Tom Hulce facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tom Hulce
Hulce in 2006
Born	Thomas Edward Hulce (1953-12-06) December 6, 1953 (age 71) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Education	University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Beloit College
Occupation	Actor theatre producer film producer
Years active	1974–2011 • 2017–present

Thomas Edward Hulce (born December 6, 1953) is an American actor and theatre producer. He is famous for playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Oscar-winning movie Amadeus (1984). He also played Larry "Pinto" Kroger in Animal House (1978) and was the voice of Quasimodo in Disney's animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996).

Tom Hulce has won several awards. These include an Emmy Award for The Heidi Chronicles. He also won a Tony Award in 2007 for Best Musical as a main producer for Spring Awakening. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Amadeus. He also received four Golden Globe nominations.

Early Life and Education

Thomas Edward Hulce was born on December 6, 1953, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the youngest of four children. He grew up in Plymouth, Michigan. His mother, Joanna Winkleman, used to sing with an all-girl orchestra. His father, Raymond Albert Hulce, worked for the Ford Motor Company.

When he was a child, Tom wanted to be a singer. But his voice changed as he got older. So, he decided to become an actor instead. He left home at 15 to study acting. He went to Interlochen Arts Academy and the North Carolina School of the Arts. He later graduated from Beloit College in Wisconsin.

Acting and Producing Career

Early Acting Roles

Tom Hulce started his acting career in 1974. He acted alongside Anthony Hopkins in the play Equus on Broadway. For many years, he mostly worked in theatre. He took on some movie roles too. His first movie was September 30, 1955 in 1977.

His next movie role was as a college student named Larry "Pinto" Kroger. This was in the popular comedy Animal House (1978). In 1983, he appeared in the TV show St. Elsewhere.

Becoming Mozart

In the early 1980s, Tom Hulce was chosen to play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This was for director Miloš Forman's movie Amadeus. Many other famous actors also wanted the role.

In 1985, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. He did not win, but his co-star, F. Murray Abraham, won. Abraham said that Tom Hulce should have been standing next to him.

Tom Hulce with Faye Dunaway at the 42nd Golden Globe Awards in January 1985.

Later Film and TV Roles

In 1989, Tom Hulce was nominated for another Golden Globe Award. This was for his role in the 1988 movie Dominick and Eugene. He played a character with intellectual challenges. He also had supporting roles in movies like Parenthood (1989) and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994).

In 1990, he was nominated for his first Emmy Award. This was for playing Michael Schwerner, a civil rights activist, in the TV movie Murder in Mississippi. In 1996, he won an Emmy Award for his role in The Heidi Chronicles.

That same year, he voiced the main character, Quasimodo, in Disney's animated movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He provided both the speaking and singing voice. Tom Hulce mostly stopped acting in the mid-1990s. However, he had small parts in movies like Stranger Than Fiction (2006) and Jumper (2008). In 2023, he returned to voice Quasimodo again in the short film Once Upon a Studio.

Theatre Work and Producing

Tom Hulce stayed active in theatre throughout his acting career. He appeared in Broadway plays like A Memory of Two Mondays and A Few Good Men. He was nominated for a Tony Award for A Few Good Men in 1990. In 1992, he starred in a production of Hamlet.

He stopped acting in the mid-1990s to focus on directing and producing plays. He helped create a six-hour play based on the book The Cider House Rules. He also produced Talking Heads, which won several awards.

Tom Hulce was a main producer for the Broadway hit musical Spring Awakening. This musical won eight Tony Awards in 2007, including Best Musical. He also produced the musical American Idiot, based on the Green Day album. This show opened on Broadway in 2010. In 2017, he started producing the musical Ain't Too Proud, which was nominated for 11 Tony Awards in 2019. He also produced the 2004 movie A Home at the End of the World.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

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See also

In Spanish: Tom Hulce para niños