The following is an overview of events in 1983 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.
Matthew Avery Modine is an American actor. He rose to prominence through his role as U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). Other films include Birdy (1984), Vision Quest (1985), Married to the Mob (1988), Gross Anatomy (1989), Pacific Heights (1990), Short Cuts (1993), Cutthroat Island (1995), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and Oppenheimer (2023). On television, he portrayed Dr. Don Francis in the HBO film And the Band Played On (1993), the oversexed Sullivan Groff on Weeds (2007), Ivan Turing in Proof (2015), and Dr. Martin Brenner in Netflix's Stranger Things (2016–2022).
Donald Adeosun Faison is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his leading role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC/NBC comedy-drama Scrubs (2001–2010), and a supporting role as Murray in both the film Clueless (1995) and the subsequent television series of the same name. He also starred as Phil Chase in the TV Land sitcom The Exes (2011–2015). Faison has also co-starred in the films Waiting to Exhale (1995), Remember the Titans (2000), Uptown Girls (2003), Something New (2006), Next Day Air (2009), Skyline (2010), and Kick-Ass 2 (2013).
Jeremy Merton Sisto is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Billy Chenowith in HBO's Six Feet Under, NYPD Detective Cyrus Lupo in NBC's Law & Order, George Altman in the ABC sitcom Suburgatory, for which he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, and Jubal Valentine in the CBS drama series FBI. He has appeared in such films as Clueless (1995), Suicide Kings (1997), Jesus (1999), Thirteen (2003), and Waitress (2007).
Daniel Sallis Huston is an American actor, director and screenwriter. A member of the Huston family of filmmakers, he is the son of director John Huston and half-brother of actress Anjelica Huston.
Frankie Russel Faison is an American actor known for his role as Deputy Commissioner, and, later, Commissioner, Ervin Burrell in the HBO series The Wire, as Barney Matthews in the Hannibal Lecter franchise, and as Sugar Bates in the Cinemax series Banshee.
Bernard Rose is an English filmmaker, considered a pioneer of digital filmmaking. He is best known for directing the horror films Paperhouse (1988) and Candyman (1992), the historical romances Immortal Beloved (1994) and Anna Karenina (1997), and the independent drama Ivans xtc (2000), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director and the John Cassavetes Award. He has also been nominated for the Grand Prix des Amériques and the Venice Horizons Prize. He has frequently cast actors Danny Huston and Tony Todd in his films. In the 1980s, he directed music videos for UB40, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Bronski Beat.
The British American Drama Academy is a drama school in London, in the United Kingdom. It is affiliated with Sarah Lawrence College and Yale University.
Jack Alexander Huston is a British actor. He appeared as Richard Harrow in the HBO television drama series Boardwalk Empire. He also had a supporting role in the 2013 film American Hustle, portrayed the eponymous Ben-Hur in the 2016 historical drama, and appeared as one of the main characters in the fourth season of the FX anthology series Fargo (2020). In 2023, he starred in the supernatural television series Mayfair Witches.
Mary Willa "Mamie" Gummer is an American actress. She starred in the title role of The CW series Emily Owens, M.D. (2012–2013), and played the recurring role of Nancy Crozier on The Good Wife (2010–2015) and its spin-off, The Good Fight (2018). She has also appeared in the films Evening (2007), Side Effects (2013), Cake (2014), and Ricki and the Flash (2015). Gummer was nominated for the 2016 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for the original production of Ugly Lies the Bone. She is the daughter of Don Gummer and Meryl Streep.
Jeremy John Irons is an English actor and activist. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having won numerous accolades including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. He is one of the few actors who has achieved the "Triple Crown of Acting" in the US having won Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Awards for Film, Television and Theatre.
Scar is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Disney's The Lion King franchise. He was created by screenwriters Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton and animated by Andreas Deja. Scar is introduced in the first film as the ruthless, power-hungry younger brother of Mufasa, the ruler of the Pride Lands. Originally first in line to Mufasa's throne, until he is suddenly replaced by Mufasa's son, Simba, Scar decides to lead an army of hyenas in his plot to take the throne by killing Mufasa and Simba, who escapes into exile, ultimately blaming his brother's death on his nephew.
Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons is an English and Irish actor. He is known for his roles in films such as Red Riding Hood (2011), The White Queen (2013), The Host (2013), Woman in Gold (2014), The Riot Club (2014), Bitter Harvest (2017), and The Wife (2018). He also starred in the spy thriller series Condor (2018–2020).
For the Love of Spock is a 2016 American documentary film about actor Leonard Nimoy produced by 455 Films and directed by his son Adam Nimoy, who started it before his father's death, at the age of 83, on February 27, 2015.
Ruby Wylder Rivera Modine is an American actor and singer. She is best known for playing Sierra Morton in Shameless, and co-starring in the 2017 slasher film Happy Death Day as well as in its sequel as Lori Spengler. She is the lead singer of the band Ruby Modine and the Disease.
Bodied is a 2017 American battle rap comedy-drama film directed by Joseph Kahn, written by Alex Larsen and produced by Eminem, his manager Paul Rosenberg, and Adi Shankar. The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It stars Calum Worthy as Adam, a graduate student who becomes a competitive battle rapper after becoming immersed in the scene while working on his graduate thesis on the subject.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 2018 play based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Harper Lee, adapted for the stage by Aaron Sorkin. It opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on December 13, 2018. The play opened in London's West End at the Gielgud Theatre in March 2022. The show follows the story of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in 1930s Alabama, as he defends Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape. Varying from the book, the play has Atticus as the protagonist, not his daughter Scout, allowing his character to change throughout the show. During development the show was involved in two legal disputes, the first with the Lee estate over the faithfulness of the play to the original book, and the second was due to exclusivity to the rights with productions using an earlier script by Christopher Sergel. During opening week, the production garnered more than $1.5 million in box office sales and reviews by publications such as the New York Times, LA Times and AMNY were positive but not without criticism.
Gravitas Ventures is a film distribution company owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment. The company was founded by Nolan Gallagher in Los Angeles, California in 2006 and moved its headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio in 2019. It focuses on the distribution of Independent feature films and documentaries.
Separation is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by William Brent Bell, from a screenplay by Nick Amadeus and Josh Braun. It stars Rupert Friend, Mamie Gummer, Madeline Brewer, Violet McGraw, Simon Quarterman, and Brian Cox. The film follows a father who must take care of his daughter, after his wife, who filed for divorce, suddenly dies in an accident, as the two become haunted by a mysterious entity.
Till is a 2022 biographical drama film directed by Chinonye Chukwu and written by Michael Reilly, Keith Beauchamp, and Chukwu, and produced by Beauchamp, Reilly, and Whoopi Goldberg. It is based on the true story of Mamie Till, an educator and activist who pursued justice after the murder of her 14-year-old son Emmett in August 1955. The film stars Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie and Jalyn Hall as Emmett. Kevin Carroll, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, Jayme Lawson, Tosin Cole, Sean Patrick Thomas, John Douglas Thompson, Roger Guenveur Smith, and Goldberg also appear in supporting roles.
