Hilary Swank
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
When asked if she had ever done martial arts before "The Next Karate Kid": "No, never. I had flexibility in gymnastics, and I took instruction and worked hard, hours and hours a day. I wanted to do all my stunts." And did she? "Oh, God, I've got plenty of bruises. Yes!"---Hilary Swank in Parade Magazine, August 7, 1994.
"It took about four weeks for me to detox from masculinity... I felt like I had lost every ounce of my femininity and I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get it back."---Swank on playing Brandon in "Boy's Don't Cry", quoted in Talk, October 1999.
Biography
Actress Hilary Swank had her major breakthrough when she earned the Academy Award for her gripping performance in the indie darling "Boys Don't Cry" (1999). Swank followed this with quality turns in Sam Raimi's supernatural thriller "The Gift" (2000), the period romantic drama "The Affair of the Necklace" (2001) and Christopher Nolan's excellent crime thriller "Insomnia" (2002). She went on to find her star-making niche playing steely women who succeeded against the odds, best exemplified by her performance as a female boxer who meets a tragic end in Clint Eastwood's moody drama "Million Dollar Baby" (2004), a role that earned her a second Oscar. From there, she etched powerful performances as real-life women such as American suffragist Alice Paul in "Iron Jawed Angels" (HBO, 2004), unorthodox teacher Erin Gruwell in "Freedom Writers" (2007) and groundbreaking aviatrix Amelia Earhart in "Amelia" (2009). Swank proved herself one of Hollywood's more versatile actresses, one who drew upon her working-class roots to deliver one informed performance after another. She continued working steadily, starring in Tony Goldwyn's legal drama "Conviction" (2010) and British thriller "The Resident" (2011) and appearing in Garry Marshall's ensemble romantic comedy "New Year's Eve" (2011). After co-starring opposite writer- director Tommy Lee Jones in period western "The Homesman" (2014), Swank moved into producing with the drama "You're Not You" (2014) and returned to television opposite Brenda Blethyn in Richard Curtis' biographical drama "Mary and Martha" (BBC 2013). After her first voice role in 3D fantasy "Spark" (2016), Swank co-starred in Steven Soderbergh's comedy "Logan Lucky" (2017) and indie dramas "55 Steps" (2017) and "What They Had" (2018). Swank's first TV series since "Beverly Hills 90201," "Trust" (FX 2018) was a limited series about the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1983
Began acting career as Mowgli in a school play of "The Jungle Book"
1991
Landed her first job as a guest star on an episode of the syndicated series "Harry and the Hendersons"
1991
Played recurring roles on ABC's "Growing Pains" and CBS' "Evening Shade"
1992
Had a regular role on ABC's comedy series "Camp Wilder"
1992
Portrayed Kimberly, Kristy Swanson's Valley Girl pal, in the feature "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
1994
Played lead in the sequel "The Next Karate Kid"
1997
Was regular on the short-lived ABC series "Leaving L.A."
1997
Joined the cast of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (Fox) as Carly Reynolds, a single mother who becomes a love interest for Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering)
1999
Gave an Oscar winning performance as Teena Brandon, a young woman who opted to live as a man and was brutally raped and murdered when it was discovered she was born female, in "Boys Don't Cry"
2000
Cast in the Sam Raimi directed "The Gift"
2001
Appeared as a French noblewoman in "The Affair of the Necklace"
2002
Co-starred with Al Pacino in the American version of "Insomnia"
2003
Co-starred as Major Beck Childs in the sci-fi thriller "The Core"
2004
Starred opposite Anjelica Huston and Frances O'Connor in the HBO movie "Iron Jawed Angels," about the stuggle for women's right to vote; received Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie
2004
Co-starred with Clint Eastwood in "Million Dollar Baby" as a woman determined to establish herself as a boxer
2006
Was cast as Josh Hartnett's love interest in "The Black Dahlia," Brian De Palma's adaptation of James Ellroy's classic noir novel
2007
Co-starred as a widow whose life is turned upside down by letters left behind by her husband in "P.S. I Love You"
2007
Played professor Katherine Winter in religion-themed horror film "The Reaping"
2007
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
2007
Starred as an inspiring teacher in the drama "Freedom Writers"
2009
Portrayed Amelia Earhart in Mira Nair's biopic "Amelia"; also co-executive produced
2010
Portrayed Betty Anne Waters, an unemployed single mother who spent a decade earning a law degree so she could represent her brother, in "Conviction"
2011
Was cast in the Gary Marshall-helmed ensemble romantic comedy "New Year's Eve"
2014
Co-starred with Emmy Rossum and Josh Duhamel in the drama "You're Not You"
2017
Was featured in Steven Soderbergh crime comedy "Logan Lucky"
2018
Co-starred with Michael Shannon in Elizabeth Chomko's writing and directing debut, the drama "What They Had"
2018
Starred as Gail Getty on biopic series "Trust"
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
When asked if she had ever done martial arts before "The Next Karate Kid": "No, never. I had flexibility in gymnastics, and I took instruction and worked hard, hours and hours a day. I wanted to do all my stunts." And did she? "Oh, God, I've got plenty of bruises. Yes!"---Hilary Swank in Parade Magazine, August 7, 1994.
"It took about four weeks for me to detox from masculinity... I felt like I had lost every ounce of my femininity and I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get it back."---Swank on playing Brandon in "Boy's Don't Cry", quoted in Talk, October 1999.
"I figured out why it was so easy. I had so much fear and anxiety about it, but when we did it, it was so professional, it didn't live up to my fear. It was just make-believe."---Hilary Swank, on the brutal rape scene in "Boy's Don't Cry", to Stacy D'Erasmo of Out, October 1999.
"I hope ['Boys Don't Cry'] can help people be inspired to be themselves and to live their dream. And live every single moment fully."---Hilary Swank quoted in USA Today, October 21, 1999.
Swank was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People for 2004
"The second after I won the Academy Award [for 1999's Boys Don't Cry], I felt inhibited, like I was being watched under a microscope, she says. "People weren't necessarily putting that on me so much as I was putting that on myself. It took a while before I could relax and enjoy acting again."---Swank quoted in Premiere, December 2004/January 2005.
