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IMDbPro

Bruce Dern

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,00017
Bruce Dern at an event for All the Pretty Horses (2000)
Take a closer look at the various roles Bruce Dern has played throughout his acting career.
Play clip1:49
Bruce Dern | Career Retrospective
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
Two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern's tremendous career is made up of playing both modern day heroes and legendary villains. Through decades of lauded performances, Dern has acquired the reputation of being one of the most talented and prolific actors of his generation.

Dern currently appears opposite Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney and his daughter Laura in Apple+ TV's acclaimed comedy series "Palm Royale." He also received critical praise for the last season of the Amazon series "Goliath" opposite Oscar winners Billy Bob Thornton and JK Simmons.

Dern appeared as real-life rancher George Spahn in Quentin Tarantino's 10-time Academy Award nominated "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." The film also won the Golden Globes & Critics Choice Awards for Best Picture, among others. He also co-starred in the #1 independent film of 2019, "The Peanut Butter Falcon" and he earned rave reviews for Focus Features' "The Mustang." He has recently appeared in several recent independent film projects including "Reminisce," "The Accidental Texan," "Remember Me," "The Artist's Wife," "Emperor," "Badland," "Death in Texas," "Last Call," and "The Gateway."

In 2018, he starred in two high profile independent films - as Joe Kennedy in "Chappaquiddick" and opposite Matthew McConaughey in Sony's "White Boy Rick." In 2017, he appeared with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford in the Netflix film "Our Souls at Night."

On the television side in 2019 - he memorably guested on Showtime's comedy "Black Monday" and was seen in the Stephen King series "Mr. Mercedes" for the AT&T AUDIENCE Network.

In 2015, Dern reteamed with his "Django Unchained" director Quentin Tarantino in the ambitious & critically-acclaimed "The Hateful Eight." In 2013, Dern earned his second Academy Award nomination for his heralded role in Alexander Payne's "Nebraska." That role also garnered him a Best Actor Award from the Cannes Film Festival and the National Board of Review. He was also nominated for a BAFTA, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and Screen Actors Guild Award.

Dern was also nominated for an Emmy in 2011 for his portrayal of polygamist patriarch Frank Harlow in HBO's hit drama "Big Love." A celebrated stage actor, Dern was trained by famed director Elia Kazan at the legendary The Actor's Studio and made his film debut in Kazan's "Wild River" in 1960. In the 60's, Dern also found success as a distinguished television actor. He appeared regularly in contemporary Western TV series, as well as on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Mr. Hitchcock was such a fan of Dern's that he cast him in "Marnie" and "Family Plot" (Hitchcock's final film).

Also during the 60's, Dern went on to work with director Roger Corman and appeared in several of his classic and decade defining films including "Wild Angels." He also received critical success during that time for films such as "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "Drive, He Said." Dern goes down in history for his role as Long Hair in "The Cowboys," in which he became the only man ever to kill John Wayne on screen.

Dern went on to star in such classic films like "The King of Marvin Gardens" with Jack Nicholson and Ellen Burstyn as well as playing Tom Buchanan in "The Great Gatsby" (for which he received a Golden Globe nomination). It was his brilliant and powerful performance in Hal Ashby's "Coming Home" that earned him both an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination.

Dern has starred in over 100 films in his career, including: "Monster," "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte," "Silent Running," "Smile," "Middle Age Crazy," "That Championship Season," "Tattoo," "The 'Burbs," "The Haunting," "All the Pretty Horses," "Masked and Anonymous," "Down in the Valley," "Astronaut Farmer," "The Cake Eaters," "Black Sunday," "After Dark, My Sweet," "Madison," "Diggstown," "Twixt" and "Last Man Standing."

Dern has received several Lifetime Achievement Awards from various film festivals. In 2010, Dern received the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame star along with his ex-wife Diane Ladd & daughter Laura Dern, the only family in history to receive their Stars in one ceremony.
BornJune 4, 1936
  • More at IMDbPro
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    • Agent info
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BornJune 4, 1936
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,00017
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 18 wins & 41 nominations total

    Photos348

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    Known for

    Bruce Dern in Nebraska (2013)
    Nebraska
    7.7
    • Woody Grant
    • 2013
    Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Demián Bichir, and Walton Goggins in The Hateful Eight (2015)
    The Hateful Eight
    7.8
    • General Sandy Smithers
    • 2015
    Tom Hanks in The 'Burbs (1989)
    The 'Burbs
    6.8
    • Mark Rumsfield
    • 1989
    Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in The Great Gatsby (1974)
    The Great Gatsby
    6.4
    • Tom Buchanan
    • 1974

