Bruce Campbell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bruce Campbell
Campbell in June 2014.
Born	Bruce Lorne Campbell (1958-06-22) June 22, 1958 (age 66) Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Actor filmmaker
Years active	1972–present
Spouse(s)	Christine Deveau ​ ​ (m. 1983; div. 1989)​ Ida Gearon ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	2

Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for playing Ash Williams in the scary Evil Dead movie series. This series started with a short film called Within the Woods in 1978. Bruce Campbell has also appeared in many other movies, including Maniac Cop (1988) and Bubba Ho-Tep (2002).

On TV, Campbell had the main roles in shows like The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993–1994) and Jack of All Trades (2000). He also played Autolycus, King of Thieves in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. Later, he starred as Sam Axe in Burn Notice (2007–2013) and returned as Ash in the TV series Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015–2018).

Bruce Campbell has also directed and produced movies. He even starred in some of them, like Man with the Screaming Brain (2005) and My Name Is Bruce (2007). He often works with his friend, director Sam Raimi, and Raimi's brother, Ted Raimi.

Early life and beginnings

Bruce Lorne Campbell was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, on June 22, 1958. His dad, Charles Newton Campbell, worked in advertising and was a college professor. His mom, Joanne Louise, was a homemaker. Bruce has English and Scottish family roots. His father was also involved in local theater as an actor and director.

As a teenager, Bruce started acting and making short movies with his friends using a Super 8 camera. He met future filmmaker Sam Raimi when they were in high school. They became great friends and started working together on projects. Bruce went to Western Michigan University and kept working on his acting career.

Career highlights

Movies and big screen roles

Campbell signing a VHS copy of The Evil Dead.

Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi first made a 30-minute Super 8 film called Within the Woods (1978). This short movie helped them get money to make their first full-length film, The Evil Dead (1981). Bruce not only starred as the main character, Ash Williams, but he also helped produce the movie.

After famous horror writer Stephen King praised The Evil Dead, the movie became very popular. It led to two sequels: Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992).

Bruce Campbell's character, Ash Williams, even appeared in five Marvel Zombies comic books! In these comics, Ash fights zombies alongside Marvel superheroes while looking for a magical book called the Necronomicon.

Campbell has appeared in many of Sam Raimi's other movies too. He had fun cameo appearances in Raimi's Spider-Man movies. He also appeared in Darkman and had a small part in The Quick and the Dead. In 2022, he had a cameo in Raimi's Marvel movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Bruce often plays unique and interesting characters. For example, he played Elvis Presley in the movie Bubba Ho-Tep. He also made a movie called My Name is Bruce, where he played a funny version of himself.

Some other well-known movies Bruce has been in include The Hudsucker Proxy, Congo, Escape from L.A., and Sky High (where he played Coach Boomer).

He has also lent his voice to animated movies like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and Pixar's Cars 2.

Bruce Campbell helped produce the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead. He even had a short appearance after the credits, hinting at a possible return as Ash. He also worked as an executive producer for the 2023 movie Evil Dead Rise.

Television shows and guest roles

Campbell at WonderCon in 2013

Besides movies, Bruce Campbell has been in many TV shows. He starred in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., a fun science fiction western where he played a lawyer who becomes a bounty hunter. He also starred in Jack of All Trades, a show set in 1801.

He is well-known for his role as Autolycus, the "King of Thieves," in both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. He even directed several episodes of these shows.

From 2007 to 2013, Campbell co-starred in the TV series Burn Notice. He played Sam Axe, a former Navy SEAL who works as a private investigator. In 2011, he starred in a TV movie called Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, which was about Sam's past.

In 2014, Bruce played Santa Claus in an episode of The Librarians. He also played Ronald Reagan in the TV series Fargo. Most recently, he returned as Ashley "Ash" Williams in Ash vs Evil Dead, a TV series that continued the Evil Dead story.

In 2019, Bruce Campbell became the host and producer of a new version of the show Ripley's Believe It or Not!, where he shares amazing and unbelievable facts.

Voice acting in games and cartoons

Bruce Campbell is also a talented voice actor for video games and animated shows. He provides the voice of Ash Williams in several Evil Dead video games, including Evil Dead: Hail to the King and Evil Dead: The Game. He also voiced Ash in the game Dead by Daylight.

He has voiced characters in many Spider-Man video games, often as the tutorial narrator. Other voice roles include Jake Logan in Tachyon: The Fringe, Fugax in The Ant Bully, and Rod "Torque" Redline in Cars 2. He also voiced Himcules in the cartoon My Life as a Teenage Robot.

Writing his own stories

Besides acting and directing, Bruce Campbell has also become a writer. He wrote an autobiography called If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor, which came out in 2001. This book was a New York Times Best Seller! It shares his experiences as an actor in many different kinds of movies and TV shows.

He also wrote a column for X-Ray Magazine and comic books based on his movie Man with the Screaming Brain. In 2017, he released another book called Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor, which continued his life story.

Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival

Since 2014, Bruce Campbell has hosted and organized the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival in Rosemont, Illinois. This festival shows horror movies and has special guests from the film world.

Personal life

Bruce Campbell married Christine Deveau in 1983, and they had two children before they divorced in 1989. He later met costume designer Ida Gearon while working on a movie. They got married in 1991 and live in Jacksonville, Oregon. Bruce Campbell is also an ordained minister, which means he can perform marriage ceremonies.

Filmography

Television

Video games

2024- Spooky Pinball’s-Evil Dead Callouts

Awards and recognition

See also

In Spanish: Bruce Campbell para niños