Bruce Dern facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bruce Dern
Dern in 2015
Born	Bruce MacLeish Dern (1936-06-04) June 4, 1936 (age 89) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1960–present
Spouse(s)	Marie Dawn Pierce ​ ​ (m. 1957; div. 1959)​ Diane Ladd ​ ​ (m. 1960; div. 1969)​ Andrea Beckett ​ (m. 1969)​
Children	2, including Laura Dern
Relatives	George Dern (grandfather) Andrew MacLeish (great-grandfather) Archibald MacLeish (grand-uncle)

Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has won several awards for his acting. These include the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for the movie Nebraska (2013). He also won the Silver Bear for Best Actor for That Championship Season (1982). Bruce Dern was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Coming Home (1978). He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Nebraska.

Bruce Dern is a member of the Actors Studio, a famous acting school. He became well-known during the New Hollywood era. This was a time when many new and exciting movies were made. Some of his important films include The Trip (1967) and They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). He also appeared in The Cowboys (1972), Silent Running (1972), and The Great Gatsby (1974). More recently, he was in The Hateful Eight (2015) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). He also acted in the TV series Big Love from 2006 to 2011.

Bruce Dern is the father of actress Laura Dern.

Early Life and Family

Bruce Dern was born in Chicago on June 4, 1936. His mother was Jean MacLeish and his father was John Dern. John Dern was a lawyer. Bruce grew up in Kenilworth, Illinois. His grandfather, George Dern, was a governor of Utah. He also served as the United States Secretary of War. This was a very important job in the government.

Bruce Dern's great-grandfather, Andrew MacLeish, started the Carson, Pirie and Scott stores. These were big department stores. Bruce's great-uncles were the poet Archibald MacLeish and Naval aviator Kenneth MacLeish. His godfather was Adlai Stevenson II, who was a governor and ran for president twice.

Bruce went to New Trier High School. He was a great runner there. He even tried to qualify for the Olympic Games in 1956. After high school, he went to the University of Pennsylvania for two years.

Bruce Dern's Acting Career

Bruce Dern at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival

Bruce Dern studied acting at the Actors Studio. He learned from famous teachers like Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg. He performed in plays, including Waiting for Godot and Sweet Bird of Youth. In Sweet Bird of Youth, he acted alongside Paul Newman.

Early Roles in the 1960s

In the 1960s, Bruce Dern started getting small roles in movies. He played a sailor in Marnie (1964). He was also in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964). He often played characters who were a bit wild or dangerous. For example, he was a cattle thief in Hang 'Em High. He also played a gunfighter in Support Your Local Sheriff!. In They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, he played a struggling farmer.

In 1963, Bruce Dern appeared in an episode of the TV show The Outer Limits. The episode was called "The Zanti Misfits."

Important Films of the 1970s

In the western movie The Cowboys, Bruce Dern played a cattle thief. His character killed a rancher played by John Wayne. Bruce Dern also had a main role in the science-fiction film Silent Running. In this movie, he played a character trying to save Earth's last plants. He also acted with Jack Nicholson in The King of Marvin Gardens.

In 1974, Bruce Dern played Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. This movie was based on a famous book. He also starred in the comedy film Smile. Later, he was in Alfred Hitchcock's last movie, Family Plot. He played a detective in the movie The Driver. In the thriller Black Sunday, he played a former soldier planning a big attack.

In 1978, Bruce Dern was in the war film Coming Home. He played a soldier who was struggling after the war. For this role, he was nominated for an Academy Award.

Later Career and Awards

In 1981, Bruce Dern starred in the film Tattoo. The movie had some problems during its release. However, he soon won the Silver Bear for Best Actor award. This was for his role in That Championship Season. He won this award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Over the next few years, Bruce Dern continued to act in many movies. He played a neighborhood survivalist in The 'Burbs. He was also in Diggstown and Wild Bill. In 2019, he played George Spahn in Quentin Tarantino's movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

In 2007, Bruce Dern wrote a book about his life called Things I've Said, But Probably Shouldn't Have: An Unrepentant Memoir.

In 2013, Bruce Dern starred in the movie Nebraska. He played an older man who thought he won a million dollars. He goes on a road trip to get his prize. For this role, he won the Best Actor Award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He was also nominated for another Academy Award for Best Actor.

Working with Directors

Bruce Dern has worked with many famous directors. These include Walter Hill, Joe Dante, and Quentin Tarantino. He has said that he feels lucky to have worked with "six geniuses." He named Elia Kazan, Alfred Hitchcock, Douglas Trumbull, Alexander Payne, Quentin Tarantino, and Francis Ford Coppola.

Bruce Dern has also said that he is inspired by films from directors like David Lean. He mentioned movies like Lawrence of Arabia and Great Expectations. He has said he plans to keep acting until he is 100 years old. He wants to play older characters in new ways.

Personal Life

Bruce Dern was married to Marie Dawn Pierce from 1957 to 1959. He then married Diane Ladd in 1960. They had two daughters together. Their first daughter sadly passed away in 1962. Their second daughter is the actress Laura Dern. After divorcing Diane Ladd, Bruce Dern married Andrea Beckett in 1969. They are still married.

