Timothy Hutton (born August 16, 1960)
is an American actor and film director. He is the
youngest recipient of the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in ...
, which he won at age 20 for ''
Ordinary People'' (1980). Hutton has since appeared regularly in feature films and on television, with roles in the drama ''
Taps'' (1981), the spy film ''
The Falcon and the Snowman'' (1985), and the horror film ''
The Dark Half'' (1993), among others.
Between 2000 and 2002, Hutton starred as
Archie Goodwin in the A&E drama series ''
A Nero Wolfe Mystery''. Between 2008 and 2012, he starred as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the
TNT drama series ''
Leverage''. He also had a role in the first season of the
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
streaming drama series ''
Jack Ryan''.
Early life
Timothy Hutton was born in
Malibu, California
Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
. His father was actor
Jim Hutton; his mother, Maryline Adams (née Poole), was a teacher. His parents divorced when Hutton was three years old, and his mother took him and his older sister, Heidi, with her to Boston, and then to her hometown
Harwinton, Connecticut
Harwinton ( ) is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,484 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut, Northwest Hil ...
. The family returned to California when Hutton was 12.
"A lot of people think that because my father was an actor, I come from this big show-business background," Hutton told
Bruce Cook of ''
American Film'' magazine in 1981.
But that's not how I grew up at all. My mother took us to Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
because she wanted to get her M.A. She wound up teaching in Connecticut, but the way she saw it, after a while, if we all stayed there, my sister and I would just wind up as the proprietors of the local drugstore or something, so that was why she took us to Berkeley, California—to get us into the world, I guess. Now she's given up teaching and she's into printing miniature books.
In 1976, when Hutton was 15, he sought out his father and moved in with him in Los Angeles.
["Timothy Hutton Is Too Good to Be True". ''Rolling Stone'', February 1982.] At
Fairfax High School, while playing Nathan Detroit in a school production of ''
Guys and Dolls
''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...
'', he realized he wanted to become an actor. With encouragement from both of his parents, he began acting in television.
[ Cook, Bruce, "Doing What Comes Naturally." ''American Film'', March 1981, pp. 62–65 and 74.]
On June 2, 1979, Jim Hutton died in Los Angeles from
liver cancer
Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
, two days after his 45th birthday. In 1981, Hutton thanked his father during his
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
speech, which he had won for his role in the movie ''
Ordinary People''.
Acting career
Timothy Hutton's career began with parts in several television movies, most notably the 1979 ABC TV film ''
Friendly Fire''. That year, he also played the son of
Donna Reed in the
Ross Hunter NBC television film ''The Best Place to Be''. He then made two CBS made-for TV films in 1980: ''Young Love, First Love'' with
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress and television personality. She began acting as a child actor, child and made her screen debut in a 1974 episode of Apple's Way, ''Apple's Way''. She gained wide recognition f ...
, and ''Father Figure'' with
Hal Linden. For his first feature film performance, as Conrad Jarrett in ''
Ordinary People'' (1980), Hutton won both the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
and the
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
for Best Supporting Actor. His performance also earned him the
Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male. Immediately following his success, he starred in the acclaimed 1981 ABC television film ''
A Long Way Home'' co-starring
Brenda Vaccaro.
Hutton's next feature film, ''
Taps'' (with
George C. Scott,
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...
, and
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...
), was popular with critics and audiences, but during the next several years, his motion pictures, such as ''
Iceman'', ''
Daniel'', ''
Turk 182'', ''
Made in Heaven'', and ''
Q&A'', struggled at the box office. His only substantial hit was 1985's ''
The Falcon and the Snowman'' which teamed him again with
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...
.
In 1984, he directed the music video for the song "
Drive" by
The Cars
The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...
.
In 1989, he made his Broadway stage debut opposite his ''
Ordinary People'' co-star
Elizabeth McGovern
Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination.
Born in Evanston ...
in the
A.R. Gurney play ''
Love Letters''. He followed this with another Broadway role in the
Craig Lucas hit comedy, ''
Prelude to a Kiss'', which also starred
Mary-Louise Parker and
Barnard Hughes.
