Dennehy, Brian

Brian Dennehy was born July 9, 1938 in Bridgeport ( Connecticut ), grew up in the New York quarter of Brooklyn . He entered Columbia University , where he combined his studies with a successful performance for a student team in American football. After receiving a bachelor's degree in history ( 1960 ) went to serve in the Marines, giving the US Army 5 years. He was married twice (Judith Scheff, 1959-1974; Jennifer Arnott, 1998 - present), two of the daughters ( Elizabeth and Kathleen ) chose an acting career. He also raised two adopted children - Cormac (born in 1993) and Sarah (born in 1995).

The first movie roles

He made his debut as an actor in 1977 in small roles of the television series " Kodzhak " and " Serpiko ", then received roles in the popular TV shows " Dynasty ", " Dallas ", " Lou Grant ". At the age of 39, he made his debut in feature films “ Waiting for Mr. Goodbard ” and “ Semicrute ” ( 1977 ).

The directors and producers of television series exploited the Irish appearance Denneha (188 cm height, weight - under a centner, blue eyes). Fame came to Dennehy for the role of serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the television series Catch the Killer , for which he received an Emmy Award nomination in the nomination for second-actor. He also starred in Peter Greenaway’s The Architect 's Belly (1987). For the role of Cracklite in this film, he received an award at the Chicago Film Festival.

In the 80s, Brian Dennehy came to real fame after shooting in the action movie “ Rambo: First Blood ”, where he, as a sheriff, opposes the hero Stallone , as well as in the thriller “ Gorky Park ”, in the detective dilogy “ Illusion of Murder ”. Critics praised the wonderful acting duet of Dennehy and James Woods in the film Bestseller .

Popularity and Recognition

In the 90s, he received several landmark major roles: the trade union leader Jackie Presser (Jackie Presser's story ), Sergeant Reed in the television movie of the same name (here he tried himself as a co-producer, screenwriter and director), and numerous detective telelents, where he now played killers, and cops. The genre repertoire is also becoming more varied: the main role in the late love melodrama is “ Leaving Life ”, one of the main roles in the empty but mischievous comedy “ Tommy Dam ” ( 1995 ), the role of Montague (Montecchi, Romeo’s father) in Shakespeare’s modern film Romeo + Juliet (1996).

On the threshold of the millennium, a television version of a Broadway production based on Arthur Miller ’s play The Death of a Salesman, was released, and for the lead role of Denneha he received the coveted Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy award once again.

Since the mid-90s, he has been active on the stage, since 1995 - on Broadway. For participation in two productions, he received the main theater award of the year “ Tony ”, including for his role in Miller ’s play “The Death of a Salesman” (1999), which was a feat for producers to screen the production with an actor (and a remake of the famous 1985 TV film with Dustin Hoffman ).

In the new century

Having exchanged the seventh decade, the actor with a stunning gray hair, rendering sophisticated silver, somewhat thinner, but therefore becoming even more attractive and cinematic, appeared in famous directors: Spike Lee “ She Hates Me ” (2004), in films based on well-known stories: “ The attack on the 13th precinct ” in the role of Sergeant Jasper O'Shea, in the television film revelations about the Enron corporation “( Scam of the Century ”, 2004), about the sex scandals associated with Catholic priests in the USA (“ Our saints fathers "), sounded funny and highly yudzhetnye cartoons ( " Ratatouille "). And as before, he does not neglect his crown genre - the detective story - “ Crossing the Tenth and the Wolf ” as an agent of Havrarth and the screen version of the bestseller Ed McBain “ Three Blind Mice ”.

In the record of versatile and bright talent - more than 180 roles in film and television, dozens of stage images in the theater, but in the new century it is still in demand by directors, audiences, fame.

• Brian is often confused in appearance with Charles Durning , which Brian hasn’t paid attention to for a long time.
• Dennehy in his time (“Playboy” (USA), November 1993, Vol. 40, Iss. 11, pg. 118–119 + 164-166, by: David Rensin, “20 Questions”) stated that, being a marine He fought in Vietnam and was even wounded by shrapnel, but in 1999 he admitted that he did not swim closer to the South-East Asian military base of Okinawa.
• After the screening of a remake of The Death of a Traveling Salesman in 1985 with Dustin Hoffman , he asked questions about the comparison of two actors who were constantly asking him, Dennehy with humor answered:

“I can't play like Hoffman, because I'm taller than 160 cm and weightier than 56 kilograms. I am not Hoffman, and this fact is terribly upset. ” [one]

Movie Awards

• 2001 - “ Golden Globe ” in the nomination “Actor in a television series or film for television” for the role of Willie Lohman in the movie “The Death of a Traveling Salesman ”.
• 2001 - Film Actors Guild Award for the role of Willie Lohman in the movie The Death of a Traveling Salesman .
• 2001 - Producers Guild Prize for the full-length TV movie “The Death of a Salesman ”.

Nominations for TV Movie Awards

Six nominations for Emmy Awards for roles in television films:

• 1990 - “ Murder in a small town ” in the nomination “Supporting Actor”
• 1992 - “ Under the weight of evidence ” in the nomination “Supporting Actor”
• 1992 - " Catch the Killer " in the nomination "The main male role"
• 1993 - " Murder in a small town " in the nomination "Supporting Actor"
• 2001 - “ Death of a Salesman ” in the nomination “the main male role”
• 2005 - " Our Holy Fathers " in the nomination "Supporting Actor"

Theater awards

• 1999 Tony Award (Prize) in the nomination Best Best Male Actor for participation in the play The Death of a Traveling Salesman (directed by Robert Falls)
• 1999 Laurence Olivier Award: The Death of a Traveling Salesman (directed by Robert Falls)
• 2003 Tony Award for his role in Eugene O'Neill ’s play A Long Day Goes Up at Midnight (directed by Robert Falls)

For a more detailed list of acting in film and television see: IMDB

• Vetrova T. N., Doroshevich A. N., Zvegintseva I. A., et al. Encyclopedia of US Cinema Actors. - M. , Mainland, 2003. - 388 p.

• Dennehy and theater
• Unofficial site of Dennehy fans
• Movies Dennehy on TV