Frank Whaley
Frank Whaley | |
---|---|
Born | Frank Joseph Whaley July 20, 1963 |
Occupation(s) | Actor, film director, screenwriter, comedian |
Years active | 1987–present |
Spouse |
Heather Bucha (m. 2001) |
Frank Joseph Whaley (born July 20, 1963) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Brett in Pulp Fiction, Robbie Krieger in The Doors, and young Archie "Moonlight" Graham in Field of Dreams.
Early life
Whaley was born and raised in Syracuse, New York,[1] the son of Josephine (née Timilione) and Robert W. Whaley, Sr.[2][3] He is half Irish and half Sicilian.[citation needed] Whaley graduated from Anthony A. Henninger High School in 1981 and left home at 18, and later graduated from the University at Albany. His abusive father died in the 1990s of health problems related to alcoholism.
Career
Whaley made his film debut in 1987's Ironweed, and 1989 appeared in Field of Dreams, alongside Burt Lancaster and Kevin Costner, and Born on the Fourth of July, alongside Tom Cruise. The latter film began a long collaboration with director Oliver Stone, including 1991's The Doors, in which he played Robby Krieger, and, in the same year, JFK, in which he played a conspirator in the JFK assassination. In 1991, Whaley also starred in the John Hughes production Career Opportunities alongside Jennifer Connelly.
Over the next two years, he played supporting roles in movies such as Hoffa and Swing Kids. He appeared in his second leading film role in 1994's Swimming with Sharks, in which he starred opposite Kevin Spacey. During the same year, he played a supporting role as the doomed Brett, who was memorably killed by Samuel L. Jackson's and John Travolta's characters in Pulp Fiction.
In 1998, he started a regular role on the short-lived CBS series Buddy Faro. He has also appeared in episodes of The Dead Zone, Law & Order, and its spinoff Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He made his writing-directorial debut in his own independent film, Joe the King, in 1999, featuring his Doors costar Val Kilmer and longtime friend and colleague Ethan Hawke in starring roles. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and earned Whaley the prestigious Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. His second film as writer and director, The Jimmy Show, starred Whaley and Carla Gugino. This film also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Whaley's third film as writer and director, New York City Serenade, starring Chris Klein and Freddie Prinze, Jr., premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. He starred as the villain in Screen Gems' 2007 horror film Vacancy alongside Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale.
In 2014 he wrote and directed the film Like Sunday, Like Rain, starring Debra Messing, Leighton Meester and Billie Joe Armstrong.[4] The film won six awards at the 2014 Williamsburg Independent Film Festival including Best Film, Best Director and acting nods for Billie Joe Armstrong, Leighton Meester, Debra Messing and Julian Shatkin. It opened in March 2015 and The New York Times called it a "sentimental intersection of two lives ' and the Los Angeles Times called it "quite a wonderful journey"[5]
In 2014, Whaley appeared as Van Miller in Season One of the Showtime series Ray Donovan, alongside Jon Voight and Liev Schreiber.
In 2016, Whaley had a role in Paramount Animation's first mostly live-action film, Monster Trucks, and in 2017, he appeared in the teen film The Outskirts, opposite Victoria Justice.
Whaley's other film credits include World Trade Center, Red Dragon, Rob The Mob, School Of Rock, The Freshman, Broken Arrow, Little Monsters, A Midnight Clear, Janie Jones, IQ among numerous others.
Whaley's television credits include Gotham, The Blacklist, CSI, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Psych, Burn Notice, Ugly Betty, Mrs. Harris, When Trumpets Fade, Boston Legal, Medium, Blue Bloods, Bull, MacGyver, Divorce, Elementary, Under the Dome, the TV mini-series Madoff, Alcatraz and many others.
Whaley has maintained his roots in the theater, working frequently with The New Group in NYC. In 2011, he appeared in the New Group's revival of Wallace Shawn's Marie And Bruce opposite Marisa Tomei.
