Bruce Davison

Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison
	Davison at the 52nd Annual Publicists Awards in February 2015
Born	June 28, 1946; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Marple Newtown Senior High School
Alma mater	Pennsylvania State University, University Park (BA); New York University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor; director;
Years active	1968–present
Spouse(s)	Jess Walton (1972–1973; annulled)[1]; Lisa Pelikan (1986–2006; 1 child); Michele Correy (2006–present; 1 child)
Children	Ethan Davison (b. 1996); Sophia Lucinda Davison (b. 2006)

Bruce Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director of television, film, and theater. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film Willard (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning performance in Longtime Companion (1989), and as Thomas Semmes in the HBO original movie Vendetta. He featured in the X-Men film franchise – through X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003) – as antagonist Senator Robert Kelly.

In the 2010s, Davison appeared in Fred Schepisi's Words and Pictures (2013), had a recurring role on The Fosters (2015–2016) and shares the screen with Miles Teller and Anna Kendrick in Get a Job (2016).[2]

Early life

Davison was born in 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by his mother and spent weekends with his father.[3]

He graduated in 1964 from Marple Newtown Senior High School, entered Penn State as an art major, and then stumbled into acting when he accompanied a friend to an audition. He attended New York University's acting program, graduating in 1969.[2][4]

Career

Davison made his Broadway debut in Tiger at the Gates in 1968. He also appeared as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, and starred in The Glass Menagerie with Jessica Tandy.[2] Davison was one of a quartet of newcomers, including Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas, and Catherine Burns when he made his film debut in Last Summer in 1969. In 1970, he played opposite Kim Darby in the film about peaceful student protest and its violent outcome The Strawberry Statement.[5] A year later he portrayed the title role in the 1971 version of Willard, the first of two, as of the year 2015, to have been based on the novel Ratman's Notebooks. He also appeared in Ulzana's Raid, Peege, Mame, Mother, Jugs & Speed, Short Eyes, The Lathe of Heaven and Six Degrees of Separation. In 1978, he appeared as Dean Torrence with Richard Hatch in the made-for-TV biopic Deadman's Curve (the story of 1960s pop duo Jan & Dean). The same year, he played the title role in the TV movie adaptation Summer Of My German Soldier.

In 1981, he had the lead role in The Wave based on real events, starring as a history teacher who had conducted an experiment in Nazi philosophy on his own students.

Davison also starred in Tales from the Darkside (Season 1, Episode 8) and played the role of the father in the short-lived Harry and the Hendersons TV series.

In 1983, Davison was cast by Joseph Papp in the Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival production of King Richard III. Additional Off-Broadway credits include Love Letters, The Cocktail Hour and Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning play How I Learned to Drive. He also played the role of Ruby in the 1985 comedy Spies Like Us, starring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase.

In 1990, he portrayed a gay man whose lover is dying of AIDS in Longtime Companion. The role earned Davison a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture. He concluded his Golden Globe acceptance speech[6] with the hope that humankind would devote as much effort to the war on AIDS as its wars against each other. Davison appeared in other movies addressing AIDS: In 1995's The Cure, he portrayed a physician sought by a young boy with AIDS in search of medical help. In 1996, Davison appeared in the film It's My Party, which chronicled the true events of a man dying with AIDS who decides to hold a farewell party for family and friends before taking his own life. Davison's website states he is a spokesperson for many AIDS-related groups and is a board member of the industry AIDS organization Hollywood Supports.[2]

In Los Angeles, Davison has appeared on stage in Streamers and The Normal Heart, winning the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and Drama-Logue Award for his performances. Other theatre credits include The Caine Mutiny Court Martial (directed by Henry Fonda) and a stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird.[2]

He is familiar to movie audiences from his roles in Runaway Jury, Apt Pupil, and his role in the X-Men movie franchise as Senator Robert Kelly in the first film and as a shapeshifting impostor in X2. He was the fanatical Reverened Samuel Parris in Arthur Miller's screen adaptation of his play The Crucible. Davison also portrayed a rich philanthropist in the movie Christmas Angel. Davison's many television credits include Hunter (in which he was a semi-regular for at least one season), Marcus Welby, M.D., Love, American Style, The Waltons, Lou Grant, Murder, She Wrote, Designing Women, Seinfeld, Chicago Hope, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, V: The Series, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Battlestar Galactica, Lost, CSI: Miami, Ghost Whisperer, Castle, Hawaii Five-0, the Stephen King mini-series Kingdom Hospital, and a recurring role on The Practice. Davison also had the recurring role of defense attorney Doug Hellman in Close to Home.

