John Malkovich

Born:December 9, 1953

Place of Birth:Christopher, Illinois, USA

Known For:Acting

Biography

John Malkovich, born on December 9, 1953, is a versatile American actor whose talent has garnered him numerous prestigious awards and nominations throughout his career. His journey in the entertainment industry began as a founding member of the renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 1976, showcasing his exceptional acting abilities on stage.

Transitioning to New York City, Malkovich further solidified his reputation as a formidable actor, captivating audiences with his performances in notable productions like "True West" and "Death of a Salesman" on Broadway. His directorial prowess was also on display in productions such as "The Caretaker" and "Burn This," showcasing his multifaceted contributions to the world of theater.

Malkovich's foray into film saw him deliver unforgettable performances in a wide range of genres, earning him acclaim for his roles in movies like "Places in the Heart," "Dangerous Liaisons," "Con Air," "Being John Malkovich," and "Red." Noteworthy for his ability to embody complex characters with depth and nuance, Malkovich's presence on screen always leaves a lasting impact on viewers.

In addition to his success on the big screen, Malkovich has made significant contributions to television, earning a Primetime Emmy Award for his role in "Death of a Salesman" and garnering nominations for his compelling portrayals in projects like "RKO 281" and "Napoléon." His television credits further demonstrate his range as an actor, with roles in series like "Billions," "The New Pope," and "Space Force" showcasing his continued versatility.

Beyond his acting prowess, Malkovich has also delved into film production, contributing to acclaimed projects such as "Ghost World," "Juno," and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." His influence extends beyond the screen, as he continues to shape the landscape of cinema with his creative vision and dedication to storytelling.

With a career spanning decades, Malkovich remains a revered figure in the entertainment industry, admired for his exceptional talent, artistic integrity, and unwavering commitment to his craft. Whether on stage, screen, or behind the camera, his contributions have left an indelible mark on the world of entertainment, solidifying his legacy as one of the most versatile and accomplished actors of his generation.

Images

Filmography

Acting

Opus

Alfred Moretti

2025

A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared thirty years ago. Surrounded by the star's cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.

Penguins of Madagascar

Dave (voice)

2014

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.

Bird Box

Douglas

2018

Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a survivor and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety.

Con Air

Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom

1997

Newly-paroled former US Army ranger Cameron Poe is headed back to his wife, but must fly home aboard a prison transport flight dubbed "Jailbird" taking the “worst of the worst” prisoners, a group described as “pure predators”, to a new super-prison. Poe faces impossible odds when the transport plane is skyjacked mid-flight by the most vicious criminals in the country led by the mastermind — genius serial killer Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, and backed by black militant Diamond Dog and psychopath Billy Bedlam.

RED 2

Marvin Boggs

2013

Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device.

RED

Marvin Boggs

2010

After surviving an assault from a squad of hit men, retired CIA black ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team for an all-out war. Frank reunites with old Joe, crazy Marvin and wily Victoria to uncover a massive conspiracy that threatens their lives. Only their expert training will allow them to survive a near-impossible mission -- breaking into CIA headquarters.

Mile 22

Bishop

2018

An elite group of American operatives, aided by a top-secret tactical command team, must transport an asset who holds life-threatening information to an extraction point 22 miles away through the hostile streets of an Asian city.

The Man in the Iron Mask

Athos

1998

Years have passed since the Three Musketeers, Aramis, Athos and Porthos, have fought together with their friend, D'Artagnan. But with the tyrannical King Louis using his power to wreak havoc in the kingdom while his twin brother, Philippe, remains imprisoned, the Musketeers reunite to abduct Louis and replace him with Philippe.

Eragon

King Galbatorix

2006

In his homeland of Alagaesia, a farm boy happens upon a dragon's egg -- a discovery that leads him on a predestined journey where he realized he's the one person who can defend his home against an evil king.

Deepwater Horizon

Donald Vidrine

2016

A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Beowulf

Unferth

2007

A 6th-century Scandinavian warrior named Beowulf embarks on a mission to slay the man-like ogre, Grendel.

Alive

Carlitos Páez / Narrator (uncredited)

1993

The amazing true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's plane that crashed in the middle of the Andes mountains, and their immense will to survive and pull through alive, forced to do anything and everything they could to stay alive on meager rations and through the freezing cold.

Johnny English

Pascal Sauvage

2003

A lowly pencil pusher working for MI7, Johnny English is suddenly promoted to super spy after Agent One is assassinated and every other agent is blown up at his funeral. When a billionaire entrepreneur sponsors the exhibition of the Crown Jewels—and the valuable gems disappear on the opening night and on English's watch—the newly-designated agent must jump into action to find the thief and recover the missing gems.

Being John Malkovich

John Horatio Malkovich

1999

One day at work, unsuccessful puppeteer Craig finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who enters its mad and controlling world of overtaking another human body.