Personal life
In 2001, he married Heather Bucha, an actress and writer, author of Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing, with whom he has two children. They collaborated on the NBC pilot Lloyd of the House, and continue to write together.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Ironweed | Young Francis Phelan | |
1989 | Field of Dreams | Archie Graham | |
1989 | Little Monsters | Boy | |
1989 | Born on the Fourth of July | Timmy | |
1990 | The Freshman | Steve Bushak | |
1990 | Cold Dog Soup | Michael Latchmer | |
1991 | The Doors | Robby Krieger | |
1991 | Career Opportunities | Jim Dodge | |
1991 | JFK | Oswald imposter | Credited in Director's Cut |
1992 | Back in the U.S.S.R. | Archer Sloan | |
1992 | A Midnight Clear | Paul Mundy | |
1992 | Hoffa | Young Kid | |
1993 | Swing Kids | Arvid | |
1994 | Pulp Fiction | Brett | |
1994 | Swimming with Sharks | Guy | |
1994 | The Desperate Trail | Walter Cooper | Direct-to-Video |
1994 | I.Q. | Frank | |
1995 | Homage | Karchie | |
1995 | Cafe Society | Mickey Jelke | |
1996 | Broken Arrow | Giles Prentice | |
1996 | The Winner | Joey | |
1997 | Retroactive | Brian | |
1997 | Glam | Franky Syde | |
1997 | Bombshell | Malcolm Garvey | |
1998 | Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five | Skee-Ball Weasel | |
1998 | It All Came True | Brett Conway | |
1999 | Joe the King | Angry Man Bob Owes | Uncredited |
2000 | Two Family House | Narrator | Uncredited |
2001 | Pursuit of Happiness | Alan | |
2001 | The Jimmy Show | Jimmy O'Brien | |
2001 | Chelsea Walls | Lynny Barnum | |
2002 | Red Dragon | Ralph Mandy | Uncredited |
2003 | A Good Night to Die | Chad | |
2003 | School of Rock | Battle of Bands Director | Uncredited |
2006 | World Trade Center | Chuck Sereika | |
2006 | The Hottest State | Harris | |
2006 | Crazy Eights | Brent Sykes | |
2006 | The System Within | Prison Guard | |
2007 | Cherry Crush | Wade Chandling | |
2007 | Vacancy | Mason | |
2007 | New York City Serenade | Les | |
2008 | Drillbit Taylor | Interviewed Bodyguards | |
2009 | The Cell 2 | Duncan | Direct-to-Video |
2010 | As Good as Dead | Aaron | |
2010 | Janie Jones | Chuck | |
2013 | Aftermath | Eric | |
2014 | Rob the Mob | Agent Frank Hurd | |
2016 | Cold Moon | Sheriff Ted Hale | |
2016 | Monster Trucks | Wade Coley | |
2017 | The Outcasts | Herb | |
2017 | Against the Night | Detective Ramsey | |
2018 | Warning Shot | David |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Spenser: For Hire | Tommy | Episode: "The Road Back" |
1987 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Scott McNichol | Episode: "Soldier Boys" |
1987 | ABC Afterschool Special | Jeff Dillon | Episode: "Seasonal Differences" |
1988 | The Equalizer | Press | Episode: "The Child Broker" |
1988 | Life on the Flipside | Sonny Day | TV Pilot |
1989 | Unconquered | Arnie Woods | TV Movie |
1989 | Flying Blind | Joey | TV Movie |
1993 | Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald | Lee Harvey Oswald | TV Movie |
1993 | To Dance with the White Dog | James | TV Movie |
1995 | The Outer Limits | Henry Marshall | Episode: "The Conversion" |
1997 | Dead Man's Gun | Cole Ballard | Episode: "My Brother's Keeper |
1997 | Oddville, MTV | 1 episode | |
1998 | The Wall | Bishop | TV Movie |
1998 | When Trumpets Fade | Medic Chamberlain | TV Movie |
1998-2000 | Buddy Faro | Bob Jones | Main cast |
1999 | Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story | Allen Kogan | TV Movie |
2000 | The Outer Limits | Zig Fowler / Cliff Unger | Episode: "Zig Zag" |
