Jeffrey DeMunn
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey DeMunn is an American
theatre
, film
and television
actor.
, the son of Violet (née
Paulus) and James DeMunn. Stepson of noted actress Betty Lutes DeMunn. He graduated from Union College
with a Bachelor of Arts
in English.
DeMunn has been married to Ann Sekjaer since 1974; they have two children, Heather and Kevin. He and his son Kevin worked together in the movie The Majestic. Kevin played the Western Union Clerk in the second to last scene.
in the early 1970s, receiving theatrical training at the Old Vic
Theatre. When he returned to the States, he performed in a Royal Shakespeare Company
production of King Lear
and several off-Broadway
productions, including Bent
, Modigliani and A Midsummer Night's Dream
. DeMunn also participated in productions of developing plays at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
. He most recently starred in Death of a Salesman
at San Diego's Old Globe Theater.
Frank Darabont
, who has cast him in all four of his films, The Green Mile
, The Shawshank Redemption
, The Majestic and The Mist
(he also appeared in the 1988 remake of The Blob, which Darabont co-wrote). He also has an extensive television résumé, appearing in shows such as Kojak
, Law & Order
, and two of its spin-offs
, SVU
and Trial by Jury
.
He has been involved in more Stephen King
adaptations than any other actor. He has acted in film adaptations of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
, The Green Mile
, The Mist
and the T.V. miniseries Storm of the Century
. He also narrated the audiobooks for Dreamcatcher
and The Colorado Kid
.
In 1995, he won a CableACE Award
as Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries for his portrayal of serial killer
Andrei Chikatilo
in the HBO film Citizen X
and received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie nomination for his performance.
's television adaptation
of the comic book series The Walking Dead
.
Nominations
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor.
Life and career
DeMunn was born in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, the son of Violet (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Paulus) and James DeMunn. Stepson of noted actress Betty Lutes DeMunn. He graduated from Union College
Union College
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English.
DeMunn has been married to Ann Sekjaer since 1974; they have two children, Heather and Kevin. He and his son Kevin worked together in the movie The Majestic. Kevin played the Western Union Clerk in the second to last scene.
Stage career
He moved to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the early 1970s, receiving theatrical training at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
Theatre. When he returned to the States, he performed in a Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
production of King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
and several off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
productions, including Bent
Bent (play)
Bent is a 1979 play by Martin Sherman. It revolves around the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, and takes place during and after the Night of the Long Knives....
, Modigliani and A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
. DeMunn also participated in productions of developing plays at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
The Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut is a 501 not-for-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. The O'Neill is the recipient of the . The O'Neill is home to the National Theater Institute , and several major theater conferences including the...
. He most recently starred in Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
at San Diego's Old Globe Theater.
Movie career
He is known as a favorite of directorFilm director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Frank Darabont
Frank Darabont
Frank Darabont is a Hungarian-American film director, screenwriter and producer who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. He has directed the films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, all based on stories by Stephen King...
, who has cast him in all four of his films, The Green Mile
The Green Mile (film)
The Green Mile is a 1999 American drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted by him from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name...
, The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman....
, The Majestic and The Mist
The Mist (film)
The Mist is a 2007 American science-fiction horror film based on the 1980 novella of the same name by Stephen King. The film is written and directed by Frank Darabont, who had previously adapted Stephen King's works The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile...
(he also appeared in the 1988 remake of The Blob, which Darabont co-wrote). He also has an extensive television résumé, appearing in shows such as Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, and two of its spin-offs
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, SVU
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
and Trial by Jury
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Law & Order: Trial by Jury is an American television drama about criminal trials set in New York City. It was the third spin-off from the long-running Law & Order. The show's almost exclusive focus was on the criminal trial of the accused, showing both the prosecution's and defense's preparation...
.
He has been involved in more Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
adaptations than any other actor. He has acted in film adaptations of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is a novella by Stephen King, from his collection Different Seasons . It has been hailed by critics as King's "greatest work", and "masterpiece". The novella was adapted for the screen in 1994 as The Shawshank Redemption, itself a lauded film, nominated for...
, The Green Mile
The Green Mile
The Green Mile may refer to:* The Green Mile , a 1996 serial novel by Stephen King* The Green Mile , a 1999 film based on the Stephen King novel, starring Michael Clarke Duncan and Tom Hanks-See also:* Miles Green...
