Crispin Glover | |
---|---|
Born | Crispin Hellion Glover April 20, 1964 New York City, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1978–present |
Father | Bruce Glover |
Website | crispinglover |
Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) [1] is an American actor, filmmaker and artist. He is known for portraying eccentric character roles on screen. His breakout role was as George McFly in Back to the Future (1985), which he followed by playing Layne, one of the leading roles in River's Edge (1986). Through the 1990s, Glover garnered attention for portraying smaller but notable roles, including Cousin Del in Wild at Heart (1990), Andy Warhol in The Doors (1991), Bobby McBurney in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and the Train Fireman in Dead Man (1995).
Starting with his role as the Thin Man in Charlie's Angels (2000), he began to star in more mainstream films. The roles in these films include reprising his Thin Man role in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), portraying the titular character in Willard (2003), Grendel in Beowulf (2007), The Knave of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Phil in Hot Tub Time Machine (2010). From 2017 to 2021 he starred as Mr. World in the Starz television series American Gods .
In the late 1980s, Glover started his company, Volcanic Eruptions, which publishes his books such as Rat Catching (1988) and also serves as the production company for the films he has directed, What Is It? (2005) and It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (2007). These films have never received a traditional theatrical release; instead, Glover tours with the films, holding screenings in theatres around the world. [2]
Glover was born in New York City. He moved to Los Angeles with his family at the age of five. [3] He is the son of actor Bruce Glover and actress and dancer Marion Elizabeth Lillian "Betty" Krachey, [4] who retired upon his birth. He was named after the Saint Crispin's Day speech from William Shakespeare's play Henry V , which his parents enjoyed. [5] "Hellion", his real middle name, had earlier been used as a false middle name by his father, who did not like his own real Germanic middle name, Herbert. [5]
Glover's father is of English, Czech, [6] and Swedish descent, while his mother has Czech [7] and German ancestry. [8] [9] As a child, Glover attended the Mirman School from first through ninth grades. He then attended both Venice High for 10th and 11th grades, and Beverly Hills High School for 12th grade; he graduated in 1982.
Glover began acting professionally at the age of 13, his first role being Friedrich von Trapp in a theatre production of The Sound of Music at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with Florence Henderson. [10] He appeared in several sitcoms as a teenager, including Happy Days and Family Ties. He appeared in a main role alongside Nicolas Cage in a television pilot titled The Best Of Times (1981) which aired on ABC, but was never picked up by the network. His first film role was in My Tutor (1983), which he subsequently followed with roles in Teachers and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (both 1984). [11] He then worked with director Trent Harris on the third chapter of the Beaver Trilogy, entitled The Orkly Kid (1985).
His breakout role was as George McFly in Robert Zemeckis's Back to the Future (1985), an international box office success. His character was the father of Marty McFly, despite being three years younger than Michael J. Fox in real life. During filming, Glover vocalized his objections to the film's ending, believing it to be too capitalistic and materialistic in intent. Zemeckis ignored his complaints. [12] Due to these initial disagreements and a salary dispute, Glover did not return for either of the Back to the Future sequels and his role was taken over by Jeffrey Weissman.
After the success of Back to the Future, Glover sought to star in films that "questioned" the status quo and contained themes that aligned with his own interests. This pursuit led him to star as Layne in River's Edge (1986). Struggling to find any other films that reflected his own interests, Glover sought to work with film directors he admired. These include David Lynch on Wild at Heart (1990) and Hotel Room (1993), John Boorman on Where the Heart Is (1990), Dennis Hopper on Chasers (1994), and Miloš Forman on The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996). He also became the first actor to portray Andy Warhol in a widely released film, Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991).
Beginning in the 2000s, Glover chose the funding of his own films as a filmmaker to be the primary factor in deciding what films he would act in. After this decision, Glover would feature more prominently in more mainstream films, starting with Charlie's Angels (2000), playing the role of The Thin Man, a role he would reprise in the 2003 sequel. [13] The character had initially been written as a speaking role, but Glover, noting that the lines as written were exposition, convinced the producers to eliminate the lines to create a precise image for the character. He would go on to portray the titular character in Willard (2003), his first time portraying the protagonist in a studio-funded film. Glover appeared in Beowulf (2007), as the creature Grendel, playing the part through performance capture technology. The film was his first collaboration with director Robert Zemeckis since the original Back to the Future. In 2010, Glover played Ilosovic Stayne/the Knave of Hearts in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and the one-armed bellhop Phil in Hot Tub Time Machine .
