Christopher Sarandon (born July 24, 1942) is an American actor. He voiced Jack Skellington in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Early life[]
Sarandon was born and raised in Beckley, West Virginia, the son of restaurateurs Christopher "Chris" Sarandon and Cliffie (née Cardullias). His father, whose surname was originally "Sarondonethes", was born in Istanbul, Turkey, of Greek ancestry; his mother is also of Greek descent.
Sarandon graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley. He earned a degree in speech at West Virginia University. He earned his master's degree in theater from The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C..
Career[]
After graduation, he toured with numerous improvisational companies and became much involved with regional theatre, making his professional debut in the play The Rose Tattoo during 1965. In 1968, Sarandon moved to New York City, where he obtained his first television role as Dr. Tom Halverson for the series The Guiding Light (1973–1974). He appeared in the primetime television movies The Satan Murders (1974) and Thursday's Game before obtaining the role of Al Pacino's transgender wife in Dog Day Afternoon (1975), a performance which earned him nominations for Best New Male Star of the Year at the Golden Globes and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Sarandon appeared in the Broadway play The Rothschilds and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, as well making regular appearances at numerous Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw festivals in the United States and Canada. He also had a series of television roles, some of which (such as A Tale of Two Cities in 1980) corresponded to his affinity for the classics. He also had roles in the thriller movie Lipstick (1976) and as a demon in the movie The Sentinel (1977).
To avoid being typecast in villainous roles, Sarandon accepted various roles of other types during the years to come, portraying the title role of Christ in the made-for-television movie The Day Christ Died (1980). He received accolades for his portrayal of Sydney Carton in a TV-movie version of A Tale of Two Cities (1980), co-starred with Dennis Hopper in the 1983 movie The Osterman Weekend, which was based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name, and co-starred with Goldie Hawn in the movie Protocol (1984). These were followed by another mainstream success as the vampire-next-door in the horror movie Fright Night (1985). He starred in the 1986 TV movie Liberty, which addressed the making of New York City's statue of Liberty.
He is best known in the film industry for his role as Prince Humperdinck in Rob Reiner's 1987 movie The Princess Bride, though he also has had supporting parts in other successful movies such as the original Child's Play (1988). In 1992, he played Joseph Curwen/Charles Dexter Ward in The Resurrected. He also provided the voice of Jack Skellington, the main character of Tim Burton's animated Disney movie The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), and has since reprised the role in other productions, including the Disney/Square video games Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II and the Capcom sequel to the original movie, Oogie's Revenge. Sarandon also reprised his role as Jack Skellington for several Disneyland Halloween events and attractions including; Halloween Screams, the Frightfully Fun Parade, and the Haunted Mansion Holiday, a three-month overlay of the Haunted Mansion, where Jack and his friends take control of a mansion in an attempt to introduce Christmas, much as his character did in the movie.
Sarandon appeared in TV again with a recurring role as Dr. Burke on NBC's long-running medical drama ER.
In 1991 he performed on Broadway in the short-lived musical Nick & Nora (based on the movie The Thin Man) with Joanna Gleason, the daughter of Monty Hall. Sarandon married Gleason in 1994. They have appeared together in a number of movies, including Edie & Pen (1996), American Perfekt (1997), and Let the Devil Wear Black (1999). During the 2000s he made guest appearances in several TV series, notably as the Necromancer demon, Armand, in Charmed, and as superior court judge Barry Krumble for six episodes of Judging Amy.
In 2006 he played Signor Naccarelli in the six-time Tony award-winning Broadway musical play The Light in the Piazza at Lincoln Center. Most recently he appeared in Cyrano de Bergerac as Antoine de Guiche, with Kevin Kline, Jennifer Garner, and Daniel Sunjata. He is on the Advisory Board for the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg, West Virginia. In 2016 he performed in the Off-Broadway production of the Dave Malloy musical Preludes as Anton Chekhov, Tchaikovsky, Alexander Glazunov, Leo Tolstoy, Tsar Nicholas II, and The Master.