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actor



    • Feathered
      • Rock
      • Post-production
      • 2025
    • Fractured
      • Papa Joe
      • Completed
    • Northbound
      • Arthur
      • Post-production
    • The World's Happiest Man
      • Tom
      • Completed
    • CATnip
      • Warren
      • Post-production
    • The Devil's Trap
      • Mr. Cohen
      • Post-production
    • Asphalt Jungle
      • Sheriff Alton Thorpe
      • Pre-production
    • Bad Men Must Bleed
      • Post-production
    • MegaRace: DeathMatch
      • Rabies
      • In Production
      • Video Game
    • Shadow Stalkers
      • The Director
      • In Production
      • Video Game



    • Bloodline Killer (2024)
      Bloodline Killer
      4.0
      • Dr. Lucien
      • 2024
    • Laura Dern, Carol Burnett, Leslie Bibb, Allison Janney, Ricky Martin, Josh Lucas, Kristen Wiig, Kaia Gerber, and Amber Chardae Robinson in Palm Royale (2024)
      Palm Royale
      6.7
      TV Series
      • Skeet
      • 2024
    • Bill Burr, Bobby Cannavale, and Bokeem Woodbine in Old Dads (2023)
      Old Dads
      6.2
      • Richie Jacobs
      • 2023
    • Butch vs. Sundance (2023)
      Butch vs. Sundance
      6.1
      • Mike Cassidy
      • 2023
    • Hunting Games (2023)
      Hunting Games
      3.5
      • Henry
      • 2023
    • Bruce Dern, Thomas Haden Church, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Rudy Pankow in Accidental Texan (2023)
      Accidental Texan
      5.9
      • Scheermeyer
      • 2023
    • Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch (2023)
      Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch
      4.5
      • Mike Cassidy
      • 2023
    • The Weapon (2023)
      The Weapon
      2.6
      • Doris
      • 2023
    • The Most Dangerous Game (2022)
      The Most Dangerous Game
      3.4
      • Whitney Tyler
      • 2022
    • Mid-Century (2022)
      Mid-Century
      3.4
      • Emil Larson
      • 2022
    • The Hater (2022)
      The Hater
      4.5
      • Frank
      • 2022
    • Tony Todd in Hellblazers (2022)
      Hellblazers
      4.5
      • Bill Unger
      • 2022
    • Bruce Dern and Cam Gigandet in Last Shoot Out (2021)
      Last Shoot Out
      3.6
      • Blair Callahan
      • 2021
    • Caroline Aaron, Bruce Dern, Richard Thomas, Chris Elliott, Jack McGee, Kresh Novakovic, Shawnee Smith, Dean Winters, Christopher Riley, Nate Torrence, Paris Bravo, and Gianni Ciardiello in Christmas vs. The Walters (2021)
      Christmas vs. The Walters
      4.5
      • Cliff Walters
      • 2021
    • Billy Bob Thornton in Goliath (2016)
      Goliath
      8.1
      TV Series
      • Frank Zax
      • 2021

    Producer



    • Coast (2021)
      Coast
      4.7
      • executive producer
      • 2021

    Soundtrack



    • Bruce Dern, Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Lang, and Ronnie Gene Blevins in Death in Texas (2020)
      Death in Texas
      5.6
      • performer: "You Are My Sunshine"
      • 2020
    • Black Sunday (1977)
      Black Sunday
      6.8
      • Soundtrack ("Easy Come, Easy Go", uncredited)
      • 1977

    • In-development projects at IMDbPro

    Videos115

    Bruce Dern | Career Retrospective
    Clip 1:49
    Bruce Dern | Career Retrospective
    Shia LaBeouf & Dakota Johnson Learn Life Lessons on 'The Peanut Butter Falcon'
    Clip 2:55
    Shia LaBeouf & Dakota Johnson Learn Life Lessons on 'The Peanut Butter Falcon'
    Shia LaBeouf & Dakota Johnson Learn Life Lessons on 'The Peanut Butter Falcon'
    Clip 2:55
    Shia LaBeouf & Dakota Johnson Learn Life Lessons on 'The Peanut Butter Falcon'
    Exclusive Clip
    Clip 0:56
    Exclusive Clip
    The Astronaut Farmer
    Clip 1:02
    The Astronaut Farmer
    The Astronaut Farmer
    Clip 1:03
    The Astronaut Farmer
    The Astronaut Farmer
    Clip 1:05
    The Astronaut Farmer

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Height
      • 6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
    • Born
      • June 4, 1936
      • Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • Spouses
        Andrea BeckettOctober 20, 1969 - present
    • Children
      • Laura Dern
    • Parents
        John Dern
    • Other works
      Stage: Appeared in an off-Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending"
    • Publicity listings
      • 1 Print Biography
      • 6 Interviews
      • 6 Articles
      • 5 Pictorials

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Eleanor Roosevelt was his babysitter.
    • Quotes
      Because I'm the only actor who ever killed John Wayne in a picture, producers have pegged me for a villain.
    • Trademarks
        Often works with Roger Corman

    FAQ11

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