Ava (2020), which also stars Colin Farrell and John Malkovich. The film went straight to Digital/VOD due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, John was part of the cast of the Netflix series Space Force with Steve Carell and Ben Schwartz. He played the character of Dr. Adrian Mallory for all 17 episodes of the show, which ended in 2022. He was also a main cast member in the HBO animated series Ten Year Old Tom, playing the character of Mr. B.

He has appeared in numerous lower-budget movies such as Rogue Hostage(2021), The Survivalist (2021), Shattered(2022), and Chariot(2022).

He starred as Andrew Blake in Well Done!(2023). The next year, he appeared in seven episodes of the Apple TV+ series The New Look with Ben Mendelsohn and Maisie Williams. He guest-starred on the award-winning miniseries Ripley with Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning and co-starred with Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Unsinkable.

In 2025, he starred with Ayo Edebiri in the A24 film Opus. He will also appear in the Marvel film The Fantastic Four: First Steps(2025) with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

Malkovich lives with his second wife, Nicoletta Peyran, and their two children, in France.

Filmography:

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
Opus (2025)
Well Done! (2023)
The Line (2023)
Fool’s Paradise (2023)
One Ranger (2023)
Seneca (2023)
Mindcage (2022)
Savage Salvation (2022)
White Elephant (2022)
Chariot (2022)
Shattered (2022)
The Survivalist (2021)
Rogue Hostage (2021)
Ava (2020)
Arkansas (2020)
Valley of the Gods (2019)
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Bird Box (2018)
Mile 22 (2018)
Supercon (2018)
Casanovagen (2018)
Bullet Head (2017)
Last Call (2017)
I Love You, Daddy (2017)
The Wilde Wedding (2017)
About Love. For Adults Only (2017)
Unlocked (2017)
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Penguins of Madagascar (2014)
Casanova Variations (2014)
Cut Bank (2014)
Cesar Chavez (2014)
RED 2 (2013)
Educazione siberiana / Deadly Code (2013)
Warm Bodies / Zombie malgré lui (2013)
Linhas de Wellington (2012)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Drunkboat (2010)
Red (2010)
Secretariat (2010)
Jonah Hex (2010)
Afterwards (2008)
Disgrace (2008)
Burn After Reading (2008)
The Mutant Chronicles (2008)
Changeling (2008)
The Great Buck Howard (2008)
Gardens of the Night (2008)
Beowulf (2007)
In Tranzit (2007)
Eragon (2006)
Klimt (2006)
Art School Confidential (2006)
Colour Me Kubrick / Appelez-moi Kubrick (2005)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
The Libertine (2004)
Um Filme Falado (2003)
Johnny English (2003)
Ripley’s Game (2002)
The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
Knockaround Guys (2001)
Hotel (2001)
Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Ladies Room (1999)
Le temps retrouvé (1999)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
Rounders (1998)
Con Air (1997)
The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
Der Unhold (1996)
Mulholland Falls (1996)
Mary Reilly (1996)
O Covento (1995)
Al di là delle nuvole (1995)
In the Line of Fire (1993)
Alive (1993)
Shadows and Fog (1992)
Jennifer Eight (1992)
Of Mice and Men (1992)
The Object of Beauty (1991)
Queens Logic (1991)
The Sheltering Sky (1990)
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Miles from Home (1988)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
The Glass Menagerie (1987)
Making Mr. Right (1987)
Eleni (1985)
The Killing Fields (1984)
Places in the Heart (1984)
A Wedding (1978)