Tom Noonan
Encyclopedia
Tom Noonan is an American actor and film writer-director.
, the son of Rosaleen and Tom Noonan, who worked as a dentist
and jazz
musician respectively. He has an older brother, John Ford Noonan, a playwright
, and two sisters, Rosemary and Caroline.
(appearing in the original Off-Broadway production Sam Shepard
's play Buried Child
), but in the 1980s he began working in film
. At 6 feet, 6 inches (198 cm), Noonan's imposing presence is probably responsible for his tendency to be cast as menacing villains, as in RoboCop 2
, Last Action Hero
, Manhunter
and The Pledge
. His height was used for comic effect in "The Moving Finger," the series finale of the horror anthology Monsters
(several episodes of which he also directed and wrote).
In 1986, Noonan played Francis Dolarhyde
, a serial killer
who kills entire families, in Manhunter
, the first movie to feature Hannibal Lecter
. To date, it is his most recognizable leading role. His biggest supporting role was in 1995, as Kelso in Heat. He also played Frankenstein
in The Monster Squad
. During the 1990s, he wrote various plays, including two that he made into movies, What Happened Was... (1994) and The Wife
(1995). In the 2000s, Noonan appeared in various other movies, including a widely praised role as Sammy Barnathan in Synecdoche, New York
, Charlie Kaufman
's directorial debut. Most recently, he originally voiced one of the Wild Things in director Spike Jonze
's Where The Wild Things Are
, but was replaced by Chris Cooper
.
Noonan has also made numerous appearances in television shows, including The X-Files
, Law & Order: Criminal Intent
, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
, Tales From The Darkside
and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
(in which he starred alongside William Petersen
, who played his nemesis, Will Graham
, in Manhunter), and Detective Victor Huntley in Damages
. He recently appeared on Louie
as a doctor who takes the young Louie through the crucifixion
in graphic anatomical detail. He also portrays the Reverend Nathaniel Cole in the AMC
original series Hell on Wheels
.
Early life
Noonan was born in Greenwich, ConnecticutGreenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
, the son of Rosaleen and Tom Noonan, who worked as a dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician respectively. He has an older brother, John Ford Noonan, a playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, and two sisters, Rosemary and Caroline.
Career
Noonan started working in theatreTheatre
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...
(appearing in the original Off-Broadway production Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
's play Buried Child
Buried Child
Buried Child is a play by Sam Shepard first presented in 1978. It won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and launched Shepard to national fame as a playwright...
), but in the 1980s he began working in 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...
. At 6 feet, 6 inches (198 cm), Noonan's imposing presence is probably responsible for his tendency to be cast as menacing villains, as in RoboCop 2
RoboCop 2
RoboCop 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film directed by Irvin Kershner and starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Belinda Bayer, Tom Noonan and Gabriel Damon. Set in the near future in a dystopian metropolitan Detroit, Michigan...
, Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film....
, Manhunter
Manhunter (film)
Manhunter is a 1986 American thriller film based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon. Written and directed by Michael Mann, it stars William Petersen as Will Graham and features Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor...
and The Pledge
The Pledge (film)
The Pledge is a 2001 American mystery film directed by Sean Penn. It is based on the 1958 novella Das Versprechen: Requiem auf den Kriminalroman , by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt...
. His height was used for comic effect in "The Moving Finger," the series finale of the horror anthology Monsters
Monsters (TV series)
Monsters is a syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s. As of 2011, Monsters airs on NBC Universal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller in sporadic weekday marathons.In a similar vein to Tales from the...
(several episodes of which he also directed and wrote).
In 1986, Noonan played Francis Dolarhyde
Francis Dolarhyde
Francis Dolarhyde is a fictional character and the main antagonist featured in the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon.-Character overview:Dolarhyde is a serial killer nicknamed "The Tooth-Fairy" due to his tendency to bite his victims' bodies, the uncommon size and sharpness of his teeth and other...
, a 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...
who kills entire families, in Manhunter
Manhunter (film)
Manhunter is a 1986 American thriller film based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon. Written and directed by Michael Mann, it stars William Petersen as Will Graham and features Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor...
, the first movie to feature Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter M.D. is a fictional character in a series of horror novels by Thomas Harris and in the films adapted from them.Lecter was introduced in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon as a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer...
. To date, it is his most recognizable leading role. His biggest supporting role was in 1995, as Kelso in Heat. He also played Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
in The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad is a comedy/horror film written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Fred Dekker . It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features the classic monsters , led by Count Dracula...
. During the 1990s, he wrote various plays, including two that he made into movies, What Happened Was... (1994) and The Wife
The Wife (film)
The Wife is a 1995 film written and directed by Tom Noonan, based on his play Wifey. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival.-Cast:-Critical reception:...