During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Hutton began to take large supporting parts in films, most notably in ''
Everybody's All-American'' with
Jessica Lange
Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. With a career spanning over five decades, she is known for her roles Jessica Lange on screen and stage, on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominati ...
and
Dennis Quaid and ''
French Kiss
A French kiss, also known as cataglottism or a tongue kiss, is an amorous kiss in which the participants' tongues extend to touch each other's lips or tongue. A kiss with the tongue stimulates the partner's lips, tongue and mouth, which are sens ...
'' with
Meg Ryan and
Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American actor. In a career spanning over five decades, he has become a prominent leading man across both Kevin Kline on screen and stage, stage and screen. List of awards and nominations recei ...
. In 1996, he starred in the popular ensemble film, ''
Beautiful Girls'', playing opposite 14-year-old
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...
in one of her early standout film roles.
Moving on to television, he starred as Nero Wolfe's assistant and leg-man
Archie Goodwin in the
A&E television series ''
A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' (2001–2002); he also served as an executive producer, and also directed several episodes of the series. His other directing credits include the family film ''
Digging to China'' (1997). In 2001 Hutton starred in the television miniseries ''
WW3'', and in 2006 he had a lead role in the NBC series ''
Kidnapped'', playing Conrad Cain, the wealthy father of a kidnapped teenager. He appeared in 13 feature films from 2006 to 2008.
Hutton starred in the television series ''
Leverage'' from 2008 to 2012, where he played former insurance investigator Nate Ford, who led a group of thieves who acted as modern-day
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
s.
In 2014, Hutton was cast opposite
Felicity Huffman in
John Ridley's ABC crime drama ''
American Crime''.
Other pursuits
Hutton is one of the owners of the New York City restaurant and bar
P. J. Clarke's. In 2003 he became president of
Players, a New York actors' club, but he resigned in June 2008 due to work keeping him in Los Angeles. He has also made a few forays into directing, the most famous of which includes the music video for
the Cars
The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...
' hit single "
Drive" in 1984. In 2010, he directed the music video for "The House Rules" by
country rock
Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...
er/Leverage co-star
Christian Kane. He also directed several episodes of A&E's ''
A Nero Wolfe Mystery'', in which he also starred.
Hutton starred in a
Groupon
Groupon, Inc. is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in 13 countries. Based in Chicago, Groupon was launched there in November 2008, launching ...
commercial during the 2011
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
, which drew public ire for the parodying of the
Tibetan resistance movement. The commercials were pulled from rotation on February 10 after continued negative response from the public and activist groups.
Personal life
Hutton has been married twice. His first marriage (1986–1990) was to actress
Debra Winger; they had a son in 1987.
Hutton dated
Elizabeth McGovern
Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination.
Born in Evanston ...
,
["Companions"]
tcm.com Diane Lane,
Patti Davis,
Demi Moore
Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...
,
Mary-Louise Parker,
[ ]Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 and May 1986 cover ...
, and Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...
.
In 2000, he married illustrator Aurore Giscard d'Estaing, niece of former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...
. Their son was born the following year, in Paris. In July 2009, ''Us Weekly
''Us Weekly'' is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to Ameri ...
'' reported that Hutton and Giscard d'Estaing had separated.["It's Over!" ''US Weekly'' (July 20, 2009).]
Rape accusation
In November 2019, Sera Johnston, a former child model and actress, filed a criminal complaint with the Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
Police department accusing Hutton of raping her in 1983, when she was 14. Hutton, who was 22 when the alleged incident occurred, "completely and unequivocally" denied the accusations and filed a criminal complaint against Johnston for extortion. In July 2021, Canadian authorities closed their investigation into Johnston's accusations without filing charges.
Filmography
Film
Television series
Television films
Director
See also
* Lists of American actors
The following are lists of American actors:
* List of American current child actors
* List of American film actresses
* List of American former child actors
* List of American television actresses
* List of African-American actors
* List of Ameri ...
* List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest winners for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
* List of actors with Academy Award nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, Timothy
1960 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American music video directors
American television directors
Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners
Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
Fairfax High School (Los Angeles) alumni
Film directors from Los Angeles
Living people
Male actors from Malibu, California
New Star of the Year (Actor) Golden Globe winners