Thomas Haden Church Biography

Thomas Haden Church (born Thomas Richard McMillen; June 17, 1960) is an American actor, director and writer. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became known for his film roles, including his performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3. He also made his directorial debut with Rolling Kansas.

Early life

Church was born in Woodland, California, the son of Maxine (ne Sanders) and Carlos "Carl" Richard McMillen, who served for eight years in the Marines and saw action in the Korean War; after 1962, Carlos worked as a surveyor for Yolo County, California. Church's parents divorced and his mother moved to Texas. She remarried in 1969, to widower George A. Quesada, a veteran of an Army Air Forces reconnaissance unit which served in Guam in World War II. Church took his stepfather's surname for a time. He was raised in Texas: first in Laredo, then in Harlingen. He left high school in 1977 to work in the oil fields of Louisiana, but he returned to graduate from Harlingen High School in 1979. He attended the University of North Texas while living in Dallas.

Career

Church started in the entertainment business as a radio personality and doing voice-over work. He changed his name to "Thomas Haden Church", taking "Haden" and "Church" from his ancestry. A part in an independent film convinced him to move to California to pursue an acting career. He played the part of slow-witted aircraft mechanic Lowell Mather for six seasons (1990-1995) on the NBC sitcom Wings.

He worked in television for two more seasons with a lead role on Ned & Stacey opposite Debra Messing. He has had supporting roles in films such as Tombstone, George of the Jungle, and The Specials. Church often plays villains or comic relief in films, most evident by turns in Demon Knight and Over the Hedge. Church bought a ranch in Texas in 1998. In late 2000 he took a break from films. After having small roles in films such as Monkeybone and 3000 Miles to Graceland, he made his directorial debut with Rolling Kansas in 2003. He has voiceover work in commercials, such as for Merrill Lynch and Icehouse beer.

In 2003, director Alexander Payne called him regarding the role of "Jack", the selfish best friend to Paul Giamatti's character, in Sideways. During the audition, Church stripped naked to read the audition scene, later saying "To me it was painfully obvious... I was reading the scene where Jack comes in naked and there has to be in-born vulnerability in the scene." (He later found that he was the only actor to strip down for the audition). Sideways earned acclaim for Church. He won an IFP Independent Spirit Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He has since appeared in films such as Idiocracy, done voice-over work on films such as Over the Hedge and starred in one of AMC's highest rated television productions, Broken Trail, with Robert Duvall, in 2006, for which he won an Emmy. In 2007, he appeared as the villain Sandman in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.

In 2005, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On September 16, 2007, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his role of Tom Harte on AMC's Broken Trail. In October 2008, Church appeared as "Joe Six-Pack" in a video on funnyordie.com, challenging Joe the Plumber by drinking more beer. Church starred in the FEARnet webseries, Zombie Roadkill, alongside David Dorfman.

Personal life

Church lives on his ranch in Bandera County, Texas. Church and former adult model Mia Zottoli (aka Ava Lake) have a daughter. He has never been married. Church's biological father died in 2008, and his stepfather in 2012.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Tombstone	Billy Clanton
1995	Demon Knight	Roach
1997	One Night Stand	Don
1997	George of the Jungle	Lyle van de Groot
1998	Susan's Plan	Drew Oslett Jr.
1998	Free Money	Larry
1999	Goosed	Steven Troy
1999	Serial Killing 4 Dummys	Vince Grimaldi	Originally titled Serial Killing 101
2000	The Specials	The Strobe
2001	3000 Miles to Graceland	Quigley
2001	Monkeybone	Death's Assistant	Uncredited
2002	The Badge	David Hardwick
2002	Lone Star State of Mind	Killer
2003	Rolling Kansas	Agent Madsen/Trooper	Uncredited; also director and co-writer
2003	George of the Jungle 2	Lyle Van de Groot	Direct-to-video
2004	Spanglish	Mike the Realtor
2004	Sideways	Jack Cole	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
2006	Over the Hedge	Dwayne	Voice
2006	Idiocracy	Brawndo CEO
2006	Charlotte's Web	Brooks the Crow	Voice
2007	Spider-Man 3	Flint Marko / Sandman	Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Rumble (with Tobey Maguire, James Franco and Topher Grace) Nominated - Scream Award for Best Villain
2008	Smart People	Chuck Wetherhold
2009	Imagine That	Johnny Whitefeather
2009	Don McKay	Don McKay
2009	All About Steve	Hartman Hughes
2009	Aliens in the Attic	Tazer	Voice
2010	Easy A	Mr. Jack Griffith
2011	Another Happy Day	Paul
2011	Killer Joe	Ansel
2011	We Bought a Zoo	Duncan Mee
2012	John Carter	Tal Hajus	Performance capture
2013	Lucky Them	Charlie
2013	Whitewash	Bruce
2014	Heaven Is for Real	Jay Olson
2015	Max	Ray
2015	Daddy's Home	Leo

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Cheers	Gordie Brown	Episode: "Death Takes A Holiday on Ice"
1990-95	Wings	Lowell Mather	123 episodes
1995-1997	Ned & Stacey	Ned Dorsey	46 episodes
1998	Mr. Murder	Drew Oslett Jr.	Movie
2004	Teen Titans	Killer Moth	Episode: "Date with Destiny"
2006	Broken Trail	Tom Harte	TV miniseries Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2012	Regular Show	Quillgin	Episode: "Christmas Special"
2015	Divorce	Robert	Pre-production