Anthony Edwards life and biography

A talented leading and supporting player of the 1980s and 90s, Anthony Edwards caught the theater bug early, first at Santa Barbara Junior High and later at the Santa Barbara Youth Theatre, appearing in dozens of musicals and plays by the age of 16. While a student at USC, he landed a role in the TV-movie "The Killing of Randy Webster" (CBS, 1981), starring Hal Holbrook, and has worked steadily since. Blazing hot coming off his role as Goose in "Top Gun" (1986), his career stalled momentarily until the hit NBC series "ER" (1994- ) revived his star.

Edwards made his feature debut alongside Santa Barbara school chum Eric Stoltz as one of the two "Stoner Buds" of Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982). He went on to play Bonnie Bedelia's son in "Heart Like a Wheel" (1983) before leaving college for a regular role on the sitcom "It Takes Two" (ABC, 1982-83), with Richard Crenna, Patty Duke Astin and Helen Hunt. Cast as a likable college student in "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984) and "The Sure Thing" (1985), he received top billing in "Gotcha!" (1985) as (no surprise here) a nerdy vacationing college kid caught in a web of European intrigue and espionage. Though a marginal box office success, "Gotcha!" showed that Edwards' charm and talent could carry a film.

Edwards stole the show as Goose, Tom Cruise's ill-fated, easy-going navigator in Tony Scott's mega-hit "Top Gun". Deluged with offers, he hung up his teenybopper shoes, choosing instead characters in small, interesting movies like "Mr. North" (1988) "Hawks" (also 1988) and "Miracle Mile" (1989). "Mr. North", the feature directorial debut of Danny Huston, offered Edwards contact with the director's legendary father John, who co-scripted and executive produced the film just before his death. "Hawks" gave him the chance to work in England for the first time, and "Miracle Mile" presented him with a hopeless premise that no amount of good acting could save. Having slid from the spotlight, Edwards sought increased visibility in the dreadful bomb "Pet Sematary Two" (1992) and turned up as Susan Sarandon's associate in Joel Schumacher's courtroom thriller "The Client" (1994), based on the John Grisham novel.

Edwards has fared far better on the smaller screen, receiving widespread TV exposure as Mike Monroe, the lawyer and ecological conscience of the fictional town of Cicely, AK, on the popular "Northern Exposure" (CBS) during the 1992-93 season. He reunited with Helen Hunt for Showtime's one hour special "Sexual Healing" (1993) and earned a CableACE nomination as Best Actor. The 1994-1995 TV season marked a paunchier Edward's debut in a regular starring role on NBC's hospital drama series "ER". As Dr. Mark Greene, a highly sensitive, overworked but dedicated emergency room doctor, he became, in spite of his receding hairline, an overnight heartthrob. The role would ultimately earn Edwards four Emmy consecutive Emmy nominations, back-to-back Screen Actors Guild Award wins for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1997 and 1998) and a 1998 Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series Drama.

In a radical departure from his TV persona, he delivered one of his finest performances as sociopathic killer Dick Hickock in the CBS miniseries version of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" (1996). He then segued back into film in the sappy but romantic ensemble comedy "Playing by Heart" (1998) as a married man involved with a married woman who insists their relationship cannot go beyond the physical. Next was the limp British romantic comedy "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1999), with Edwards as a fumbling sports trainer caught up in romantic triangle involving the unlikely combination of dentistry and hypnosis--the actor also served as a producer on the film. He then entered into two collaborations with Mark and Michael Polish, the writer-director brothers behind "Jackpot" (2001) and the superior "Northfork" (2003), playing a minor supporting role in the former and a blind mute with wooden hands and elaborate spectacles in the latter. After leaving "ER" in 2002 with the death of his character following a particularly effective storyline, Edwards remained a regular presence in films with supporting turns in family friendly adventure "Thunderbirds" and the paranormal thriller "The Forgotten" (both 2004). He also enjoyed a flourishing career as a producer of such films as the underground rock documentary "N.Y.H.C." (1999), the well-executed telepic adapation of the coming of age novel "My Louisiana Sky" (2001)--which earned Edwards a Daytime Emmy and the Andrew Carnegie Medal--and the cross-dressing indie comedy "Die, Mommie, Die" (2003).

Edwards has not forgotten the theater, finding time to tread the boards whenever possible in plays like "Black" (Williamstown Theatre Festival, 1992) and "Ten Below" (WPA Theatre, NYC, 1993). An honorary board member of Access Theatre, a repertory acting company comprised of disabled actors, he directed a documentary about the group that received several awards and a distribution in high schools around the country. He also directed the feature film "Charlie's Ghost Story" (1994), a modern-day Mark Twain adaptation starring Cheech Marin, Charles Rocket and Linda Fiorentino (his co-star in "Gotcha!").

Family

* Brother: Jeffrey Edwards. Born in 1956
* Brother: Peter Ross Edwards. Born in 1953
* Daughter: Esme Edwards. Born in January 1997; mother, Jeanine Lobell
* Daughter: Poppy Edwards. Born in 2002; mother, Jeanine Lobell
* Daughter: Wallis Edwards. Born in September 2000; mother, Jeanine Lobell
* Father: Peter Edwards.
* Mother: Erika Plack.
* Sister: Annamaria Edwards. Born in 1958
* Sister: Heidi Edwards. Born in 1952
* Son: Bailey Edwards. Born in January 1994; mother, Jeanine Lobell


CHRONOLOGY

* 1981 TV acting debut The Killing of Randy Webster (CBS)
* 1982 TV series debut as regular, It Takes Two (ABC) playing the son of Patty Duke Astin and Richard Crenna
* 1982 Feature acting debut, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
* 1984 First leading role in a feature, the comedy Revenge of the Nerds
* 1986 Breakthrough role as Maverick s (played by Tom Cruise) loyal sidekick Goose in Top Gun
* 1987 Reprised role as Gilbert for Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
* 1988 Appeared as a terminally ill patient in Hawks alongside Timothy Dalton
* 1990 Co-starred in Downtown with Penelope Ann Miller and Forest Whitaker
* 1992 Cast in a recurring role on the CBS series, Northern Exposure
* 1994 Played the regular role of Dr. Mark Greene on the NBC medical drama ER ; also directed several episodes; earned four consecutive Emmy nominations from 1995-1998 for Outstanding Lead Actor
* 1994 Feature directing debut, Charlie s Ghost Story
* 1997 Co-executive produced and starred in the romantic comedy Don t Go Breaking My Heart (released theatrically in 1999)
* 1997 Formed production company, Aviator; signed three-year first-look deal with Warner Bros.
* 1998 Appeared in the ensemble of Playing By Heart
* 2001 Produced the Showtime original program My Louisiana Sky
* 2004 Played Julianne Moore s husband in the thriller The Forgotten
* 2004 Starred in Thunderbirds which is based on the cult British television show from the 1960s; directed by Jonathan Frakes
* 2007 Played a San Francisco detective in David Fincher s serial killer thriller Zodiac
* 2008 Reprised the role of Dr. Greene (in flashback scenes) during the 15th and final season of ER (NBC)
* 2009 Played Uma Thurman s absent-minded husband in the indie comedy, Motherhood
* Toured California one summer as part of Santa Barbara Youth Theatre s production of Peter Pan

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