John Malkovich: biography and filmography of Hollywood actor

John Malkovich (full name John Gavin Malkovich) - American actor, was born on December 9, 1953 in the small town of Christopher, located in the southern part of Illinois. In childhood, the boy studied music, and when he grew up he entered secondary school. After school he became a student at the East-Illinois University, where he studied at the Faculty of Environmental Preferences. With music John Malkovich in his youth did not part, in 1976 he organized a group called Steppenwolf Theater Company. Endless rehearsals began, the musicians tried to create their completely exclusive repertoire, but the composer was not among them, and the process moved slowly. Although the main goal was achieved, the musicians were busy with real creativity: they wanted to record their album and organize tours, being already known. Studies at the university at John went bad, he devoted all his time to music. Suddenly, he became interested in theater.

Theatrical debut

Eventually, the artistic John Malkovich became cramped in the university, he often visited the city theater, watched all the performances in a row and tried to get acquainted with the actors. His creative aspirations soon borne fruit, and in 1978, John received an invitation to participate in the performance on the stage of the Goodman Theater. He was given a small role in the production of a social thrust called "The Curse of a Starving Class" based on the play of Sam Shepard. The theatrical debut of Malkovich proved successful, and he continued cooperation with the troupe. Over the next six years, John, as an accomplished actor, played in more than 50 performances. In the theatrical world of America everything is interconnected, it is necessary to appear an interesting actor in San Francisco, as the next day it is already known on Broadway. The theatrical director immediately has the temptation to contact a talented performer and entice him to himself. But not everything is so simple: in the theatrical hierarchy there is a kind of ethics, according to which there should be no contact - this is considered bad form. It's another matter if the actor himself comes, and then they will not let him go. In the course are monetary incentives, comfortable housing conditions and, finally, contracts are so tempting that it is simply impossible to refuse. So it happened with Malkovich. He at random came to New York in the hope of finding a job on Broadway. Of course, he already knew about him, his incredible work capacity and acting talent. Therefore, the first theater, in which he turned, gladly accepted it.

Broadway

So, in 1984, Malkovich moved to New York, and he was admitted to one of the leading theaters on Broadway. The first performance, in which John participated, is "The Death of a Salesman." In the play, well-known Dustin Hoffman also played . Any Broadway theater is an excellent starting point for starting an artistic career, and John Malkovich immediately felt it. Performances with his participation followed one after another, gradually the actor became popular, he had the opportunity to choose the roles to his liking, and this is the first sign of star status.

Debut in the cinema

John Malkovich, whose filmography at that time did not contain a single picture, was seen by the agent of the film studio Trisrar Picturies. He was invited to screen tests, which he passed successfully, being already an experienced actor. Thus, John was confirmed for the role of Mr. Will. It was Malkovich's debut role in the movie, but the actor played in such a way that he was immediately nominated for an Oscar in the category "Best Supporting Actor". In the same 1984, John Malkovich, whose best films were still ahead, starred in the film "The Fields of Death" directed by Roland Joffe. John played the photographer El Roqueff - his character was already closer to the main plot events, but this time the nominations for the "Oscar" and other awards Malkovich did not touch.

The second nomination for "Oscar"

The second Oscar nomination for John Malkovich was for the role of Mitch O'Leary, a mentally unbalanced former CIA agent in the film "On the Line of Fire," directed by Wolfgang Petersen. The painting was filmed at the Columbia Picturies film studio and appeared at the box office in 1993. Prior to this, John Malkovich played the characteristic role of Viscount Sebastian de Valmont in the film "Dangerous Liaisons" of British director Stephen Frears. The film was shot in the wake of the events of the late 18th century, which took place at the court of the French king. The picture was released in the second half of 1988.

In 1990, John Malkovich received an invitation from the director Bernardo Bertolucci to star in the film "Under the Cover of Heaven." The character of Malkovich - Port Moresby is a middle-aged man who, along with his wife Keith Morsby, travels to North Africa. The peripeteias of this journey keep all the participants in suspense. Port Moresby dies of transient typhus, and his wife gets to the Berbers.

"Being John Malkovich"

In 1999, the film "Be John Malkovich" was shot at the Gramercy Pictures film studio, in which the actor played himself. The role was more like Cameo, although at that time it was not yet accepted to invite celebrities to participate in film projects, as it is done today. Nevertheless, the role of John Malkovich, performed by John Malkovich himself, largely revived the plot. In the same year 1999, the actor starred in two more films: "The Time Found" directed by Raul Ruiz with Catherine Deneuve in the title role and "The Lady's Room" directed by Gabriella Christiani. The character of Malkovich in the first film is Baron de Charles, and in the second - the rich man Roberto.