Glover portrayed his first series regular role on television as Mr. World in American Gods (2017–2021), while continuing to still act in films like We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018) and Roger Avery's Lucky Day (2019). He reunited with River's Edge director Tim Hunter on the Bret Easton Ellis-scripted slasher film Smiley Face Killers (2020), as the main antagonist. In 2022, he appeared in the Netflix horror anthology series Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities in the episode Pickman's Model (based on the H. P. Lovecraft work of the same name), as the title character.
Glover made his directorial debut with 2005's What Is It? , a surreal film featuring a cast of actors with Down syndrome. He considers it to be part of a trilogy he has dubbed the "It?" trilogy. It premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. With a budget of only $150,000, it took almost a decade to complete, and was originally intended to be a short film. Most of the primary footage was shot in 12 days, stretched over a two-and-a-half-year period. [14]
Glover's second film and second part of the "It?" trilogy, It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. , was written by Utah writer and actor Steven C. Stewart. Stewart was born with severe cerebral palsy and had been confined to a nursing home for about 10 years. The film is a fantastical psychosexual retelling of life from Stewart's point of view. Production was mostly funded by Glover's salary earned from Charlie's Angels and other films. It premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. [15]
Aside from select film festivals, Glover has not screened either film outside the confines of his live performances, which have taken place at theatres and venues around the world. The films have received accolades from associations such as the Ann Arbor Film Festival and Sitges Film Festival. In 2013, Glover was recognized for his directorial work when the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the series It Is Crispin Hellion Glover. The program consisted of screenings of all of his directorial work, live performances, and speaking engagements. [16] [17] [18]
Glover has completed shooting his third feature film as a director, which he developed as a vehicle for his father Bruce Glover and himself to act together. He shot the film on his property in the Czech Republic. This film is not part three of the It? trilogy.
He lists Luis Buñuel, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Stanley Kubrick and Werner Herzog as influences on his filmmaking. [19] Glover was a co-interlocutor with Norm Hill and Werner Herzog for the special feature commentary for the DVD of Herzog's Even Dwarfs Started Small [20] and Fata Morgana , in which he spoke of their influence on What Is It?. [21]
Glover, himself, reports to have published between 15 and 20 books. [22] Oak-Mot, Rat Catching and other titles he has created are featured prominently during his live show presentation entitled Big Slide Show, where he reads aloud and performs sections of the books while visual art from the books are projected behind him.
He constructs the books by reusing old novels and other publications that have fallen into the public domain due to their age (for example, Rat Catching was constructed from an 1896 book Studies in the Art of Rat Catching, and Oak-Mot was constructed from an 1868 novel of the same title). He rearranges text, blacks out certain standing passages, and adds his own prose (and sometimes images) into the margins and elsewhere, thus creating an entirely new story. Six of his books have been published to be bought publicly so far, through his publishing company, Volcanic Eruptions. Other known titles include The Backward Swing and A New World.
* The publishing years listed above may not represent first-edition publication dates, but subsequent available editions.
He also wrote a short essay for Adam Parfrey's book Apocalypse Culture II in 2000. Sharing a title with his directional debut, "What Is It?", the essay is an overtly provocative questioning of the cooperate restraints on American contemporary media and society. [23]
In 1989, during a hiatus from films, Glover released an album titled The Big Problem Does Not Equal the Solution, The Solution Equals Let It Be through Restless Records, produced by Barnes & Barnes. The album features original songs such as "Clowny Clown Clown", odd versions of Lee Hazlewood's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", and Charles Manson's "I'll Never Say Never to Always" (sung in falsetto), and readings from his art books Rat Catching and Oak Mot. Sample pages from these books are featured in the album's liner notes. He also directed a music video for "Clowny Clown Clown".
Glover recorded a version of the Michael Jackson song "Ben" to coincide with the release of his 2003 film Willard ; the song had been written for the sequel to the original 1971 version of the film. In the music video for the song directed by Glover, he sings to a rat named Ben in front of a crowd of aroused women.
Several songs using Glover's name as the title have been recorded by various artists, including shoegaze/gothic rock band Scarling., Chicago outsider musician Wesley Willis, and a New Jersey–based band called Children in Adult Jails.
