John Malkovich

John Gavin Malkovich was born on December 9, 1953, in Christopher, Illinois. His mother, Joe Anne Choisser, owned a local newspaper, and his father, Daniel Leon Malkovich, was a state conservation director. He grew up in Benton, Illinois, where he participated in plays and a folk gospel group during high school. After attending Eastern Illinois University and Illinois State University, he pursued acting studies at the William Esper Studio. In 1976, Malkovich became a charter member of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, newly founded with his friend Gary Sinise. His early theatre work included winning an Obie Award for Sam Shepard’s “True West” in New York and appearing with Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway revival of “Death of a Salesman” in 1984, which later earned him an Emmy Award when adapted for television in 1985.

Malkovich’s film career began with his big-screen debut as a blind lodger in “Places in the Heart” (1984), which secured him an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He further established his presence in films like “The Killing Fields” (1984) and “The Glass Menagerie” (1987). A significant role came as Vicomte de Valmont in “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988), where his performance opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Glenn Close elevated his industry standing. He garnered another Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of a political assassin in Clint Eastwood’s “In the Line of Fire” (1993). In 1994, he played Kurtz in the TV movie “Heart of Darkness.” Beyond acting, Malkovich has directed theatre, earning a Molière Award in 2008 for his French production of “Good Canary” and the Milton Schulman Award for Best Director at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2016 for directing the English version. His film directorial debut, “The Dancer Upstairs,” was released in 2002.

Malkovich has consistently taken on varied projects throughout his career, including playing a variation of himself in “Being John Malkovich” (1999), producing films like “Juno” (2007) and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012), and starring in the HBO series “The New Pope” (2020) and Netflix’s “Space Force” (2020–2022). He has also ventured into fashion design, launching his menswear collection “Uncle Kimono” in 2003 and “Technobohemian” in 2011 through his company, Mrs. Mudd. Known for often playing menacing villains, Malkovich is fluent in French, having lived in France for nearly a decade. He is also a co-owner of a restaurant and nightclub in Lisbon and developed a wine label, Les Quelles de la Coste, from his farm in France.