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William H. Macy

William H. Macy, an Oscar and Golden Globe nominee and Emmy and SAG Award winner, is one of the most distinguished talents of his generation.

Macy most recently completed The Deal, a film he not only starred in and produced, but also adapted from the novel by Peter Lefcourt with long time writing partner Steven Schachter. The Deal brings an all-star crew to the big screen, including Meg Ryan, LL Cool J, Elliott Gould and Jason Ritter, and offers an insiders' view of Hollywood that is purely entertaining. The Deal premiered the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

In 2007, Macy appeared in the global blockbuster Wild Hogs. Macy, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen were the perfect ensemble to bring to life this buddy comedy about friends on a freewheeling journey to ease the pains of mid-life.

In 2006 Macy appeared in the independent feature Bobby, based on fictionalized events leading up to the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. In 2005 he starred in the independent film Edmund, an adaptation of the David Mamet play and Thank you for Smoking opposite Aaron Eckhart. Macy also voiced Brian the Snail in the animated feature Doogal for the Weinstein Company. The same year Macy appeared in the marine-based action adventure Sahara, which also starred Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz. In 2004 he appeared in Cellular starring opposite Kim Basinger.

Macy received critical acclaim for his role in the romantic drama The Cooler about the unluckiest man ever whose bad luck is so infectious that he is called to the floor at a seedy downtown Vegas casino whenever the tables get too hot. The supporting cast included Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, and Ron Livingston.

Macy was also seen stealing scenes in the critically-acclaimed feature, Seabiscuit, the American epic of triumph and perseverance set during the Great Depression. Macy was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as Tick Tock McLaughlin and the film was nominated for Best Picture.

Macy may be best known for his portrayal of Jerry Lundergaard in Fargo, for which he received an Oscar Nomination and won an Independent Spirit Award as Best Supporting Actor. He also garnered nominations for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (American Comedy Awards), Best Actor (Chicago Film Critics), Best Supporting Actor (Dallas/ Fort Worth Film Critics), and Best Actor in a Drama (International Press Academy).

Macy's distinguished film credits include Spartan, In Enemy Hands, Magnolia, Pleasantville, Happy Texas, State and Main, Jurassic Park 3, Focus, Welcome to Collinwood, Psycho, A Civil Action, Boogie Nights, Wag The Dog, Air Force One, Ghosts of Mississippi, Mr. Holland's Opus, The Client, Shadows and Fog, Murder in the First, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Radio Days and Panic.

Macy has been no less prolific on the small screen. Macy received an Emmy nomination for his role in Umney's Last Case based on an anthology of Steven King short stories which aired on TNT in July of 2006. In 2004 Macy was seen in TNT's Emmy-nominated The Wool Cap. Macy was nominated for an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award for his performance. He and Schachter were also nominated for a Writers Guild Award. In addition, the movie was nominated for an Emmy and a Critics' Choice Award. In 2003, Macy starred with David Arquette in the Showtime Original Picture Stealing Sinatra, which depicts the 1963 botched kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. Directed by Ron Underwood, Macy received an Emmy nomination in the category of "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie" for his performance.

In 2002, Macy received outstanding critical acclaim for his role as Bill Porter in TNT's Door to Door, opposite Kyra Sedgwick, Helen Mirren, Kathy Baker and Felicity Huffman. The movie, which Macy also co-wrote, tells the true story of Porter, an award-winning door-to-door salesman with cerebral palsy. The movie received a SAG Award, Peabody Award, an AFI Award, a Critic's Choice Award, a Golden Satellite Award, a Writer's Guild nomination, an American Cinema Editors nomination and a Golden Globe nomination. The movie was nominated for 12 Emmys and won 6 including Outstanding Made for Television Movie as well as winning Macy the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Television Movie statue and Outstanding Writing for a Television Movie with Steven Schachter.

