William H. Macy
William H. Macy | |
|---|---|
 Macy in November 2012 | |
| Born | William Hall Macy Jr. March 13, 1950 |
| Education | Allegany High School |
| Alma mater | Goddard College |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Director |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor and director. His film career has been built on appearances in small, independent films, though he has also appeared in summer action films.[4] Macy has described himself as "sort of a Middle American, WASPy, Lutheran kind of guy... Everyman".[5]
Macy has won two Emmy Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Fargo. Since 2011, he has played Frank Gallagher, a main character in the Showtime adaptation of the British television series Shameless.
Macy married actress Felicity Huffman in 1997.
Early life
Macy was born in Miami, Florida, and grew up in Georgia and Maryland.[6] His father, William Hall Macy, Sr. (1922–2007), was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal for flying a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in World War II; he later ran a construction company in Atlanta, Georgia, and worked for Dun & Bradstreet before taking over a Cumberland, Maryland-based insurance agency when Macy was nine years old. His mother, Lois (née Overstreet; 1920–2001), was a war widow who met Macy's father after her first husband died in 1943; Macy has described her as a "Southern belle".[7][8][9]
Macy graduated from Allegany High School in Cumberland, Maryland in 1968, and went on to Bethany College in West Virginia where he studied veterinary medicine.[4] A 'wretched student' by his own admission, he transferred to Goddard College in rural Vermont, where he studied under playwright David Mamet. He studied theatre at HB Studio[10] in New York City.
Career
After he graduated from Goddard in 1972, Macy originated roles in a number of plays by collaborator David Mamet, such as American Buffalo[11] and The Water Engine.[12] While in Chicago in his twenties, he did a TV commercial. He was required to join AFTRA in order to do the commercial, and received his SAG card within a year, which for an elated Macy represented an important moment in his career.[13]
Macy spent time in Los Angeles before moving to New York City in 1980, where he had roles in over 50 Off Broadway and Broadway plays. One of his earliest on-screen roles was as a theatre critic congratulating Christopher Reeve in 1980's Somewhere In Time, under the name W.H. Macy (so as not to be confused with the actor Bill Macy). Another memorable early performance was as a turtle named Socrates in the direct-to-video film The Boy Who Loved Trolls (1984). He also had a minor role as a hospital orderly on the sitcom Kate & Allie in the fourth-season episode "General Hospital", and played an assistant district attorney in "Everybody's Favorite Bagman", the first produced episode of Law & Order; in both appearances, he was billed as W. H. Macy. He has appeared in numerous films that Mamet wrote and/or directed, such as House of Games, Things Change, Homicide, Oleanna (reprising the role he originated in the play of the same name), Wag the Dog, State and Main and Spartan.
Macy's leading role in Fargo helped boost his career and recognizability, though at the expense of nearly confining him to a narrow typecast of a worried man down on his luck.[14] Other Macy roles of the 1990s and 2000s included Benny & Joon, Above Suspicion, Mr. Holland's Opus, Ghosts of Mississippi, Air Force One, Boogie Nights, A Civil Action, Pleasantville, Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho, Happy, Texas, Mystery Men, Magnolia, Jurassic Park III, Focus, Panic, Welcome to Collinwood, Seabiscuit, The Cooler and Sahara.
His work on ER and Sports Night has also been recognized with Emmy nominations.
In a November 2003 interview with USA Today, Macy stated that he wanted to star in a big-budget action movie "for the money, for the security of a franchise like that. And I love big action-adventure movies. They're way cool."[15] He serves as director-in-residence at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York, where he teaches a technique called Practical Aesthetics. A book describing the technique, A Practical Handbook for the Actor (ISBN 0-394-74412-8), is dedicated to Macy and Mamet.
In 2007, Macy starred in Wild Hogs, a film about middle-aged men reliving their youthful days by taking to the open road on their Harley-Davidson motorcycles from Cincinnati to the Pacific Coast. Despite being critically panned, with a 14% "rotten" rating from Rotten Tomatoes, it was a financial success, grossing over $168 million.[16] The film also reunited him with his A Civil Action costar, John Travolta. In 2009, Macy completed filming on The Maiden Heist, a comedy that co-starred Morgan Freeman and Christopher Walken.