, The Mist
The Mist
The Mist is a horror novella by the American author Stephen King, in which the small town of Bridgton, Maine is suddenly enveloped in an unnatural mist that conceals otherworldly monsters. It was first published as the first and longest story of the 1980 horror anthology Dark Forces. A slightly...
and the T.V. miniseries Storm of the Century
Storm of the Century
Storm of the Century, alternatively known as Stephen King's Storm of the Century, is a 1999 horror TV miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley. Unlike many other King mini-series, Storm of the Century was not based upon a Stephen King novel - King wrote it as a screenplay...
. He also narrated the audiobooks for Dreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher (novel)
Dreamcatcher is a horror novel written by Stephen King. It was adapted into a 2003 movie of the same name. The book, written longhand, was the author's tool for recuperation from a 1999 car accident, and was completed in half a year...
and The Colorado Kid
The Colorado Kid
The Colorado Kid is a mystery novel written by Stephen King for the Hard Case Crime imprint, published in 2005. The book was issued in one paperback-only edition by the specialty crime and mystery publishing house. The third-person narrative concerns the investigation of the body of an...
.
In 1995, he won a CableACE Award
CableACE Award
The CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
as Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries for his portrayal of serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Andrei Chikatilo
Andrei Chikatilo
Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was a Ukrainian-born Soviet serial killer, nicknamed the Butcher of Rostov, The Red Ripper or The Rostov Ripper who murdered a minimum of 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990...
in the HBO film Citizen X
Citizen X
Citizen X is a made-for-TV film, released in 1995, which covers the investigation of the Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of killing 53 women and children between 1978 and 1990, and the efforts of detectives in the Soviet Union to capture him.-Synopsis:The film...
and received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie nomination for his performance.
TV career
In April 2010 he was cast as Dale Horvath in Frank DarabontFrank Darabont
Frank Darabont is a Hungarian-American film director, screenwriter and producer who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. He has directed the films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, all based on stories by Stephen King...
's television adaptation
The Walking Dead (TV series)
The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed for television by Frank Darabont and based on the ongoing comic book series, The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard...
of the comic book series The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is a monthly black-and-white US comic book series published by Image Comics beginning in 2003. The comic was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore, who was replaced by Charlie Adlard from issue #7 onward, although Moore continued to do the covers through issue...
.
Filmography
- Christmas EvilChristmas EvilChristmas Evil is a 1980 slasher film directed by Lewis Jackson. It is considered an obscure film but has gained a cult following which includes legendary film director John Waters.It was originally released as You Better Watch Out...
(1980) - ResurrectionResurrection (1980 film)Resurrection is a 1980 film which tells the story of a woman who survives the car accident which kills her husband, but discovers that she has the power to heal other people...
(1980) - The First Deadly SinThe First Deadly SinThe First Deadly Sin is a 1980 American film produced by and starring Frank Sinatra, along with Faye Dunaway, David Dukes, Brenda Vaccaro, James Whitmore, Martin Gabel in his final acting role, and Bruce Willis in his film debut...
(1980) - RagtimeRagtime (film)Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
(1981) - FrancesFrancesFrances is a 1982 American drama film starring Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, and Sam Shepard. When it was released this film was advertised as a purportedly true account of actress Frances Farmer's life but the script was largely fictional and sensationalized...
(1982) - Windy City (1984)
- Warning SignWarning Sign (film)Warning Sign is a 1985 science fiction-horror film directed by Hal Barwood and starring Sam Waterston, Kathleen Quinlan, and Yaphet Kotto.-Plot:...
(1985) - The Hitcher (1986)
- The BlobThe Blob (1988 film)The Blob is a 1988 American monster horror film distributed by Tristar Pictures. It is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name, which starred Steve McQueen. The film was written by Chuck Russell and Frank Darabont and directed by Russell. The shooting took place in Abbeville, Louisiana.-Plot:A...
(1988) - BetrayedBetrayed (1988 film)Betrayed is a 1988 motion picture drama directed by Costa-Gavras, written by Joe Eszterhas and starring Tom Berenger and Debra Winger.-Plot:Set in the American Midwest, the film begins with the murder of a Jewish radio host in Chicago...
(1988) - BlazeBlaze (film)Blaze is a 1989 film written and directed by Ron Shelton. Based on the 1974 memoir Blaze Starr: My Life as Told to Huey Perry by Blaze Starr and Huey Perry, the film stars Paul Newman as Earl Long and Lolita Davidovich as Blaze Starr, with Starr herself appearing in a cameo.-Plot:The movie tells...
