Stephen Polk
Encyclopedia
Stephen Boyd Polk is an American actor
, director
, writer
, and producer
. He is the founder of Providence Productions LLC, an independent film development, production, and finance company.
and grew up in Minnesota
and later New York City
. After starting at a young age with repertory theater and summer stock in Minneapolis, he made his film debut in Ridley Scott
’s Thelma & Louise and Oliver Stone
’s Heaven & Earth.
Polk started theater at Blake School in Minneapolis and Westminster
in Simsbury, Connecticut
. While studying theater, literature and film at Kenyon College
(where he received a Bachelor of Arts), he attended the American University in Cairo
, Egypt
.
He returned to Minneapolis to begin his professional career working at the Children's Theatre Company
. His one man show Truss't won the Walker Art Center
Performance Art Award and premiered in Los Angeles at Highways. While writing at the Playwrights Center, he moved to New York City to enroll at NYU Film School for directing and at The Neighborhood Playhouse for acting.
His first notable job was as Harvey Keitel
’s FBI partner in Thelma & Louise. He co-starred with Eric Roberts
and F. Murray Abraham
in By the Sword
, and then appeared in Where Sleeping Dogs Lie
starring Sharon Stone
.
The following years included roles in studio films THE PICKLE and Heaven & Earth, and independent films including PLAYMAKER, DESTINATION VEGAS, BOLT, GOD, SEX, & APPLE PIE; DROWNING ON DRY LAND, CLUBLAND, WHY DOESN’T LOVE WORK, CHERISH, and GO FOR BROKE.
In 2001, he was hired to produce RESOLUTION and started Providence Productions.
Under Providence, Polk began developing, writing and producing, in addition to continuing his work as an actor. Polk has developed, written and co-written treatments and feature screenplays, including the Sundance Screenplay Competition Finalist, Bearman.
hit Cherish
with Robin Tunney
and Tim Blake Nelson
and DROWNING ON DRY LAND with Barbara Hershey
and Naveen Andrews
. Providence also developed and produced IN A DARK PLACE, STICKY FNGERS, DR. RAGE with Andrew Divoff, PIRATE CAMP with Corbin Bernsen
, and Dead Air with Bill Moseley
.
Providence's latest projects include BAGGAGE, in which Polk acted, produced, wrote, and directed, and THE DIVIDED, in which he acted and produced.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, director
Film 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:...
, writer
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He is the founder of Providence Productions LLC, an independent film development, production, and finance company.
Biography
Stephen Polk was born in Dayton, OhioDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
and grew up in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and later New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. After starting at a young age with repertory theater and summer stock in Minneapolis, he made his film debut in Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
’s Thelma & Louise and Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
’s Heaven & Earth.
Polk started theater at Blake School in Minneapolis and Westminster
Westminster School, Connecticut
Westminster School is a small, private, boarding school located in Simsbury, Connecticut.-History:Westminster School was founded by William Lee Cushing in 1888 as a boys’ school in Dobbs Ferry, New York....
in Simsbury, Connecticut
Simsbury, Connecticut
Simsbury is a suburban town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 23,234 at the 2000 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's twenty-first town in May 1670.-Early history:...
. While studying theater, literature and film at Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
(where he received a Bachelor of Arts), he attended the American University in Cairo
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, secular institution of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
He returned to Minneapolis to begin his professional career working at the Children's Theatre Company
Children's Theatre Company
The Children's Theatre Company is a regional theatre established in 1961 in Minneapolis, Minnesota specializing in plays for families and young audiences and the recipient of a 2003 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre...
. His one man show Truss't won the Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is considered one of the nation's "big five" museums for modern art along with the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Hirshhorn...
Performance Art Award and premiered in Los Angeles at Highways. While writing at the Playwrights Center, he moved to New York City to enroll at NYU Film School for directing and at The Neighborhood Playhouse for acting.
His first notable job was as Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
’s FBI partner in Thelma & Louise. He co-starred with Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
and F. Murray Abraham
F. Murray Abraham
Fahrid Murray Abraham is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men and Scarface...
in By the Sword
By the Sword (film)
By the Sword is a 1991 film starring F. Murray Abrahamand Eric Roberts as world-class fencers. Directed by Jeremy Paul Kagan,this is the first feature film about fencing. Although some reviews of its 1993 U.S...
, and then appeared in Where Sleeping Dogs Lie
Where Sleeping Dogs Lie
Where Sleeping Dogs Lie is a 1991 thriller film directed by Charles Finch and starred Dylan McDermott, Sharon Stone and Tom Sizemore. The primary location for "Sleeping Dogs" was C.E. Toberman Estate, a large Mediterranean-style, 22-room house built at the top of Camino Palmero in 1928 by C. E....
starring Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
.
The following years included roles in studio films THE PICKLE and Heaven & Earth, and independent films including PLAYMAKER, DESTINATION VEGAS, BOLT, GOD, SEX, & APPLE PIE; DROWNING ON DRY LAND, CLUBLAND, WHY DOESN’T LOVE WORK, CHERISH, and GO FOR BROKE.
In 2001, he was hired to produce RESOLUTION and started Providence Productions.
Under Providence, Polk began developing, writing and producing, in addition to continuing his work as an actor. Polk has developed, written and co-written treatments and feature screenplays, including the Sundance Screenplay Competition Finalist, Bearman.
Production company
Providence first co-executive produced a Sundance FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
hit Cherish
Cherish (film)
Cherish is a 2002 comedy-drama film written and directed by Finn Taylor. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 14, 2002 and had a limited theatrical release June 7 of that same year...
with Robin Tunney
Robin Tunney
Robin Jessica Tunney is an American actress. She is best known for her lead roles in the movie The Craft and the television series Prison Break and The Mentalist.-Early life:...
and Tim Blake Nelson
Tim Blake Nelson
Tim Blake Nelson is an American director, writer, singer, and actor.-Early life:Nelson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Ruth Kaiser Nelson, who is a noted social activist and philanthropist in Tulsa, and a geologist father...
and DROWNING ON DRY LAND with Barbara Hershey
Barbara Hershey
Barbara Hershey , also known as Barbara Seagull, is an American actress. In a career spanning nearly 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema, in several genres including westerns and comedies...
and Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
. Providence also developed and produced IN A DARK PLACE, STICKY FNGERS, DR. RAGE with Andrew Divoff, PIRATE CAMP with Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
, and Dead Air with Bill Moseley
Bill Moseley
William "Bill" Moseley is an American film actor and musician who has starred in a number of cult classic horror films, including House of 1000 Corpses, Repo! The Genetic Opera and The Devil's Rejects. His first big role was in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 as Chop Top...
.
Providence's latest projects include BAGGAGE, in which Polk acted, produced, wrote, and directed, and THE DIVIDED, in which he acted and produced.