On June 23, 2008, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman, would each receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the upcoming year. On January 13, 2009, Macy replaced Jeremy Piven in David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow on Broadway. Piven suddenly and unexpectedly dropped out of the play in December 2008 after he experienced health problems; Norbert Leo Butz covered the role from December 23, 2008, until Macy took over the part.[17] Dirty Girl, which starred Macy along with Juno Temple, Milla Jovovich, Mary Steenburgen and Tim McGraw, premiered September 12, 2010 at the Toronto International Film Festival.
In summer 2010, Macy joined the Showtime pilot Shameless as the protagonist, Frank Gallagher. The project ultimately went to series, and its first season premiered on January 9, 2011. Macy has received high critical acclaim for his performance,[18] eventually getting an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2014.
In the 2012 film The Sessions, Macy played a priest who helps a man with a severe disability find personal fulfillment through a sex surrogate.[19] He made his directorial debut with the independent drama Rudderless, which stars Billy Crudup, Felicity Huffman, Selena Gomez and Laurence Fishburne. In 2017, he directed The Layover, a road trip comedy starring Alexandra Daddario and Kate Upton.
In 2015, he had a small role as Grandpa in the drama film Room, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The film reunited him with his Pleasantville costar, Joan Allen.
Personal life
Macy and actress Felicity Huffman dated on-and-off for 15 years[20] and married on September 6, 1997. They have two daughters, Sophia Grace (born December 1, 2000) and Georgia Grace (born March 14, 2002).[citation needed]
Macy and Huffman appeared at a rally for John Kerry in 2004.[21][22] Macy plays the ukulele and is an avid woodturner. He has appeared on the cover of Fine Woodworking's special edition, Wood Turning Basics[23] and was featured in an article in the April 2015 issue of American Woodturner (American Association of Woodturners). He is a national ambassador for the United Cerebral Palsy Association.[24]
Since shooting the film Wild Hogs, Macy has had a strong interest in riding motorcycles.[19]
In March 2019, it was reported that Macy and Huffman had agreed to have Huffman pay $15,000 to have someone take an entrance exam, greatly improving the scores taken on the test in order to have a better chance of her daughter getting into college. Huffman was indicted on fraud and conspiracy charges as part of a wider federal investigation of college admissions bribery. For undisclosed reasons,[25] no charges were filed against Macy.[26] On September 13, 2019, a federal judge in Boston sentenced Huffman to 14 days in a federal prison.[27]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Foolin' Around | Bronski | |
| Somewhere in Time | Critic | ||
| 1983 | Without a Trace | Reporter | |
| 1985 | The Last Dragon | J. J. | |
| 1987 | Radio Days | Radio Actor | |
| House of Games | Sgt. Moran | ||
| 1988 | Things Change | Billy Drake | |
| 1991 | Homicide | Tim Sullivan | |
| 1993 | Being Human | Boris | |
| Benny & Joon | Randy Burch | ||
| Searching for Bobby Fischer | Petey's Father | ||
| 1994 | The Client | Dr. Greenway | |
| 1995 | Murder in the First | D.A. William McNeil | |
| Oleanna | John | ||
| Dead on Sight | Steven Meeker | ||
| Tall Tale | Railroad Magnate | Uncredited Cameo[28] | |
| Mr. Holland's Opus | Vice Principal Gene Wolters | ||
| Evolver | Evolver | Voice | |
| 1996 | Fargo | Jerry Lundegaard | |
| Andersonville | Col. Chandler | ||
| Down Periscope | Commander Carl Knox | ||
| Ghosts of Mississippi | Charlie Crisco | ||
| Hit Me | Policeman | ||
| 1997 | Colin Fitz Lives! | Mr. O'Day / Colin Fitz | |
| Air Force One | Major Caldwell | ||
| Boogie Nights | Little Bill Thompson | ||
| Wag the Dog | CIA Agent Charles Young | ||
| 1998 | Pleasantville | George Parker | |
| Psycho | Milton Arbogast | ||
| The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue | Justin | Voice | |
| A Civil Action | James Gordon | ||
| The Con | Bobby Sommerdinger | ||
| 1999 | Happy, Texas | Sheriff Chappy Dent | |
| Mystery Men | The Shoveler | ||
| A Slight Case of Murder | Terry Thorpe | ||
| The Night of the Headless Horseman | Ichabod Crane | Voice | |
| Magnolia | Quiz Kid Donnie Smith | ||