Filmography

John Malkovich, whose filmography includes about 90 paintings of various genres, eagerly takes on interesting, informative new roles. But the list of roles he played in the recent past is also impressive. In the period from 2000 to 2007, Malkovich participated in twenty film projects, this is:

• Year 2000 - "Les Miserables" directed by Tom Hooper, Malkovich played Javera; "Shadow of a Vampire" directed by Edmund Elias Meridzh, Malkovich played the main role - Friedrich Marnau.
• Year 2001 - "Strong Souls" directed by Raul Ruiz, the character of Malkovich is Monsignor; "I'm going home" directed by Manuel di Oliveira, Malkovich played John Crawford; "Hotel" directed by Alan Nixon, John Malkovich - Omar Hansson, the main role; "Bouncers" directed by Brian Koppelman, the character of Malkovich - Teddy Deserve.
• Year 2002 - "Ripley's Game" directed by Liliana Covani, Malkovich in the title role - Tom Ripley.
• Year 2003 - "Agent Johnny English" directed by Peter Howitt, John Malkovich - the main role (tandem with Atkinson) - Pascal Savage; "Conversation movie" directed by Manuel di Oliveira, Malkovich in the role of Comandante John Vales.
• Year 2005 - "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" directed by Hart Jennings, the character of John Malkovich - Humm Kavul; "Libertine" directed by Lawrence Dunmore, Malkovich as King Charles II; "Being Stanley Kubrick" directed by Brian Cook, John Malkovich plays Alan Conway, the main role.
• Year 2006 - "Advertising for the genius" directed by Terry Svigoff, the character of Malkovich - Professor Sandiford; "Klimt" directed by Raul Ruiz, John Malkovich as Gustav Klimt; "Eragon" directed by Stefan Fangmeier, Malkovich played Galbatorix; "To the stage" directed by Tom Roberts, John Malkovich as Pavlov.
• Year 2007 - "Beowulf" directed by Robert Zemeckis, Malkovich as Unfert.

Malkovich - the director

As an actor, John Malkovich already took place by the year 2000. He was in demand, his fees were expressed in seven-figure figures. However, being a truly creative person, Malkovich several times tried to realize himself as a director-director. When staging the film "I'm Going Home", John became an assistant to the director Manuel Oliveira. And when staging the 2002 film "Dancing Upstairs," John Malkovich, whose biography was ready to replenish with new pages, took over the director's work completely, and also co-produced this film project. In the same year, Malkovich became director of the film "The Ugly Man," to which he also wrote a screenplay. The film was short, lasted only 26 minutes, but the work of John and his team was recognized by critics as quite professional.

Malkovich is the producer

Also, John Malkovich produced individual film projects and, I must say, that he did well too. Films with John Malkovich as a producer:

• Year 2000 - "Tourist involuntarily."
• Year 2001 - "The World of Ghosts", "The Loner".
• Year 2002 - "Dancing Upstairs."
• Year 2004 - "The Libertine", "Found on the street."
• Year 2006 - "Kill the poor man," "Advertising for a genius."
• Year 2007 - "The Road Home", "Juneau".
• Year 2010 - "Drunk boat".
• Year 2012 - "It's good to be quiet."

Return to the stage

From time to time, John Malkovich returns to the profession with which he began his career as a Hollywood superstar - a theater actor. In 2010, Malkovich played a major role in the play of the Mariinsky Theater "Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer." And the following year, Malkovich performed the role of Giacomo Casanova in the play "Giacomo Variations" on the stage of the Moscow theater "New Opera".

Personal life

The personal life of the superstar of Hollywood is like a quiet, smooth surface. John married late: he was only thirty years old when he made an offer to Glenn Hadley, a famous American actress, two-time nominee for the Emmy Award. The couple lived together for six years, from 1982 to 1988, and divorced when John Malkovich could not resist the temptation and twisted the affair with actress Michelle Pfeiffer, with whom he starred in the film project "Dangerous Liaisons." As you can see, this connection was also dangerous and ended with Malkovich's divorce from Glenn Hadley. And I must say that Pfeiffer also suffered: because of the affair with Malkovich, she had to divorce her husband Peter Horton.

However, just two years later, on the set of the movie Under the Cover of Heaven, John met Nicoletta Peiran, the assistant director, who became his second wife. In this marriage, the couple had two children, in 1990 - a daughter who was named Amandine and in 1992 - the son of Louie. The family lived in France for a long time, and in 2003 the Malkovichi moved to the USA, to the city of Cambridge, where they live to this day.