Today, the hero of our story will be the famous film and television actor from the United States - James Woods. He is familiar to most viewers around the world thanks to his roles in such films as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Policeman, Chaplin, Naprolom, Specialist and many others.
James Woods: photo, biography
The future Hollywood celebrity was born on April 18, 1947 in the American town of Vernal, located in Utah. The head of the family was a professional military man. Largely due to this, the boy was brought up in severity, the result of which was not only excellent grades at school, but also complexes, children's fears and self-doubt. Woods desire to achieve success first in science, and then in the acting field is largely due to the desire to overcome his own, as it seemed to him, inferiority and to demonstrate to surrounding people his superiority over them.
So, having graduated from high school in 1965 as an excellent student, young James entered the University of Massachusetts at the Department of Political Science. However, four years later, Woods dropped out and went to New York to try himself in the artistic field. First, he honed his skills in various not very well-known theaters, and then, thanks to his talent, he got into the main Broadway troupe.
Movie debut
The young actor first appeared on the big screen in 1972. His film debut was immediately two films directed by E. Kazan - "Guests" and "Hickey and God." The excellent work of the young Woods was quickly noticed, and the next year he took part in the filming of the series “Police Officer” (1973-1978), as well as the films “Meeting of Two Hearts” and “Police Story”. Since 1974, the actor began to work in the popular project "Detective Rockford Dossier."
James Woods, whose filmography was constantly replenished with new paintings, was gaining popularity. So, the audience every year had the opportunity to see their new idol both on large screens and on TV. So, in 1975, films like “Welcome Back, Cotter”, “Night Movements” and “Distance” were released. The following year, Woods starred in the films Alex and the Gypsy and Family. Then followed the participation of James in the film "Raid on Entebbe" (1977). Despite the fact that the actor got mostly secondary roles, he always attracted the attention of the audience with his magnificent game.
As for work on television, in the 70s, James was remembered by the public thanks to his work in the 1978 Holocaust mini-series. The following year, Woods again appeared on the big screens, playing a cruel psychopath - a police assassin in the film "Onion Field". Actors such as John Savage, Priscilla Poynter and Franklin Sills became his partners on the set in this project.
1980s
James Woods, whose films invariably attracted the attention of the viewer, despite the fact that for the most part the actor played secondary roles, regularly continued to appear on the screen. The real success to the hero of our story came in the 80s. So, in 1981, he starred in two films - "The Black Ball" and "Witness." The first tape did not receive much success at the box office, but the second project turned out to be a real masterpiece. In 1985, the thriller Witness was nominated for the most prestigious Academy Award in the Best Film category. In addition, this picture was included in the list of the most passionate American films of the century according to AFI.
The next big success for James was the role of a calculating gangster in the cult film 1984 directed by Serge Leone, Once Upon a Time in America. Woods was made up of stars such as Elizabeth McGovern and Robert De Niro. The picture was put forward in 16 nominations, of which she won 11. In the same year, another film with the participation of James under the title “No matter what” appeared in the box office, an adaptation of the novel by Jeffrey Homes.
Career continuation
In 1985, actor James Woods starred in two films at once: "Joshua Then and Now" and in the film adaptation of Stephen King's "Cat's Eye". His next truly successful work was the main role in the film directed by Oliver Stone “Salvador”, which tells about the fate of an American journalist who was captured and ultimately changed his view of things. In the same 1986, Woods became the winner of the prestigious Emmy Award for his role in the film "Promise."
James was literally on top of success. So, in 1987, he played another outstanding role - in the thriller John Flynn's "Best Seller". Victoria Tennan and Brian Dennehy became his partners on the set in this project . This was followed by the actor’s participation in such films as “The Police Officer” (1988), “The Broken Image” (1988), “Relations of Kinship” (1989), “Believer of the Truth” (1989) and “My Name is Bill V” (1989) . Thanks to his latest work, James Woods won an Emmy Award.
1990s
James Woods, whose filmography already included a number of outstanding works, appreciated by both the audience and film critics, continued his successful career. In 1990, a picture was released with his participation, “Women and Men - Stories of Seduction”. In this project, Woods worked for Melanie Griffith, Beau Bridges, Ray Liotta and Dominic Hoxley.
The next year, a comedy thriller called “Naprolom” was released. This film was perfectly received by the audience. Then the actor’s participation in the 1991 Boys tape followed. However, this picture went unnoticed.
1992 was a very fruitful year for Woods. He took part in the work on the painting "Chaplin." The main role in this project was played by the inimitable Robert Downey Jr. Then followed films with James's participation, such as "Talking Frankly," "The Duel at Diggstown." Another great success of Woods was the role in the 1994 film "Specialist." Also, the actor often appeared on television. So, in 1993-1995 he starred in the TV series "Fallen Angels", and from 1994 to 2008 periodically appeared in episodes of "Ambulance".
2000s
James Woods continued to act actively with the beginning of the new millennium. So, in 2001, he played the main role in the drama "Dirty Pictures". Then followed the projects "Strong Woman" and the comedy "Scary Movie 2". The next appearance of the actor on the big screens occurred in the movie John Cue (2002) by Nick Cassavetes. In the following years, James Woods starred in such films as The Story of a Girl (2003), Northfolk (2003), End of the Game (2006), Shark (2006) and others. In addition, the actor took part in the scoring of the popular animated series "Family Guy".
Last works
In 2011, James Woods again appeared on large screens in the acclaimed film "Straw Dogs." The year 2013 was also very fruitful for the actor, during which three films with his participation were released immediately: “The Storm of the White House”, “Jobs: Empire of Temptation” and “Ray Donovan”. Loyal fans of the hero of our story sincerely hope that in the near future their idol will again delight the audience with new interesting roles both on the big screen and on television.
James Woods: personal life
The actor has always enjoyed great popularity among women. However, for some reason, he was not particularly attracted to a serious relationship. Despite this, during his long life, James was twice officially married, but both marriages eventually broke up. His first wife in 1980 was the actress Katherine Morrison. The couple divorced three years later. In 1989, Woods also married his acting colleague Sarah Owen. However, this union lasted a little over a year and ended in divorce.