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IMDbPro

Bruce Davison

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000218
Bruce Davison
After a cult mass suicide, DR. AMARA ROWAN (Anduze), is contacted by the survivors of the cult founded by DR. JOSEPH CAWL (Davison) and DR. LEONARD BERTRAM (David), to uncover the truth, but that truth could make her the next victim.
Play trailer1:33
From the Shadows (2023)
96 Videos
99+ Photos
The award-worthy actor, now enjoying an over five decade career, has a resume that includes everything from Shakespeare to Seinfeld -- from the villainous Senator on Ozark to the wise judge on Lincoln Lawyer.

Born on June 28, 1946, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Clair, an architect and musician, and Marian (Holman) Davison, a secretary, Bruce's parents divorced when he was just three. He developed a burgeoning interest in acting while majoring in art at Penn State and after accompanying a friend to a college theater audition. Making his professional stage debut in 1966 as Jonathan in "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Bad" at the Pennsylvania Festival Theatre, he made it to Broadway within just a couple of years (1968) with the role of Troilus in "Tiger at the Gates" at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The year after that he was seen off-Broadway in "A Home Away from Home" and appeared at the Lincoln Center in the cast of "King Lear."

Success in the movies came immediately for the perennially youthful-looking actor after he and a trio of up-and-coming talents (Barbara Hershey [then known as Barbara Seagull], Richard Thomas and Catherine Burns) starred together in the poignant but disturbing coming-of-age film Last Summer (1969). From this he was awarded a starring role opposite Kim Darby in The Strawberry Statement (1970), an offbeat social commentary about 60s college radicalism, and in the cult horror flick Willard (1971) in which he bonded notoriously with a herd of rats.

Moving further into the 70s decade, his film load did not increase significantly as expected and the ones he did appear in were no great shakes. With the exception of his co-starring role alongside Burt Lancaster in the well-made cavalry item Ulzana's Raid (1972) and the powerful low-budget Short Eyes (1977) in which he played a child molester, Bruce's film roles were underwhelming, such as his elder Patrick Dennis in the Lucille Ball musical film version of Mame (1974), as well as The Jerusalem File (1972), Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976), Grand Jury (1976) and Brass Target (1978).

As such, Bruce wisely looked elsewhere for rewarding work and found it on the stage and on the smaller screen. Earning strong theatrical roles in "The Skin of Our Teeth," "The Little Foxes" and "A Life in the Theatre," he won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for his work in "Streamers" in 1977. On TV, he scored in mini-movie productions of Mourning Becomes Electra (1978), Deadman's Curve (1978) (portraying Dean Torrence of the surf-era pop duo Jan and Dean) and, most of all, Summer of My German Soldier (1978) co-starring Kristy McNichol as a German prisoner of war in the American South who falls for a lonely Jewish-American girl. In 1972 Bruce married actress Jess Walton who appeared briefly as a college student in The Strawberry Statement (1970) and later became a daytime soap opera fixture. The marriage was quickly annulled the following year.

The 1980s was also dominated by strong theater performances. Bruce took over the role of the severely deformed John Merrick as "The Elephant Man" on Broadway; portrayed Clarence in "Richard III" at the New York Shakespeare Festival; was directed by Henry Fonda in "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial"; played a moving Tom Wingfield opposite Jessica Tandy's Amanda in "The Glass Menagerie"; received a second Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for his work in the AIDS play "The Normal Heart"; and finished off the decade gathering up fine reviews in the amusing A.R. Gurney period piece "The Cocktail Hour". While hardly lacking for work on film (Kiss My Grits (1982), Crimes of Passion (1984), Spies Like Us (1985), and The Ladies Club (1986)), few of them made use of his talents and range.

It was not until he was cast in the ground-breaking gay drama Longtime Companion (1989) that his film career revitalized. Giving a quiet, finely nuanced, painfully tender performance as the middle-aged lover and caretaker of a life partner ravaged by AIDS, Bruce managed to stand out amid the strong ensemble cast and earn himself an Oscar nomination for "Best Supporting Actor". Although he lost out to the flashier antics of Joe Pesci in the mob drama Goodfellas (1990) that year, Bruce was not overlooked -- copping Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, New York Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics awards. Other gay-themed films also welcomed his presence, including The Cure (1995) and It's My Party (1996). The actor eventually served as a spokesperson for a host of AIDS-related organizations, including Hollywood Supports, and has been active with foundations that assist abused children.

Bruce has been all over the screen since his success in Longtime Companion (1989). Predominantly seen as mature, morally responsible dads and politicians, his genial good looks and likability have on occasion belied a weak or corrupt heart. Bruce married actress Lisa Pelikan in 1986 and they have one son, Ethan, born in 1996. (Color of Justice (1997)). Popular films have included Six Degrees of Separation (1993) starring Will Smith, the family adventure film Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995) and the box-office hit X-Men (2000) and its sequel in the role of Senator Kelly. More controversial art-house showcases include Dahmer (2002), as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's father, and Hate Crime (2005), as a bigoted, murderous pastor.

