Aaron Eckhart facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aaron Eckhart
Eckhart in 2016
Born	Aaron Edward Eckhart (1968-03-12) March 12, 1968 (age 56) Cupertino, California, U.S.
Education	Brigham Young University (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present

Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his high school senior year. He left high school without graduating, but earned a diploma through a professional education course, and then graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film.

As an undergraduate at BYU, Eckhart met director and writer Neil LaBute, who cast Eckhart in several of LaBute's original plays. .....

Eckhart gained wide recognition as George in Erin Brockovich (2000), and, in 2006, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Nick Naylor in Thank You for Smoking. In 2008 he played a major role in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Batman film The Dark Knight as District Attorney Harvey Dent / Two-Face.

He went on to appear in Love Happens, Rabbit Hole, Battle: Los Angeles, The Rum Diary, Olympus Has Fallen and its sequel, I, Frankenstein, Sully, and Midway.

Early life

Eckhart was born on March 12, 1968 in Cupertino, California, the son of Mary Martha Lawrence, a writer, artist, and poet, and James Conrad Eckhart, a computer executive. He is the youngest of three brothers. His father is of German-Russian descent, while his mother has English, German, Scots-Irish, and Scottish ancestry. He was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served a two-year mission in France and Switzerland. Eckhart's family relocated to the United Kingdom in 1981, following his father's job in information technology. During their time in the United Kingdom, the family moved around Surrey, England, living in towns such as Cobham, Ripley, and Walton-on-Thames. Eckhart attended American Community School, where he was first introduced to acting, starring in a school production as Charlie Brown.

In 1985, Eckhart moved to Australia and settled in Sydney, where he attended American International School of Sydney for his high school senior year; he further developed his acting skills in productions like Waiting for Godot, where he admits that he gave a "terrible" performance. In the autumn of his senior year, Eckhart left school to take a job at the Warringah Mall movie theater. He eventually earned his diploma through a professional education course. This also allowed Eckhart time to enjoy a year of surfing in Hawaii and France, as well as skiing in the Alps. In 1988, Eckhart returned to the United States and enrolled as a film major at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, but later transferred to Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He also studied acting at the William Esper Studio.

Career

Early work

While at Brigham Young University, Eckhart appeared in the Mormon-themed film Godly Sorrow, and the role marked his professional debut. At this time he met director/writer Neil LaBute, who cast Eckhart in several of LaBute's original plays. After graduating from BYU, Eckhart moved to New York City, acquired an agent, and took various occasional jobs, including bartending, bus driving, and construction work. His first television roles were in commercials. In 1994, he appeared as an extra on the television drama series Beverly Hills, 90210. Eckhart followed this small part with roles in documentary re-enactments (Ancient Secrets of the Bible: Samson), made-for-television movies, and short-lived programs like Aliens in the Family.

In 1997, Eckhart was approached by Neil LaBute to star in a film adaptation of LaBute's stage play In the Company of Men. He played a frustrated white-collar worker. The film, his first feature to reach theaters, was critically well received. In the Company of Men was a critical success, winning Best First Film for LaBute at the 63rd annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards. His performance won him the Independent Spirit Award in the category of Best Debut Performance.

The following year Eckhart starred in another LaBute feature, Your Friends & Neighbors (1998). For the role Eckhart was required to gain weight. In 1999, he starred opposite Elisabeth Shue in Molly, a romantic comedy-drama in which he played the self-absorbed brother of an autistic woman who was cured by surgery. Eckhart also starred that year as a football coach, an offensive coordinator in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday.

Critical success

Eckhart first gained wide exposure in 2000 as George, a ponytailed, goateed biker, in Steven Soderbergh's drama Erin Brockovich. The film was met with reasonable reviews, and was a box office success, earning $256 million worldwide. His performance was well received by critics; Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman wrote that Eckhart "may be playing a bit of an ideal [...] but he makes goodness as palpable as he did yuppie evil in 'In the Company of Men'." In an August 2004 interview, Eckhart claimed that he had not worked for nearly a year before he was cast in the movie. "I felt like I sort of was getting away from what I wanted to do as an actor. [...] I had nine months off, but it wasn't a vacation. Sure, I didn't earn any money for nine months, but every day I was reading scripts, I was producing my own material, I was taking meetings, I was working on my craft."

Nick Nolte, Eckhart, Joshua Michael Stern, and Alan Cumming promoting Neverwas at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival.

Following the release of Erin Brockovich, Eckhart co-starred with Renée Zellweger in LaBute's Nurse Betty (2000). He next appeared in Sean Penn's mystery feature The Pledge (2001), in which he played a young detective partnered with a veteran detective, played by Jack Nicholson. The movie received generally favorable reviews, but it did not fare particularly well at the box office. The following year, he collaborated with LaBute in a film adaptation of the Man Booker Prize-winning novel Possession (2002). In 2003, Eckhart co-starred with Hilary Swank in The Core, a film about a geophysicist who tries to detonate a nuclear device in order to save the world from destruction. The film was critically and financially unsuccessful. Also in 2003, he appeared in The Missing, in which he played Cate Blanchett's lover, and in the action-thriller Paycheck opposite Ben Affleck. Paycheck, based on a short story by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, garnered generally negative reception. Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars (out of four), saying that he "enjoyed the movie" but felt that it "exploits [Dick's story] for its action and plot potential, but never really develops it."

