Bruce Dern

Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He frequently takes roles as a supporting character actor, often playing villains of unstable nature. Dern has appeared in more than 80 feature films, and was nominated for an Oscar for his work in Coming Home. Dern is the father of actress Laura Dern (1967) by his ex-wife Diane Ladd; married 1960–1969. He married Andrea Beckett in 1969. --- Dern was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Jean (née MacLeish) and John Dern, a utility chief and attorney. His paternal grandfather was George Henry Dern, a former Utah governor and Secretary of War, his maternal great-uncle was poet Archibald MacLeish, and his maternal great-grandfather was Scottish-born businessman Andrew MacLeish. His godfather was well-known politician Adlai Stevenson and his godmother was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Dern attended The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) and the University of Pennsylvania. Early in his career he acted in the Philadelphia premier of Waiting for Godot opposite Lyle Kessler and first appeared on screen, for an uncredited role, in the 1960 film Wild River. His best-known role may be that of Freeman Lowell, the caretaker of Earth's last forests in the dark sci-fi film Silent Running (1972). In 1983, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival for his role in That Championship Season. On November 1, 2010, he was presented the 2,419th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His daughter Laura Dern and his ex-wife Diane Ladd received stars on the same date. He was honored with a Legend Award at the inaugural Gold Coast International Film Festival on June 1, 2011. On 26 May 2013 he won the Best Actor award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival for his role in Alexander Payne's Nebraska.