Davison at the 79th Annual Academy Awards Children Uniting Nations/Billboard after party, February 25, 2007

In 2001, Davison directed the TV film Off Season, which starred Sherilyn Fenn, Rory Culkin, Hume Cronyn and Adam Arkin. In 2007, Davison returned to the big screen as the father of Eric O'Neill in Breach. Also in that year, Davison was cast in the role of Charles Graiman, a protege of Wilton Knight who was the creator of the Knight Industries Three Thousand, in NBC's revival of the television series Knight Rider.

Davison also played the role of Dr. Silberman, the psychiatrist who once tormented Sarah Connor, in the seventh episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He portrayed Nick Anderson (a secret Santa Claus) in the TV movie Christmas Angel in 2009. In May 2010, Davison was cast to portray art dealer Wilhelm Van Schlagel for several episodes on ABC's General Hospital to begin airing in July 2010.

In 2010, he starred in the TV movie Titanic II. In 2011, he starred as Police Chief Kirkhoven in the movie Munger Road, and appeared in the Christmas movie 3 Holiday Tails. In 2012, he appeared in Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem. In addition, he played Secretary of State William H. Seward in the movie Saving Lincoln.

He played the role of Rear Admiral Arthur Shepard, Lieutenant Grace Shepard's father, in the short-stint TV series Last Resort.

In 2016, Davison starred as Dr. Stanley Cole in the comedy/fantasy Abnormal Attraction.[7]

