THOMAS HADEN CHURCH
Name: Thomas Haden Church
Birth name: Thomas McMillen
Born: 17 June 1960 El Paso, Texas
Thomas Haden Church (born June 17, 1960) is an Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated
American film and television actor.
Church, the third of six children, was born Thomas McMillen in El Paso,
Texas to an Army officer/health care worker father and a homemaker mother.
Church was raised under his stepfather's surname, "Quesada", and later changed
his surname to "Haden Church" (both names are in his family tree). He was
raised in Laredo, Texas and graduated from Harlingen High School, Harlingen,
Texas in 1979, going on to attend the University of North Texas.
Church started in the entertainment business as a radio personality. A part in
an independent film convinced him to move to California to pursue an acting
career. He also played the part of dim-witted airport mechanic Lowell Mather for
six seasons (1990-1995) on the NBC sitcom Wings. He worked in television for two
more seasons with a lead role on Ned and Stacey opposite Debra Messing. He has
had supporting roles in films such as George of the Jungle and The Specials.
Church often plays villains or comic relief in films, most evident by turns in
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight and Over the Hedge to name a few.
After having small roles in films such as Monkeybone and 3000 Miles to Graceland,
he made his directorial debut Rolling Kansas in 2003. Church later took a break
from films and relocated back to his native Texas. He has also done voiceover
work in commercials, such as for Merrill Lynch and Icehouse Beer.
In 2003, Alexander Payne, a close friend of Church who had promised him a part
in his next film, cast the actor in Sideways as Jack, the selfish best friend to
Paul Giamatti's character, looking to have one last fling before getting married.
Sideways earned acclaim for Church, for which he won an IFP Independent Spirit
Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He has since appeared in films such as Idiocracy, did voice-overs for films such
as Over the Hedge and starred in one of AMC's highest rated television
productions, Broken Trail, with Robert Duvall, in 2006, for which he won an Emmy.
In 2007, he appeared as the villain Sandman in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 starring
Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.
In 2005, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
On September 16, 2007, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in
a Miniseries or Movie for his role of Tom Harte on AMC's Broken Trail.
Name: Thomas Haden Church
Birth name: Thomas McMillen
Born: 17 June 1960 El Paso, Texas
Thomas Haden Church (born June 17, 1960) is an Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated
American film and television actor.
Church, the third of six children, was born Thomas McMillen in El Paso,
Texas to an Army officer/health care worker father and a homemaker mother.
Church was raised under his stepfather's surname, "Quesada", and later changed
his surname to "Haden Church" (both names are in his family tree). He was
raised in Laredo, Texas and graduated from Harlingen High School, Harlingen,
Texas in 1979, going on to attend the University of North Texas.
Church started in the entertainment business as a radio personality. A part in
an independent film convinced him to move to California to pursue an acting
career. He also played the part of dim-witted airport mechanic Lowell Mather for
six seasons (1990-1995) on the NBC sitcom Wings. He worked in television for two
more seasons with a lead role on Ned and Stacey opposite Debra Messing. He has
had supporting roles in films such as George of the Jungle and The Specials.
Church often plays villains or comic relief in films, most evident by turns in
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight and Over the Hedge to name a few.
After having small roles in films such as Monkeybone and 3000 Miles to Graceland,
he made his directorial debut Rolling Kansas in 2003. Church later took a break
from films and relocated back to his native Texas. He has also done voiceover
work in commercials, such as for Merrill Lynch and Icehouse Beer.
In 2003, Alexander Payne, a close friend of Church who had promised him a part
in his next film, cast the actor in Sideways as Jack, the selfish best friend to
Paul Giamatti's character, looking to have one last fling before getting married.
Sideways earned acclaim for Church, for which he won an IFP Independent Spirit
Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He has since appeared in films such as Idiocracy, did voice-overs for films such
as Over the Hedge and starred in one of AMC's highest rated television
productions, Broken Trail, with Robert Duvall, in 2006, for which he won an Emmy.
In 2007, he appeared as the villain Sandman in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 starring
Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.
In 2005, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
On September 16, 2007, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in
a Miniseries or Movie for his role of Tom Harte on AMC's Broken Trail.