The following year, away from film, Eckhart guest starred in two episodes of NBC's comedy sitcom Frasier, where he played a boyfriend of Charlotte, Dr. Frasier Crane's love interest. ..... Upon release, the movie received broadly negative reviews. Despite the reception, Eckhart's performance was favored by critics; Newsday wrote that Eckhart was a "classically handsome leading man ... but Merhige demands of him complexity and anguish." Suspect Zero was a box office disappointment, earning $11 million worldwide. Also in 2004, Eckhart starred on the London stage, opposite Julia Stiles, in David Mamet's Oleanna at the Garrick Theatre. The drama ran until mid-2004. For this performance, Eckhart received favorable critical reviews. In 2005, returning to film, Eckhart appeared in Neverwas as a therapist who takes a job at a rundown mental hospital that once treated his father (Nick Nolte). The feature was never given a full theatrical release, eventually being released straight to DVD in 2007.

Worldwide recognition

Eckhart's next project was Thank You for Smoking, in which he played Nick Naylor, a tobacco lobbyist whose firm researched the link between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer. Eckhart said that he felt challenged playing the role: "You have to say these words that are crazy, and yet do it with a smile on your face and have the audience like you. At one point, I'm doing a talk show with a kid who's dying of cancer, and he's going through chemotherapy and the whole thing, and I spin it so the anti-smoking people are the bad guys and I'm the good guy, and I'm this guy's best friend. I mean, it's whacked out." The film was screened at a special presentation at the 30th annual Toronto International Film Festival in 2005. It had a limited release in March 2006 and was released worldwide the following month. For his performance, Eckhart received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. A contributor of USA Today wrote that he gave a "standout, whip-smart performance" citing that as Nick Naylor he kept him "likable even in his cynicism." In the Seattle Post-Intelligencer review of the film, it was reported that "Under his chummy but compassionless smile" Eckhart radiated charm and "Naylor's true joys: manipulating arguments, steering debate, cooking words."

In this same year, he starred with Helena Bonham Carter in Conversations with Other Women (2006). While promoting this film, Eckhart revealed that he wishes not to be typecast or repeat himself, saying he does not want to play any more villains. He appeared in the 2006 film noir The Black Dahlia—based on a real 1947 crime—as Sergeant Leland "Lee" Blanchard, a detective investigating the murder of Elizabeth Short, later dubbed the "Black Dahlia". The film premiered at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival. Reception for the movie was mixed, but many critics enjoyed Eckhart's performance; Time Out magazine praised Eckhart and co-star Hilary Swank for their performances, writing "...both [are] great in their secondary roles."

Eckhart signing autographs for fans during promotion of The Dark Knight in 2008.

..... The following year, Eckhart was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He starred in No Reservations (2007), a remake of the 2001 German romantic comedy Mostly Martha. He starred opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones as an up-and-coming hotshot chef. The film was met with mixed reviews and was unfavorably compared to the original film. Eckhart starred in the 2008 comedy Meet Bill, in which he played the eponymous character, a sad executive working at his father-in-law's bank. He gained 30 pounds and donned a fat suit for the role.

Eckhart at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2013

Also in 2008, Eckhart portrayed the comic book character Harvey Dent in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, the sequel to the 2005 film Batman Begins. Nolan's decision to cast Eckhart was based on his portrayal of corrupt characters in the films In the Company of Men, The Black Dahlia, and Thank You For Smoking. He noted in his depiction of the character that "[he] is still true to himself. He's a crime fighter, he's not killing good people. He's not a bad guy, not purely", while admitting "I'm interested in good guys gone wrong." The Dark Knight was a big financial and critical success, setting a new opening weekend box office record for North America. With revenue of $1 billion worldwide, it became the fourth highest-grossing film of all time, and the highest-grossing film of Eckhart's career. Roger Ebert opined that Eckhart did an "especially good job" as his character in the feature, while Premiere magazine also enjoyed his performance, noting that he "makes you believe in his ill-fated ambition ... of morphing into the conniving Two-Face."

..... The film was screened under the name Nothing is Private at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. ..... Towelhead was critically and financially unsuccessful.