Film and Television Roles

Bruce Dern has had a very long career in both movies and television. Here are some of his many roles:

Film Roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	Wild River	Jack Roper	Uncredited
1962	The Crimebusters	Joe Krajac
1964	Marnie	Sailor
	Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte	John Mayhew
1966	The Wild Angels	Joe "Loser" Kearns
1967	The War Wagon	Hammond
	The St. Valentine's Day Massacre	John May
	The Trip	John
	Waterhole No. 3	Deputy Sam Tippen
	Will Penny	Rafe Quint
1968	Psych-Out	Steve Davis
	Hang 'Em High	Miller
1969	Support Your Local Sheriff!	Joe Danby
	Castle Keep	Lt. Billy Byron Bix
	Number One	Richie Fowler
	The Cycle Savages	Keeg
	They Shoot Horses, Don't They?	James Bates
1970	Bloody Mama	Kevin Dirkman
	The Rebel Rousers	J.J. Weston
1971	The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant	Dr. Roger Girard
	Drive, He Said	Coach Bullion
1972	The Cowboys	Asa Watts (Long Hair)
	Silent Running	Freeman Lowell
	Thumb Tripping	Smitty
	The King of Marvin Gardens	Jason Staebler
1973	Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid	Deputy	Uncredited
	The Laughing Policeman	Leo Larsen
1974	The Great Gatsby	Tom Buchanan
1975	Posse	Jack Strawhorn
	Smile	Big Bob Freelander
1976	Family Plot	George Lumley
	Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood	Grayson Potchuck
	The Twist	William Brandels
1977	Black Sunday	Michael Lander
1978	Coming Home	Captain Bob Hyde
	The Driver	The Detective
1980	Middle Age Crazy	Bobby Lee Burnett
1981	Tattoo	Karl Kinsky
1982	That Championship Season	George Sitkowski
	Harry Tracy, Desperado	Harry Tracy
1986	On the Edge	Wes Holman
1987	The Big Town	Mr. Edwards
	World Gone Wild	Ethan
1988	1969	Cliff Denny
1989	The 'Burbs	Mark Rumsfield
1990	After Dark, My Sweet	Garrett "Uncle Bud" Stoker
1992	Diggstown	John Gillon
1995	Wild Bill	Will Plummer
1996	Down Periscope	Admiral Yancy Graham
	Mulholland Falls	The Chief	Uncredited
	Last Man Standing	Sheriff Ed Galt
1998	Small Soldiers	Link Static (Voice)
1999	The Haunting	Mr. Dudley
	If... Dog... Rabbit...	McGurdy
2000	All the Pretty Horses	The Judge
2001	The Glass House	Alvin Begleiter
2003	Masked and Anonymous	Editor
	Milwaukee, Minnesota	Sean McNally
	Monster	Thomas
2005	Madison	Harry Volpi
	Down in the Valley	Charlie
2006	Believe in Me	Ellis Brawley
	Walker Payne	Chester
	The Astronaut Farmer	Hal
	The Hard Easy	Gene
2007	The Cake Eaters	Easy Kimbrough
	The Death and Life of Bobby Z	Hippy Narrator	Uncredited
2008	Swamp Devil	Howard Blame
	The Golden Boys	Captain Perez Ryder
2009	American Cowslip	Cliff
	The Hole 3D	Creepy Carl
	The Lightkeepers	Bennie
2010	Trim	Dale Banks
2011	Choose	Dr. Ronald Pendleton
	Inside Out	Vic Small
	Twixt	Bobby LaGrange
2012	From Up on Poppy Hill	Yoshio Onodera (voice)	English dub
	Hitting the Cycle	James
	Django Unchained	Curtis Carrucan
2013	Coffin Baby	Vance Henrickson
	Northern Borders	Austin Kittredge Sr.
	Nebraska	Woody Grant
	Fighting for Freedom	Christian Dobbe
2014	Cut Bank	Georgie Wits
2015	The Hateful Eight	General Sanford Smithers
2017	American Violence	Richard Morton
	Class Rank	Oswald Flannigan
	The Lears	Davenport Lear
	Hickok	Doc Rivers O'Roark
	Our Souls at Night	Dorlan Becker
	Chappaquiddick	Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.
2018	Nostalgia	Ronnie Ashemore
	White Boy Rick	Ray Wershe
	Freaks	Alan/Mr. Snowcone
	Warning Shot	Calvin
	American Dresser	King
	Lez Bomb	Grandpa
2019	The Mustang	Myles
	The Peanut Butter Falcon	Carl
	Once Upon a Time in Hollywood	George Spahn
	Remember Me	Claude
	Swing Low (subsequently titled Ravage)	Mallinckroft
	Inherit the Viper	Clay Carter
	QT8: The First Eight	Himself	Documentary
	The Artist's Wife	Richard Smythson
	Badland	Reginald Cooke
2020	Emperor	Levi Coffin
	Death in Texas	Reynolds
2021	Last Call	Coach Finnegan
	Buck Alamo	Death
	Overrun	Arkadi Dubkova
	The Gateway	Marcus
	Hands That Bind	Hank
	Christmas vs. the Walters	Cliff Walters
	Last Shoot Out	Blair Callahan
2022	The Hater	Frank
	Hellblazers	Bill Unger
	Mid-Century	Emil Larson
	The Most Dangerous Game	Whitney Tyler
2023	The Weapon	Doris
	Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch	Mike Cassidy
	Accidental Texan	Scheermeyer
	Butch vs. Sundance	Mike Cassidy
	Hunting Games	Henry
	Old Dads	Richie Jacobs
2024	Bloodline Killer	Dr. Lucien
	Northbound	Arthur	Post-production
2025	Reminisce	Papa Joe	Post-production
	The Devil's Trap	TBA
	Feathered	Rock

Television Roles

Video Game Roles

Awards and Nominations

Bruce Dern has received many awards and nominations throughout his career. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Bruce Dern para niños