Brad Dourif Biography

Bradford Claude "Brad" Dourif (born March 18, 1950) is an American stage, film, and voice actor, best known for playing Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (which won him a Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), Chucky in the Chucky franchise, Grma Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings, Deputy Clinton Pell in Mississippi Burning, Piter De Vries in Dune and Doc Cochran in Deadwood (for which he earned an Emmy Award nomination).

Dourif has worked with director Werner Herzog on many occasions, appearing in Scream of Stone, The Wild Blue Yonder, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?. From June to September 2013, he starred in an Off Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play, his first stage appearance in 29 years.

Early life

Dourif was born in Huntington, West Virginia, on March 18, 1950, one of six children born to Joan Mavis Felton (ne Bradford), an actress, and Jean Henri Dourif, an art collector who owned and operated a dye factory.

His paternal grandparents emigrated from France, and his paternal grandfather co-founded the Standard Ultramarine and Color Company in Huntington. After Dourif's father died in 1953, his mother remarried champion golfer William C. Campbell, who helped raise Dourif and his five siblings (four sisters and one brother). From 1963 to 1965, Dourif attended the private Aiken Preparatory School in Aiken, South Carolina. There, he pursued his interests in art and acting. Although he briefly considered becoming a flower arranger, he was eventually inspired to become an actor by his mother's participation as an actress in a community theater called "Give me Shelter".

After Aiken, he attended Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, graduating in 1968. Dourif attended Marshall University for a time, before quitting college and moving to New York City to study acting on the advice of actress Conchata Ferrell.

Career

Stage

Starting in school productions, Dourif progressed to community theater, joining up with the Huntington Community Players while attending Marshall University. In New York City, he studied with Sanford Meisner, and worked with Marshall Mason and Lanford Wilson at the Circle Repertory Company. During the early 1970s, Dourif appeared in a number of plays, off-Broadway and at Woodstock, New York, including The Ghost Sonata, The Doctor in Spite of Himself, and When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, in which he was spotted by director Milo Forman who cast him in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).

In 2013, after a three-decade absence from the stage, Dourif chose to star alongside Amanda Plummer in the Off-Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play that played to critical acclaim at the New World Stages. He explained, in a filmed interview released by the producers, why he broke his 29-year hiatus from acting in live theater: "I hated the stage, did not want to do it. And then somebody said, 'Will you do a play? It's with Amanda Plummer', and I said, 'Oh shit! No. Oh God, I'm gonna have to do this...'". It opened on June 10, 2013 and closed on September 29, 2013. The play was subject to a number of performance cancellations, one relating to Dourif's absence, due to a death in the family. Plummer refused to perform without Dourif, notwithstanding the presence of an understudy.

Film

Although One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is frequently cited as Dourif's film debut, his first acting for screen was in a low-budget film called Split, which was never released. He followed this with a part in the 1975 film W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, but his bit part was omitted from the final cut of the film. His portrayal of the vulnerable Billy Bibbit in Cuckoo's Nest ended up being his big break, earning him a Golden Globe Award (Best Actor Debut) and a British Academy Award (Supporting Actor) as well as a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 1981, Vincent Canby listed Dourif as one of twelve actors to watch, calling Dourif "one of the most intense, most interesting young film actors of his generation." 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.

Dourif has often played eccentric or disturbed characters, starting with Cuckoo's Nest and continuing with Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), John Huston's Wise Blood (1979), Forman's Ragtime (1981), Marc Didden's Istanbul (1985) and David Lynch's Dune (1984) and Blue Velvet (1986).

Dourif has appeared in a number of horror films, notably as the voice of Chucky in the Chucky franchise. He portrayed the Gemini Killer in The Exorcist III (1990) and appeared in Death Machine (1994) and Alien: Resurrection (1997). He later appeared as Sheriff Lee Brackett in Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009). In 2013, Dourif reprised his role as the voice of Chucky in the sixth installment of the Child's Play franchise, Curse of Chucky, which was a straight-to-DVD release. His daughter, Fiona Dourif, also starred with him.

Other notable film roles include Grma Wormtongue in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and supporting roles in Fatal Beauty (1987), Mississippi Burning (1988), Hidden Agenda (1990), London Kills Me (1991) and Sinner (2007).

Dourif was initially cast as the Scarecrow in Batman Forever (1995) while Tim Burton was attached to the project. However, Joel Schumacher eventually took over the project and instead cast Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Jim Carrey as the Riddler.

