John Malkovich

John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor born on December 9, 1953, in Christopher, Illinois, and raised in Benton, Illinois. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Actor Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and three Golden Globe Awards.

Growing up in Benton, Malkovich attended Logan Grade School, Webster Junior High School, and Benton Consolidated High School, where he appeared in plays, the musical Carousel, and sang in a folk gospel group. He later enrolled at Eastern Illinois University before transferring to Illinois State University, where he majored in theater prior to dropping out. He also studied acting at the William Esper Studio.

Malkovich began his career in 1976 as a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. After moving to New York City, he won an Obie Award for his performance in a 1982 Steppenwolf production of True West. He made his Broadway debut in 1984 as Biff in Death of a Salesman, and later won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for the play's 1985 television adaptation.

Malkovich made his feature film debut in Places in the Heart (1984), earning his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He received a second Academy Award nomination for the political thriller In the Line of Fire (1993). His other film credits from the 1980s and 1990s include The Killing Fields (1984), Empire of the Sun (1987), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Of Mice and Men (1992), Con Air (1997), Rounders (1998), and Being John Malkovich (1999).

In 2002, Malkovich made his feature film directorial debut with The Dancer Upstairs and launched the fashion company Mrs. Mudd, which released menswear collections. His acting roles in film through the 2000s and 2010s include Johnny English (2003), Burn After Reading (2008), Red (2010), and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). He has also served as a film producer on projects such as Ghost World (2001), Juno (2007), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012).

On television, Malkovich has held roles in productions such as Napoléon (2002), Billions (2018–2019), The New Pope (2020), and Space Force (2020–2022). He has directed and starred in stage productions worldwide, including Good Canary and The Infernal Comedy – Confessions of a Serial Killer. His film work includes writing and starring in 100 Years (2016), as well as roles in Opus, In the Hand of Dante, Wild Horse Nine, The Yellow Tie, and A Winter's Journey.