| 2000 | State and Main | Walt Price | |
| Panic | Alex | ||
| 2001 | Jurassic Park III | Paul Kirby | |
| Focus | Lawrence "Larry" Newman | ||
| 2002 | It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie | Glenn | |
| Welcome to Collinwood | Riley | ||
| 2003 | The Cooler | Bernie Lootz | |
| Easy Riders, Raging Bulls | Narrator | Voice | |
| Stealing Sinatra | John Irwin | ||
| Seabiscuit | Tick Tock McGlaughlin | ||
| 2004 | Cellular | Sgt. Bob Mooney | |
| In Enemy Hands | Chief of Boat Nathan Travers | ||
| Spartan | Stoddard | ||
| 2005 | Sahara | Admiral James Sandecker | |
| Edmond | Edmond Burke | ||
| Thank You for Smoking | Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre | ||
| 2006 | Doogal | Brian the Snail | Voice |
| Bobby | Paul | ||
| Everyone's Hero | Lefty Maginnis | Voice role | |
| Choose Your Own Adventure DVD Series | Rudyard North | ||
| Inland Empire | Announcer | ||
| 2007 | Wild Hogs | Dudley Frank | |
| He Was a Quiet Man | Gene Shelby | ||
| 2008 | The Deal | Charlie Berns | |
| Bart Got a Room | Ernie Stein | ||
| The Tale of Despereaux | Lester | Voice | |
| 2009 | The Maiden Heist | George McLendon | |
| Shorts | Dr. Noseworthy | ||
| 2010 | Marmaduke | Don Twombly | |
| Dirty Girl | Ray | ||
| 2011 | The Lincoln Lawyer | Frank Levin | |
| 2012 | The Sessions | Father Brendan | |
| 2013 | A Single Shot | Pitt | |
| Trust Me | Gary | ||
| 2014 | The Wind Rises | Satomi | Voice, (English version) |
| Ernest & Celestine | Head Dentist | Voice | |
| Rudderless | Tavern Owner / Emcee | Director | |
| Cake | Leonard | ||
| Two-Bit Waltz | Carl | ||
| 2015 | Walter | Dr. Corman | |
| Stealing Cars | Philip Wyatt | ||
| Room | Robert "Grandpa" Newsome | ||
| Dial a Prayer | Bill | ||
| 2016 | Blood Father | Kirby | |
| 2017 | The Layover | Director | |
| Krystal | Wyatt | Director |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Awakening Land | Will Beagle | 3 episodes |
| 1984 | The Boy Who Loved Trolls | Socrates the Turtle (voice) | Television film |
| 1985–1988 | Spenser: For Hire | Efrem Connors | 3 episodes |
| 1986 | Kate & Allie | Carl | Episode: "General Hospital" |
| 1987 | The Equalizer | Dr. Spaulding | Episode: "Hand and Glove" |
| 1988 | The Murder of Mary Phagan | Randy | Television film |
| 1988 | Lip Service | Television film; director only | |
| 1990 | Law & Order | John McCormack | Episode: "Everybody's Favorite Bagman" |
| 1992 | Law & Order | Powell | Episode: "Sisters of Mercy" |
| The Heart of Justice | Booth | Television film | |
| The Water Engine | Charles Lang | Television film | |
| 1993 | Bakersfield P.D. | Russell Karp | Episode: "Cable Does Not Pay" |
| L.A. Law | Bernard Ruskin | Episode: "Rhyme and Punishment" | |
| 1994–2009 | ER | Dr. David Morgenstern | 31 episodes |
| 1998 | Superman: The Animated Series | The Director | Episode: "Where There's Smoke" |
| The Con | Bobby Sommerdinger | Television film | |
| The Lionhearts | Leo Lionheart | 13 episodes | |
| King of the Hill | Dr. Rubin (voice) | Episode: "Pregnant Paws" | |
| 1999 | Batman Beyond | Aaron Herbst (voice) | Episode: "Disappearing Inque" |
| 1999–2000 | Sports Night | Sam Donovan | 6 episodes |
| 2000 | Batman Beyond | Karros (voice) | Episode: "Big Time" |
| 2001 | Nature | Narrator | Episode: "Polar Bear Invasion" |
| 2002 | Door to Door | Bill Porter | Television film |
| 2003 | Out of Order | Steven | 6 episodes |
| 2004 | Reversible Errors | Arthur Raven | Television film |
| 2005 | The Wool Cap | Charlie Gigot | Television film |
| 2006 | The Simpsons | Himself (voice) | Episode: "Homer's Paternity Coot" |
| Nightmares and Dreamscapes | Sam Landry / Clyde Umney | Television film | |
| 2006–07 | Curious George | Narrator | 30 episodes |
| 2007 | The Unit | President of the United States | Episode: "The Broom Closet" |
| 2011–present | Shameless | Frank Gallagher | Main role, 10 seasons |
Awards and nominations
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (March 2019) |
See also
References
- ^ "William H. Macy – Biography". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
- ^ "William H. Macy – Biography". Biography.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
- ^ Macy, William H. (February 17, 2006). "My Little Piece of Vermont". The New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
- ^ a b Robert, Abele (July 2001). "Interview with William H. Macy". Maxim: 84.
