Tommy Lee Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tommy Lee Jones
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Jones in 2017
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| Born | September 15, 1946 San Saba, Texas, U.S.
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| Education | Harvard University (AB) |
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| Years active | 1969–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full List |
Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is a famous American actor. He has won many important awards. These include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
After acting in many projects from the 1960s to the 1980s, Jones became a leading actor in the 1990s. He was known for playing strong and serious characters. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the movie The Fugitive (1993).
He also received Oscar nominations for other roles. These included businessman Clay Shaw in JFK (1991). He was also nominated for playing Hank Deerfield in In the Valley of Elah (2007). Another nomination was for Congressman Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln (2012).
Tommy Lee Jones is well-known for playing Agent K in the Men in Black movie series. Some of his other famous movies include Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) and Volcano (1997). He also appeared in Under Siege (1992), The Client (1994), and Batman Forever (1995). Later roles include Double Jeopardy (1999) and No Country for Old Men (2007). He was also in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Jason Bourne (2016).
Jones won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Gary Gilmore in The Executioner's Song (1982). He was also nominated for playing Texas Ranger Woodrow F. Call in the TV series Lonesome Dove (1989). He has also directed and produced films.
Contents
Early Life and School
Tommy Lee Jones was born on September 15, 1946, in San Saba, Texas. His mother, Lucille Marie Jones, was a police officer and teacher. His father, Clyde C. Jones, was a cowboy and oil field worker. Jones has some Cherokee heritage.
He grew up in Midland, Texas, and went to Robert E. Lee High School. Later, he moved to Dallas and graduated from the St. Mark's School of Texas in 1965. He attended this school on a scholarship.
College Years
Jones started at Harvard College in 1965 with financial help. He lived in Dunster House and shared a room with Al Gore. Al Gore later became the Vice President of the United States. Jones studied English literature and graduated in 1969. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors.
Playing College Football
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| Position | Guard |
| Major | English |
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| Born: | September 15, 1946 (age 78) San Saba, Texas |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
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| High school | St. Mark's (TX) |
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Jones played as a guard for the Harvard Crimson football team. He played from 1965 to 1968. He was part of Harvard's undefeated football team in 1968. He was chosen as a first-team All-Ivy League player. He also played in the famous 1968 Game. In that game, Harvard made an amazing comeback to tie Yale. He shared his memories of this game in the documentary Harvard Beats Yale 29–29.
Acting Career
Early Roles (1969–1982)
After college, Jones moved to New York City to become an actor in 1969. He first appeared on Broadway in a play called A Patriot for Me. In 1970, he got his first movie role. He played a Harvard student in Love Story. The author of the book, Erich Segal, said he based the main character on Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore.
From 1971 to 1975, he played Dr. Mark Toland on the TV show One Life to Live. He also starred in the TV movie The Amazing Howard Hughes, playing the main character. In films, he played a hunted escaped prisoner in Jackson County Jail (1976). He was also in Rolling Thunder (1977) and Eyes of Laura Mars (1978).
In 1980, Jones received his first Golden Globe nomination. This was for playing Doolittle "Mooney" Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter. He played the husband of country singer Loretta Lynn. In 1982, he was in the HBO movie The Rainmaker.
Becoming More Famous (1983–2004)
In 1983, he won an Emmy for Best Actor. This was for his role as Gary Gilmore in the TV movie The Executioner's Song. The same year, he played pirate captain Bully Hayes in Nate and Hayes. In 1989, he received another Emmy nomination. This was for playing Texas Ranger Woodrow F. Call in the TV series Lonesome Dove.
In the 1990s, Jones starred in many big movies. These included JFK (1991), which earned him an Oscar nomination. He was also in The Fugitive (1993) with Harrison Ford. Other major films were Batman Forever (1995), Volcano (1997), and Men in Black (1997) with Will Smith.
His role as Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive was highly praised. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for it. He later returned as the character in the sequel, U.S. Marshals (1998).
Other well-known roles in the 1990s included a terrorist in Under Siege (1992). He also played "Reverend" Roy Foltrigg in The Client (1994). He was a prison warden in Natural Born Killers (1994) and a parole officer in Double Jeopardy (1999).
In 2000, Jones acted with Samuel L. Jackson in Rules of Engagement. He also starred with director Clint Eastwood in Space Cowboys. In 2002, he and Will Smith were in the Men in Black sequel, Men in Black II.
Recent Years (2005–Present)
In 2005, Jones directed his first movie for theaters, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. This film was shown at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Jones won the Best Actor Award at Cannes for his performance. His first time directing was for a TV movie called The Good Old Boys in 1995.
In 2007, Jones had two strong performances. He played a father looking for his missing soldier son in In the Valley of Elah. He also played a Texas sheriff in the Oscar-winning movie No Country for Old Men. He was nominated for an Academy Award for In the Valley of Elah.
Since 2006, Jones has been a spokesperson for a Japanese coffee brand called Boss. He appears in many Japanese TV commercials as "Alien Jones." This character is an alien who looks like a human to observe people. In 2011, he appeared in public service announcements in Japan. He sang songs to remember those lost in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
In 2010, Jones was in the movie The Company Men with Ben Affleck. In 2011, he had a role in the Marvel Studios film, Captain America: The First Avenger. He also directed, produced, and starred with Samuel L. Jackson in The Sunset Limited.
In 2012, Jones played Agent K again in Men in Black 3. He also played Arnold Soames in Hope Springs. He co-starred as Thaddeus Stevens in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. His acting in Lincoln was highly praised. He received his fourth Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Since Lincoln, Jones has continued to appear in popular movies. These include Jason Bourne (2016) and Ad Astra (2019).
Personal Life
Tommy Lee Jones was married to Kate Lardner from 1971 to 1978. He has two children from his second marriage to Kimberlea Cloughley. On March 19, 2001, he married his third wife, Dawn Laurel.
Jones lives in Terrell Hills, Texas. He speaks Spanish. He owns a large cattle ranch in San Saba County, Texas. He also has a ranch near Van Horn, Texas. This ranch was used as a filming location for his movie The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.
He enjoys playing polo. He even has a house in a polo club in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He supports the Polo Training Foundation. He is also a big fan of the San Antonio Spurs basketball team. In 2000, he gave a speech to support his college roommate, Al Gore, for President of the United States.
Awards and Roles
See also
In Spanish: Tommy Lee Jones para niños
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- Notable alumni of St. Mark's School of Texas
