Aaron Eckhart
Born	Aaron Edward Eckhart March 12, 1968 (1968-03-12) (age 40) Cupertino, California, U.S.
Years active	1992–present

Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor of film and stage. He made his film debut in Neil LaBute's independent film In the Company of Men, in which he played a sociopathic ladies' man. In 1999, Eckhart starred in Any Given Sunday, in which he portrayed a football offensive coordinator, and played the caring brother of an autistic sibling in Molly. The following year, he appeared in Erin Brockovich, which gained him recognition, playing the pony-tailed biker. He collaborated once more with LaBute in films such as Nurse Betty and as the romantic lead in Possession.

Eckhart was then cast in Sean Penn's The Pledge and in Ron Howard's 2003 film The Missing. In 2006, he earned praise for his portrayal of Nick Naylor in Thank You for Smoking, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. Since then, Eckhart has appeared in The Black Dahlia, No Reservations, Towelhead, and Meet Bill. In 2008, he played the character of Harvey Dent and his villainous alter-ego Two-Face in The Dark Knight.

Biography

Early life

Eckhart was born March 12, 1968 in Cupertino, California, and is the youngest of three sons born to Mary (née Lawrence) Eckhart, a children's book author and poet, and James C. Eckhart "Jim Senior", a computer executive.^[1] Eckhart's older brothers are James Lawrence Eckhart and Adam Eckhart.^[2] He had a Mormon upbringing.^[3][4] As a teenager, he lived with his family in England and Sydney, Australia.^[1][5] He took three years off after high school to surf in Hawaii and to serve a mission for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France and Switzerland.^[3] He enrolled as a film major at Brigham Young University (BYU), graduating in 1994.^[5][6]

Career

During his time at BYU,^[7] Eckhart appeared in the Mormon-themed film Godly Sorrow and met director/writer Neil LaBute,^[7] who cast Eckhart in several of his original plays.^[1][5] After graduating from BYU, Eckhart made his television debut as an extra in Beverly Hills, 90210.^[1] Eckhart was approached by Neil LaBute to star in a film adaptation of his stage play, In the Company of Men (1997). He played the role of a white-collar guy frustrated with women, who hatches a plan with a buddy to woo a deaf office worker, to gain her affections, then unexpectedly dump her.^[8] Eckhart's performance was well-received by critics; Paul Tatara of CNN.com claimed that "Eckhart's Chad even has a couple of sarcastic diatribes that mock Cristine's halting, hollow-voiced way of speaking."^[9] The following year, he and LaBute collaborated once again in which Eckhart starred in Your Friends & Neighbors.^[5][7] In the film, he was barely recognizable as Barry, as he gained weight for the role.^[10] In 1999, he made an appearance as football offensive coordinator in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday.^[11] That same year, Eckhart starred in a lead role in Molly, in which he played the brother of an autistic woman who was "cured" by surgery.^[12]

Eckhart filming Traveling in 2008

In 2000, he gained his first wide exposure as the pony-tailed biker in Erin Brockovich opposite Julia Roberts^[13] and teamed up once again with LaBute in Nurse Betty, which also starred Renée Zellweger.^[1][5] He was cast in Sean Penn's The Pledge, in which he played a young detective partnered with a veteran detective played by Jack Nicholson.^[14] His fourth collaboration with LaBute was in Possession (2002).^[1][15] The following year, he starred in The Core alongside Hilary Swank, in which he played a geophysicist who tries to detonate a nuclear device and save the world from destruction.^[1][5] Eckhart then appeared in Ron Howard's The Missing, in which he played Cate Blanchett's lover,^[1][16] and starred in the action thriller Paycheck opposite Ben Affleck.^[17]

In 2004, Eckhart had a recurring role on NBC's television show Frasier, in which he played the boyfriend of Dr. Frasier Crane's matchmaker love interest Charlotte played by Laura Linney.^[18][19] He starred in the thriller Suspect Zero, in which he played an FBI agent tracking down a killer who murders serial killers.^[20][21] He starred in the London play Oleanna opposite Julia Stiles.^[22] In 2006, Eckhart starred in Conversations with Other Women opposite Helena Bonham Carter.^[23] He starred in Thank You for Smoking, in which he played Nick Naylor, a tobacco lobbyist whose stated purpose is to research the links between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer; for this Eckhart received a nomination for Golden Globe Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.^[24] In the Chicago Sun-Times review of the film, critic Roger Ebert wrote: "Eckhart has a good line in plausible corporate villains and he is smiling, optimistic, and even trusting (as when he tells girl reporter Katie Holmes things he should know will not be off the record)."^[25] He appeared in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia (2006), a film noir shot in Los Angeles and Bulgaria.^[26]

The following year, Eckhart starred in the romantic comedy No Reservations opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones, in which he played a hotshot up-and-comer chef.^[27] He was cast in Alan Ball's Towelhead, an adaption of Alicia Erian’s novel.^[28] In 2008, Eckhart played Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, the sequel to the 2005 film Batman Begins.^[29][30] In the Rolling Stone review of the film, critic Peter Travers wrote: "Eckhart earns major props for scarily and movingly portraying the DA's transformation into the dreaded Harvey Two-Face, an event sparked by the brutal murder of a major character."^[31] Critic Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle also praised Eckhart's performance, as he wrote: "The movie shifts our attention to Eckhart, who, as Gotham's idealistic young crime buster, has the movie's most involved journey."^[32]

Personal life

Eckhart was engaged to actress Emily Cline, but separated from her in 1998.^[5][22] He was then in a relationship with SHeDAISY's Kristyn Osborn from 2006–2007.^[22] Eckhart appears in the country group's video "I'm Taking the Wheel", and makes out with Osborn at the end of the clip.^[22] The couple has since parted ways.^[22]

Filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Aaron Eckhart

• Aaron Eckhart at the Internet Movie Database
• Aaron Eckhart at Yahoo! Movies
• Brief Bio at via LDS Utah Film personalities
• 2006 Terri Gross radio interview