Eric Stoltz

Eric Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He is known for playing the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask, which earned him the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture,[1] and has appeared in a wide variety of films from mainstream fare like Some Kind of Wonderful to independent films like Pulp Fiction, Killing Zoe, and Kicking and Screaming.
In 1985, Stoltz was picked to portray Marty McFly in the movie Back to the Future. Five weeks after filming had begun, Stoltz was fired and replaced by Michael J. Fox. Scenes that had already been filmed were shot again featuring Fox.[2]
In 2010, he portrayed Daniel Graystone in the science fiction television series Caprica, and became a regular director on the television series Glee.
== Early life ==
Stoltz was born in Whittier, California, the son of Evelyn B. (née Vawter),[3] a violinist and schoolteacher, and Jack Stoltz, an elementary school teacher.[4] He has two sisters, Catherine, an opera singer,[5] and Susan, a writer.[6]
Stoltz was raised in both American Samoa and Santa Barbara, California, where as a child he once earned money playing piano for local musical theatre productions.[7]He attended the University of Southern California, but dropped out after his junior year.[8] He moved to New York in 1981 and studied with Stella Adler and Peggy Feury.[9]
== Career ==
=== 1978–1999 ===
In the 1970s Stoltz joined a repertory company that performed ten plays at the Edinburgh Festival. He returned to the United States in 1979, when he entered USC as a drama student, but subsequently dropped out to pursue film and TV roles.[10]
In 1978, he was cast as Steve Benson in the TV adaptation of Erma Bombeck's The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank.[11]
Director Cameron Crowe and Stoltz became friends while making Stoltz's first feature film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), which Crowe wrote and in which Stoltz had a minor role. According to Stoltz, Crowe promised Stoltz a role in all of his future films.[12]
He appeared in each of Crowe's next four films, The Wild Life, Say Anything..., Singles, and Jerry Maguire.
Originally cast as Marty McFly for Back to the Future in late 1984, he was replaced after about a month of filming when Michael J. Fox (the director's first choice for the role) agreed to divide time between the movie and his television sitcom Family Ties.[13] The director, Robert Zemeckis, said that while Stoltz provided an admirable performance, it lacked the precise comedic sense that Zemeckis was seeking.[14] Some of the original footage, where Stoltz does not appear but was on set, was used in the film.[15]Stoltz playing the character was referenced in the 2010 episode of Fringe titled "Peter" when, in a parallel universe, a theater marquee reads "Back to the Future starring Eric Stoltz".[16]
In 1985, Stoltz garnered attention with a Golden Globe nomination starring as Rocky Dennis in Mask. Among other roles in the 1980s, he appeared in the 1987 hit Some Kind of Wonderful, written and produced by John Hughes.[citation needed]
During the 1990s, Stoltz went back and forth between stage, film, and television, appearing in studio and independent films such as Pulp Fiction (1994) and The Waterdance (1992). He also produced the films Bodies, Rest & Motion in 1993, Sleep with Me in 1994, and Mr. Jealousy in 1997.[citation needed]
He continued to appear on the New York stage, both on Broadway (Three Sisters, Two Shakespearean Actors, Arms and the Man) and off-Broadway (The Importance of Being Earnest, The Glass Menagerie, Sly Fox and Our Town). He was nominated for a Tony Award as Featured Actor for his performance as George Gibbs in the 1989 Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder's Our Town.[17]
A performance of this production was featured on Great Performances: Live from Lincoln Center, which received a 1989 Emmy nomination.[18]
On television, he had a recurring role as Helen Hunt's character's ex-boyfriend on Mad About You (five episodes, 1994–1998), spent a year on Chicago Hope (1994), and did some TV and cable movies such as Inside (1996) (directed by Arthur Penn) and The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999), with Helen Mirren. Stoltz received the Indie Sup(Y)port Award at the 1998 Los Angeles Film Festival.[19]
=== 2000–present ===
During the first part of the 2000s, he starred with Gillian Anderson in The House of Mirth (2000), based on the novel by Edith Wharton. From 2001 to 2002, he had a recurring role as the English teacher-poet August Dimitri in ABC's Once and Again, wherein Julia Whelan's character, a teenager, fell in love with his character. He directed an episode of the show in 2002.
In 2003, he played his first leading TV role in Out of Order, which was canceled after five episodes. In 2004, he appeared in The Butterfly Effect as a child molester; the following year, he guest-starred in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace as Debra Messing's love interest. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his direction of the cable movie My Horrible Year! (2001).[20] He also directed a short film entitled The Bulls[7] as well as the highest rated episode of Law & Order in 2005, entitled "Tombstone". He appeared in the music video of The Residents' "Give it to Someone Else", featured on The Commercial DVD.[21]
He has contributed essays to the books City Secrets—New York as well as Life Interrupted by Spalding Gray and appears on the children's CD Philadelphia Chickens.[22]
Beginning in 2007, Stoltz directed episodes of the drama series Quarterlife, which began airing as webisodes and were then picked up to air on the NBC network in 2008. Stoltz played a serial killer in need of medical attention in three episodes of the fifth season of Grey's Anatomy.[23] He has also directed two episodes of Grey's Anatomy.
