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Powers Boothe

 
Actor: Powers Boothe
  • Born: Jun 01, 1949 in Snyder, Texas
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '80s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Crime, Drama
  • Career Highlights: The Emerald Forest, Southern Comfort, Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
  • First Major Screen Credit: Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980)

Biography

American character actor Powers Boothe was born in Texas and studied at Southern Methodist University before spending several years in regional theater. He began showing up in films and TV during the '80s. He won an Emmy for his intense portrayal of the Reverend Jim Jones, a minister who led a mass suicide in the two-part CBS miniseries Guyana Tragedy. In 1983, Boothe joined the distinguished company of Dick Powell, Robert Montgomery, and Humphrey Bogart when he stepped into the role of cool private eye Philip Marlowe for a series of HBO specials. Throughout the rest of the '80s, he played authority figures in action movies like Red Dawn, Extreme Prejudice, Rapid Fire, and Tombstone.

However good at being a tough guy, Boothe excelled at his dramatic opportunities as well. In 1987 he played a father searching for his son in John Boorman's The Emerald Forest. In 1995, he portrayed Alexander Haig in Oliver Stone's biopic Nixon. Boothe then re-teamed with the director for his next film, U-Turn. In 2000 he starred as Navy mentor Captain Pullman in Men of Honor with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Robert De Niro. The next year he portrayed the Roman General Flavius Aetius in the USA network original miniseries Attila. After returning to his home state of Texas to play Agent Wesley Doyle in Bill Paxton's directorial debut, Frailty, Boothe joined the cast of the 2004 HBO Western series Deadwood. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
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Powers Boothe.
Born June 1, 1948 (1948-06-01) (age 61)
Snyder, Texas, USA
Spouse(s) Pamela Ann Boothe

Powers Allen Boothe (born June 1, 1948) is an American television and film actor. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning 1980 portrayal of Jim Jones and his turn as Cy Tolliver on the HBO series Deadwood.

Contents

Biography

Personal life

Boothe was born on a farm in Snyder, the seat of Scurry County in west Texas, the son of Emily Kathryn (née Reeves) and Merrill Vestal Boothe.[1] He is of English and Native American descent.

Boothe is the father of actress Parisse Boothe. He resides in Los Angeles, where he raises racing quarter horses. He attended Texas State University (then Southwest Texas State College) in San Marcos as an undergraduate, where he joined Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity and received his Master of Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1972.

Career

After graduating from college, Boothe joined the repertory company of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, with roles in Henry IV, Part 2 (portraying Henry IV of England), Troilus and Cressida, and others. His New York stage debut was in the 1974 Lincoln Center production of Richard III. Five years later, his Broadway theater debut came in a starring role in the one-act play Lone Star, written by James McLure. Boothe first came to national attention in 1980, playing Jim Jones in the CBS-TV movie Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones. Boothe's portrayal of the crazed cult leader received critical acclaim. In Time's story on the production, Boothe was praised: "There is one extraordinary performance. A young actor named Powers Boothe captures all the charisma and evil of 'Dad', Jim Jones."

Boothe won the Emmy Award for his role, beating out veterans Henry Fonda and Jason Robards. As the Screen Actors Guild were on strike in the fall of 1980, he was the only actor to cross picket lines to attend the ceremonies.[2] He said at the time, "This may be either the bravest moment of my career or the dumbest."

Boothe joined the ranks of Humphrey Bogart and other actors when he portrayed Philip Marlowe in a series of short films for HBO in the 1980s. He appeared in films like Southern Comfort, A Breed Apart, Red Dawn, The Emerald Forest, Oliver Stone's Nixon (where he played Chief of Staff Alexander Haig), U-Turn, and Extreme Prejudice, as well as HBO films like Into The Homeland and By Dawn's Early Light. He also appeared in the 1990 CBS-TV film Family of Spies, in which he played traitor Navy Officer John Walker. Boothe also portrayed Curly Bill Brocius in Tombstone, as well as the disloyal senior Army officer in Blue Sky (opposite Jessica Lange's Oscar-winning performance).

In 2001, he starred as Flavius Aëtius, the Roman general in charge of stopping the Hun invasion in the made-for-TV mini-series Attila. Most recently, Boothe has played a featured role as brothel-owner Cy Tolliver on the HBO series Deadwood, and the seedy Senator Roark in the motion picture Sin City. He is the voice of one of the characters in the 2005 video game Area 51 and Gorilla Grodd, the hyper-intelligent telepathic supervillain in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. He voiced the villain, Kane, in the 2008 video game entitled Turok.

He was a special guest star on 24, where he played Vice President Noah Daniels. He returned in the prequel to the seventh season, 24: Redemption. Just after taking the role as acting President, Boothe is seen exiting Air Force Two with F-15s in the background. Boothe played a downed F-15 pilot in Red Dawn. In March 2008, he narrated a television campaign ad for Senator John McCain's presidential campaign.[3]

Boothe maintains a private art collection which includes Western paintings of his friend and fellow actor Buck Taylor.

Filmography

References

External links


 
 
Learn More
Into the Homeland (1987 Crime Film)
A Cry for Love (1980 Drama Film)
The Plutonium Incident (1980 Drama Film)

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