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IMDbPro

Tommy Lee Jones(I)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000275
Tommy Lee Jones
Take a closer look at the various roles Tommy Lee Jones has played throughout his acting career.
Play clip1:39
Tommy Lee Jones | Career Retrospective
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
Tommy Lee Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, the son of Lucille Marie (Scott), a police officer and beauty shop owner, and Clyde C. Jones, who worked on oil fields. Tommy himself worked in underwater construction and on an oil rig. He attended St. Mark's School of Texas, a prestigious prep school for boys in Dallas, on a scholarship, and went to Harvard on another scholarship. He roomed with future Vice President Al Gore and played offensive guard in the famous 29-29 Harvard-Yale football game of '68 known as "The Tie." He received a B.A. in English literature and graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1969.

Following college, he moved to New York and began his theatrical career on Broadway in "A Patriot for Me" (1969). In 1970, he made his film debut in Love Story (1970). While living in New York, he continued to appear in various plays, both on- and off-Broadway: "Fortune and Men's Eyes" (1969); "Four on a Garden" (1971); "Blue Boys" (1972); "Ulysses in Nighttown" (1974). During this time, he also appeared on a daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968) as Dr. Mark Toland from 1971-75. He moved with wife Kate Lardner, granddaughter of short-story writer/columnist Ring Lardner, and her two children from a previous marriage, to Los Angeles.

There he began to get some roles on television: Charlie's Angels (1976) (pilot episode); Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976); and The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977). While working on the movie Back Roads (1981), he met and fell in love with Kimberlea Cloughley, whom he later married. More roles in television--both on network and cable--stage and film garnered him a reputation as a strong, explosive, thoughtful actor who could handle supporting as well as leading roles. He made his directorial debut in The Good Old Boys (1995) on TNT. In addition to directing and starring in the film, he co-wrote the teleplay (with J.T. Allen). The film, based on Elmer Kelton's novel, is set in west Texas where Jones has strong family ties. Consequently, this story of a cowboy facing the end of an era has special meaning for him.
BornSeptember 15, 1946
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornSeptember 15, 1946
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000275
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 1 Oscar

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

See photos of celebrities like Jenna Ortega and Noah Centineo before they hit the big-time, and revisit some of their earliest onscreen roles.
See the full gallery
[object Object]
Photos

Photos666

Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field in Back Roads (1981)
Tommy Lee Jones in Back Roads (1981)
Tommy Lee Jones in Back Roads (1981)
Tommy Lee Jones, Brian Frishman, and David Pellette in Back Roads (1981)
Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Lange in Blue Sky (1994)
Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited (2011)
Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited (2011)
Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited (2011)
Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited (2011)
Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited (2011)
Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited (2011)
Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited (2011)

Known for

Harrison Ford in The Fugitive (1993)
The Fugitive
7.8
  • Samuel Gerard
  • 1993
Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men (2007)
No Country for Old Men
8.2
  • Ed Tom Bell
  • 2007
Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank in The Homesman (2014)
The Homesman
6.6
  • George Briggs
  • 2014
Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (2012)
Lincoln
7.3
  • Thaddeus Stevens
  • 2012

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • The Burial
    • Post-production
  • Finestkind
    • Post-production
  • Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jermaine Washington in The Comeback Trail (2020)
    The Comeback Trail
  • Tommy Lee Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Heather Graham in Wander (2020)
    Wander
  • Brad Pitt in Ad Astra (2019)
    Ad Astra
  • Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, and Rene Russo in Just Getting Started (2017)
    Just Getting Started
  • Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Rob Reiner, and James Marsden in Shock and Awe (2017)
    Shock and Awe
  • Jason Statham in Mechanic: Resurrection (2016)
    Mechanic: Resurrection
  • Matt Damon and Alicia Vikander in Jason Bourne (2016)
    Jason Bourne
  • Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman, and Gal Gadot in Criminal (2016)
    Criminal
  • Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank in The Homesman (2014)
    The Homesman
  • Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, and John D'Leo in The Family (2013)
    The Family
  • Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (2012)
    Lincoln
  • Tommy Lee Jones and Matthew Fox in Emperor (2012)
    Emperor
  • Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep in Hope Springs (2012)
    Hope Springs
  • Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, and Josh Brolin in Men in Black 3 (2012)
    Men in Black 3
  • Pitbull: Back in Time (2012)
    Pitbull: Back in Time
    • (uncredited)

Director

  • Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank in The Homesman (2014)
    The Homesman
  • Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited (2011)
    The Sunset Limited
  • Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, January Jones, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Melissa Leo, and Dwight Yoakam in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
    The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
  • The Good Old Boys (1995)
    The Good Old Boys

Writer

  • Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank in The Homesman (2014)
    The Homesman
  • The Good Old Boys (1995)
    The Good Old Boys
  • Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
    Eyes of Laura Mars
    • (uncredited)
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos103

Tommy Lee Jones | Career Retrospective
Clip 1:39
Tommy Lee Jones | Career Retrospective
What We Know About The 'Untitled Men in Black Spin-Off' ... So Far
Clip 3:14
What We Know About The 'Untitled Men in Black Spin-Off' ... So Far
Baby Feet
Clip 2:09
Baby Feet
Long Night
Clip 1:13
Long Night
Lincoln
Clip 0:54
Lincoln
Lincoln
Clip 0:38
Lincoln
Lincoln
Clip 0:46
Lincoln
Lincoln
Clip 0:35
Lincoln
The Executioner's Song
Clip 0:40
The Executioner's Song
In The Valley of Elah
Clip 1:13
In The Valley of Elah
In The Valley of Elah
Clip 0:54
In The Valley of Elah
In The Valley of Elah
Clip 0:43
In The Valley of Elah

Personal details

Edit
    • September 15, 1946
    • San Saba, Texas, USA
    • Dawn JonesMarch 19, 2001 - present
    • Austin Leonard Jones
    • (Sibling)
  • Other works
    TV commercial (voice-over): Red Dog beer.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 8 Interviews
    • 21 Articles
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 40 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Never took an acting class.
  • Quotes
    Somebody's gonna give you some money to perform a job, you do your best to make 'em a good hand...
    • Deadpan delivery
    • No Country for Old Men
      (2007)
      $10,000,000

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