John Malkovich
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
John Gavin Malkovich was born in Christopher, Illinois, to Joe Anne
(Choisser), who owned a local newspaper, and Daniel Leon Malkovich, a
state conservation director. His paternal grandparents were Croatian.
In 1976, Malkovich joined Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, newly founded
by his friend Gary Sinise. After that, it
would take seven years before Malkovich would show up in New York and
win an Obie in Sam Shepard's play "True
West". In 1984, Malkovich would appear with
Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway revival of
"Death of a Salesman", which would earn him an Emmy when it was made
into a made-for-TV movie the next year. His big-screen debut would be
as the blind lodger in
Places in the Heart (1984),
which earned him an Academy Award Nomination for best supporting actor.
Other films would follow, including
The Killing Fields (1984) and
The Glass Menagerie (1987),
but he would be well remembered as Vicomte de Valmont in
Dangerous Liaisons (1988).
Playing against Michelle Pfeiffer and
Glenn Close in a costume picture helped
raise his standing in the industry. He would be cast as the psychotic
political assassin in
Clint Eastwood's
In the Line of Fire (1993),
for which he would be nominated for both the Academy Award and the
Golden Globe. In 1994, Malkovich would portray the sinister Kurtz in
the made-for-TV movie
Heart of Darkness (1993),
taking the story to Africa as it was originally written. Malkovich has
periodically returned to Chicago to both act and direct.
The Rise of John Malkovich
The Rise of John Malkovich
Acclaimed actor John Malkovich, known for his performances in Dangerous Liaisons and Being John Malkovich, stars in the HBO series "The New Pope." What other roles has he played?
Known for:
Actor
Producer
Writer
More to explore
Add demo reel with IMDbPro
How much have you seen?
Keep track of how much of John Malkovich’s work you have seen. Go to your list.