(1995). In the 2000s, Noonan appeared in various other movies, including a widely praised role as Sammy Barnathan in Synecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was Kaufman's directorial debut.The film premiered in competition at the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2008...
, Charlie Kaufman
Charlie Kaufman
Charles Stuart "Charlie" Kaufman is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. His film work includes Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Synecdoche, New York...
's directorial debut. Most recently, he originally voiced one of the Wild Things in director Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
's Where The Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are (film)
Where the Wild Things Are is a 2009 American fantasy drama film directed by Spike Jonze and adapted from Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's book Where the Wild Things Are. It combines live action, performers in costumes, animatronics, and computer-generated imagery...
, but was replaced by Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper (actor)
Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
.
Noonan has also made numerous appearances in television shows, including The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
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...
, Tales From The Darkside
Tales from the Darkside
Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series produced by George A. Romero; it originally aired from 1983 to 1988. Similar to Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, and Tales From The Crypt, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot...
and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
(in which he starred alongside William Petersen
William Petersen
William Louis Petersen is an American actor and producer, best known for playing Dr. Gilbert "Gil" Grissom on the hit CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He portrayed President John F...
, who played his nemesis, Will Graham
Will Graham
Will Graham is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Thomas Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon. He is an FBI profiler responsible for the original capture of the serial killer Hannibal Lecter and the man who is assigned to locate killer Francis Dolarhyde.Although successful, Graham is...
, in Manhunter), and Detective Victor Huntley in Damages
Damages (TV series)
Damages is an American television drama series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler . It is broadcast in the United States on the DirecTV channel Audience Network after originally airing on FX and is produced by the creators' own...
. He recently appeared on Louie
Louie (TV series)
Louie is an American comedy television series on the FX network that began airing in 2010. It is written, directed, edited and produced by the show's creator, stand-up comedian Louis C.K., who stars as a fictionalized version of himself, a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two...
as a doctor who takes the young Louie through the crucifixion
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
in graphic anatomical detail. He also portrays the Reverend Nathaniel Cole in the AMC
AMC
AMC may refer to:* AMC , a short-lived British steam car manufactured in London in 1910*AMC Networks, an American media company** AMC , originally American Movie Classics, a cable television channel owned by AMC Networks...
original series Hell on Wheels
Hell on Wheels (TV series)
Hell on Wheels is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Joe and Tony Gayton. Set in 1865, the series centers on the settlement that accompanied the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, referred to as "Hell on Wheels" by the company men, surveyors, support...
.
Selected filmography
- Gloria (1980)
- Heaven's GateHeaven's Gate (film)Heaven's Gate is a 1980 American epic Western film based on the Johnson County War, a dispute between land barons and European immigrants in Wyoming in the 1890s...
(1980) - WolfenWolfen (film)Wolfen is the title of a 1981 horror film starring Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Gregory Hines and Edward James Olmos based on Whitley Strieber's 1978 novel The Wolfen...
(1981) - Eddie Macon's RunEddie Macon's RunEddie Macon's Run is a 1983 film starring Kirk Douglas and John Schneider, based on the 1980 novel by James McLendon.- Plot :Eddie Macon was wrongly convicted of a crime. While performing at a prison rodeo in Huntsville, Texas, he escapes and heads for the border, hoping to join his family in Mexico...
(1983) - Easy Money (1983)
- Best DefenseBest DefenseBest Defense is a comedy film starring Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy. It was released in 1984 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:The movie takes place as two parallel plots separated by several years: Moore is an engineer developing a targeting system on a tank for the United States Army and Murphy is an...
(1984) - The Man with One Red ShoeThe Man with One Red ShoeThe Man With One Red Shoe is a 1985 comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti. It is a remake of a 1972 French film Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire starring Pierre Richard and Mireille Darc...
(1985) - F/XF/XF/X is a 1986 American action-thriller film about Rollie Tyler , an expert in the art of special effects with a reputation built by his work on many low-budget hack-and-slash films such as I Dismember Mama...
(1986) - ManhunterManhunter (film)Manhunter is a 1986 American thriller film based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon. Written and directed by Michael Mann, it stars William Petersen as Will Graham and features Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor...
(1986) - The Monster SquadThe Monster SquadThe Monster Squad is a comedy/horror film written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Fred Dekker . It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features the classic monsters , led by Count Dracula...
(1987) - Collision CourseCollision Course (film)Collision Course is a 1989 action-comedy film starring Jay Leno as a Detroit police officer and Pat Morita as a Japanese cop forced to work together to recover a Japanese turbocharger stolen by villainous Chris Sarandon. It was directed by Lewis Teague and unreleased in the U.S. until 1992, when it...