Personal life

Davison married Michele Correy on April 30, 2006, and they have a daughter, Sophia Lucinda Davison, born on May 29, 2006. They reside in Los Angeles, California. Davison also has a son, Ethan, born on April 5, 1996, from a previous marriage to fellow actor Lisa Pelikan.[1] He was once engaged to actress Karen Austin, and was in a brief marriage with fellow actress Jess Walton, which was annulled in 1973.[8][1]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1969	Last Summer	Dan
1970	The Strawberry Statement	Simon
1971	Willard	Willard Stiles
1971	Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me	Fitzgore
1972	Ben	Willard Stiles	Archival Footage
	The Jerusalem File	David
	Ulzana's Raid	Lt. Garnett DeBuin
1973	Peege	Greg	Short film
1974	Mame	Patrick Dennis
1976	Grand Jury	Bobby Allen
1976	Mother, Jugs & Speed	Leroy
1977	Short Eyes	Clark Davis
1977	The Gathering	George
1978	Brass Target	Col. Robert Dawson
1978	French Quarter	Kid Ross / Inspector Sordik
1981	High Risk	Dan
1984	Crimes of Passion	Donny Hopper
1985	Spies Like Us	Ruby
1986	The Ladies Club	Richard Harrison
1987	The Misfit Brigade	Corporal Joseph Porta
1989	Longtime Companion	David	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—LA Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
1991	Steel and Lace	Albert Morton
1993	Short Cuts	Howard Finnigan	Golden Globe Award for Best Ensemble Cast
1993	Six Degrees of Separation	Larkin
1995	Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog	John McCormick
	The Cure	Dr. Jensen
	The Baby-Sitters Club	Watson Brewer
1996	It's My Party	Rodney Bingham
	Grace of My Heart	John Murray
	The Crucible	Reverend Samuel Parris
1997	Lovelife	Bruce
1998	Paulie	Dr. Reingold
1998	Apt Pupil	Richard Bowden
1999	At First Sight	Dr. Charles Aaron
2000	The King Is Alive	Ray
2000	X-Men	Senator Robert Kelly
2001	Crazy/Beautiful	Tom Oakley
2001	Summer Catch	Rand Parrish
2002	High Crimes	Brigadier General Bill Marks
2002	Dahmer	Lionel Dahmer
2003	X2	Senator Robert Kelly
	Willard	Willard Stiles I
	Runaway Jury	Durwood Cable
2005	Hate Crime	Pastor Boyd
	Going Shopping	Adam
	8mm 2	Ambassador Harrington
2006	The Dead Girl	Leah's father
2007	Breach	John O'Neill
2008	The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice	Professor Lazlo / Vlad
2009	La linea	Anthony
	MegaFault	Dr. Mark Rhodes
	Christmas Angel	Nick Anderson
	A Golden Christmas	Rod
2010	Arctic Blast	Winslaw
	Titanic II	James Maine
	Camp Hell	Fr. Phineas McAllister
	Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths	President Slade Wilson	Voice-over
2011	Munger Road	Chief Kirkhoven
	3 Holiday Tails	Rod Wright
	Earth's Final Hours	Rothman
	Coffin	Garrison
	Elwood	Congressman Barber	Short film
2012	Return of the Killer Shrews	Jerry Farrell
2012	The Lords of Salem	Francis Matthias
2013	Saving Lincoln	William H. Seward
2013	Words and Pictures	Walt
2014	Persecuted	Senator Donald Harrison
2015	The Leisure Class	Edward	HBO's Project Greenlight season 4 film
2015	Oceanus: Act One	Commander Mitch Conrad	Short film
2016	The Curse of Sleeping Beauty	Richard Meyers
	Get A Job	Lawrence Wilheimer
	The Bronx Bull	D. A. Bonomi
2017	9/11	Monohan
2017	Love Locks	Hugo Blanchet	Hallmark TV Movie
2018	Insidious: The Last Key	Christian Rainer
2018	Abnormal Attraction	Dr. Cole	In post-production
2019	Itsy Bitsy	Walter
	Wish Man	Frank Shankwitz Sr.
	The Great Alaskan Race	Governor Bone
	More Beautiful for Having Been Broken	Colin
	Christmas at the Plaza	Reginald Brookwater	Hallmark TV movie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970–1979	Insight	Andy Fry/Randy King/Greg	4 episodes
1973	Love Story	Jeffrey	1 episode
1973	Break Up	Himself	Music comedy special for ABC
1974–1978	Police Story	Victor Joe Vero/Clyde Griffiths	2 episodes
1975	The Waltons The Shivaree	Bob Hill	1 episode
1977	The Gathering	George	Television film
1978	Deadman's Curve	Dean Torrence
	Summer of My German Soldier	Anton Reiker
	Mourning Becomes Electra	Orin Mannon	Miniseries
	Lou Grant	Andrew Raines	2 episodes
1980	The Lathe of Heaven	George Orr	Television film
1981	The Wave	Ben Ross	Television film
1983	Ghost Dancing	Calvin Oberst	Television film
1984	Tales from the Darkside	Richard Hagstrom	1 episode
1985	V	John Langley	3 episodes
1985–1989	Hunter	Capt. Wyler/Dep. Chief Wyler	16 episodes
1990	Designing Women	Reverend Eugene 'Gene' Chapman	1 episode
1991–1993	Harry and the Hendersons	George Henderson	72 episodes
1992	Desperate Choices: To Save My Child	Richard Robbins	Television film
1992	Live! From Death Row	Laurence Dvorak
1993	A Mother's Revenge	Bill Sanders
1995	Down, Out & Dangerous	Brad Harrington
1995	The Outer Limits	Dr. McEnerney	1 episode
1996	Star Trek: Voyager	Jareth	1 episode
	After Jimmy	Ward "Sam" Stapp	Television film
	Hidden in America	Dr. Michael Millerton	Television film
1996–1997	Seinfeld	Wyck	3 episodes
1998	Touched by an Angel	Jacob 'Jake' Weiss	1 episode Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
1999	Vendetta	Thomas Semmes	Television film
1999–2000	Chicago Hope	Dr. Burt Peters	2 episodes
2000–2001	The Practice	Scott Wallace	9 episodes
2001	Off Season	Dr. Zimmer	Television film (also director) Nominated—Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Special
2002	Without a Trace	Paul Cartwright	Pilot episode
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Dr. Graham Mandell	1 episode
	Star Trek: Enterprise	Menos	1 episode
	L.A. Law: The Movie	Lawrence Diebenkorn	Television film
2003	Out of the Ashes	Peter Schuman	Television film
2004	Kingdom Hospital	Dr. Stegman	13 episodes
2004	JAG	Dr. Morris Sperling	1 episode
2005	Numb3rs	Robert Oliver	1 episode
	The Triangle	Stan Lathem	3 episodes
	Law & Order: Trial by Jury	Peter Betts	1 episode
2005–2007	Close to Home	Attorney Doug Hellman	13 episodes
2006	CSI: Miami	Dane Daniels	1 episode
2006–2010	Lost	Dr. Douglas Brooks	2 episodes
2007	The L Word	Leonard Kroll	3 episodes
2007	Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)	Dr. Michael Robert	1 episode
2008	Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles	Dr. Peter Silberman	1 episode
2008–2009	Knight Rider	Dr. Charles Graiman	11 episodes
2009	Criminal Minds	Father Davison	1 episode
2009–2010	Ghost Whisperer	Josh Bedford	5 episodes
2010	Psych	Walter Snowden	1 episode
2010	General Hospital	Wilhelm von Schlagel	5 episodes
2011	Castle	Lou Karnacki	1 episode
	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Avery Tinsdale
	Hawaii Five-0	Steven Carver
	Childrens Hospital	Narrator
	Covert Affairs	Max Langford
2011–2012	Drop Dead Diva	Judge Cyrus Maxwell	3 episodes
2012	Bigfoot	Sheriff Walt Gunderson	Television film
	Luck	Hartstone	2 episodes
	Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23	Gabe Sharpe	1 episode
2012–2013	Last Resort	Admiral Arthur Shepard	6 episodes
2014	Those Who Kill	Howard Burgess	10 episodes
	The Legend of Korra	Lord Zuko (voice)	6 episodes
	Sequestered	Danny Firmin's father	12 episodes
2014–2016	Kingdom	Ron Prince	4 episodes
2015–present	The Fosters	Stuart Adams	5 episodes
2016	The Exorcist	Pope Sebastian	1 episode
2018	Mozart in the Jungle	Hesby	1 episode
2018	Forgive Me	Archbishop	1 episode
2019	The Gift of Christmas	Bob Rodgers	Television film
	Creepshow		2 episodes
	The Son	Mr. Roy Endicott
	Defrost: The Virtual Series	Michael Garrison	Television Film

