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Chris Cooper, BGS '76.
Photo by MU Publications and Alumni Communications
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MU
Alumnus Wins Academy Award
Actor Chris Cooper, BGS '76, was awarded
the 2003 Academy Award for
Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in the motion picture
Adaptation
on March 23. Cooper accepted the award with the following comments:
“Take this in for one second.
From the Academy to the womb that bore me, thank you. To all
the nominees, it's a pleasure to be thought in your same company.
To all the people in Adaptation who helped to make
this the most enjoyable job I ever had, thank you. Charlie
Kaufman, Spike Jonze, Nicolas Cage, the fabulous beautiful
wonderful Meryl Streep. Working with this woman was like making
great jazz. You had a lot to do with this, so I thank you.
To my wife, Marianne, you took on all the burden, thank you.
And in light of all the troubles in this world, I wish us
all peace. Thank you.”
Cooper grew up in his family home near
the Plaza in Kansas City, Mo., with his father Charles, a physician
specializing in internal medicine, his mother Mary Ann, a homemaker,
and an older brother, Chuck. He got involved in theatre building
sets for a community theatre.
He came to Mizzou in 1972 to study technical
theatre, but with one eye focused on acting. By the time he
graduated, he had played many leading roles in MU Department
of Theatre productions, including “Stanley,”
the bewildered victim in Pinter’s The BirthdayParty,
the malevolent “Teddy” in Mark Medoff's When
You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder, and the haunted “king”
in Eugene Ionesco’s Exit the King. He also played
chorus and principle roles in musicals, demonstrating the casting
range that has continued to be the hallmark of his career on
the stage, and in television and movies.
Over the past decade and a half, Cooper
has established himself as one of the screen’s most versatile
actors, playing heroes and psychopaths, leading men and villains,
on television, and in both independent and mainstream feature
films. In addition to Adaptation, his recent film credits
include:
- The Bourne Identity (2002) as
Conklin
- The Patriot (2000) as Col. Harry
Burwell
- Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
as Lt. Gerke, Massena PD
- American Beauty (1999) as Colonel
Fitts
- October Sky (1999) as John Hickam
- The Horse Whisperer (1998) as
Frank Booker
- Great Expectations (1998) as
Uncle Joe
- A Time to Kill (1996) as Deputy
Dwayne Looney
- Lone Star (1996) as Rio County
Sheriff Sam Deeds
- Boys (1996) as Mr. John Baker
- Pharaoh’s Army (1995)
as John Hull Abston
- Money Train (1995) as Torch
- This Boy's Life (1993) as Roy
- City of Hope (1991) as Riggs
- Guilty by Suspicion (1991) as
Larry Nolan
- Thousand Pieces of Gold (1990)
as Charlie
- Matewan (1987) as Joe Kenehan
Cooper also has a diverse list of television
credits, including “July Johnson” in the mini-series
Lonesome Dove and Return to Lonesome Dove.
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Last Update:
March 12, 2007
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