John Malkovich Biography
In 1976 'John Malkovich joined Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, newly founded by his friend
Gary Sinise. After that it would take seven years before Malkovich would show up in New York and win an Obie in
Sam Shepard's play "True West". In 1984 Malkovich would appear with
Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman", which would earn him an Emmy when it was made into a made-for-TV movie the next year. His big-screen debut would be as the blind lodger in
Places in the Heart, which earned him an Academy Award Nomination for best supporting actor. Other films would follow, including
The Killing Fields and
The Glass Menagerie, but he would be well remembered as Vicomte de Valmont in
Dangerous Liaisons. Playing against
Michelle Pfeiffer and
Glenn Close in a costume picture helped raise his standing in the industry. He would be cast as the psychotic political assassin in
Clint Eastwood's
In the Line of Fire, for which he would be nominated for both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe. In 1994 Malkovich would portray the sinister Kurtz in the made-for-TV movie
Heart of Darkness, taking the story to Africa as it was originally written. Malkovich has periodically returned to Chicago to both act and direct.
Trivia

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1984" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 36.

The costume he wore in the
Annie Lennox video, "Walking On Broken Glass" was borrowed from the set of
Dangerous Liaisons

Education: Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#70). [1995]

Is of Croatian heritage.

Parents ran and owned local newspaper in Benton Il, his hometown.

Briefly dated
Michelle Pfeiffer.

Children with Peyran, daughter Amandine (b. 1990) and son Lorwy (b. 1992).

His first film experience was a job as an extra in
Robert Altman's 1978 feature
A Wedding.

Has developed a great passion for Portugal, where he has filmed some movies recently. He also keeps a house here, as he co-owns a disco in Lisbon.

Legend has it that he was told by the head of the Theatre Department at Illinois State University that he would not have a career as an actor. Even though he did not graduate from ISU (he never took the constitution test) the Theatre Department still claims him as an alumni. On April 4, 2005 he returned to visit the Theatre Department where he was presented with an official diploma for his bachelor's degree in theatre.

When he was 16, he decided to get his excessive weight under control and lost 70 pounds by eating nothing but Jell-O for two months.

Is a big fan of
Tom Waits and rap artist
Dr. Dre.

In 1976, he quit college in order to work at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater.

His favorite films include:
The Battle of Algiers,
The 400 Blows,
Citizen Kane,
The Conformist,
This Is Spinal Tap,
High Noon, and
It's a Wonderful Life.

Won a Village Voice Obie for his performance in True West in 1984

Won a second Village Voice Obie this time for Direction for Balm in Gilead in 1985

Attended college with
Joan Allen who was occasionally a scene partner of Malkovich's in their acting classes. Later attended another acting class years with
John Mahoney. He encouraged both actors to join the Steppenwolf Theater Company, which they did.

First actor to win a major award (New York Film Critics) for portraying himself in a movie (non-cameo role). The film was
Being John Malkovich.

His performance as himself in
Being John Malkovich is ranked #90 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Frequently visits Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia).
Source provided by imdb (Copyright) - The Internet Movie Database.