Chris Isaak
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
A blue-eyed, retro-hip crooner who has crossed over into acting, Chris Isaak has lent his smooth mournful guitar and lilting vocals to several feature soundtracks. The son of a blue-collar California family, Isaak studied in Japan in the 1970s, then began his music career with the band Silvertone in the mid-'80s. He first came to filmgoers' attention with songs in David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" (1986) and "Wild at Heart" (1990), notably the hit "Wicked Game." He has also been heard on the soundtracks of "Modern Girls" (1986), "North Shore" (1987), "Shag" and "Married to the Mob" (both 1988). Between record releases and tours, Isaak has recorded for such latter-day films as Edward Zwick's "Leaving Normal" (1992), Clint Eastwood's "A Perfect World" (1993) and Ron Shelton's "Tin Cup" (1996). Isaak's good looks and soft-spoken manner also earned him several small film roles, beginning as a fast-food clown in Jonathan Demme's "Married to the Mob" (1988) and a SWAT commander in Demme's "Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Isaak also appeared in the rockumentary "Let's Get Lost" (1988) and played an FBI agent in David Lynch's "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" (1992). But his acting career was pretty much a lark until 1994, when Bernardo Bertolucci cast him as the father of a child who may be the "Little Buddha." More supporting roles followed in the music-related films "Grace of My Heart," directed by Alison Anders, and "That Thing You Do!" (both 1996), which marked Tom Hanks' directorial debut. Also in 1996, Isaak made his TV acting debut as a children's library worker on the highly-hyped post-Super Bowl episode of NBC's hit sitcom "Friends."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Music (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1985
Released debut album, <i>Silvertone</i>; also the name of Isaak's backing band
1986
First film to feature his music, David Lynch's "Blue Velvet"
1986
Released second self-titled album, <i>Chris Isaak</i>
1988
Feature acting debut in "Married to the Mob"
1989
Released third album, <i>Heart Shaped World</i>; featured the hit song "Wicked Game"
1990
An instrumental version of "Wicked Game" was featured in David Lynch's "Wild at Heart"
1991
Had a small role in Jonathan Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs"
1992
Played a major role in David Lynch's "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me"
1993
Co-starred in the Bernardo Bertolucci-directed, "Little Buddha"
1996
Made first TV appearance on an episode of "Friends" (NBC)
1998
Appeared in the HBO miniseries, "From the Earth to the Moon"
1999
"Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" was featured in Stanley Kubrick's final film, "Eyes Wide Shut"
2001
Starred in "The Chris Isaak Show" (Showtime) as himself and featured actual members of his band
2001
Featured as a correspondent for "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (NBC)
2004
Co-starred with Tracey Ullman and Johnny Knoxville in John Waters' "A Dirty Shame"
2004
Appeared as Roy Orbison in the NBC drama "American Dreams"
2009
Joined the ensemble cast of "The Informers"; based on a collection of short stories by Bret Easton Ellis
2009
Hosted "The Chris Isaak Hour" on the Biography Channel
Family
Companions