gollark: That's some unluck.

gollark: Isn't it about 1 prize : 3 prizekins?

gollark: Unless you get a specific one someone is asking for.

gollark: They are copper-level, I believe.

gollark: Even prizekins are worth something.

References

Rosen, Marjorie (July 23, 1990). "A Role as a Gay Companion Brings Bruce Davison An Oscar Buzz". People. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
Ames, Denise (June 22, 2015). "One-on-One with Oscar-Nominated Actor Bruce Davison". The Tolucan Times. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
P, Ken (May 20, 2012). "An Interview with Bruce Davison". IGN.
"NYU Graduate Acting Alumni". 2011. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
Sterritt, David. "The Strawberry Statement (1970)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
"Bruce Davison Wins Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture – Golden Globes 1991". AwardsShowNetwork. January 26, 2011 – via YouTube.
Mollabeciri, Donik (January 30, 2019). "Fuzz on the Lens flick features host of 'Abnormal' cult movie icons". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
Thompson, Ruth (February 4, 1984). "Karen Austin Tries Comedy Role in 'Night Court'". Ocala Star-Banner. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 15; TV Week.

External links

Bruce Davison at the Internet Broadway Database
Bruce Davison at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
Bruce Davison on IMDb

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[rosen-1] Rosen, Marjorie (July 23, 1990). "A Role as a Gay Companion Brings Bruce Davison An Oscar Buzz". People. Retrieved March 22, 2020.

[One-on-One-2] Ames, Denise (June 22, 2015). "One-on-One with Oscar-Nominated Actor Bruce Davison". The Tolucan Times. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2016.

[3] P, Ken (May 20, 2012). "An Interview with Bruce Davison". IGN.

[4] "NYU Graduate Acting Alumni". 2011. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2011.

[5] Sterritt, David. "The Strawberry Statement (1970)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved December 8, 2018.

[6] "Bruce Davison Wins Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture – Golden Globes 1991". AwardsShowNetwork. January 26, 2011 – via YouTube.

[7] Mollabeciri, Donik (January 30, 2019). "Fuzz on the Lens flick features host of 'Abnormal' cult movie icons". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved March 29, 2020.

[8] Thompson, Ruth (February 4, 1984). "Karen Austin Tries Comedy Role in 'Night Court'". Ocala Star-Banner. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 15; TV Week.