Personal life[]
Sarandon has been married three times: he married actress Susan Sarandon in 1967, the couple first met while attending The Catholic University of America together in Washington, D.C.. The marriage lasted for twelve years; the pair divorced in 1979. After divorcing from Susan, he married his second wife, fashion model Lisa Ann Cooper, in 1980. The couple had two daughters and one son: Stephanie (born 1982), Alexis (born 1984) and Michael (born 1988).[7] The marriage ended in divorce in 1989 after nine years of marriage. In 1994, he married his third wife, actress and singer Joanna Gleason. The couple met while performing in Broadway's short-lived 1991 musical Nick & Nora; they returned to the stage together in 1998's Thorn and Bloom. They also collaborated in several films together, such as Road Ends, Edie & Pen, Let the Devil Wear Black, and American Perfekt.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes/Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Samurai Spy | The Shogun | |
| The Sound of Music | Peck von Trapp | ||
| The Greatest Story Ever Told | Carter | ||
| The Cincinnati Kid | Flik | ||
| Doctor Zhivago | Omar | ||
| 1966 | Blow-Up | Hummings | |
| 1967 | The Dirty Dozen | Dr. Ackerman | |
| In the Heat of the Night | William Sidney | ||
| Bonnie and Clyde | Luke Matthews | ||
| Cool Hand Luke | George Johnson | ||
| The Graduate | Mike Buck | ||
| 1968 | Planet of the Apes | Dave Negli | |
| Bullitt | Vic Vaughn | ||
| 1970 | M*A*S*H | Warden Stack | |
| Patton | Raf Perry | ||
| The Hawaiians | Stack | ||
| Kelly's Heroes | Inch | ||
| 1971 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller | Beatty Edmund | |
| 1973 | Westworld | Benjamin Brolin | |
| Mean Streets | Harvey Robert | ||
| 1974 | The Towering Inferno | Jeff Jersey | |
| 1975 | Dog Day Afternoon | Leon Shermer | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1976 | Lipstick | Gordon Stuart | |
| 1977 | The Sentinel | Michael Lerman | |
| 1979 | Max Max | Oswald Fred | |
| Cuba | Juan Pulido | ||
| You Can't Go Home Again | George Webber | ||
| 1980 | The Day Christ Died | Jesus Christ | |
| A Tale of Two Cities | Sydney Carton Charles Darnay |
||
| 1981 | Excalibur | Woody | |
| Broken Promise | Bud Griggs | ||
| Outland | Billy | ||
| Time Bandits | The Treasure | ||
| 1983 | Never Say Never Again | Sean Fox | |
| The Osterman Weekend | Joseph Cardone | ||
| 1984 | This Is Spinal Tap | Harry Paul | |
| Once Upon a Time in America | Burt Woods | ||
| The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | John Weller | ||
| Protocol | Michael Ransome | ||
| 1985 | This Child Is Mine | Craig Wilkerson | |
| Return to Oz | Prince Luke | ||
| Silverado | Mike Head | ||
| Fright Night | Jerry Dandridge | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor | |
| 1986 | Liberty [1] | Jacque Marchant | |
| 1987 | Spaceballs | Clive | |
| The Princess Bride | Prince Humperdinck | ||
| Mayflower Madam | Matt Whittington | ||
| 1988 | Bloodsport | Luke Warden | |
| Killer Klowns from Outer Space | Hershel John | ||
| Child's Play | Detective Mike Norris | ||
| Goodbye, Miss Fourth Of July | George Janus | ||
| 1989 | Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure | John Fox | |
| Collision Course | Philip Mandras | ||
| Slaves of New York | Victor Okrent | ||
| Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy | John Lenczowski | ||
| Forced March | Ben Kline | ||
| 1990 | The Stranger Within | Dan | |
| Whispers | Tony | ||
| 1991 | The Doors | Angus McTeague | |
| Thelma & Louise | Pip | ||
| The Resurrected | Joseph Curwen Charles Dexter Ward |
||
| The Last Boy Scout | Johnny Whistler | ||
| 1993 | Dark Tide | Tim | |
| The Nightmare Before Christmas | Jack Skellington (voice) | ||
| Tombstone | Professor Raoul | ||
| 1994 | David's Mother | Philip | |
| Speed | Randall | ||
| The Client | Hank | ||
| Airheads | Samuel | ||
| Natural Born Killers | Patrick | ||
| Timecop | Lawliet | ||
| 1995 | Terminal Justice | Reginald Matthews | |
| Just Cause | Lyle Morgan | ||
| Rob Roy | Blair Sullivan | ||
| Die Hard with a Vengeance | Lincoln Clyde | ||
| Braveheart | Mel Bale | ||
| When the Dark Man Calls | Lloyd Carson | ||
| Heat | Fungus Man | ||
| 1996 | No Greater Love | Sam Horowitz | |
| Broken Arrow | Danny Luke | ||
| Edie & Pen | Max | ||
| A Time to Kill | Otis | ||
| Chain Reaction | Dr. Nathan Waldman | ||
| Bordello of Blood | Rev. J.C. Current | ||
| The Glimmer Man | Mr. Todd | ||
| The Long Kiss Goodnight | Lyman Earl Collier | ||
| 1997 | Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery | Nighy | |
| American Perfekt | Deputy Sammy | ||
| The Full Monty | John Rex | ||
| Kiss the Girls | Captain Joe | ||
| Road Ends | Esteban Maceda | ||
| 1998 | Reaper | Luke Sinclair | |
| Little Men | Fritz Bhaer | ||
| Soldier | Ricky | ||
| Rushmore | Dr. Nelson Guggenheim | ||
| 1999 | Let the Devil Wear Black | Mr. Lyne | |
| 2000 | Race Against Time | Dr.Anton Stofeles | |