(1989) - By Dawn's Early LightBy Dawn's Early LightBy Dawn’s Early Light is an HBO Original Movie, aired in 1990 and set in 1991. It is based on the 1983 novel Trinity's Child, written by William Prochnau. The film is one of the last films to depict the events of a fictional World War III before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the...
(1990) - The Haunted (1991)
- NewsiesNewsiesNewsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...
(1992) - Jonathan: The Boy Nobody WantedJonathan: The Boy Nobody WantedJonathan: The Boy Nobody Wanted, inspired by a true story concerning a landmark legal decision for rights of the disabled, is a 1992 NBC Movie of Week starring JoBeth Williams and Chris Burke...
(1992) - The Shawshank RedemptionThe Shawshank RedemptionThe Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman....
(1994) - Citizen XCitizen XCitizen X is a made-for-TV film, released in 1995, which covers the investigation of the Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of killing 53 women and children between 1978 and 1990, and the efforts of detectives in the Soviet Union to capture him.-Synopsis:The film...
(1995) - PhenomenonPhenomenon (film)Phenomenon is a 1996 romantic fantasy-drama film written by Gerald Di Pego, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and starring John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, and Robert Duvall....
(1996) - Turbulence (1997)
- The Outer Limits (1997)
- RocketManRocketManRocketMan is a 1997 science fiction comedy film that was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Caravan Pictures and released on October 10, 1997. The film was shot on location at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and in Moab, Utah for the scenes on the surface on Mars.The film was a...
(1997) - The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998)
- Storm of the CenturyStorm of the CenturyStorm of the Century, alternatively known as Stephen King's Storm of the Century, is a 1999 horror TV miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley. Unlike many other King mini-series, Storm of the Century was not based upon a Stephen King novel - King wrote it as a screenplay...
(1999) - The Green MileThe Green Mile (film)The Green Mile is a 1999 American drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted by him from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name...
(1999) - The Majestic (2002)
- The West Wing (2004)
- The Persistence of Dreams (2005)
- HollywoodlandHollywoodlandHollywoodland is a 2006 American biographical docudrama film directed by Allen Coulter in his feature directorial debut. The film documents a fictional account of the investigation surrounding the death of actor George Reeves , the star of the 1950s television series Adventures of Superman. Adrien...
(2006) - The MistThe Mist (film)The Mist is a 2007 American science-fiction horror film based on the 1980 novella of the same name by Stephen King. The film is written and directed by Frank Darabont, who had previously adapted Stephen King's works The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile...
(2007) - Burn After ReadingBurn After ReadingBurn After Reading is a 2008 black comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film stars George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Brad Pitt. It was released in the United States on September 12, 2008, and it was released on October 17, 2008...
(2008) - Song Of The South 2 (2010)
- Another Happy DayAnother Happy DayAnother Happy Day is a 2011 American black comedy-drama film written and directed by Sam Levinson.-Plot:Lynn was married to Paul , but they split up on bad terms, and Lynn took custody of their daughter Alice while Paul got their son Dylan...
(2011) - The Walking DeadThe Walking Dead (TV series)The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed for television by Frank Darabont and based on the ongoing comic book series, The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard...
(2010-Present)
Awards and nominations
Awards- 1978 - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a PlayDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a PlayThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
, for A Prayer for My DaughterA Prayer for my Daughter"A Prayer for my Daughter" is a poem by William Butler Yeats written in 1919 and published in 1921 as part of Yeats' collection Michael Robartes and the Dancer. It is written to Anne, the daughter of Yeats and Georgie Hyde Lees, whom Yeats married after his last marriage proposal to Maud Gonne was... - 1995 - CableACE AwardCableACE AwardThe CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries, for Citizen XCitizen XCitizen X is a made-for-TV film, released in 1995, which covers the investigation of the Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of killing 53 women and children between 1978 and 1990, and the efforts of detectives in the Soviet Union to capture him.-Synopsis:The film... - 2006 - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance, for Stuff HappensStuff HappensStuff Happens is a play by David Hare, written in response to the Iraq War. Hare describes it as "a history play" that deals with recent history.The title is inspired by Donald Rumsfeld's response to widespread looting in Baghdad:...
Nominations
- 1983 - Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a PlayTony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a PlayThe Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
, for K2 - 1995 - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, for Citizen XCitizen XCitizen X is a made-for-TV film, released in 1995, which covers the investigation of the Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of killing 53 women and children between 1978 and 1990, and the efforts of detectives in the Soviet Union to capture him.-Synopsis:The film...
- 1999 - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, for The Green MileThe Green Mile (film)The Green Mile is a 1999 American drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted by him from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name...