Chris Cooper is an American award-winning actor best known for his performances in the significant Hollywood films American Beauty, Capote, Adaptation, October Sky, and Seabiscuit.
The son of Mary Ann, a homemaker, and Charles Cooper, a United States Air Force doctor and cattle ranch operator, Chris Cooper was born on July 9, 1951 in Kansas City, Missouri. He and his older brother, Chuck, grew up in Houston, Texas and Kansas City. He attended University of Missouri, where he majored both in agriculture and school of drama. After college, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting.
Chris Cooper’s early works include the 1987 John Sayles film Matewan and the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove. His outstanding performances include a psychotic pyromaniac in the 1995 action film Money Train, a Texas cherrif in the 1996 mystery film Lone Star and as Deputy Dwayne Looney in the 1996 Joel Schumacher’s film adaptation A Time to Kill.
In 1999, Cooper co-starred in the drama film American Beauty alongside Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning. In that same year, he co-starred with Jake Gyllenhaal in October Sky, as the father of Gyllenhaal’s character. In 2002, he played John Laroche in the comedy-drama, Adaptation, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award. He also starred in the action film Bourne Identity playing a ruthless CIA operations director. He later reprised this role in The Bourne Supremacy. Cooper also starred alongside Tobey Maguire and Jeff Bridges in the drama film Seabiscuit.
In 2005, Cooper reunited with American Beauty director Sam Mendes in the critically acclaimed film Jarhead, playing Lt. Col. Kazinski. In that same year, he co-starred with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener in the biographical film Capote, playing Alvin Dewey and in the geopolitical thriller film Syriana playing the ex-Killen chief Jimmy Pope.