Tommy Lee Jones

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Birthday:

15 September 1946, San Saba, Texas, USA

Height:

183 cm

Tommy Lee Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, the son of Lucille Marie (Scott), a police officer and beauty shop owner, and Clyde C. Jones, who worked on oil fields. Tommy himself worked in underwater construction and on an oil rig. He attended St. Mark's School of Texas, a prestigious prep school for boys in Dallas, on a scholarship, and went to Harvard on another scholarship. He roomed with future Vice President Al Gore and played offensive guard in the famous 29-29 Harvard-Yale football game of '68 known as "The Tie." He received a B.A. in English literature and graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1969.Following college, he moved to New York and began his theatrical career on Broadway in "A Patriot for Me" (1969). In 1970, he made his film debut in Love Story (1970). While living in New York, he continued to appear in various plays, both on- and off-Broadway: "Fortune and Men's Eyes" (1969); "Four on a Garden" (1971); "Blue Boys" (1972); "Ulysses in Nighttown" (1974). During this time, he also appeared on a daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968) as Dr. Mark Toland from 1971-75. He moved with wife Kate Lardner, granddaughter of short-story writer/columnist Ring Lardner, and her two children from a previous marriage, to Los Angeles.There he began to get some roles on television: Charlie's Angels (1976) (pilot episode); Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976); and The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977). While working on the movie Back Roads (1981), he met and fell in love with Kimberlea Cloughley, whom he later married. More roles in television--both on network and cable--stage and film garnered him a reputation as a strong, explosive, thoughtful actor who could handle supporting as well as leading roles. He made his directorial debut in The Good Old Boys (1995) on TNT. In addition to directing and starring in the film, he co-wrote the teleplay (with J.T. Allen). The film, based on Elmer Kelton's novel, is set in west Texas where Jones has strong family ties. Consequently, this story of a cowboy facing the end of an era has special meaning for him. Show less «

Somebody's gonna give you some money to perform a job, you do your best to make 'em a good hand...

It's no mean calling to bring fun into the afternoons of large numbers of people. That too is part of my job, and I'm happy to serve when ca...Show more »

It's no mean calling to bring fun into the afternoons of large numbers of people. That too is part of my job, and I'm happy to serve when called on. Show less «

My thanks to the Academy for the very finest, greatest award that any actor can ever receive. The only thing a man can say at a time like th...Show more »

My thanks to the Academy for the very finest, greatest award that any actor can ever receive. The only thing a man can say at a time like this is -- I am not really bald. Show less «

I do not have a sense of humor of any recognizable sort.

[on how he learned to direct] I've worked with more than 50 directors and I've paid attention since day one. That's pretty much been my educ...Show more »

[on how he learned to direct] I've worked with more than 50 directors and I've paid attention since day one. That's pretty much been my education, apart from studying art history and shooting with my own cameras. I've seen 50 different sets of mistakes and 50 different ways of achieving. You just leave the bad part out. Show less «

I really enjoyed a remark that Howard Hawks once made. He said the most important thing is not to ask an actor to do anything he can't do. S...Show more »

I really enjoyed a remark that Howard Hawks once made. He said the most important thing is not to ask an actor to do anything he can't do. Same thing goes for horses. Show less «

[on working with famous movie stars] I feel pretty lucky. Those guys, they know my name. They know who I am. Not bad for a little Indian boy...Show more »

[on working with famous movie stars] I feel pretty lucky. Those guys, they know my name. They know who I am. Not bad for a little Indian boy. Not bad. Show less «

You just look for good parts and good stories and a good company to work with. Characters with no integrity are just as interesting as chara...Show more »

You just look for good parts and good stories and a good company to work with. Characters with no integrity are just as interesting as characters with lots of integrity. Show less «

I love cinema, and I love agriculture.

[regarding the furor over the violence in Natural Born Killers (1994)] Those who say that a work of art is an invitation to violent anti-soc...Show more »

[regarding the furor over the violence in Natural Born Killers (1994)] Those who say that a work of art is an invitation to violent anti-social behavior are not very bright. Show less «

It's been said, truthfully, that every actor has a moment in every year, at least, when he knows for sure that he'll never work again. That'...Show more »

It's been said, truthfully, that every actor has a moment in every year, at least, when he knows for sure that he'll never work again. That's a more or less humorous way to point to the insecurity that comes with the job. I think that's why [Laurence Olivier] said, "If you have any choice at all, don't be an actor". Show less «

I bear no resemblance to Douglas MacArthur whatsoever. But a campaign hat, some aviator glasses and a corncob pipe go a long way.

[on Will Smith] Will is more generous than anyone, and he spreads joy. He walks into a studio, walks onto a set, and he makes certain that e...Show more »

[on Will Smith] Will is more generous than anyone, and he spreads joy. He walks into a studio, walks onto a set, and he makes certain that everybody's happy. He can't help himself. Show less «

Harrison [Harrison Ford] is probably the best physical actor working today. I don't simply mean hanging on to the hood of a Nazi truck as it...Show more »

Harrison [Harrison Ford] is probably the best physical actor working today. I don't simply mean hanging on to the hood of a Nazi truck as it zooms around the desert. He has a way of running that's quite articulate. He uses his body very, very well. Show less «

[observation, 2014] The quality of one's emotional life changes over the years, doesn't it? But the basic instincts and desires, greed and h...Show more »

[observation, 2014] The quality of one's emotional life changes over the years, doesn't it? But the basic instincts and desires, greed and hope, seem to remain constant. In the larger scope of things, there's a sense of fulfillment to living a creative life. So I guess that's what keeps me going. Show less «

[on his film, The Homesman (2014)] I don't even know what a western is. I'm interested in making films about the history of my country. I th...Show more »

[on his film, The Homesman (2014)] I don't even know what a western is. I'm interested in making films about the history of my country. I think 'western' means the story has horses and big hats. That's about as descriptive as the term can be. What I'm trying to indicate is that I don't think in terms of genre. And yet I will admit that I've made three movies that had horses and big hats, so there must be something there. Show less «