Anthony Edwards (actor)

For other people named Anthony Edwards (actor), see Anthony Edwards (actor) (disambiguation).

Anthony Edwards
Edwards in the Tower Terrace Suites, at the 2001 Indianapolis 500
Born	Anthony Charles Edwards
Occupation	Actor/Director
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Jeanine Lobell (1994–present)

Anthony Charles Edwards (born July 19, 1962) is an American actor and director. He has appeared in various movies and television shows, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Top Gun, Zodiac, Revenge of the Nerds, Northern Exposure and ER.

Early life

Edwards was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Erika Planck (née Weber), an artist/landscape painter, and Peter Edwards, an architect. He has two older sisters, Heidi and Ann-Marie, and two older brothers, Peter and Jeffrey. Edwards was encouraged by his parents to attend college before pursuing his interest in acting. He received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in England and studied theatre at University of Southern California but by age 19 was offered enough acting work that he left college.

Career

Edwards' early work includes a co-starring role in the TV series It Takes Two with Richard Crenna and Patty Duke Astin as his parents and Helen Hunt as his sister. His first starring role was in the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds as Gilbert Lowe, though he had a tiny part in the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, credited as "stoner Bud". It was his role as LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 film Top Gun that brought his first widespread public acknowledgement. His character, who died in an aviation accident, was among the most prominent and popular in the film. He also appeared as a terminally ill patient in Hawks (1988) alongside Timothy Dalton, another role which brought him worldwide fame. He also starred in the 1990 movie Downtown with Penelope Ann Miller and Forest Whitaker. In 1992 and 1993 he played Mike Monroe in ten episodes of Northern Exposure.

His best known role to date is as Dr. Mark Greene on the long-running TV series ER, where he resided from its premiere in 1994 to the end of the 8th season in 2002. The series also afforded Edwards his first opportunity to direct. Edwards' desire to pursue directing led to his request to be written out of the series and in a touching and emotional storyline, his character died of brain cancer. He reportedly earned $35,000,000 for three seasons on ER. His ER paycheck made him one of the highest paid television actors to date. Anthony Edwards and his former co-star George Clooney were the ones who suggested doing an episode of ER live. The fourth season premiere, "Ambush" was performed live twice with an East Coast and West Coast version.

Although he never won a Primetime Emmy Award, Edwards was nominated four times for an Emmy For Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Despite not winning a Primetime Emmy, Edwards has his share of awards under his belt. He won a Golden Globe Award For Best Performance by an Actor-In a TV Series after being nominated four times, and he has two Screen Actor's Guild Awards, plus others.

In 2007, Edwards appeared as SFPD inspector Bill Armstrong in David Fincher's Zodiac, about the Zodiac Killer, the notorious serial killer who terrorized San Francisco in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 2008, Edwards returned to ER to reprise his role as Dr. Greene (in flashback scenes, where he treats the dying son of character Catherine Banfield) for one episode during its 15th and final season.

In 2010, Edwards' movie Motherhood, set a record for the biggest bomb in British cinema history garnering just £88 on 11 tickets on opening weekend. In the United States Motherhood did not fare much better earning just $93,388 in three weeks of release.

Personal life

Edwards has been married to Jeanine Lobell since 1994 and they have one son, Bailey, and three daughters, Esme, Wallis and Poppy. He left ER so he could spend more time with his family. He lives in New York City.

He also serves as chairman for Shoe4Africa, a non-profit organization that donates shoes to Kenyan athletes and aims to build the largest public children's hospital in Africa. Edwards plans to run in the ING New York City Marathon on November 1, 2009 to raise funds for Shoe4Africa.

Honors and tributes

• Edwards received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series;
• He earned a People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series (1995);
• He won three Screen Actors Guild Awards for: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1996), and Best Ensemble Cast (1998 and 1999);
• He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Drama (1998);
• Edwards also won a Daytime Emmy for the production of the underground rock documentary "N.Y.H.C." (1999) and the telepic adaptation of the coming of age novel "My Louisiana Sky" (2001);
• He also earned the Carnegie Medal Award for: My Louisianna Sky (2003).

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1973	Big Zapper	Kono's Boy
1982	Fast Times at Ridgemont High	Stoner Bud
1983	Heart Like a Wheel	John Muldowney (age 15-23)
1984	Revenge of the Nerds	Gilbert Lowe
1985	Gotcha!	Jonathan
	The Sure Thing	Lance
1986	Top Gun	Lt. (j.g.) Nick "Goose" Bradshaw
1987	Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise	Gilbert Lowe
	Summer Heat	Aaron
1988	Hawks	Deckermensky, 'Decker'
	Miracle Mile	Harry Washello
	Mr. North	Theophilus North
1989	How I Got Into College	Kip Hammett
1990	Downtown	Alex Kearney
1992	Pet Sematary Two	Chase Matthews
	Delta Heat	Mike Bishop
	Landslide	Bob Boyd
1993	Sexual Healing	David	Nominated - CableACE Award for Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
1994	The Client	Clint Von Hooser
	Charlie's Ghost Story	Dave
1998	Good Night, Gorilla	Zookeeper	Voice
	Playing by Heart	Roger
1999	Don't Go Breaking My Heart	Tony Dorfman
2000	The Island of the Skog	Narrator	Voice
2001	Jackpot	Tracy
2003	Northfork	Happy
2004	Thunderbirds	Brains
	The Forgotten	Jim Paretta
2007	Zodiac	Inspector William Armstrong
2009	Motherhood
2010	Flipped

Television

Year	Show	Role	Notes
1981	The Killing of Randy Webster	Tommy Lee Swanson
	Walking Tall	Robbie	1 episode
1982	Police Squad!	Dental Patient	1 episode - uncredited
1982–1983	It Takes Two	Andy Quinn	22 episodes
1983	High School U.S.A.	Beau Middleton
	For Love and Honor	Michelson	1 episode
1984	Call to Glory	Billy
1985	Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story	Bill Johnson
1990	El Diablo	Billy Ray Smith
	Hometown Boy Makes Good	Boyd Geary
1991	The General Motors Playwrights Theater	Josh	1 episode
1992–1993	Northern Exposure	Mike Monroe	10 episodes
1996	In Cold Blood	Dick Hickock
2001	Cursed	Ricky	1 episode
	Frasier	Tom	1 episode
1994–2002, 2008	ER	Dr. Mark Greene	181 episodes Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama Series (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998) Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1996, 1997, 1999) Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1998) Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1997) Nominated - SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1997, 1999, 2001) SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1996, 1998) Nominated - SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1995, 2000, 2001) SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) Nominated - TV Guide Award for Actor of the Year in a Drama Series (2001) TV Land Award - Icon Award (2009)

Producer

Year	Production	Role	Notes
1999	Don't Go Breaking My Heart	Executive producer
	Border Line	Executive producer	TV
	N.Y.H.C.	Executive producer
2001	My Louisiana Sky	Executive producer	TV Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video (2002) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special (2002)
2003	Die, Mommie, Die!	Producer
2010	Temple Grandin Thinking in Pictures	Executive producer	TV