Billy Crudup
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"Crudup is a gentle, slyly sexy man who has palpable charisma onstage and off."---Sydney Weinberg in Time Out New York, January 31-February 7, 1996.
"I think I'm a good actor because I try really hard. That also means that when I suck, I aggressively suck. That probably happens as much as it doesn't, but at least I'm always in search of the moment where I can do something I haven't done before."---Crudup in Interview, January 1996.
Biography
Though he always had the potential to be one of the bigger movie stars of his day, actor Billy Crudup eschewed the limelight for focus on playing complex characters in moody independent films. In fact, Crudup's intensity and his ability to disappear into character marked him as a highly gifted actor, though this same ability often played against the conventional wisdom for his becoming a movie star. He turned in strong and potentially star-making turns in more conventional features like "Without Limits" (1998) and "The Hi-Lo Country" (1998). Even when success eluded him when he was rock guitarist Russell Hammond in Cameron Crowe's well-received "Almost Famous" (2000), Crudup seemed to relish the freedom of not being a household name. That started to change with higher profile turns in "Big Fish" (2003), "Mission: Impossible 3" (2006), the highly anticipated "Watchmen" (2009) and the acclaimed made-for-cable television movie "Too Big to Fail" (HBO, 2011), all of which threatened to turn Crudup into a star, whether he wanted to be or not.
Born on July 8, 1968 in Manhasset, NY, Crudup grew up the maternal grandson of Billy Gaither, a famous trial lawyer from Florida. His parents had a rollercoaster ride of a marriage, divorcing and remarrying only to divorce again. Crudup moved from New York with his family, first settling in Texas where he attended Hillcrest High School in Dallas, then to Fort Lauderdale, FL, where he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas in 1986. Intending to major in business, Crudup attended the University of North Carolina, but discovered acting in his senior year when he performed in a production of Bertolt Brecht's "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui." Once he graduated UNC, he established himself as a rising star at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a master of fine arts in acting. In 1994, while still a student at NYU, Crudup filmed his first feature role in "Grind" (1997). As a recently released convict who begins an affair with his sister-in-law, the young actor delivered what many felt was a star-making performance although few actually saw the picture in movie theaters. Even before earning his degree, Crudup's professional career had started.
Crudup made an auspicious Broadway debut playing the Byronic tutor of a 13-year-old mathematics genius in Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" (1995), for which he won several awards, including the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut. After completing a small role in Woody Allen's musical "Everyone Says I Love You" (1996), which also marked his onscreen singing debut, Crudup played a drug-dealing killer in Barry Levinson's "Sleepers" (1996). He co-starred alongside Mary-Louise Parker - whom he dated from 1996 until 2003, when they split while she was seven months pregnant with their son - in a Broadway rival of William Inge's "Bus Stop" (1996), Crudup followed by playing the calculating, womanizing brother of a shy working-class young man (Joaquin Phoenix) in love with a wealthy girl (Liv Tyler) in Pat O'Connor's "Inventing the Abbots" (1997). Crudup next took on the leading role of track superstar Steve Prefontaine in "Without Limits" (1998), a film that could have resulted in a star-making turn for the actor, but instead was hampered by slow pacing and little interest from the public. Added to the mixture was an equally ignored biopic on the tragically deceased runner that only served to dampen Crudup's otherwise compelling performance.
When the intriguing, post-modern Western "The Hi-Lo Country" (1998) was released, hopes ran high for Crudup's bona fide breakthrough, but it was lost amidst end-of-the-year Oscar bait. Crudup once again offered a fine performance and demonstrated a unique capacity to make even the most passive of characters fascinating without gaining proper recognition. Building on that ability, he turned the junkie lead of "Jesus' Son" (1999) into a tour de force, crafting a complete character down to his specific walk and vocal inflections. As a Kennedy-esque politician experiencing a possible breakdown in the flawed, but absorbing "Waking the Dead" (2000), Crudup gave a relaxed portrayal of a romantic forced to re-evaluate his belief systems - a performance that was masterful in its complexity. Reunited with Jennifer Connelly from "Inventing the Abbotts," Crudup particularly excelled in their scenes together; the two complemented each other to the point where their scenes took on an air of intense reality.
When writer-director Cameron Crowe was developing his then untitled autobiographical film about a teenage rock journalist, he created the pivotal role of the mysteriously attractive, charismatic guitarist with Brad Pitt in mind. When Pitt passed on the part, Crowe cast about for another actor with the appropriate qualities and found Crudup. "Almost Famous" (2000) allowed the ascendant performer another strong role and he made the most of it. Exhibiting equal parts charm and arrogance and projecting a smoldering but understated sexuality, Crudup took on a difficult role and humanized it. Finally, he had found the role that propelled him into the mainstream. He accomplished a similar feat with his next starring role, playing a man who abandons his family and sets off on a cross-country trip in the excellent "World Traveler" (2002), which screened at Toronto in 2001 before its theatrical release. Meanwhile, Crudup was well cast as a French Resistance leader in the WWII-era drama, "Charlotte Gray" (2001).
