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Christian Slater

 
Who2 Biography: Christian Slater, Actor
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  • Born: 18 August 1969
  • Birthplace: New York, New York
  • Best Known As: Wild-eyebrowed star of Heathers and Broken Arrow

Christian Slater made a splash early in his screen career as a rebellious youth in Heathers (1989) and Pump Up the Volume (1990). A professional actor since childhood, his early film roles as an adult included The Name of the Rose (1986, starring Sean Connery) and Francis Ford Coppola's Tucker: The Man and His Dreams (1988, starring Jeff Bridges). Then his new-generation version of Jack Nicholson in Heathers -- opposite rising star Winona Ryder -- earned Slater rave reviews and made him a star. He proved a capable leading man and starred in movies such as Mobsters (1991, with Patrick Dempsey), True Romance (1993, written by Quentin Tarantino) and Murder in the First (1995, with Kevin Bacon). By the late 1990s he was even having a go at being an action hero, in Broken Arrow (1996, with John Travolta) and Hard Rain (1998, with Morgan Freeman). Throughout his movie career Slater has been a favorite of the gossip sheets, thanks to misadventures including thrown punches, substance abuse, domestic squabbles, sexual harassment charges and, in late 2005, a fall from the roof during a Paris Hilton party. His off-screen shenanigans slowed his career somewhat, but he rebounded with a well-received performance in He Was A Quiet Man (2007, with Elisha Cuthbert) and a TV series for 2008, My Own Worst Enemy.

In 2004 he opened a three-month run in London of a production of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, in a role made famous on screen by Jack Nicholson.

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Quotes By: Christian Slater
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Quotes:

"If I make a move, like raise my eyebrows, some critic says I'm doing Nicholson. What am I supposed to do, cut off my eyebrows?"

Actor: Christian Slater
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  • Born: Aug 18, 1969 in New York, New York
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '80s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
  • Career Highlights: Heathers, True Romance, Pump up the Volume
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)

Biography

Born into a show business family -- father Michael Hawkins is a stage actor and mother Mary Jo Slater is a casting director -- Christian Slater made his acting debut at age eight after his mother cast him in the television soap opera One Life to Live on a lark. The following year Slater was on Broadway starring opposite Dick Van Dyke in The Music Man. Slater would remain on Broadway for at least two more productions. As a youth, Slater attended Manhattan's Professional Children's School. He made his television debut in the movie Living Proof: The Hank Williams Junior Story (1983) and his film debut two years later when he was only 16 in The Legend of Billy Jean. Slater earned some of his first favorable notice starring opposite Sean Connery in The Name of the Rose (1986). He next appeared in Tucker, a Man and His Dream (1988), and more films followed after that, but Slater did not become a star until he co-starred opposite Winona Ryder in the darkly satirical Heathers in which he played an anarchic sociopath. His maniacal over-the-top performance led to comparisons with Jack Nicholson. After Heathers, it looked as if Slater was destined to be typecast into playing lunatic villains or seriously troubled youths. In the latter regard, life seemed to mirror his art.

In 1989, he was arrested in West Hollywood for leading the police on a drunken car chase that ended when Slater crashed his car into a telephone pole. While trying to escape the car, he kicked a cop with his cowboy boot and then attempted to flee over a fence. In 1994, he was arrested for taking a gun aboard a plane. In 1997, Slater was arrested for attacking his lover and biting a police officer in the belly while drinking heavily; he was sentenced to spend 90 days in a suburban jail in early 1998, all this just one day after his newest film, Hard Rain, premiered. Shortly after sentencing, Slater admitted that he had also been taking cocaine and heroin at the time. As part of his sentence, he had to serve post-jail time in a drug/alcohol rehab program and attend a year-long program on preventing domestic violence.

Despite his personal struggles, Slater has maintained a film career starring as a high school geek with a cool secret life in Pump Up the Volume (1990) to the romantic Bed of Roses (1996) to high-voltage actioners like Broken Arrow (1996). In his 1997 production Julian Po, he gained weight, grew a mustache, and appeared as a suicidal bookkeeper who embezzles money from his company so he can fulfill one final wish. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Christian Slater
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Christian Slater

Christian Slater in 2004
Born Christian Michael Leonard Slater
August 18, 1969 (1969-08-18) (age 40)
New York City, New York, U.S.

Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor who has starred in films such as Heathers, Kuffs, True Romance, He Was a Quiet Man, Broken Arrow, The Legend of Billie Jean and Pump Up The Volume.

Contents

Early life

Slater was born in New York City of English and Irish descent, the son of Mary Jo Slater (née Lauden), a casting executive and producer, and Michael Hawkins (né Thomas Knight Slater), an actor who is also known as Michael Gainsborough.[1][2] Slater has a maternal half-brother, Ryan Slater, who is also an actor.[3] Slater attended the Dalton School, the Professional Children's School and the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.[3]

Career

Following a run on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, Slater made his Broadway debut as the lisping Winthrop Paroo opposite Dick Van Dyke in the 1980 revival of The Music Man.[1] Additional Broadway credits include Copperfield, Merlin, Macbeth, Side Man, and The Glass Menagerie. In addition he has performed in London's West End in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Swimming With Sharks. Slater made his big screen debut in 1985's film The Legend of Billie Jean, and had significant roles in the 1986 mystery film The Name of the Rose, the 1989 dark comedy Heathers and Skateboarding flick Gleaming The Cube, and the 1990 teen film Pump Up the Volume. His most notable roles from the '90s include the role of outlaws "Arkansas" Dave Rudabaugh in 1990's Young Guns II and Clarence Worley in 1993's True Romance. He also voiced the character John Watson a.k.a. "Wonko the Sane" in BBC Radio 4's production of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.[4]

Christian Slater has signed on to join The Forgotten, ABC's new crime drama from producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The show premiered on Tuesday, September 22 (leading out of the Dancing with the Stars results show). The Forgotten revolves around the Forgotten Network, a team of amateur sleuths who work on cases involving unidentified victims.[5]

Personal life

In 2000, Slater married Ryan Haddon, the daughter of '70s model Dayle Haddon. The couple have two children, Jaden Christopher (b. 1999) and Eliana Sophia (b. 2001). As of early 2005, they separated.[6] He divides his time between New York City and Los Angeles and he owns a home in London.[citation needed] In 2007, Slater made news for stating that he is still in love with Heathers co-star Winona Ryder.[7]

Slater was arrested on charges of third degree sexual abuse on May 31, 2005. A woman claimed that Slater grabbed her buttocks on a Manhattan street. During his arrest, Slater said, "I didn't do anything. This is bullshit!"[8]

He was once quoted as saying "Work is my hobby, staying sober is my job."[9]

He has been erroneously thought to be related to Helen Slater. In addition to their shared surname, the myth is further fueled by their portrayal of sister and brother in The Legend of Billie Jean. Also, the DVD of Supergirl, featuring Helen Slater, included a critic's review which wrongly stated she is his sister.

Charity work

Slater has been a supporter of several charities, including 21st Century Leaders, Global Green and Whatever It Takes,[10] Slater appeared in an educational video on behalf of Nelson Mandela’s 46664 charity for AIDS awareness.[11] He has also worked to promote humanitarian work in South Africa.[12] In 1994, Slater donated his paycheck from the film Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles to River Phoenix’s favorite charities.[1] Slater had taken a role in the film reserved for Phoenix after the latter died in 1993. In early May 2009, Slater visited wounded and recovering soldiers of Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the USO.[1]

Awards

Slater won the MTV Movie Award in 1993 for his work in Untamed Heart. In 2001 he won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for The Contender.[13]

Filmography

Television

References

  1. ^ a b c d Stated on Inside the Actors Studio
  2. ^ Christian Slater Biography (1969-)
  3. ^ a b Christian Slater Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4461153.stm
  5. ^ Matt Mitovich (06 July 2009). "It’s official: Christian Slater joins ABC drama series". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Slater-Forgotten-official-1007665.aspx. Retrieved 2009-07-06. 
  6. ^ Christian Slater splits from wife Ryan Haddon.
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ [2]
  9. ^ [3]
  10. ^ [4]and USO.
  11. ^ [5]
  12. ^ [6]
  13. ^ [7]
  14. ^ a b Filmography
  15. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102975/
  16. ^ Due to his outrage at the film, he will not return for the sequel and has since been replaced by Rick Yune.
  17. ^ The Ten Commandments : Epic Stories of the Bible

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Preceded by
Dana Carvey		 MTV Video Music Awards host
1993		 Succeeded by
Roseanne Barr

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