Glover has residences in Los Angeles, New York City, and the Czech Republic. His residence Zámek Konárovice, 45 minutes east of Prague by train, is a 17th-century 20-acre (8.1 ha) chateau that is recognized as historically significant by the Czech government. The property requires constant upkeep and restoration; according to Glover, "[The property] is a lifetime project that will be in continuous flux and repair for hundreds of years from now, as it has been the hundreds of years before I 'owned' it." [24]
Glover is single, and has no children, citing his busy career as one of the reasons for which he feels unfit to be a father, as he feels that a father should be there for his children. [25] From 2001 to 2003, Glover dated Alexa Lauren, a Penthouse magazine 'Pet of the Month' for September 1999. [26] [27]
Glover appeared on Late Night with David Letterman on July 28, 1987, to promote River's Edge . [28] To the surprise of Letterman and the audience, Glover appeared wearing platform shoes and a wig. During the interview, Glover behaved erratically and nearly kicked Letterman in the face, causing Letterman to walk off the set, to get the "Top-10 List" ready. [28] [29] Four years later, the film Rubin & Ed premiered, in which Glover had a starring role as titular character Rubin Farr. After the release of Rubin & Ed, some speculated that Glover was acting in-character as Rubin Farr during his appearance on Late Night. [28] [29] [30] [31] Glover has refused to go into detail about the reasons for his behavior on the show, other than to mention that he was flattered that fans are still speculating on the performance decades later. [32] The character Rubin Farr also appears in Glover's music entitled "Clowny Clown Clown" and in the song's videoclip.
In Back to the Future Part II , Zemeckis reused brief footage of Glover that had been filmed for the first film. Glover was billed as "George McFly in footage from Back to the Future" in the closing credits. The older footage was combined with new footage of actor Jeffrey Weissman wearing a false chin, nose and cheekbones, and various obfuscating methods – in the background, wearing sunglasses, rear shot, upside down – to play George McFly. Because these methods suggested that Glover himself had performed for the film, he successfully sued the producers on the grounds that they had used his likeness without permission, as well as not having paid him for the reuse of the footage from the original film. The case was resolved outside of court and Glover was awarded a reported $760,000. As a result of the lawsuit, clauses in the Screen Actors Guild collective bargaining agreements now state that producers and actors are not allowed to use such methods to reproduce the likeness of other actors, effectively putting to an end the decades-long use of the Fake Shemp technique among living actors. The lawsuit is often evoked in cases for actors involving the misuse of their likeness through digital recreation and other technological methods to replicate their appearance without their permission. [33] [34]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | My Tutor | Jack | |
1984 | Racing with the Moon | Gatsby Boy | |
1984 | Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter | Jimmy Mortimer | |
1984 | Teachers | Danny Reese | |
1985 | The Orkly Kid | Groovin' Larry Hoff | Short film |
1985 | Back to the Future | George McFly | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
1986 | At Close Range | Lucas | |
1986 | River's Edge | Layne | |
1989 | Twister | Howard "Howdy" Cleveland | |
1990 | Where the Heart Is | Lionel | |
1990 | Wild at Heart | Cousin Dell | |
1991 | Little Noises | Joey Kremple | |
1991 | The Doors | Andy Warhol | |
1991 | Rubin and Ed | Rubin Farr | |
1991 | 30 Door Key | Mientus | |
1993 | Even Cowgirls Get the Blues | Howard Barth | |
1993 | What's Eating Gilbert Grape | Bobby McBurney | |
1994 | Chasers | Howard Finster | |
1995 | Dead Man | Train Fireman | |
1996 | The People vs. Larry Flynt | Arlo | |
2000 | Nurse Betty | Roy Ostery | |
2000 | Charlie's Angels | Thin Man | |
2001 | Bartleby | Bartleby | |
2001 | Fast Sofa | Jules Langdon | |
2002 | Crime and Punishment | Rodion Raskolnikov | |
2002 | Like Mike | Stan Bittleman | |
2003 | Willard | Willard Stiles | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor Nominated—Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actor |
2003 | Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | Thin Man / Anthony | [35] |
2004 | Incident at Loch Ness | Party guest | Cameo |
2005 | What Is It? | Dueling Demi-God Auteur / The Young Man's Inner Psyche and Id | Also director, writer, producer, editor, additional cinematography and music supervisor Ann Arbor Film Festival Jury Award for Best Narrative Film Sitges Film Festival Midnight X-Treme Award Method Fest Film Festival Maverick Award |