Crudup eschewed the hype attached to working in the movie industry, saying "I'm not a star and I have no desire to be one," though he found himself on the cusp regardless. He returned to Broadway to star as "The Elephant Man" (2002) and was poised for success - whether he wanted it or not - when he got another major dose of exposure in director Tim Burton's fanciful "Big Fish" (2003), playing Will Bloom, a young man at odds with his father (Albert Finney) who is disillusioned by the elder Bloom's mythic tales of self-aggrandizement. Crudup followed by starring in "Stage Beauty" (2004), a low-budget adaptation of Jeffrey Hatcher's play about Edward 'Ned' Kynaston, a 17th century actor enjoying the fruits of success as England's most celebrated leading lady at a time when females were not allowed to perform onstage. But when King Charles II decides that women can be allowed to act, Kynaston suddenly becomes an overnight nobody. Crudup received good notices for his performance, though few were able to see it due to the film's limited release. It was during the 2003 filming that Crudup fell for co-star Claire Danes. Much to the chagrin of fans and the press, he began quietly seeing the actress after breaking things off with his then-pregnant girlfriend, Mary-Louise Parker. It would be his one brush with negative tabloid headlines.
Crudup began to accept the potential of stardom when he played a man uninterested in marrying his long-time girlfriend (Maggie Gyllenhaal) in "Trust the Man" (2006), a romantic comedy that focused on two upwardly mobile Manhattan couples. In "Mission: Impossible 3" (2006), the third installment to the popular franchise directed by J.J. Abrams, he was the potentially untrustworthy superior to operative Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), who is forced back into the field. After a small role as a British intelligence officer in the slow-moving spy drama "The Good Shepherd" (2006), Crudup earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor, playing literary critic Vissarion Belinsky in "The Coast of Utopia" (2006). He then starred as an obsessive-compulsive children's books author who partners both professionally and romantically with a struggling illustrator (Mandy Moore) in "Dedication" (2007). Following a role in the Sundance-bound drama, "Pretty Bird" (2008), Crudup was Dr. Jon Osterman, who transforms into the blue-skinned super being, Doctor Manhattan, in the highly anticipated comic book adaptation "Watchmen" (2009). Following a turn in an off-Broadway production of Adam Rapp's "The Metal Children" (2010), he starred opposite Julia Roberts in the romantic comedy "Eat Pray Love" (2010). Crudup was perfectly cast as Timothy Geithner, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in the ballyhooed cable movie "Too Big to Fail" (HBO, 2011), which chronicled the people and events surrounding the 2008 financial meltdown that brought the global economy to its knees.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1994
Filmed first feature role in "Grind" (released 1997)
1995
Broadway debut as the Byronic tutor of a female mathematics genius in Tom Stoppard's play "Arcadia"
1996
Co-starred with Mary-Louise Parker in Broadway revival of William Inge's "Bus Stop"
1996
Played a small role in Woody Allen's musical "Everyone Says I Love You"
1996
Co-starred in Barry Levinson's "Sleepers"
1997
Breakthrough role as the charming and sexy Jacey Holt in "Inventing the Abbotts"
1997
Portrayed Solyoni in the Broadway revival of Anton Chekhov's "Three Sisters"
1998
Played the lead role opposite Frances McDormand in the off-Broadway staging of "Oedipus Rex"
1998
First Hollywood lead, the role of runner Steve Prefontaine in Robert Towne's "Without Limits"
1998
Co-starred with Woody Harrelson, as post-war ranchers in the American Southwest, in Stephen Frears' "The Hi-Lo Country"
1998
Played a stoned Irish gangster in Ted Demme's "Monument Ave."