| Dude, Where's My Car? | Dave | ||
| 2001 | Perfume | Gary Packer | |
| Sweet November | Boris Balkan | ||
| Monkeybone | Pat | ||
| Super Troopers | Captain Hawk | ||
| The Affair of the Necklace | Jonathan Dexter | ||
| 2003 | X2 | Clive Wright | Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Villain |
| Matchstick Men | Eric Nicholas | ||
| Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | Luke Perry | ||
| 2004 | Troy | Tobias | |
| National Treasure | Oswald Mike | ||
| 2005 | Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | Kurotowa (voice) | English dub by Walt Disney Pictures; originally released in Japanese in 1984 |
| Loggerheads | Rev. Robert Austin | ||
| V for Vendetta | Kirk Becky | ||
| 2006 | Little Miss Sunshine | Austin | |
| Firewall | Robert William | ||
| Blood Diamond | Captain Kirk | ||
| 2007 | Zodiac | Vincent Harvey | Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |
| The Chosen One | Zebulon 'Zeb' Kirk (voice) | ||
| Beowulf | Dr. Cricket Harvey | ||
| I Am Legend | Dr. Square | ||
| 2008 | Speed Racer | Brown | |
| My Sassy Girl | Dr. Roark | ||
| Meet Dave | Rafael | ||
| The Day the Earth Stood Still | Joe | ||
| 2009 | Watchmen | Dr. Cuba | |
| All About Steve | Dr. Bucky | ||
| Trick 'r Treat | The Dylan | ||
| Ninja Assassin | Toad Walker | ||
| Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva | Sherman | English dub | |
| My Life in the Single Seat: A Documentary | Himself | ||
| 2010 | Multiple Sarcasms | Larry | |
| The Company Men | Ben | ||
| 2011 | Unknown | Colonel Ottway | |
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Glover Boyd | ||
| Fright Night | "Jay Dee" | Cameo appearance | |
| 2012 | Safe | Mayor Danny Tremello | |
| Battleship | Peter Brian | ||
| Ted | Jason | ||
| 2013 | Curse of Chucky | Detective Mike Norris | Archive footage |
| 2013 | Frank the Bastard | Tristan Pace | |
| 2014 | A Million Ways to Die in the West | Old Cowboy | |
| X-Men: Days of Future Past | Clive Wright | ||
| Big Stone Gap | Mario Barbari | ||
| 2015 | I Smile Back | Roger | |
| Ted 2 | Jason | ||
| Pixels | James McCurdy | ||
| Fantastic Four | Rory MacNeil | ||
| The Revenant | Admiral Porter | ||
| 2016 | X-Men: Apocalypse | Clive Wright |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–1973 | Guiding Light | Dr. Tom Halverson | |
| 1978 | You Can't Go Home Again | George Webber | (CBS TV movie based on the novel by Thomas Wolfe) |
| 1980 | A Tale of Two Cities | Sydney Carton Charles Darnay |
(TV movie) |
| 1994 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Martus Mazur | Episode: "Rivals" |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Dr. Pallas | Episode: "Corner of the Eye" |
| 1998 | The Practice | Dr Jeffrey Winslow | Episodes: "The Trial" "Cloudy with a Chance of Membranes" |
| Chicago Hope | Dr. Gordon Mays | Episodes: "Austin, We Have a Problem" "Wag the Doc" "Austin Space" | |
| 1999 | Felicity | Dr. Peter McGrath | Episodes: "Todd Mulcahy: Part 1" "Todd Mulcahy: Part 2" "Docuventary" "Connections" "The Force" "Felicity Was Here"[2] |
| 1999–2000 | Stark Raving Mad | Caesar Radford | Episodes: "Fish Out of Water" "The Big Finish" |
| 2000–2002 | ER | Dr. Burke | Episodes: "The Greatest of Gifts" "Piece of Mind" "It's All in Your Head" |
| 2002–2004 | Law & Order | Howard Pincham | Episode: "Gov Love" "The Wheel" |
| 2002 | The Court | Justice Vorhees | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | The Wild Thornberrys | Myka (voice) | Episode: "Look Who's Squawking" |
| Charmed | Necromancer Armand |
Episode: "Necromancing the Stone" | |
| 2004 | Cold Case | Adam Clarke | Episode: "Volunteers" |
| 2005 | Danny Phantom | Matt (voice) | Episode: "Pirate Radio" |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Weasly Masoner | Episode: "Choreographed" |
| 2007 | Wayside | Mr. Randy (voice) | Episode: "Age of Aquarium" |
| 2010 | Psych | Ashton Bonaventure | Episode: "Think Tank" |
| The Good Wife | Judge Howard Matchick | Episode: "Taking Control" | |
| 2016 | Orange Is The New Black | Kip Carnigan | Episode: "We'll always have Baltimore" |
| 2017 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Dracula (voice) | 3 episodes |
Video games[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Kingdom Hearts | Jack Skellington |
| 2005 | The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge | |
| 2006 | Kingdom Hearts II | |
| 2013 | Disney Infinity | |
| 2013 | Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix | |
| 2014 | Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix | |
| 2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 |
Theme parks and live attractions[]
- Haunted Mansion Holiday – Jack Skellington
- Halloween Screams – Jack Skellington
- Frightfully Fun Parade – Jack Skellington
- Disney on Ice – Jack Skellington
Music videos[]
- Hands Clean — Alanis Morissette
References[]
- ↑ IMDB Liberty (TV movie)
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite video game