Into the millennium, Bruce has played mature gents and several high-level officials in such films as The Dead Girl (2006), Christmas Angel (2009), Camp Hell (2010), Black Beauty (2015), Displacement (2016), 9/11 (2017), Along Came the Devil (2018), Itsy Bitsy (2019)

Divorced from second wife Lisa Pelikan, Bruce is happily married to Michele Correy and has a daughter with her, Sophia Lucy, born in 2006. They live in the Los Angeles area.
BornJune 28, 1946
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJune 28, 1946
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000218
  • Unlock contact info on IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 14 wins & 13 nominations total

Photos111

Bruce Davison in Spies Like Us (1985)
Joel Coen and Bruce Davison in Spies Like Us (1985)
Ryan Phillippe and Bruce Davison in Breach (2007)
Bruce Davison in The Crucible (1996)
Malcolm McDowell, Bruce Davison, Bernadette Peters, Gael García Bernal, and Joel Bernstein in Mozart in the Jungle (2014)
Bruce Davison in Drop Dead Diva (2009)
Bruce Davison and Jennifer Love Hewitt in Ghost Whisperer (2005)
Bruce Davison and Jennifer Love Hewitt in Ghost Whisperer (2005)
Bruce Davison in Ghost Whisperer (2005)
Bruce Davison in Ghost Whisperer (2005)
Bruce Davison in High Crimes (2002)
Brad Renfro, Bruce Davison, and Ann Dowd in Apt Pupil (1998)

Known for

Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, and Hugh Jackman in X-Men (2000)
X-Men
7.3
  • Senator Kelly
  • 2000
Winona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis in The Crucible (1996)
The Crucible
6.8
  • Reverend Parris
  • 1996
Short Cuts (1993)
Short Cuts
7.7
  • Howard Finnigan
  • 1993
Famke Janssen, Halle Berry, Alan Cumming, Anna Paquin, Ian McKellen, Shawn Ashmore, Hugh Jackman, and Aaron Stanford in X2: X-Men United (2003)
X2: X-Men United
7.4
  • Senator Kelly
  • 2003

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • From the Shadows
    • Dr. Joseph Cawl
    • Completed
    • 2023
  • Game of Power
    • Attorney Ballard Wright
    • Pre-production
    • 2023
  • Glow & Darkness
    • Pope Urban III, Pope Urban III (2021)
    • Post-production
    • TV Series
  • The Futurist
    • Nikola Telsa
    • Post-production
  • Captive
    • Walter
    • Post-production
    • Short
  • Suitable Flesh
    • Post-production
  • The Mystery of Casa Matusita
    • Victor London
    • Pre-production
  • Deep Focus
    • Father Oren
    • In Development
  • Chocolate
    • Dr. Sebastian Stevens
    • Completed
    • TV Movie
  • Barry Bostwick, Bruce Davison, and Martin Kove in The Roommates (2019)
    The Roommates
    • Arthur
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Aminah Nieves, Darren Mann, and Michelle Randolph in 1923 (2022)
    1923
    • Arthur
    • TV Series
    • 2022–2023
  • Jacob Keohane and Corinne Britti in Condor's Nest (2023)
    Condor's Nest
    • Gerhardt Schrude
    • 2023
  • Mary Beth Evans, Ronn Moss, and Kristos Andrews in The Bay (2010)
    The Bay
    • Red Garrett
    • TV Series
    • 2014–2022
  • Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Luke Kleintank in The Good Neighbor (2022)
    The Good Neighbor
    • Grant
    • 2022
  • Manuel Garcia-Rulfo in The Lincoln Lawyer (2022)
    The Lincoln Lawyer
    • Judge at Hearing
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Ozark (2017)
    Ozark
    • Senator Randall Schafer
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Evil at the Door (2022)
    Evil at the Door
    • John Doe
    • 2022
  • Barbara Hershey in The Manor (2021)
    The Manor
    • Roland
    • 2021
  • My True Fairytale (2021)
    My True Fairytale
    • Martin Goodwin
    • 2021
  • Holly Taylor in We Still Say Grace (2020)
    We Still Say Grace
    • Harold
    • 2020
  • The Gift of Christmas (2020)
    The Gift of Christmas
    • Bob Rodgers
    • TV Movie
    • 2020
  • Yulia Klass in Captors (2020)
    Captors
    • Silas Visler
    • 2020
  • Await the Dawn (2020)
    Await the Dawn
    • David
    • 2020
  • Pearl (2020)
    Pearl
    • The Dean
    • 2020

Director

  • TMI Hollywood (2012)
    TMI Hollywood
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Bigfoot (2012)
    Bigfoot
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 2012
  • Sherilyn Fenn and Hume Cronyn in Off Season (2001)
    Off Season
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 2001
  • Bruce Davison, Zachary Bostrom, Molly Cheek, and Carol-Ann Merrill in Harry and the Hendersons (1991)
    Harry and the Hendersons
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 1991–1993

Producer

  • Lisa Bonet, James Caan, and Lukas Haas in Lathe of Heaven (2002)
    Lathe of Heaven
    • co-producer
    • TV Movie
    • 2002
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos98

Bruce Davison Demo
Demo Reel 9:51
Bruce Davison Demo
Simone
Clip 1:21
Simone
Large Collections
Clip 2:10
Large Collections
Judas Chalice
Clip 1:45
Judas Chalice
Interrogation
Clip 1:56
Interrogation
Barber Shop
Clip 2:06
Barber Shop
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:13
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:29
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:19
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:37
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:10
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:41
Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Official Site
  • Alternative name
    • Bruce Davidson
  • Height
    • 6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
  • Born
    • June 28, 1946
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Spouses
      Michele CorreyApril 30, 2006 - present (1 child)
  • Parents
      Clair W. Davison
  • Other works
    He acted in A.R. Gurney's play, "The Cocktail Hour," at the Promenade Theatre in New York City with Nancy Marchand, Keene Curtis, and Holland Taylor in the cast. Jack O'Brien was director.
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Interviews
    • 1 Article
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Self-verified on IMDbPro

  • Gender / Gender identity
    • Male
  • Pronouns
    • he/him
  • Sexual orientation
    • Straight
  • Race / Ethnicity
    • White

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Director Robert Aldrich gave advice to Davison when he was starting out as an actor. "Be a character actor. Hero or villain, character actors always work.".

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