Edward Furlong

Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor and musician. A former child star, Furlong won Saturn- and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). The following year he gave an Independent Spirit Award-nominated turn opposite Jeff Bridges in American Heart, and earned a second Saturn Award nomination for his work in the critically derided Pet Sematary Two. He won a Young Artist Award for his performance alongside Kathy Bates in A Home of Our Own (1993), and shared a further ensemble nomination with the cast of the film. Furlong received acclaim for his starring roles in the 1998 motion pictures Pecker and American History X, which co-starred Christina Ricci and Edward Norton, respectively. Other noteworthy titles from his early career include Little Odessa (1994),The Grass Harp (1995), and Before and After (1996), also starring Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson. He reprised his role as John Connor in the international Universal Studios parks attraction T2 3-D: Battle Across Time (1996). Aside from acting, Furlong released a 1991 album, Hold on Tight, which was a hit in Japan. Furlong's last significant roles were in the comedy Detroit Rock City (1999) and the crime drama Animal Factory (2000). His career subsequently declined due to multiple arrests and court cases, and enduring substance abuse and alcoholism. Aside from a supporting role in The Green Hornet (2011), Furlong's latter work consists of critically panned, direct-to-video horror films including The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005), in which he plays the title character. Critic Rebecca Flint Marx in Allmovie recalled the youthful Furlong as a "young actor noted for his intense, older-than-his-years demeanor." --- Furlong was born in Glendale, California, near Burbank, the son of Eleanor (née Tafoya), a youth-center worker, and an unknown father. He is of Mexican descent on his mother's side, and also has Russian and possibly Native American ancestry. Furlong has a younger half-brother, Bobby Torres, from his mother's marriage to Moises Torres. Furlong moved in with his aunt and uncle, Nancy Tafoya and Sean Furlong, in 1990. The two gained legal guardianship of Furlong in September 1991 and subsequently lost it to his mother in August 1993. Furlong attended Charles W. Eliot Middle School in Altadena, and South Pasadena Junior High School in South Pasadena, California. He never completed high school. He became legally emancipated at the age of 16. In 1991, Furlong began his film career as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a role that earned him an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Role and a Saturn Award for best young actor. He was discovered for the part by casting director Mali Finn while visiting the Pasadena Boys and Girls Club in September 1990. Furlong had no acting ambitions. He has stated, "I fell into [acting], it wasn't something that I planned". He followed this role with a string of moderately successful high-profile films and indies, sharing the screen with Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson in Before and After; Tim Roth, Maximilian Schell, and Vanessa Redgrave in Little Odessa; and Anthony Edwards in Pet Sematary Two.