Brad Dourif

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Birthday:

18 March 1950, Huntington, West Virginia, USA

Birth Name:

Bradford Claude Dourif

Height:

175 cm

Character actor Brad Dourif was born Bradford Claude Dourif on March 18, 1950 in Huntington, West Virginia. He is the son of Joan Mavis Felton (Bradford) and Jean Henri Dourif, a French-born art collector who owned and operated a dye factory. His father died when Dourif was three years old, after which his mother married Bill Campbell, a champion golfer, who helped raise Brad, his brother, and his four sisters. From 1963 to 1965, Dourif attended Aiken Preparatory School in Aiken, South Carolina, where he pursued his interests in art and acting. Although he briefly considered becoming a professional artist, he finally settled on acting as a profession, inspired by his mother's participation as an actress in community theater.Starting in school productions, he progressed to community theater, joining up with the Huntington Community Players, while attending Marshall University of Huntington. At age 19, he quit his hometown college and headed to New York City, where he worked with the Circle Repertory Company. During the early 1970s, Dourif appeared in a number of plays, off-Broadway and at Woodstock, New York, including Milos Forman who cast him in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Although this film is frequently cited as his film debut, in fact, Dourif made his first big-screen appearance with a bit part in W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975). Nevertheless, his portrayal of the vulnerable Billy Bibbit in Forman's film was undoubtedly his big break, earning him a Golden Globe Award for Best Acting Debut, a British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.Skeptical of his instant stardom, Dourif returned to New York, where he continued in theater and taught acting and directing classes at Columbia University until 1988 when he moved to Hollywood. Despite his attempts to avoid typecasting, his intensity destined him to play demented, deranged, or disturbed characters, starting in Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), John Huston's Wise Blood (1979) (arguably his best performance to date), and Milos Forman's Ragtime (1981). Dourif then teamed up with director David Lynch for Dune (1984) and Blue Velvet (1986). His high-strung style also served him well in a number of horror films, notably as the voice of the evil doll Chucky in Child's Play (1988) and its sequels.Dourif broke from the horror genre with roles in Fatal Beauty (1987), Mississippi Burning (1988), Hidden Agenda (1990), and London Kills Me (1991). Recent film work includes the role of Grima Wormtongue in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Since his television debut in the PBS film The Mound Builders (1976), Dourif has made sporadic appearances in a number of television series, such as The X Files (1993), Babylon 5 (1994), Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Ponderosa (2001) (in the recurring role of Frenchy). Show less «

[on if he prefers to play edgier twisted characters] Well, I've been cast as them... and I like to work, so I take those roles. You know, yo...Show more »

[on if he prefers to play edgier twisted characters] Well, I've been cast as them... and I like to work, so I take those roles. You know, you try to be diverse, and try to have fun and round things out. Show less «

I'm formally trained, I don't know what classically trained really means. I've worked with Sanford Meisner. And I've worked at Circle Rep wi...Show more »

I'm formally trained, I don't know what classically trained really means. I've worked with Sanford Meisner. And I've worked at Circle Rep with Marshall W. Mason and Lanford Wilson and some really good people. I was lucky. I had a lot of really good influences. Show less «

I prefer film to the stage. I always like the rehearsal better than I like performing.

I'm a whore. If they have a check and camera and a script and stuff for me to say, I am mostly there, unless I just can't take it. No, reall...Show more »

I'm a whore. If they have a check and camera and a script and stuff for me to say, I am mostly there, unless I just can't take it. No, really, I do like to work. It just depends on whether there is a whole lot of stuff for me to choose from, because if there is I am choosy. If there's not a lot of work, then I try to find some redeeming value in the parts being offered. If it is awful, then, of course, I can't do it. But I have to say, I am pretty lucky in that there are usually things coming in. That said, sometimes it is slow. Show less «

I am good when there is something central about the character. There is always a human theme I attach myself to. I am really looking for som...Show more »

I am good when there is something central about the character. There is always a human theme I attach myself to. I am really looking for something that is moving or enlightening or something with depth as an actor. I look for these kinds of roles. Show less «

I am the type of person that once I make a decision, I must execute. Maybe I am a perfectionist in this way.