Stoltz starred as Daniel Graystone, inventor of the Cylons, in the science fiction television series Caprica, a prequel set 58 years before the Battlestar Galactica series.
He became a regular director of Glee, directing a total of 12 episodes, including "Nationals", in which the Glee club finally wins the championship.[24]
In 2011 Stoltz was seen back on the silver screen with the film Fort McCoy; he earned accolades for his leading role as a conflicted barber of German heritage forced to suppress his American patriotism after moving his family to a post-World War II military base housing a German POW camp.
Starting in 2014, Stoltz became the producing director of the CBS political drama series Madam Secretary. The following year he became one of its four executive producers, alongside Morgan Freeman and Barbara Hall, and has directed more than ten episodes, as well as starring alongside Tea Leoni in several episodes as her brother, Will Adams.[25]
== Filmography ==
=== Actor ===
==== Films ====
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1982	Fast Times at Ridgemont High 	Stoner Bud 	
1984	Surf II 	Chuck 	
1984	Running Hot 	Danny Hicks 	
1984	The Wild Life 	Bill Conrad 	
1985	The New Kids 	Mark 	
1985	Mask 	Rocky Dennis 	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
1985	Code Name: Emerald 	Lt. Andy Wheeler 	
1987	Some Kind of Wonderful 	Keith Nelson 	
1987	Lionheart 	Robert Nerra 	
1987	Sister, Sister 	Matt Rutledge 	
1988	Greasy Lake 	The Narrator 	Direct-to-video
1988	Manifesto 	Christopher 	
1988	Haunted Summer 	Percy Shelley 	
1989	The Fly II 	Martin Brundle 	
1989	Say Anything... 	Vahlere 	
1990	Memphis Belle 	Sgt. Danny "Danny Boy" Daly 	
1991	Money 	Franck Cimballi 	
1992	The Waterdance 	Joel Garcia 	
1992	Singles 	The Mime 	
1993	Bodies, Rest & Motion 	Sid 	Producer
1993	Naked in New York 	Jake Briggs 	
1994	Killing Zoe 	Zed 	
1994	Pulp Fiction 	Lance 	Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
1994	Sleep with Me 	Joseph 	Producer
1994	Little Women 	John Brooke 	
1995	Killing Time 	Stop N Start Manager 	Short film
1995	The Prophecy 	Simon 	
1995	Rob Roy 	Alan MacDonald 	
1995	Never Say Goodbye Aids Benefit by Yoko Ono	Man From Hamptons 	Direct-to-video short film
1995	Fluke 	Jeff Newman 	
1995	Kicking and Screaming 	Chet 	
1996	Grace of My Heart 	Howard Cazsatt 	
1996	2 Days in the Valley 	Wes Taylor 	
1996	Keys to Tulsa 	Richter Boudreau 	
1996	Jerry Maguire 	Ethan Valhere 	
1997	Highball 	Darien 	
1997	Anaconda 	Dr. Steven Cale 	
1997	Mr. Jealousy 	Lester Grimm, aka Vince 	Executive producer
1998	Hi-Life 	Jimmy 	
1998	The Rocking Horse Winner 	Uncle Joe 	Short film
1998	A Murder of Crows 	Thurman Parks III 	
1999	Hercules: Zero to Hero 	Theseus (voice)/The Grim Avenger (voice)	Direct-to-video
2000	It's a Shame About Ray 	Mr. Stoltz 	Short film
2000	Jesus & Hutch 	Jesus 	Short film
2000	The Simian Line 	Sam Donovan 	
2000	The House of Mirth 	Lawrence Selden 	
2001	Things Behind the Sun 	Dan 	
2001	Harvard Man 	Teddy Carter 	
2002	The Rules of Attraction 	Mr. Lawson 	
2003	Happy Hour 	Levine 	
2003	When Zachary Beaver Came to Town 	Otto 	
2004	The Butterfly Effect 	Mr. Miller 	
2004	Childstar 	Fresno Burnbaum 	
2005	Hello 	Max 	Short film
2005	The Honeymooners 	William Davis 	
2006	The Lather Effect 	Mickey 	
2007	The Grand Design 	Josh 	Short film (executive producer)
2009	Sparks 	Joseph 	Short film
2011	Fort McCoy 	Frank Stirn 	Producer
2014	5 to 7 	Galassi 	
2015	Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant	Russ Peterson 	