1999
Cast as a drug addicted drifter in the festival-screened "Jesus' Son"
2000
Starred as Kennedy-esque political figure in Keith Gordon's "Waking the Dead"
2000
Played Russell Hammond, the lead guitarist of the fictional band Stillwater in Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous"
2001
Acted opposite Julianne Moore in "World Traveler"; screened at Toronto Film Festival
2001
Starred opposite Cate Blanchett in Gillian Armstrong's "Charlotte Gray"
2001
Played the lead role in the New York Shakespeare Festival staging of "Measure for Measure" in Central Park
2002
Headlined a Broadway revival of the award-winning play "The Elephant Man"; earned a Tony nomination
2003
Portrayed Albert Finney's son in Tim Burton's "Big Fish"
2004
Cast opposite Claire Danes in "Stage Beauty," based on the play by Jeffrey Hatcher
2005
Co-starred with Jeff Goldblum in the Broadway production of "The Pillowman"; earned a Tony nomination
2006
Appeared opposite Tom Cruise in the J.J. Abrams-directed "Mission: Impossible III"
2006
Played British spy Arch Cummings in Robert De Niro's long-anticipated spy film "The Good Shepherd"
2006
Portrayed literary critic Vissarion Belinsky in the first two parts of Tom Stoppard's "The Coast of Utopia" at Lincoln Center
2007
Co-starred in Justin Theroux's directorial debut "Dedication"
2009
Played the iconic superhero Doctor Manhattan in the film adaptation of "Watchmen"
2010
Co-starred with Julia Roberts in "Eat Pray Love," based on Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir; Roberts portrayed the author who, after a painful divorce, goes on a life-changing journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia
2010
Cast in the production of Adam Rapp's "The Metal Children" at off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre
2011
Acted in the Broadway revival of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia," this time playing the role of Septimus Hodge; earned a Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
2011
Portrayed U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner in the HBO film "Too Big to Fail"
2011
Co-starred with Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin in the crime drama "Thin Ice"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"Crudup is a gentle, slyly sexy man who has palpable charisma onstage and off."---Sydney Weinberg in Time Out New York, January 31-February 7, 1996.
"I think I'm a good actor because I try really hard. That also means that when I suck, I aggressively suck. That probably happens as much as it doesn't, but at least I'm always in search of the moment where I can do something I haven't done before."---Crudup in Interview, January 1996.
"Billy Crudup isn't even Billy Crudup yet, and already people are looking for the next Billy Crudup. Just in case his price gets too high."---Marcia Ross, vice president of casting for Walt Disney and Touchstone Pictures quoted in "Young, Gifted, but Who Are They?" in The New York Times, July 14, 1996.
"There are certainly actors who are interested in marketing a persona. And audiences often like to see the same person enacting a similar level of heroism or whatever. But that's not where my interest in acting is."---Crudup to Interview, May 1998.
"In the leading role, Crudup creates an extraordinary portrait of utter guilelessnes, of a cork bobbing upon the waters of life with no intended destination."---From Todd McCarthy's review of 'Jesus' Son'" in Daily Variety, September 14, 1999.
"The artistry of spontaneity and technique is sort of lost on me, people who just come in and do it once and it's brilliant, but ask them to do it again and you don't know if they will. Creating a truly rich layered moment that appears as though it happened just once, and would never happen again, that's what I'm most interested in. Especially when you do it again. I'm much better at learning than I am at spontaneously erupting with brilliance."---Billy Crudup quoted in The New York Times, March 19, 2000.
"Acting is hard for me. What's rewarding about acting is when I learn something and grow. So it's just as hard for me doing a sweet little happy-go-lucky role as it is doing a guy who's having a nervous breakdown."---Billy Crudup to Associated Press, June 21, 2000.
"If I had done 'Titanic,' it would have made, probably, $200,000 worldwide. So I think my life would have been very, very similar."---Crudup on his not being cast in the most popular film of the 1990s to the Associated Press, June 21, 2000.
"... like anyone, I want everything I've done to be enormously successful. I want as many people who saw 'Titanic' to see 'Jesus' Son', so it's not as if I'm trying to work towards some elitist community that includes my family and several people I know."---Crudup to the London Times, July 6, 2000.
"The thing about Billy is that he takes two looks. The first look, Fine. He's good-looking. All that. And the long look, that's where you see that he has all these levels. It's a subtle face."---Cameron Crowe, writer-director of "Almost Famous" quoted in Esquire, September 2000.
"You paint your picture of me, who I am, what I'm interested in, what I like, what I'm like when I'm not talking about a movie or whatever work I'm in. I do enough of these and people create this idea of what I am. Generally, this is something an actor works toward, avoiding certain subjects, promoting others, being seen in certain places, finding the right place to stand, being seen in certain causes. All of that is meant to promote a calculated image. That's work I'm not too interested in. If I start in on it, inevitably I have to maintain it. The premise of all that is that anybody would give a shit one way or the other, which I call into question almost immediately."---Billy Crudup quoted in Esquire, September 2000.
"I don't want to have any [public] perception at all, frankly. I don't want people to think of me personally an iota. It severely hampers my ability to make people believe I'm someone else ... I want to believe that I'm evolving and changing, and there's a necessity in the press to characterize things, to simplify them so people can understand them and put them into their own frame of reference. So I suppose over a period of time, you find yourself regarded in a certain way. It might not match up with your own self-image, and sometimes that can be troubling."---Billy Crudup quoted in Paper, April 2002.
"I suppose in terms of my career, I just have not attended to other people's ideas about what's best for me. I think I am the best judge of what's best for me, though plenty of people have room to express opinions for what's best for me. I sort of stick to my own agenda."---Billy Crudup quoted to Jonathan Harvey of Stage9, 2004.
