Thomas Haden Church (born
Thomas R. McMillen; June 17, 1960) is an
American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom
Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in
Sideways and his role as the
Sandman in
Spider-Man 3.
Early life
Church, the fourth of six children,
was born
Thomas R. McMillen in
Yolo, California,
[According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461] to an Army officer/
health care worker father and a telephone company sales rep mother.
He was raised under his stepfather's surname, "
Quesada", and later changed his surname to "Haden Church" (both names are in his family tree).
He was raised in
Laredo, Texas and graduated from
Harlingen High School,
Harlingen, Texas in 1979, going on to attend the
University of North Texas.
Career
[
Haden Church by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|left|Thomas Haden Church at the [[Spider-Man 3] (2007) premiere in New York City.]]
Church started in the entertainment business as a
radio personality and doing
voiceover work.
A part in an
independent film convinced him to move to California to pursue an acting career. He played the part of dim-witted airport mechanic
Lowell Mather for six seasons (1990–1995) on the
NBC sitcom
Wings. He worked in television for two more seasons with a lead role on
Ned and Stacey opposite Debra Messing. He has had supporting roles in films such as Tombstone, George of the Jungle, and The Specials. Church often plays villains or comic relief in films, most evident by turns in Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight and Over the Hedge to name two.
After having small roles in films such as
Monkeybone and
3000 Miles to Graceland, he made his directorial debut
Rolling Kansas in 2003.
Church later took a break from films and relocated back to his native
Texas. He has also done voiceover work in commercials, such as for
Merrill Lynch and
Icehouse beer.
In 2003,
Alexander Payne called him regarding the role of "Jack" in
Sideways, the selfish best friend to
Paul Giamatti's character, looking to have one last fling before getting married. During the audition, Church stripped naked to read the audition scene, later saying "To me it was painfully obvious... I was reading the scene where Jack comes in naked and there has to be in-born vulnerability in the scene."
[ (He later found that he was the only actor to strip down for the audition).]
He has since appeared in films such as Idiocracy, done voice-over work on films such as Over the Hedge and starred in one of AMC's highest rated television productions, Broken Trail, with Robert Duvall, in 2006, for which he won an Emmy. In 2007, he appeared as the villain Sandman in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.
In 2005, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[Academy Invites 112 to Membership] On September 16, 2007, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his role of Tom Harte on AMC's Broken Trail.
In October 2008, Church appeared in a video on funnyordie.com taking on the role of the fictitious average American, Joe Six Pack, made famous in the 2008 Presidential campaign by John McCain and Sarah Palin. The video titled "Thomas Haden Church vs Joe the Plumber"["Thomas Haden Church vs Joe the Plumber""] has Joe Six Pack (Thomas Haden Church) taking on his blue collar rival, Joe the Plumber. Church stars also in the FEARnet webseries Zombie Roadkill alongside David Dorfman and under the direction from producer David Green.[FEARnet Goes to Church for Zombie Roadkill]
Personal life
Church resides on his large ranch in Bandera County, Texas,[Archives > April 2008 - Tavis Smiley Show - KCET - April 8, 2008] which he bought in 1998.[ He and his wife Mia have a daughter named Cody.]
Filmography
Awards and nominations
- Nominations