2018	Her Smell 	Howard 	
==== Television ====
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1978 	James at 15 	Jack 	Episode: "Hunter Country"
1978 	The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank	Steve Benson 	TV movie
1979 	A New Kind of Family 	Burt 	Episode: “Invasion of Privacy’’
1979 	The Seekers 	First Boy 	TV movie
1980 	The Waltons 	Sr. Boy #1 	Episode: "The Valediction"
1980 	Eight Is Enough 	Kurt Harper 	Episode: "Finally Grad Night"
1981 	Walking Tall 	David Coombs 	Episode: "The Killing of McNeal County's Children"
1981 	Knots Landing 	Luke 	Episode: "Man of the Hour"
1981 	The Violation of Sarah McDavid 	Pete Brady 	TV movie
1982 	Paper Dolls 	Steve 	TV movie
1982 	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 	Kevin 	Episode: "Challenges"
1983 	The Fall Guy 	Little Juice Atkins 	Episode: "One Hundred Miles a Gallon"
1983 	Love, Sidney 	Rick 	Episode: "The Movie"
1983 	A Killer in the Family 	Ricky Tison 	TV movie
1983 	St. Elsewhere 	Eddie Carson 	Episodes: 
"Under Pressure" 
"Entrapment" 
"All About Eve"
1984 	Things Are Looking Up 	Neil 'Trout' Troutman 	TV movie
1989 	Great Performances 	George Gibbs 	Episode: "Our Town"
1990 	American Playhouse 	Younger Edward 	Episode: "Sensibility and Sense"
1991 	A Woman at War 	Franz Bueller 	TV movie
1992 	The Heart of Justice 	David Leader 	TV movie
1993 	Foreign Affairs 	Fred Turner 	TV movie
1993 	Frasier 	Don (voice) 	Episode: "Miracle On Third Or Fourth Street"
1994 	Roomates 	Bill Thomas 	TV movie
1994–1998	Mad About You 	Alan Tofsky 	6 episodes
1995 	Fallen Angels 	Nick Ballestier 	Episode: "A Dime a Dance"
1995 	Partners 	Cameron 	Episode: "How Long Does It Take to Cook a 22-Pound Turkey?"
1996 	Don't Look Back 	Jesse Parish 	TV movie
1996 	Inside 	Marty Strydom 	TV movie
1997 	Homicide: Life on the Street 	Drew Kellerman 	Episode: "Wu's on First?"
1998 	Blackout Effect 	John Dantley 	TV movie
1998–1999	Hercules 	Theseus (voice)/The Grim Avenger (voice)	Episodes: 
"Hercules and the Minotaur" 
"Hercules and the Grim Avenger"
1998–1999	Chicago Hope 	Dr. Robert Yeats 	Series regular
1999 	The Passion of Ayn Rand 	Nathaniel Branden 	TV movie
1999 	Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge 	Prosecutor Bob Laurino 	TV movie
2000 	Common Ground 	Johnny Burroughs 	TV movie
2000 	One Kill 	Capt. Wallker Randall 	TV movie
2000 	The Last Dance 	Todd Cope 	TV movie
2001 	My Horrible Year! 	Uncle Charlie 	TV movie (director)
2001–2002	Once and Again 	August Dimitri 	7 episodes (directed Episode 3.13 "Falling in Place")
2002 	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 	Father Michael Sweeney 	Episode: "Silence"
2003 	Out of Order 	Mark Colm 	TV mini-series
2005 	Will & Grace 	Tom Cassidy 	Episodes: 
"Friends with Benefits" 
"Kiss and Tell"
2005 	The Triangle 	Howard Thomas 	Episodes: 
"Episode 1.1" 
"Episode 1.2" 
"Episode 1.3"
2007 	Medium 	Sonny Troyer 	Episode: "We Had a Dream"
2007 	Close to Home 	Det. Chris Veeder 	Episodes: 
"Drink the Cup" 
"Fall from Grace" 
"Eminent Domain"
2008 	Blank Slate 	Sean Sullivan 	TV movie
2009 	Grey's Anatomy 	William Dunn 	Episodes: 
"Wish You Were Here" 
"Sympathy for the Devil" 
"Stairway to Heaven"
2009–2010	Caprica 	Daniel Graystone 	Lead role (directed "Unvanquished")
2011 	Leverage 	Alan Scott 	Episode: "The Long Way Down Job"
2013 	Maron 	Danny 	Episode: "Projections"
2014 	Blue 	Arthur 	WIGS Original Series
2014–2018	Madam Secretary 	Will Adams 	Episodes: 
"Catch and Release" 
"Invasive Species" (uncredited) 
"Tectonic Shift" 
"Ghosts"