Tom Berenger
Birth name	Thomas Michael Moore
Born	May 31 1949 (1949--) (age 58) Chicago, Illinois
Died
Spouse(s)	Patricia Alvaran (1998 - present) 1 child Lisa Williams (1986 - 1997; divorced) 3 children Barbara Wilson (1976 - 1984; divorced) 2 children
Awards Academy Awards Nominated: Best Supporting Actor 1987 Platoon Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture 1987 Platoon

Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.

Biography

Berenger was born Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago, Illinois. He studied journalism at the University of Missouri, but decided to seek an acting career following his graduation. He worked first in regional theatre and moved to New York City in the 1970s. He worked in soap operas and had a starring role on One Life to Live.

Berenger's feature film debut was the lead in Rush It (1976), an independent film now mostly forgotten except for its cast members who went on to greater renown. In 1977, Berenger had a small but noticeable role as a murderer in Looking for Mr. Goodbar. In 1978, he had a starring role in In Praise of Older Women for Avco-Internation Pictures. In 1979, he had the role of Butch Cassidy in Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, a role he got in part because of his resemblance to Paul Newman, who played the character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) These early roles highlight Berenger's ability to play both villains and heroes.

Berenger's film career peaked in the 1980s with notable films like The Big Chill (1983), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), and Major League (1989). In 1986, he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of the sociopathic Sgt. Barnes in Platoon. In the mid-1990s he was most recognizable in his role from the movie Sniper, and its later sequels. Other notable films from that period include the Wolfgang Petersen thriller "Shattered" (1991), the Sharon Stone bomb "Sliver" (1993) and the Dennis Hopper-directed romantic-comedy "Chasers" (1994).

It has been recorded that Berenger himself has said that his favorite movie he had starred in was the 1993 hit Gettysburg, where he played the role of General James Longstreet. He has said he has seen Gettysburg more than any other of the movies with his starring role.

In more recent years, Berenger has continued to have an active acting career in film and television, although often at a supporting level. His most notable television appearance was on Cheers in its last season as Rebecca Howe's blue collar-plummer love interest. He also began a career as a producer in the 1990s. In a 2002 interview Berenger was quoted as saying, "Since the 1970s I've seen myself as a poet. Sometimes I express that poetry through acting, sometimes through cooking, and sometimes just having a good chat, you know, one of them chats you have when you're stoned and the hour is getting late. I don't know what's gonna come my way, but I think Berenger's gonna be big these next couple years."

Berenger starred in the mini-series version of Stephen King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes, as a celebrated author who realizes the warped painting he recently purchased, is alive with illustrations of impending doom for him in "The Road Virus Heads North".

Family life

Berenger has been married three times and has six children, consisting of one son and five daughters. He resides in Vancouver, Canada and South Carolina.

Berenger has two children by his first wife, Barbara Wilson, to whom he was married between 1976 and 1984: Allison (born in 1977) and Patrick (born in 1979). He has three daughters by second wife Lisa Williams (to whom he was married between 1986 and 1997): Chelsea (born 1986), Chloe (born 1988) and Shiloh Rory (b.1993), and one daughter, Scout (born 1998), by current wife Patricia Alvaran to whom he's been married since 1998.

Brief Scientology period

Tom Berenger had a brief period from 1987–1989 when he discovered The Church of Scientology. Star, Sun, and other tabloids devoted significant coverage to Berenger parading around with Tom Cruise and other notable "Toms" of Scientology. Berenger was quoted as saying "Once we convert Tom Selleck, the trio of Toms will bring true uplifting to the masses of The States".Whilst married to Lisa Williams, who was and remains a Scientologist, Tom began an affair with his current wife. Tom used Lisa's dedication to Scientology as an excuse for the affair with Trish and therefore Tom Berenger denounced Scientology and is no longer connected to the Church.

Filmography

• Rush It (1976)
• The Sentinel (1977)
• Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)
• In Praise of Older Women (1978)
• (1979)
• The Dogs of War (1981)
• Oltre la porta (1982)
• The Big Chill (1983)
• Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)
• Fear City (1984)
• Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985)
• Platoon (1986)
• Someone to Watch Over Me (1987)
• Shoot to Kill (1988)
• Betrayed (1988)
• Last Rites (1988)
• Major League (1989)
• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
• Love at Large (1990)
• The Field (1990)
• Shattered (1991)
• At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)
• Sniper (1993)
• Sliver (1993)
• Gettysburg (1993)
• Major League II (1994)
• Chasers (1994)
• Last of the Dogmen (1995)
• The Substitute (1996)
• An Occasional Hell (1996)
• The Gingerbread Man (1998)
• Rough Riders (1997)
• Shadow of Doubt (1998)
• A Murder of Crows (1999)
• One Man's Hero (1999)
• Diplomatic Siege (1999)
• Fear of Flying (2000)
• Takedown (2000)
• Cutaway (2000)
• Training Day (2001)
• The Hollywood Sign (2001)
• True Blue (2001)
• Watchtower (2001)
• D-Tox (2002)
• Sniper 2 (2002)
• Sniper 3 (2004)
• Into the West (2005)
• Nightmares & Dreamscapes (2006)
• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (2007)

Television

• One Life to Live (1968)
• Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye (1977)
• Flesh & Blood (1979)
• If Tomorrow Comes (1986) (mini-series)
• The Avenging Angel (1995)
• Body Language (TV) (1995)
• Rough Riders (1997)
• In the Company of Spies (1999)
• Johnson County War (2002) (mini-series)
• The Junction Boys (2002)
• Peacemakers (2003)
• Third Watch (2003, Season 4, episodes 19-22) as Aaron Nobel
• The Detective (2004) (mini-series)
• October Road (2007)

Trivia

• In , the character of Gray Fox is modeled after Berenger's likeness.

Notes

External links

• Tom Berenger at the Internet Movie Database
• Tom Berenger at TV.com