Paul Newman on screen and stage

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Newman (right) as "Brick", next to "Big Daddy" (Burl Ives), in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). Cat on a Hot Tin Roof9.jpg
Newman (right) as "Brick", next to "Big Daddy" (Burl Ives), in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958).

This article is the filmography of Paul Newman

Newman had an inauspicious debut in film with The Silver Chalice (1954), but his performance in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) garnered praise and a positive career trajectory. Serious roles in films such as The Helen Morgan Story (1957), The Young Philadelphians (1959), and Exodus (1960) followed soon after. It was around this time he also met the love of his life, Joanne Woodward, whom he would marry and remain with for the rest of his life.

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After their first pairing in The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Newman & Woodward became a frequent on-screen team. Their other on-screen collaborations were Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958), From the Terrace (1960), Paris Blues (1961), A New Kind of Love (1963), Winning (1969), WUSA (1970), The Drowning Pool (1975), Harry & Son (1984), and Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990). He remained behind the camera on three further pairings: Rachel, Rachel (1968), his directorial debut, earning him an Oscar nomination for Best Picture plus a Golden Globe win for Best Director; The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972); The Glass Menagerie (1987); and The Shadow Box (1980), which aired on TV. He also produced, but did not direct, her film, They Might Be Giants (1971). They united once on the small screen, for Empire Falls (2005) on HBO, which won Newman an Emmy and another Golden Globe. Finally, they both participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. documentary, King: A Filmed Record...Montgomery to Memphis (1970).

His career breakthrough occurred with his performance in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Subsequent nominations would follow via the films The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), and Cool Hand Luke (1967). In between those, he starred in several other notable titles, such as Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), Torn Curtain (1966), Hombre (1967); and in one of his signature roles, as the former titular character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

Newman next starred in such 1970s films as Sometimes a Great Notion (1971), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), The Sting (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974), and Slap Shot (1977). The 1980s brought two consecutive Oscar nominations along, from Absence of Malice (1981) and The Verdict , followed by an Academy Honorary Award presented in 1986. But it would be the sequel to Hustler featuring the return of "Fast Eddie" Felson, The Color of Money (1986), that would finally see Paul Newman voted the Best Actor Oscar winner at the 1987 awards ceremony.

Over the next two decades, Newman received one more honorary Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. In addition, he garnered two final nominations: one more in lead, for Nobody's Fool (1994); and his only one for Best Supporting Actor, for Road to Perdition (2002). He was featured in a few other occasional films, such as The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), and the only voice acting he ever did, in Pixar's Cars (2006). (Perhaps due to his being a noted auto racing enthusiast.)

And even though his stage career was brief, he had some noted success there as well. He made his Broadway stage debut in Picnic , and also did stints in the 1950s in The Desperate Hours and Sweet Bird of Youth , the latter of which led to him being cast in the film role. Finally, his last big stage role in Our Town earned him his only Tony Award nomination.

Here is a complete list of Paul Newman's known acting credentials.