Television

In 1984, Dourif played a suspected serial killer in the episode "Number Eight" of Tales of the Unexpected. In 1994, he appeared in The X-Files episode "Beyond the Sea" as the psychic serial killer Luther Lee Boggs. He also portrayed Lon Suder in a three episode story arc on Star Trek: Voyager and guest starred as a troubled monk haunted by visions in Babylon 5. Dourif later gained acclaim as Doc Cochran in Deadwood, receiving a 2004 Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series."

In 2011, he guest starred in the third-season finale of Fringe and in 2014 he made a brief cameo in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "The End of the Beginning."

Music

In 2012, Dourif contributed spoken word vocals to three songs on the album Misery Together by the Norwegian duo Thinguma*jigSaw. Dourif also appears in the music videos for "Stranger in Town" (1984) by Toto and "Drinking from the Bottle" (2012) by Calvin Harris.

Personal life

Dourif has been married twice. He has one daughter, Fiona, with his former wife Joni, and adopted Joni's daughter, Kristina Dourif Tanoue.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings		Uncredited
1975	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	Billy Bibbit	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1977	Group Portrait with Lady	Boris Koltowski
1978	Eyes of Laura Mars	Tommy Ludlow
1979	Studs Lonigan	Danny O'Neill
1979	Wise Blood	Hazel Motes
1980	Heaven's Gate	Mr. Eggleston
1981	Ragtime	Younger Brother
1984	Dune	The Mentat Piter De Vries
1985	Istanbul	Martin Klamski
1986	Blue Velvet	Raymond
1986	Impure Thoughts	Kevin Harrington
1987	Fatal Beauty	Leo Nova
1988	Child's Play	Chucky (voice)/Charles Lee Ray
1988	Mississippi Burning	Deputy Clinton Pell	Nominated"?Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
1989	Sonny Boy	Weasel
1990	Child's Play 2	Chucky (voice)
1990	Spontaneous Combustion	Sam
1990	Horseplayer	Bud Cowan
1990	Graveyard Shift	Tucker Cleveland
1990	The Exorcist III	James Venamun	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
1990	Hidden Agenda	Paul Sullivan
1990	Chaindance	Johnny Reynolds	Nominated"?Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
1990	Grim Prairie Tales	Farley
1991	Murder Blues	John Barnes
1991	Child's Play 3	Chucky (voice)
1991	Jungle Fever	Leslie
1991	Body Parts	Remo Lacey	Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor
1991	Scream of Stone	Fingerless
1991	London Kills Me	Hemingway
1992	Final Judgement	Father Tyrone
1992	Critters 4	Al Bert
1993	Trauma	Dr. Lloyd
1993	Amos & Andrew	Officer Donnie Donaldson
1994	Color of Night	Clark
1994	Death Machine	Dante
1995	Murder in the First	Byron Stamphill
1995	Phoenix	Reiger
1996	Sworn to Justice	Teddy
1996	A Step Toward Tomorrow	Kirby
1997	Jamaica Beat	Tom Peterson
1997	Nightwatch	Duty Doctor
1997	Best Men	The Vet
1997	Alien: Resurrection	Dr. Gediman
1998	Brown's Requiem	Edwards
1998	Senseless	Dr. Wheedon
1998	Progeny	Dr. Bert Clavell
1998	Urban Legend	Michael McDonnell	Uncredited
1998	Bride of Chucky	Chucky (voice)
1999	The Diary of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man	Gabriel
1999	Cypress Edge	Colin McCammon
1999	Interceptors	David M. Webber
1999	Silicon Towers	Alton
2000	Shadow Hours	Roland Montague
2000	The Prophecy 3: The Ascent	Zealot
2001	The Ghost	Lt. Garland
2001	Soulkeeper	Mr. Pascal
2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Grma Wormtongue
2003	The Box	Stan
2003	Vlad	Radescu
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Grma Wormtongue	Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (Extended Edition only)
2004	Seed of Chucky	Chucky (voice)
2004	The Devil's Due at Midnight	The Dark One
2004	The Hazing	Professor Kapps
2004	El Padrino	Cyrus
2005	Drop Dead Sexy	Herman
2005	The Wild Blue Yonder	The Alien