There is nothing wrong with horror films. Their existence has definitely had an impact on me. It is important to have scary demons in our wo...Show more »

There is nothing wrong with horror films. Their existence has definitely had an impact on me. It is important to have scary demons in our world on film. We have them in the world. That is why we are afraid, it is nice to have a visual and to have a confrontation with it. Show less «

[To Michael Cimino during post production in Heaven's Gate (1980)] I told Michael, you know man... This thing better be good, because if it ...Show more »

[To Michael Cimino during post production in Heaven's Gate (1980)] I told Michael, you know man... This thing better be good, because if it isn't, they're gonna kill ya! Show less «

I couldn't sit through a scary movie myself to save my life. When I was young, I really loved Halloween and I loved to tell spooky stories, ...Show more »

I couldn't sit through a scary movie myself to save my life. When I was young, I really loved Halloween and I loved to tell spooky stories, but that didn't last. Show less «

(on working with John Huston in Wise Blood (1979)) I was very scared and uncomfortable. I was the lead. I was insecure. I didn't think I cou...Show more »

(on working with John Huston in Wise Blood (1979)) I was very scared and uncomfortable. I was the lead. I was insecure. I didn't think I could act my way out of a paper bag, you know. Oddly enough, he was the one who left me alone the most. Show less «

When I take a role, the criteria is feeding my family. That comes first. I have to work with what's available, like everybody else.

Being a character actor is a very insecure life. You don't always get to do what you want. I guess the reason I've held on is because I love...Show more »

Being a character actor is a very insecure life. You don't always get to do what you want. I guess the reason I've held on is because I love it. Show less «

(on his acting style) Normally, the way I work is I try to learn everything kind of mechanically, without any feeling, and I let that come a...Show more »

(on his acting style) Normally, the way I work is I try to learn everything kind of mechanically, without any feeling, and I let that come as it goes along. That's the way I was taught. After a certain amount of time, you get better and better and better and then it just comes. What you can do unconsciously, when it's an accident and you don't mean to do it, is the best stuff. All (acting) technique is based on when it's not working. Show less «

(on filming Fatal Beauty (1987)) (Director) Tom (Holland) and Whoopi (Goldberg) hated each other, it was a tense set. I've never seen two pe...Show more »

(on filming Fatal Beauty (1987)) (Director) Tom (Holland) and Whoopi (Goldberg) hated each other, it was a tense set. I've never seen two people hate each other more. I don't think she liked him from the get-go, and second of all Whoopi wanted to do an anti-drug film and that's not what the film was. Show less «

(on the difference working on big budget and low budget films) Well, when I'm working well, there's no difference at all, because I don't ca...Show more »

(on the difference working on big budget and low budget films) Well, when I'm working well, there's no difference at all, because I don't care. Except, you know, the place you go to after and in between is nicer, a lot of times. Independents can be the best experience of them all, because you know the crew better, you know the cinematographer better, everybody's a lot less pretentious... You have less time, because independents don't have any money, so they shoot very fast. It used to be different, independents used to have nice, long shooting schedules. It was very common; 13 or 14 weeks was a very common shooting schedule. Now six weeks is pretty average, and that's very fast to make a movie. Show less «

(on getting involved in acting) Well, my mother was an actress. She married my father and moved to West Virginia where my grandfather had bu...Show more »

(on getting involved in acting) Well, my mother was an actress. She married my father and moved to West Virginia where my grandfather had built a factory, and that was the end of her career. When I was young, she used to read to us all. She read Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer and King Arthur, and a bunch of really good books. She would always become all the characters; I just remember everything was very alive. I really felt I was wherever she said I was; she was very talented. She was in a play, and I went to a rehearsal and I watched her rehearse, she was doing Anastasia. She was incredible, and it just made me want to learn how to act. Show less «

We all have an edge. We all are floating our psyche on top with a great ocean underneath.

You know, you try to be diverse, and try to have fun and round things out.

If it's stage, the two most important artists are the actor and the playwright. If it's film, THE most important person is the director. The...Show more »

If it's stage, the two most important artists are the actor and the playwright. If it's film, THE most important person is the director. The director says where the camera goes. Show less «

If it wasn't for the devil, we wouldn't be here, would we?

Gee, I certainly hope I'm not a scary person in real life. It's not like people run from me when they see me. People are usually pretty nice...Show more »

Gee, I certainly hope I'm not a scary person in real life. It's not like people run from me when they see me. People are usually pretty nice when they meet me. If they're scared, they keep their shuddering to themselves. Show less «

The universe is dynamic. When we are creative, we are the most alive and in touch with it.

Of course, I would like to play the guy next door, but nobody's going to hire me for that kind of role.