As actor

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1954 The Silver Chalice Basil
1956 Somebody Up There Likes Me Rocky Graziano
The Rack Capt. Edward W. Hall Jr.
1957 The Helen Morgan Story Larry Maddux
Until They Sail Capt. Jack Harding
1958 The 80 Yard Run Christian Darling
The Long, Hot Summer Ben Quick
The Left Handed Gun Billy the Kid
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Brick Pollitt
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! Harry Bannerman
1959 The Young Philadelphians Anthony Judson Lawrence
1960 From the Terrace David Alfred Eaton
Exodus Ari Ben Canaan
1961 The Hustler Eddie Felson
Paris Blues Ram Bowen
1962 Sweet Bird of Youth Chance Wayne
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man Ad Francis, "The Battler"
1963 Hud Hud Bannon
A New Kind of Love Steve Sherman
The Prize Andrew Craig
1964 What a Way to Go! Larry Flint
The Outrage Juan Carrasco
1965 Lady L Armand Denis
1966 Harper Lew Harper
Torn Curtain Prof. Michael ArmstrongDirected by Alfred Hitchcock
1967 Hombre John Russell
Cool Hand Luke Lucas "Luke" Jackson
1968 The Secret War of Harry Frigg Pvt. Harry Frigg
1969 Winning Frank Capua
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Butch Cassidy
1970 WUSA Rheinhardt
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis HimselfDocumentary
1971 Sometimes a Great Notion Hank StamperAlternate title: Never Give A Inch
1972 Pocket Money Jim Kane
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean Judge Roy Bean
1973 The Mackintosh Man Joseph Rearden
The Sting Henry Gondorff
1974 The Towering Inferno Doug Roberts
1975 The Drowning Pool Lew Harper
1976 Silent Movie Himself Cameo
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson Buffalo Bill
1977 Slap Shot Reggie "Reg" Dunlop
1979 Quintet Essex
1980 When Time Ran Out...Hank Anderson
1981 Fort Apache, The Bronx Murphy
Absence of Malice Michael Colin Gallagher
1982 The Verdict Frank Galvin
1984 Harry & Son Harry Keach
1986 The Color of Money Fast Eddie Felson
1989 Fat Man and Little Boy Gen. Leslie R. Groves
Blaze Gov. Earl K. Long
1990 Mr. & Mrs. Bridge Walter Bridge
1994 The Hudsucker Proxy Sidney J. Mussburger
Nobody's Fool Donald J. "Sully" Sullivan
1998 Twilight Harry Ross
1999 Message in a Bottle Dodge Blake
2000 Where the Money Is Henry Manning
2002 Road to Perdition John Rooney
2005 Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D Dave ScottVoice; Documentary short
2006 Cars Doc Hudson Voice
Mater and the Ghostlight Voice; Short film
2007 Dale NarratorVoice; Documentary
2008 The Meerkats NarratorVoice; Documentary
2017 Cars 3 Doc HudsonVoice (Archive Recordings); posthumous release

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1955 Producers' Showcase George GibbsEpisode: "Our Town"
1955 Appointment with Adventure MackEpisode: "Five in Judgement" — When two brothers traveling across country stop in a small town diner to escape a storm, they are taken to be murderers by the locals.
1956 The United States Steel Hour Henry WiggenEpisode: "Bang the Drum Slowly"
1971 Once Upon a Wheel Himself ABC Television documentary
1982Come Along with MeHughieVoice; Television film
2001 The Simpsons HimselfVoice; Episode: "The Blunder Years"
2003 Our Town Stage Manager Showtime / PBS Television film
2005 Empire Falls Max Roby HBO miniseries; 2 episodes
2022 The Last Movie Stars Self HBO Max docu-series; posthumous release

Theatre

YearTitleRolePlaywrightVenue
1949 Harvey Elwood P. Dowd Mary Chase Belfry Players Theater, Williams Bay, Wisconsin
1951 Phaedra Hippolytus of Athens Jean-Baptiste Racine Yale University Experimental Theatre
1952Beethoven Karl van Beethoven Dorothy B. BlandYale University Theater, New Haven, CT
1953 Picnic Alan Seymour William Inge Music Box Theatre, Broadway
1955 The Desperate Hours Glenn Griffin Joseph Hayes Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway
1959 Sweet Bird of Youth Chance Wayne Tennessee Williams Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway
1964Baby, Want a Kiss?Emil James Costigan Little Theatre, Broadway
2002 Our Town Stage Manager Thornton Wilder Booth Theatre, Broadway
2004Trumbo Dalton Trumbo Christopher Trumbo Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT

Video games

YearTitleVoice role
2006 Cars Doc Hudson

As director or producer

YearFilmNotes
1962 On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco Director and producer (name removed from sole 16mm print)
1968 Rachel, Rachel Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director [1]
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture
Nominated – Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film
1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Co-executive producer (uncredited)
Winning Co-executive producer (uncredited)
1970 WUSA Co-producer
Sometimes a Great Notion Director and co-executive producer
1971 They Might Be Giants Producer
1972 The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Director and producer
Nominated – Palme d'Or for Best Director
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean Co-executive producer (uncredited)
1980 The Shadow Box Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
1984 Harry & Son Director and producer
1987 The Glass Menagerie Director
Nominated – Palme d'Or for Best Director
2005 Empire Falls Executive producer
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries
Nominated – Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television

See also

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References

  1. Bernstein, Adam (September 27, 2008). "Academy-Award Winning Actor Paul Newman Dies at 83". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 27, 2008.