2005	Man of Faith	B. B. Gallen
2006	Pulse	Thin Bookish Guy
2007	Sinner	Caddie
2007	The List	Johan Gabini
2007	The Wizard of Gore	Dr. Chong
2007	Halloween	Sheriff Lee Brackett
2008	Touching Home	Clyde Winston
2008	Humboldt County	Jack
2009	Born of Earth	Mayor
2009	Lock and Roll Forever	Zee
2009	Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans	Ned Schoenholtz
2009	Halloween II	Sheriff Lee Brackett
2009	My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?	Uncle Ted
2010	Chain Letter	Mr. Smirker
2010	Junkyard Dog	Sheriff Holk
2011	Fading of the Cries	Mathias
2011	Priest	Salesman
2011	Catch .44	Sheriff Connors
2011	Death and Cremation	Stan
2012	Last Kind Words	Wylon
2012	Black Box	Tom
2013	Santa Monica	Stan	Short film
2013	Gingerclown	Worm Creature (voice)
2013	Blood Shot	Bob
2013	Curse of Chucky	Chucky (voice)/Charles Lee Ray
2013	Malignant	The Man
2014	The Control Group	Dr. Broward
2015	Rosemont	Abe
2017	Cult of Chucky	Chucky (voice)	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	The Mound Builders	Chad Jasker	Television film
1977	The Gardener's Son	Robert McEvoy	Television film
1978	Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force	Sgt. Leonard Matlovich	Television film
1980	Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones	David Langtree	Television film
1982	I, Desire	Paul	Television film
1986	The Equalizer	Fenn	Episode: "Out of the Past"
1986	Spenser: For Hire	Maxie Lyons	Episode: "Rage"
1986	Rage of Angels	Seymour Bourne	Television film
1986	Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo	Lamar Sands	Television film
1987	Moonlighting	Father McDonovan	Episode: "All Creatures Great...and Not So Great"
1987	The Hitchhiker	Billy Baltimore Jr.	Episode: "The Legendary Billy B."
1987	Miami Vice	Joey Wyatt	Episode: "Theresa"
1989	Murder, She Wrote	Dr. Warren Overman	Episode: "Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble"
1989	Desperado: The Outlaw Wars	Camillus Fly	Television film
1989	Terror on Highway 91	Keith Evans	Television film
1993	Wild Palms	Chickie Levitt	3 episodes
1993	Tales from the Crypt	Virgil	Episode: "People Who Live in Brass Hearses"
1994	The X-Files	Luther Lee Boggs	Episode: "Beyond the Sea"
1994	A Worn Path	Hunter	Television film
1995	Babylon 5	Charles Dexter/Brother Edward	Episode: "Passing Through Gethsemane"
1995	Escape from Terror: The Teresa Stamper Story	Sheriff Bill Douglass	Television film
1995	Escape to Witch Mountain	Luther/Bruno	Television film
1996	Star Trek: Voyager	Lon Suder	3 episodes
1996	Blackout	Thomas Payne	Television film
1996	If Looks Could Kill	M. Eugene 'Gene' Hanson	Television film
1997	Millennium	Dennis Hoffman	Episode: "Force Majeure"
1999	The Norm Show	The Devil	Episode: "Norm and Shelley"
1999	The Magnificent Seven	Rupert Brauner	Episode: "Chinatown"
1999	The Hunger	Manno	Episode: "Sin Seer"
2001-2002	Ponderosa	Maurice Deveraux	8 episodes
2004-2006	Deadwood	Dr. Amos 'Doc' Cochran	33 episodes Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2008	Law & Order	Dr. David Lingard	Episode: "Called Home"
2010	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Dr. Iggy Drexel	Episode: "Torch"
2011	Fringe	Moreau	Episode: "The Day We Died"
2011	Psych	Bernie Bethel	Episode: "Shawn, Interrupted"
2011	Miami Magma	Jacob Capilla	Television film
2012	Wilfred	P.T.	Episode: "Questions"
2012	Criminal Minds	Adam Rain	Episode: "The Lesson"
2012	Swamp Volcano	Jacob Capilla	Television film
2012-2014	Once Upon a Time	Zoso	2 episodes
2013	End of the World	Dr. Walter Brown	Television film
2014	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	Thomas Nash	Episode: "End of the Beginning"

Video games

Year	Title	Role
2001	Myst III: Exile	Saavedro
2002	Run Like Hell	Fred (voice)
2005	GUN	Reverend Josiah Reed (voice)
2012	Dishonored	Piero Joplin (voice)