- ^ Grady, Pam. "Making a Spectacle of Himself: William H. Macy reveals how donning a pair of glasses changes everything in his new drama, Focus". Reel.com.
- ^ Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2004
- ^ "William H. Macy Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "William H. Macy Biography (1950–)". FilmReference.com.
- ^ "MACY'S ROOTS RUN DEEP INTO PASCAGOULA". Sun Herald. 2004-04-11. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ HB Studio Alumni
- ^ Dettmer, Roger (October 25, 1975). "'Buffalo' only fragments of the intended". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. 1:14. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harris, Andrew B. (1994). Broadway Theatre. Routledge. p. 98. ISBN 0-415-10520-X. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
By 1975, David Mamet and the St Nicholas Theater had settled in Chicago.
- ^ Moynihan, Rob (January 19, 2015). "How I Got My SAG-AFTRA Card", TV Guide. p. 8
- ^ McIntyre, Gina (January 8, 2004). "William H. Macy, actor". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "William H. Macy wants to be action hero". USA Today. November 23, 2003. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ Wild Hogs, Rotten Tomatoes, Retrieved 07/28/10
- ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (December 18, 2008). "Jeremy Piven Abruptly Abandons Broadway Play". People. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporation.
- ^ Stransky, Tanner (December 10, 2010). "William H. Macy takes it off". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1132. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporation. p. 22.
- ^ a b Cooper, Chet (2013). "William H. Macy Interview". Ability. Santa Ana, California: Time Warner. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
- ^ "Huffman's a hard-working 'lazy' actor". TribLive. February 23, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
- ^ "All Star Concert Benefit for Presidential Candidate John Kerry". DailyCeleb.com. July 6, 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15.
- ^ "William H Macy's Federal Campaign Contribution Report". Newsmeat. Archived from the original on 2006-07-16.
- ^ "Wood Turning Basics". FineWoodworking. 2007-04-23. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
- ^ "UCP Announces William H. Macy as UCP Ambassador". National Ambassadors (Press release). United Cerebral Palsy. January 14, 2003. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
- ^ Winton, Richard (March 13, 2019). "Why wasn't William H. Macy charged in college admissions scandal that targeted wife Felicity Huffman?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ Durkin Richer, Alanna; Binkley, Collin (March 12, 2019). "Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman Among Those Charged in Sweeping College Admissions Bribery Scandal". Time. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Jancelewicz, Chris (September 16, 2019). "Felicity Huffman sentenced to 14 days in jail for her role in college bribery scandal". Global News. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ "William H. Macy". TV.com. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
- ^ Reuters (January 8, 2018). "Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy". CBS News. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Liao, Shannon (January 8, 2018). "Netflix's Master of None wins Aziz Ansari the 2018 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Comedy". The Verge. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ Huff, Lauren (January 8, 2018). "Golden Globes: Aziz Ansari Wins Best Actor in a TV Comedy for 'Master of None'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (January 8, 2018). "Aziz Ansari Wins Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical". Indie Wire. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
External links
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