2001 | Strange Frequency | Episode: "Time Is on My Side" | |
2001 | Bad News Mr. Swanson | TV Pilot | |
2002 | Law & Order | John McDowell | Episode: "Access Nation" |
2002 | The Twilight Zone | Martin Donnor | Episode: "Future Trade" |
2002 | Sun Gods | TV Pilot | |
2003-2004 | The Dead Zone' | Christopher Wey / Future Guy | Recurring |
2004 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Mitch Godel | Episode: "Eosphoros" |
2004 | NCIS | Jeffrey White | Episode: "Chained" |
2005 | Detective | Brewmaster | TV Movie |
2005 | Mrs. Harris | George Bolen | TV Movie |
2005 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Peter Hagen | Episode: "Lewis Needs a Kidney" |
2006 | Where There's a Will | Richie Greene | TV Movie |
2006 | Psych | Robert Dunn | Episode: "Who Ya Gonna Call?" |
2007 | Boston Legal | Frankie Cox | Episode: "Brotherly Love" |
2007 | Ruffian | Bill Nack | TV Movie |
2007 | House | Robert Elliot | Episode: "Mirror Mirror" |
2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Navy Commander Grant Marcus | Episode: "PTSD" |
2009 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Miles | Episode: "Disarmed and Dangerous" |
2010 | Ugly Betty | Mr. Sparks | Episode: "Blackout!" |
2010 | Burn Notice | Josh Wagner | Episode: "Breach of Faith" |
2010 | Medium | Gabe Helling | Episode: "Means and Ends" |
2012 | Alcatraz | Officer Donovan | Episode: "The Ames Brothers" |
2012 | NYC 22 | Larry Giles | Episode: "Firebomb" |
2012-2013 | Blue Bloods | Gary Heller | 2 episodes |
2013 | Ray Donovan | Van Miller | Recurring |
2014 | The Blacklist | Karl Hoffman | Episode: "The Good Samaritan" |
2014 | Gotham | Doug | Episode: "Selina Kyle" |
2015 | Under the Dome | Dr. Marston | 3 episodes |
2016 | Unforgettable | Jim Garrett | Episode: "We Can Be Heroes" |
2016 | Madoff | Harry Markopolos | Main cast |
2016 | Chicago Med | Chuck Gleason | Episode: "Withdrawal" |
2016-2018 | Marvel's Luke Cage | Detective Rafael Scarfe | Recurring (season 1) Guest (season 2) |
2016 | Elementary | Winston Utz | Episode: "To Catch a Predator Predator" |
2016 | Divorce | Carson Hodges | Episode: "Gustav" |
2016 | Empire | Edison Cruz | Episode: "A Furnace for Your Foe" |
2017 | MacGyver | Douglas Bishop | Episode: "Fish Scaler" |
2017 | Bull | Max Hyland | Episode: "Free Fall" |
2018 | Gone | Ted | Episode: "Secuestrado" |
2018 | Sneaky Pete | Duane Harding | Episode: "Inside Out" |
2018 | Deception | Charles Quaid | Episode: "The Unseen Hand" |
References
- ^ Frank Whaley biography, DVD extras, "Career Opportunities" DVD.
- ^ "Frank Whaley Biography (1963-)". Filmreference.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Durbin, Karen (1999-10-17). "FILM; Picturing a Lost Boy, Drawing on Memory". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
- ^ Yamato, Jen (September 19, 2013). "Leighton Meester, Billie Joe Armstrong, Debra Messing To Star In Frank Whaley's 'Like Sunday, Like Rain'". Deadline Hollywood. PMC. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
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External links
- Frank Whaley at IMDb
- Frank Whaley at the TCM Movie Database
- Frank Whaley at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- 1963 births
- American male film actors
- American film directors
- American male television actors
- American people of Irish descent
- American people of Sicilian descent
- Living people
- Male actors from Syracuse, New York
- University at Albany, SUNY alumni
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- Male actors of Italian descent
- American people of Italian descent