He received an Emmy Nomination as Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his recurring role as 'Dr. David Morgenstern' on ER. Macy also had a recurring role on Aaron Sorkin's Sports Night and was nominated for an Emmy for his performance. His movie of the week credits include Reversible Errors, A Murderous Affair, Heart of Justice, Standoff at Marion, and the miniseries' Andersonville, The Murder of Mary Phagan and The Awakening Land. In addition to the politically charged BBC telefilm The Writing on the Wall, Macy also appeared in two Mamet vehicles, The Water Engine and Showtime's Texan. In 1999, he starred opposite his wife Felicity Huffman, on the TNT television film A Slight Case of Murder and received another Emmy nomination. Macy and his writing partner Steven Schachter wrote the film and Schachter directed. Also with Schachter, Macy has written several television scripts, including an episode of Thirtysomething, the HBO movie Above Suspicion and the USA Networks movie The Con starring Macy and Rebecca DeMornay. He also was seen on the small screen in a regular guest role in the Showtime original limited series Out of Order, also starring Eric Stoltz, Felicity Huffman, Kim Dickens and Justine Bateman.

Born in Miami, Macy lived in Georgia until age ten before moving to Cumberland, Maryland, where his love for acting spawned as Mordred in Camelot. Elected junior and senior high school class president, he set out to become a veterinarian at Bethany College in West Virginia, but after performing in play after play Macy transferred to Goddard College in Vermont, where he came under the tutelage of theater Professor David Mamet.

In 1972, Mamet, Macy and his writing partner Steven Schachter moved to Chicago, where they collectively created the St. Nicholas Theater. Macy originated roles for several of Mamet's classic original productions, among them, Bobby in American Buffalo, and Lang in The Water Engine, soon establishing his feature film presence with writer/director Mamet. His performance in Oleanna, as a college professor accused of sexual harassment earned Macy kudos as a master of verbal machine-gunning from Entertainment Weekly. His detective in Homicide inspired similar praise from New York magazine: "Macy may be the ideal Mamet actor: working-man handsome, street smart, and nimble of tongue." He continued with Mamet as a Mafioso driver in Things Change, a Marine in House of Games and an FBI agent in Wag the Dog.

Moving to New York in 1980, he continued to build his reputation in the theater as an originator of new roles, in such off-Broadway productions as Baby With the Bathwater, The Dining Room (later filmed for PBS — Great Performances) Life During Wartime, Mr. Gogol and Mr. Preen, Bodies, Rest and Motion, and Mamet's Prarie du Chen, Oh Hell, and Oleanna. His stage credits, approaching fifty during his ten years in New York, also include the Broadway production of Our Town, Tony Award winner for Best Ensemble. Macy was also seen on the London stage in the spring of 2000, where he co-starred in the revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo at the Donmar Warehouse. Following the run in London, the play moved to the Atlantic Theater Company in New York for a record breaking run.

Along with his acting career, Macy has also earned respect as a teacher and director. Having led theater classes in Chicago and at New York University, today he serves as director in the residence at the Atlantic Theater company in New York. His extensive directing resume includes Boy's Life at Lincoln Center, the LA production of Oleanna at the Tiffany Theater, as well as Lip Service, an HBO film which won an ACE Award for best Theatrical Production. Most recently, Macy directed the play The Joy of Going Somewhere Definite at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York.

In 1998, Macy was honored by Showest when he was named Best Supporting Actor of the Year for his body of work. Macy is married to actress Felicity Huffman. They reside in Los Angeles with their two daughters.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2011.
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William H. Macy Facts

Birth NameWilliam Hall Macy
OccupationActor
BirthdayMarch 13, 1950 (74)
SignPisces
BirthplaceMiami, Florida, USA
Height5' 9" (1m75)  How tall is William H. Macy compared to you?
Awards2003 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Best Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries (for Door to Door)
2003 Emmy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie (for Door to Door)

Selected Filmography

Boogie Nights
Room
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Blood Father
Fargo
Wild Hogs
Down Periscope
A Single Shot
Wag The Dog
Jurassic Park III
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