Eric Stoltz

Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film ''Mask'', which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, and has appeared in a wide variety of films from mainstream ones including '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' to independent films such as '' Pulp Fiction'', '' Killing Zoe'' and '' Kicking and Screaming''. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in ''Pulp Fiction''. In 2010, he portrayed Daniel Graystone in the science fiction television series ''Caprica'' and became a regular director on the television series '' Glee''.

Early life

Stoltz was born in Whittier, California, the son of Evelyn (née Vawter), a violinist and schoolteacher and Jack Stoltz, an elementary school teacher. He has two sisters, Catherine, an opera singer, and Susan, a writer.

Stoltz was raised in both American Samoa and Santa Barbara, California. He attended the University of Southern California, but dropped out after his junior year. He moved to New York in 1981 and studied acting with Stella Adler and Peggy Feury.

Career

1978–1999

In the 1970s, Stoltz joined a repertory company that performed ten plays at the Edinburgh Festival. He returned to the United States in 1979, when he entered USC as a drama student, but subsequently dropped out to pursue film and television roles.

In 1978, he was cast as Steve Benson in the television adaptation of Erma Bombeck's ''The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank''.

Director Cameron Crowe and Stoltz became friends while making Stoltz's first feature film, '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), which Crowe wrote and in which Stoltz had a minor role. According to Stoltz, Crowe promised Stoltz a role in all of his future films.

He appeared in each of Crowe's next four films, '' The Wild Life'' (1984), '' Say Anything...'' (1989), ''Singles'' (1992) and '' Jerry Maguire'' (1996).

In 1985, Stoltz garnered attention with a Golden Globe nomination starring as Rocky Dennis in ''Mask''. Among other roles in the 1980s, he appeared in the 1987 film '' Some Kind of Wonderful'', written and produced by John Hughes.

Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly in '' Back to the Future''. His view of the movie clashed, however, with that of the director, Robert Zemeckis. While the film was to become an action-comedy (and box office smash hit), Stoltz had read the script from a more serious angle, apparently focusing on the tragic consequences of going back to live a life that was not one's own. Five weeks into shooting the film, Zemeckis replaced Stoltz with Michael J. Fox. This highly unusual move required buy-in from his own studio, reshooting much of the film, as well as an agreement from the producers of television's '' Family Ties'', which had earlier refused to allow Fox to play the role because it would interfere with shooting the TV show; the deal allowed Fox to shoot the movie around his television schedule.

During the 1990s, Stoltz went back and forth between stage, film and television, appearing in studio and independent films such as '' The Waterdance'' (1992), '' Pulp Fiction'' (1994), ''Grace Of My Heart'' (1996) and ''Anaconda'' (1997).

During the 1990s, Stoltz produced the films ''Bodies, Rest & Motion'' (1993), '' Sleep with Me'' (1994) and ''Mr. Jealousy'' (1997).

He continued to appear on the New York stage, both on Broadway ('' Three Sisters'', ''Two Shakespearean Actors'', '' Arms and the Man'', '' Our Town'') and off-Broadway (''The Importance of Being Earnest'', '' The Glass Menagerie'', ''Sly Fox''). He was nominated for a Tony Award as Featured Actor for his performance as George Gibbs in the 1989 Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town''.

A performance of this production was featured on '' Great Performances: Live from Lincoln Center'', which received a 1989 Emmy nomination.

On television, he had a recurring role as Helen Hunt's character's ex-boyfriend on '' Mad About You'' (five episodes, 1994–1998), spent a year on ''Chicago Hope'' (1994) and did some television and cable films such as '' Inside'' (1996) (directed by Arthur Penn) and '' The Passion of Ayn Rand'' (1999), with Helen Mirren. Stoltz received the Indie Sup(Y)port Award at the 1998 Los Angeles Film Festival.

2000–present

During the first part of the 2000s, he starred with Gillian Anderson in '' The House of Mirth'' (2000), based on the novel by Edith Wharton. From 2001 to 2002, he had a recurring role as the English teacher-poet August Dimitri in ABC's '' Once and Again'', wherein Julia Whelan's character, a teenager, fell in love with his character. He directed an episode of the show in 2002.

In 2003, he played his first leading TV role in '' Out of Order'', which was canceled after five episodes. In 2004, he appeared in '' The Butterfly Effect'' as a child molester; the following year, he guest-starred in the NBC sitcom '' Will & Grace'' as Debra Messing's love interest. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his direction of the cable movie '' My Horrible Year!'' (2001). He also directed a short film entitled ''The Bulls'' as well as the highest rated episode of ''Law & Order'' in 2005, entitled "Tombstone". He appeared in the music video of The Residents' "Give It to Someone Else", featured on ''The Commercial DVD''.

He has contributed essays to the books ''City Secrets--New York'' as well as ''Life Interrupted'' by Spalding Gray and appears on the children's CD ''Philadelphia Chickens''.

Beginning in 2007, Stoltz directed episodes of the drama series ''Quarterlife'', which began airing as webisodes and were then picked up to air on the NBC network in 2008. Stoltz played a serial killer in need of medical attention in three episodes of the fifth season of '' Grey's Anatomy''. He has also directed two episodes of ''Grey's Anatomy''.

Stoltz starred as Daniel Graystone, inventor of the Cylons, in the science fiction television series ''Caprica'', a prequel set 58 years before the '' Battlestar Galactica'' series.

He became a regular director of '' Glee'', directing a total of 12 episodes, including "Nationals", in which the Glee club finally wins the championship.

In 2011 Stoltz was seen back on the silver screen with the film '' Fort McCoy''; he earned accolades for his leading role as a conflicted barber of German heritage forced to suppress his American patriotism after moving his family to a post–World War II military base housing a German POW camp.

Starting in 2014, Stoltz became the producing director of the CBS political drama series '' Madam Secretary''. The following year he became one of its four executive producers, alongside Morgan Freeman and Barbara Hall and has directed more than 10 episodes, as well as starring alongside Téa Leoni in several episodes as her brother, Will Adams.

Personal life

Stoltz met Bridget Fonda in 1986 and they began dating in 1990. The relationship ended after eight years.

In 2005 Stoltz married Bernadette Moley, a singer and former animator for Disney who migrated to the United States from Ireland.

Stoltz is a vegetarian."20 Things You Didn’t Know About Eric Stoltz"
Retrieved 16 September 2020.

Filmography

Actor

Film

Television

Director

Film

Television

He has directed many shows on The Learning Channel, TLC Network.

Producer

Films

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoltz, Eric
1961 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American television directors
Living people
Male actors from Santa Barbara, California
USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
Film directors from California
People from Whittier, California