(1989) - Mystery TrainMystery Train (film)Mystery Train is a 1989 independent anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and set in Memphis, Tennessee. The film comprises a triptych of stories involving foreign protagonists unfolding over the course of the same night...
(1989) - RoboCop 2RoboCop 2RoboCop 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film directed by Irvin Kershner and starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Belinda Bayer, Tom Noonan and Gabriel Damon. Set in the near future in a dystopian metropolitan Detroit, Michigan...
(1990) - Last Action HeroLast Action HeroLast Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film....
(1993) - What Happened Was... (1994)
- Heat (1995)
- The WifeThe Wife (film)The Wife is a 1995 film written and directed by Tom Noonan, based on his play Wifey. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival.-Cast:-Critical reception:...
(1995) - Phoenix (1998)
- The Astronaut's WifeThe Astronaut's WifeThe Astronaut's Wife is a 1999 science fiction/thriller film directed and written by Rand Ravich. It stars Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron.-Plot:...
(1999) - The OpportunistsThe OpportunistsThe Opportunists is a 2000 film starring Christopher Walken, with an appearance by Cyndi Lauper as the New Yorker Sally Mahon. It is assigned the criteria of a comedy/crime drama.-Plot:...
(2000) - The PhotographerThe Photographer (film)The Photographer is a 2000 film directed by Jeremy Stein. It revolves around a photographer who has a single evening to find ten magical photographs, or else he stands to lose everything that is important to him.-Plot:...
(2000) - The PledgeThe Pledge (film)The Pledge is a 2001 American mystery film directed by Sean Penn. It is based on the 1958 novella Das Versprechen: Requiem auf den Kriminalroman , by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt...
(2001) - Knockaround GuysKnockaround GuysKnockaround Guys is a 2002 gangster film starring Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper.- Plot :Matty Demaret is the son of a mob boss, but he is used as little more than an errand boy...
(2001) - Eight Legged FreaksEight Legged FreaksEight Legged Freaks is a 2002 comedy horror directed by Ellory Elkayem and stars David Arquette, Kari Wührer and Scott Terra. The plot concerns a collection of spiders that are exposed to toxic waste, causing them to grow to gigantic proportions and begin killing and harvesting...
(2002) - Hair HighHair HighHair High is a 2004 animated comedy-horror-romance by American filmmaker Bill Plympton.-Plot:A gothic high-school comedy with a Carrie-like story. Cherri and Rod are the high-school king and queen and they justifiably rule their domain...
(2004) (voice) - The RoostThe RoostThe Roost is a 2005 horror film directed by Ti West. Zombies and homicidal bats terrorize four teenagers stranded on a mysterious farm.- Synopsis :...
(2005) - Seraphim FallsSeraphim FallsSeraphim Falls is a 2007 American Revisionist Western film directed by television producer and director David Von Ancken in his first feature film. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Von Ancken and Abby Everett Jaques. The fictional story focuses on a bounty hunt for a Union...
(2006) - Snow AngelsSnow Angels (film)Snow Angels is a 2007 drama film starring Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. It was directed by David Gordon Green, who also wrote the screenplay adapted from Stewart O'Nan's 1994 novel of the same title. The film premiered in the dramatic competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...
(2007) - The Alphabet KillerThe Alphabet KillerThe Alphabet Killer is a 2008 thriller-horror film, loosely based on the Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, New York between 1971 and 1973. Eliza Dushku stars as the main character, alongside Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Bill Moseley and Timothy Hutton...
(2008) - Synecdoche, New YorkSynecdoche, New YorkSynecdoche, New York is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was Kaufman's directorial debut.The film premiered in competition at the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2008...
(2008) - The House of the DevilThe House of the DevilThe House of the Devil is a 2009 horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West, starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, and Mary Woronov. It combines elements of both the slasher film and haunted house subgenres while using the "satanic panic" of the 1980s as a central plot element...
(2009) - Bar KarmaBar KarmaBar Karma is the first online community-developed network television series. Online users pitch their own ideas for scenes and twists online, using a tool designed by Will Wright called the Storymaker. Some are eventually chosen by the production staff, and are utilized to help create a new episode...
(2011)
External links
- http://daily.greencine.com/archives/007634.html/GreenCine Daily podcast with Tom Noonan for The House of the DevilThe House of the DevilThe House of the Devil is a 2009 horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West, starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, and Mary Woronov. It combines elements of both the slasher film and haunted house subgenres while using the "satanic panic" of the 1980s as a central plot element...
]