He played a murderous rustler in Hang 'Em High, a gunfighter in Support Your Local Sheriff!, and an impoverished farmer with a pregnant wife in the film adaptation of Horace McCoy's novel They Shoot Horses, Don't They?. After his film debut Wild River, he played the sailor in a few flashbacks in Marnie and a murdered lover in Hush.Hush, Sweet Charlotte.
Dern began working on films and television series in the 1960s. Dern starred with Paul Newman and Geraldine Page in the original Broadway run of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth. Dern starred with Lyle Kessler in the Philadelphia premiere of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Career ĭern studied at The Actors Studio, alongside Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg. A lifelong avid runner, he was a track star in high school and sought to qualify for the Olympic Trials in 1956. Dern attended New Trier High School and the University of Pennsylvania. His godfather was governor and two-time presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson II. Dern's maternal granduncle was poet Archibald MacLeish. Dern's maternal grandfather was a Vice President of the Carson, Pirie and Scott stores, which were established by his own father, Scottish-born businessman Andrew MacLeish.
His paternal grandfather, George Dern, was a Utah governor and Secretary of War (he was serving in the latter position during the time of Bruce's birth). He played Frank Harlow in the HBO series Big Love (2006–2011).ĭern is the father of actress Laura Dern, with his ex-wife, actress Diane Ladd.ĭern was born in Chicago, the son of Jean (née MacLeish 1908–1972) and John Dern (1903–1958), a utility chief and attorney.
Other notable films include The Great Gatsby (1974), Posse (1975), Family Plot (1976), Black Sunday (1977), The Driver (1978), Tattoo (1981), That Championship Season (1982), The Hateful Eight (2015), Monster (2003), The Artist's Wife (2019) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). He is also a BAFTA Award, two-time Genie Award, and three-time Golden Globe Award nominee.Ī member of The Actors Studio, he rose to prominence during the New Hollywood era, through roles in films such as They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), The Cowboys, Silent Running, The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971), and The King of Marvin Gardens (all 1972).
He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Coming Home (1978) and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Nebraska (2013). He is the recipient of several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver Bear for Best Actor. Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor, often playing supporting villainous characters of unstable nature.