He next co-starred with Jennifer Aniston in the romantic drama Love Happens, released in September 2009, as a motivational speaker coming to terms with his own grief. The movie received ambivalent reviews, with a contributor of the Orlando Sentinel reporting that Eckhart plays "broken" for the whole movie. The following year he starred alongside Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole (2010), an adaption of David Lindsay-Abaire's 2005 drama of the same name. The feature premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. In 2011, Eckhart starred in Jonathan Liebesman's science fiction film Battle: Los Angeles, in which he portrayed a combat veteran Marine platoon sergeant. The film was set in modern-day Los Angeles during a global alien invasion, and followed a platoon of U.S. Marines who are joined by an Air Force special operations sergeant and some Army infantry soldiers in combat operations against the alien enemy. He appeared alongside Johnny Depp, Richard Jenkins, and Amber Heard in Hunter S. Thompson's novel adaptation The Rum Diary, directed by Bruce Robinson. In the film, Eckhart played Sanderson, a wealthy landowner, who believes everything has a price and introduces Paul Kemp (Depp) to a different standard of living. He starred as a U.S. President who is taken hostage, in the 2013 action thriller Olympus Has Fallen, opposite Gerard Butler, and reprised the role in its 2016 sequel London Has Fallen.

In 2019, he starred in Roland Emmerich’s blockbuster movie Midway, which also starred Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Dennis Quaid and Woody Harrelson.

Personal life

Eckhart met actress Emily Cline during the filming of In the Company of Men and they became engaged, but they separated in 1998. He has always been reluctant to speak about his relationships in interviews. Eckhart dated songwriter and member of SHeDAISY Kristyn Osborn from 2006 to 2007. He appeared in the group's video for their song "I'm Taking the Wheel".

Eckhart has noted that hypnosis helped him to quit drinking, smoking, and partying, and that he undertakes amateur photography in his spare time.

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1992	Godly Sorrow
1993	Hot Shots! Part Deux	Prisoner	Jim Abrahams	Uncredited
	Slaughter of the Innocents	Ken Reynolds	James Glickenhaus
1997	In the Company of Men	Chad	Neil LaBute
1998	Your Friends & Neighbors	Barry
	Thursday	Nick	Skip Woods
1999	Molly	Buck McKay	John Duigan
	Any Given Sunday	Nick Crozier	Oliver Stone
2000	Erin Brockovich	George	Steven Soderbergh
	Nurse Betty	Del Sizemore	Neil LaBute
	Tumble	"Man"
2001	The Pledge	Stan Krolak	Sean Penn
2002	Possession	Roland Michell	Neil LaBute
2003	The Core	Dr. Joshua "Josh" Keyes	Jon Amiel
	The Missing	Brake Baldwin	Ron Howard
	Paycheck	James Rethrick	John Woo
2004	Suspect Zero	Thomas Mackelway	E. Elias Merhige
2005	Neverwas	Zach Riley	Joshua Michael Stern	Also co-producer
	Thank You for Smoking	Nick Naylor	Jason Reitman
	Conversations with Other Women	Man	Hans Canosa
2006	The Wicker Man	Truck Stop Patron	Neil LaBute
	The Black Dahlia	Sgt. Lee Blanchard	Brian De Palma
2007	No Reservations	Nick Palmer	Scott Hicks
	Towelhead	Mr. Vuoso	Alan Ball	Also knows as Nothing is Private
	Meet Bill	Bill Anderson	Bernie Goldmann Melisa Wallack	Also executive producer
2008	The Dark Knight	Harvey Dent / Two-Face	Christopher Nolan
2009	Love Happens	Dr. Burke Ryan	Brandon Camp
2010	Rabbit Hole	Howie Corbett	John Cameron Mitchell
	To Be Friends	N/A	James Lawrence Eckhart	Producer
2011	Battle: Los Angeles	SSGT Michael Nantz	Jonathan Liebesman
	The Rum Diary	Hal Sanderson	Bruce Robinson
2012	Erased	Ben Logan	Philipp Stölzl	Also known as The Expatriate
2013	Olympus Has Fallen	President Benjamin Asher	Antoine Fuqua
2014	I, Frankenstein	The Monster / Adam Frankenstein	Stuart Beattie
2015	My All American	Darrell Royal	Angelo Pizzo
2016	London Has Fallen	President Benjamin Asher	Babak Najafi
	Sully	First Officer Jeffrey Skiles	Clint Eastwood
	Bleed for This	Kevin Rooney	Ben Younger
	Incarnate	Dr. Seth Ember	Brad Peyton
2019	Midway	Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle	Roland Emmerich
	Line of Duty	Frank Penny	Steven C. Miller	Also known as Live!
2020	Wander	Arthur Bretnik	April Mullen
2023	Ambush	Drummond	Mark Earl Burman
	Muzzle	Jake Rosser	John Stalberg Jr.
	Rumble Through the Dark	Jack Boucher	Graham Phillips Parker Phillips
2024	The Bricklayer	Steve Vail	Renny Harlin
	Chief of Station	Ben	Jesse V. Johnson
2024	Classified	Evan Shaw	Roel Reiné
	Deep Water		Renny Harlin	Post-production

Television

Awards and nominations

• Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance
• Satellite Award for Outstanding New Talent
• Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
• Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
• Nominated – St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
• Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
• Nominated – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
• Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble
• People's Choice Award for Favorite Cast
• Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
• Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
• Nominated – Scream Award for Best Villain

See also

In Spanish: Aaron Eckhart para niños