2005 | Drop Dead Sexy | Eddie | |
2006 | Simon Says | Simon / Stanley | |
2007 | It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. | — | Co-director with David Brothers, producer, co-editor and music supervisor Sitges Film Festival Special Jury Mention New Visions Award |
2007 | Epic Movie | Willy | |
2007 | The Wizard of Gore | Montag the Magnificent | |
2007 | Beowulf | Grendel | Motion capture |
2008 | Open Season 2 | Fifi | Voice |
2008 | Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale | Viergacht | |
2009 | The Donner Party | William Foster | |
2009 | 9 | 6 | Voice |
2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Ilosovic Stayne / The Knave of Hearts | |
2010 | Hot Tub Time Machine | Phil Wedmaier | |
2010 | Mr. Nice | Ernie Combs | |
2010 | Open Season 3 | Fifi | Voice |
2012 | Freaky Deaky | Woody Ricks | |
2014 | The Bag Man | Ned | |
2015 | Hiszpanka | Dr. Abuse | |
2015 | Aimy in a Cage | Claude Bohringer | |
2018 | The Con is On | Gabriel Anderson | |
2018 | We Have Always Lived in the Castle | Uncle Julian Blackwood | |
2019 | Lucky Day | Luc | |
2020 | Smiley Face Killers | Hooded Figure | [36] |
2024 | Mr. K | Mr. K | [37] |
TBA | A Blind Bargain | Dr. Gruder | Post-production |
TBA | Skinemax | TBA | Post-production |
TBA | Untitled Crispin Hellion Glover Project | Brutus | Also director, writer, producer and editor; post-production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | The Best of Times | Crispin | Pilot |
1982 | The Facts of Life | Cadet No. 1 | Episode: "The Big Fight" |
1983 | The Kid with the 200 I.Q. | New Student | Television film |
1983 | High School U.S.A. | Archie Feld | Television film |
1983 | Happy Days | Roach | Episode: "Vocational Education" |
1983 | Hill Street Blues | Space Cadet | Episode: "Honk If You're a Goose" |
1984 | Family Ties | Doug | Episode: "Birthday Boy" |
1984 | High School U.S.A. | Archie Feld | Pilot |
1993 | Hotel Room | Danny | Episode: "Blackout" |
2010 | Funny or Die Presents | Thomas Edison | Segment: " Drunk History Vol. 6" |
2015 | Texas Rising | Moseley Baker | 5 episodes |
2017–2021 | American Gods | Mr. World | 12 episodes |
2018 | Saat des Terrors | James Logan Davis | Television film |
2020 | Red Bird Lane | Jonah | Unaired pilot |
2022 | Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities | Richard Upton Pickman | Episode: "Pickman's Model" |
Year | Song | Artist | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | "Clowny Clown Clown" | Crispin Glover | Man / Rubin Farr | Also director |
2003 | "Ben" | Crispin Glover | Willard | Also director |
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, it follows Marty McFly (Fox), a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd), where he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love – threatening his own existence – and is forced to reconcile them and somehow get back to the future.
LandoCalrissian is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He is introduced in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as a friend of Han Solo and the administrator of Cloud City on the planet Bespin. Prior to the events of the film, Lando made a career as a gambler, con artist, playboy, mining engineer, and businessman, and was the owner of the Millennium Falcon until losing the ship to Han in a bet. In the film, when Cloud City is threatened by the Galactic Empire, Lando reluctantly betrays Han to Darth Vader, but later helps Han's friends escape from the Empire. In Return of the Jedi (1983), after becoming a general in the Rebel Alliance, Lando helps rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt and leads the attack on the second Death Star.
The year 1987 in television involved some significant events. This is a list of notable events in the United States.
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influential movies, often blending cutting-edge visual effects with storytelling. He has received several accolades including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for five British Academy Film Awards and a Daytime Emmy Award.
Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is a sequel to the 1985 film Back to the Future and the second installment in the Back to the Future franchise. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Thomas F. Wilson, with Elisabeth Shue and Jeffrey Weissman in supporting roles. It follows Marty McFly (Fox) and his friend Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd) as they travel from 1985 to 2015 to prevent Marty's son from sabotaging the McFly family's future. When their arch-nemesis Biff Tannen (Wilson) steals Doc's DeLorean time machine and uses it to alter history for his benefit, the duo must return to 1955 to restore the timeline.
