TOM BERENGER
Name: Tom Berenger
Birth name: Thomas Michael Moore
Born: 31 May 1949 Chicago, Illinois, USA
Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe
winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.
Berenger was born Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago, Illinois. He studied
journalism at the University of Missouri, but decided to seek an acting career
following his graduation. He worked first in regional theatre and moved to New
York City in the 1970s. He worked in soap operas and had a starring role on One
Life to Live.
Berenger's feature film debut was the lead in Rush It (1976), an independent
film now mostly forgotten except for its cast members who went on to greater
renown. In 1977, Berenger had a small but noticeable role as a murderer in
Looking for Mr. Goodbar. In 1978, he had a starring role in In Praise of Older
Women for Avco-Embassy Pictures. In 1979, he had the role of Butch Cassidy in
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, a role he got in part because of his
resemblance to Paul Newman, who played the character in Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) These early roles highlight Berenger's
ability to play both villains and heroes.
Berenger's film career peaked in the 1980s with notable films like The Big Chill
(1983), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), and Major League (1989). In 1986, he
received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of the sociopathic Sgt.
Barnes in Platoon. In the mid-1990s he was most recognizable in his role from
the movie Sniper, and its later sequels. Other notable films from that period
include the Wolfgang Petersen thriller "Shattered" (1991), the Sharon Stone bomb
"Sliver" (1993) and the Dennis Hopper-directed romantic-comedy "Chasers" (1994).
It has been recorded that Berenger himself has said that his favorite movie he
had starred in was the 1993 hit Gettysburg, where he played the role of General
James Longstreet. He has said he has seen Gettysburg more than any other of the
movies with his starring role.
In more recent years, Berenger has continued to have an active acting career in
film and television, although often at a supporting level. His most notable
television appearance was on Cheers in its last season as Rebecca Howe's blue
collar-plumber love interest. He also began a career as a producer in the 1990s.
In a 2002 interview Berenger was quoted as saying, "Since the 1970s I've seen
myself as a poet. Sometimes I express that poetry through acting, sometimes
through cooking, and sometimes just having a good chat, you know, one of them
chats you have when you're stoned and the hour is getting late. I don't know
what's gonna come my way, but I think Berenger's gonna be big these next couple
years."
Berenger starred in the mini-series version of Stephen King's Nightmares &
Dreamscapes, as a celebrated author who realizes the warped painting he recently
purchased, is alive with illustrations of impending doom for him in "The Road
Virus Heads North".
Berenger has been married three times and has six children, consisting of one
son and five daughters. He resides in Vancouver, Canada and South Carolina.
Berenger has two children by his first wife, Barbara Wilson, to whom he was
married between 1976 and 1984: Allison (born in 1977) and Patrick (born in 1979).
He has three daughters by second wife Lisa Williams (to whom he was married
between 1986 and 1997): Chelsea (born 1986), Chloe (born 1988) and Shiloh Rory (b.1993),
and one daughter, Scout (born 1998), by current wife Patricia Alvaran to whom he's
been married since 1998.
Name: Tom Berenger
Birth name: Thomas Michael Moore
Born: 31 May 1949 Chicago, Illinois, USA
Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe
winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.
Berenger was born Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago, Illinois. He studied
journalism at the University of Missouri, but decided to seek an acting career
following his graduation. He worked first in regional theatre and moved to New
York City in the 1970s. He worked in soap operas and had a starring role on One
Life to Live.
Berenger's feature film debut was the lead in Rush It (1976), an independent
film now mostly forgotten except for its cast members who went on to greater
renown. In 1977, Berenger had a small but noticeable role as a murderer in
Looking for Mr. Goodbar. In 1978, he had a starring role in In Praise of Older
Women for Avco-Embassy Pictures. In 1979, he had the role of Butch Cassidy in
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, a role he got in part because of his
resemblance to Paul Newman, who played the character in Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) These early roles highlight Berenger's
ability to play both villains and heroes.
Berenger's film career peaked in the 1980s with notable films like The Big Chill
(1983), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), and Major League (1989). In 1986, he
received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of the sociopathic Sgt.
Barnes in Platoon. In the mid-1990s he was most recognizable in his role from
the movie Sniper, and its later sequels. Other notable films from that period
include the Wolfgang Petersen thriller "Shattered" (1991), the Sharon Stone bomb
"Sliver" (1993) and the Dennis Hopper-directed romantic-comedy "Chasers" (1994).
It has been recorded that Berenger himself has said that his favorite movie he
had starred in was the 1993 hit Gettysburg, where he played the role of General
James Longstreet. He has said he has seen Gettysburg more than any other of the
movies with his starring role.
In more recent years, Berenger has continued to have an active acting career in
film and television, although often at a supporting level. His most notable
television appearance was on Cheers in its last season as Rebecca Howe's blue
collar-plumber love interest. He also began a career as a producer in the 1990s.
In a 2002 interview Berenger was quoted as saying, "Since the 1970s I've seen
myself as a poet. Sometimes I express that poetry through acting, sometimes
through cooking, and sometimes just having a good chat, you know, one of them
chats you have when you're stoned and the hour is getting late. I don't know
what's gonna come my way, but I think Berenger's gonna be big these next couple
years."
Berenger starred in the mini-series version of Stephen King's Nightmares &
Dreamscapes, as a celebrated author who realizes the warped painting he recently
purchased, is alive with illustrations of impending doom for him in "The Road
Virus Heads North".
Berenger has been married three times and has six children, consisting of one
son and five daughters. He resides in Vancouver, Canada and South Carolina.
Berenger has two children by his first wife, Barbara Wilson, to whom he was
married between 1976 and 1984: Allison (born in 1977) and Patrick (born in 1979).
He has three daughters by second wife Lisa Williams (to whom he was married
between 1986 and 1997): Chelsea (born 1986), Chloe (born 1988) and Shiloh Rory (b.1993),
and one daughter, Scout (born 1998), by current wife Patricia Alvaran to whom he's
been married since 1998.