Back to the Future Part III is a 1990 American science fiction Western film and the third installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson, and Lea Thompson. The film continues immediately following Back to the Future Part II (1989); while stranded in 1955 during his time travel adventures, Marty McFly (Fox) discovers that his friend Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd), trapped in 1885, was killed by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Wilson), Biff's great-grandfather. Marty travels to 1885 to rescue Doc and return once again to 1985, but matters are complicated when Doc falls in love with Clara Clayton (Steenburgen).
Marty McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Back to the Future franchise. He is a high school student living in the fictional town of Hill Valley, California, who accidentally becomes a time traveler and alters history after his scientist friend Emmett Brown invents a DeLorean time machine. He was created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. In the film trilogy, he is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. Back to the Future established Fox as a film star, such was the commercial success and popularity of the film upon its release in 1985. Marty returned in two film sequels, Back to the Future Part II in 1989 and Back to the Future Part III in 1990.
Eric Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He played Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask (1985), which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.
Bruce Herbert Glover is an American character actor, who is best known for portraying the assassin Mr. Wint in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Other notable film appearances include roles in Walking Tall (1973), Chinatown (1974), and Hard Times (1975).
Back to the Future is an American science fiction franchise created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. The franchise follows the adventures of a high school student, Marty McFly, and an eccentric scientist, Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, as they use a DeLorean time machine to time travel to different periods in the history of the fictional town of Hill Valley, California.
Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown, commonly referred to as "Doc Brown", is a fictional scientist in the Back to the Future franchise. He was created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. First appearing in the 1985 film Back to the Future, he is an eccentric mad scientist and friend to the protagonist Marty McFly. In the franchise, he invents a time machine using a DMC DeLorean. He is portrayed by Christopher Lloyd in all three films and in the television series and was loosely inspired by Leopold Stokowski and Albert Einstein. He is also voiced by Dan Castellaneta in the animated sections of the television series.
Trent Harris is an American filmmaker based in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2013, IndieWire proclaimed Harris "The Best Underground Filmmaker You Don’t Know — But Should."
Beowulf is a 2007 American animated fantasy action film produced and directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, based on the Old English epic poem Beowulf, and featuring the voices of Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright, Brendan Gleeson, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman, and Angelina Jolie. The film depicts the rise and fall of the warrior Beowulf after he travels to Denmark to kill a monster. It was produced by Shangri-La Entertainment and Zemeckis's ImageMovers and features characters animated using motion-capture animation, which was previously used in The Polar Express (2004) and Monster House (2006).
A fake Shemp is a type of body double who appears in a film to replace another actor or person, usually when the original actor has died or is otherwise unable or unwilling to reprise their role. Their appearance is disguised using methods such as heavy make-up, filming from the back, dubbing in audio and splicing in past footage from the original actor's previous work, using a sound-alike voice actor, or using partial shots of the actor.
The Big Problem ≠ The Solution. The Solution = Let It Be is an album by Crispin Glover which was recorded by Barnes and Barnes. The liner notes state that if you discover what "The Big Problem" is, then you can call (213) 464-5053 to tell Glover what you think it is. As of June 2007, the phone number has been disconnected.
Rubin & Ed is a 1991 independent buddy comedy film written and directed by Trent Harris. It stars Crispin Glover and Howard Hesseman as an unlikely pairing on a road trip through the Utah desert.
What Is It? is a 2005 American surrealist film written, edited, co-produced and directed by Crispin Glover and starring Glover, Steven C. Stewart and the voice of Fairuza Balk.
It is Fine! Everything Is Fine. is a 2007 American independent drama film directed by David Brothers and Crispin Glover. It was written by and stars Steven C. Stewart. It also stars Margit Carstensen.
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese is a 2019 American documentary film, composed of both fictional and non-fictional material, covering Bob Dylan's 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue concert tour. Directed by Martin Scorsese, it is the director's second film on Bob Dylan, following 2005's No Direction Home. The bulk of Rolling Thunder Revue is compiled of outtakes from Dylan's 1978 film Renaldo and Clara, which was filmed in conjunction with the tour.
The movie starred Crispin Glover as Rubin - he was actually in the Rubin character the infamous night he nearly karate-kicked off David Letterman's nose.
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