Dangerous Liaisons

Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont

1988

In 18th century France, Marquise de Merteuil asks her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont to seduce the future wife of another ex-lover of hers in return for one last night with her. Yet things don’t go as planned.

Ava

Duke

2020

A black ops assassin is forced to fight for her own survival after a job goes dangerously wrong.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Humma Kavula

2005

Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Shattered

Ronald

2022

Chris, a wealthy divorcee, lives in a high-tech house of his own design in Montana. His life changes when he meets Sky, a mysterious young woman who draws him out of his shell and moves in after Chris is injured.

Burn After Reading

Osborne Cox

2008

When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst falls into the hands of gym employees, Linda and Chad, they see a chance to make enough money for Linda to have life-changing cosmetic surgery. Predictably, events whirl out of control for the duo, and those in their orbit.

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

Charles VII

1999

In 1429, a French teenager stood before her King with a message she claimed came from God; that she would defeat the world's greatest army and liberate her country from its political and religious turmoil. As she reclaims God's diminished kingdom, this courageous young woman has various amazing victories until her violent and untimely death.

Rounders

Teddy KGB

1998

A young reformed gambler must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks.

Empire of the Sun

Basie

1987

Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.

Changeling

Rev. Gustav Briegleb

2008

Los Angeles, 1928. When single mother Christine Collins leaves for work, her son vanishes without a trace. Five months later, the police reunite mother and son. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, her quest for truth exposes a world of corruption.

Zoolander 2

Chazz Spencer

2016

Derek and Hansel are modelling again when an opposing company attempts to take them out from the business.

Mindcage

The Artist

2022

Detectives Jake Doyle and Mary Kelly seek the help of an incarcerated serial killer named The Artist when a copycat killer strikes. While Mary searches for clues in The Artist's brilliant but twisted psyche, she and Jake are lured into a diabolical game of cat and mouse, racing against time to stay one step ahead of The Artist and his copycat.

Secretariat

Lucien Laurin

2010

Housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery - with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin - manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.

Jonah Hex

Turnbull

2010

Gunslinger Jonah Hex is appointed by President Ulysses Grant to track down terrorist Quentin Turnbull, a former Confederate officer determined on unleashing hell on earth. Jonah not only secures freedom by accepting this task, he also gets revenge on the man who slayed his wife and child.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Judge Edward D. Cowart

2019

A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.

Of Mice and Men

Lennie Small

1992

Two drifters, one a gentle but slow giant, try to make money working the fields during the Depression so they can fulfill their dreams.

In the Line of Fire

Mitch Leary

1993

Veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan is a man haunted by his failure to save President Kennedy while serving protection detail in Dallas. Thirty years later, a man calling himself "Booth" threatens the life of the current President, forcing Horrigan to come back to protection detail to confront the ghosts from his past.

Adaptation.

John Malkovich (uncredited)

2002

Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman, Orlean's book, become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the others'.

Unlocked

Bob Hunter

2017

After failing to apprehend the terrorist behind a Paris attack that claimed dozens of lives, CIA agent Alice Racine is forced to live in London as a caseworker. Her mentor unexpectedly calls her back into action when the CIA discovers that another attack is imminent. Alice soon learns that the classified information she's uncovered has been compromised...

The Killing Fields

Al Rockoff

1984

New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg is on assignment covering the Cambodian Civil War, with the help of local interpreter Dith Pran and American photojournalist Al Rockoff. When the U.S. Army pulls out amid escalating violence, Schanberg makes exit arrangements for Pran and his family. Pran, however, tells Schanberg he intends to stay in Cambodia to help cover the unfolding story — a decision he may regret as the Khmer Rouge rebels move in.

Savage Salvation

Peter

2022

Newly engaged Shelby John and Ruby Red want a fresh start after their struggles with addiction, but when Shelby discovers his beloved Ruby dead on their porch, he embarks on a vengeful killing spree of the dealers who supplied her. Armed with nothing but adrenaline and a nail gun, Shelby begins to unleash chaos on the town’s criminal underbelly, as he hunt’s down crime lord Coyote. Sheriff Church must race against the clock to put an end to Shelby's vigilante justice before the entire town descends into a bloodbath.

Knockaround Guys

Teddy Deserve

2001

Four sons of well-known New York mobsters must retrieve a bag of cash from a small Montana town ruled by a corrupt sheriff.

The Libertine

Charles II

2004

The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.

Fool's Paradise

Ed Cote

2023

A down-on-his-luck publicist discovers a recently released mental health patient who looks just like a misbehaving movie star. The publicist subs him into a film, creating a new star. But fame and fortune are not all they are cracked up to be.

Gardens of the Night

Michael

2008

After being abducted as children, and suffering years of abuse, a teenage boy and girl find themselves living on the street.

Mutant Chronicles

Constantine

2008

It's the year 2707. Earth's natural resources have all but been exhausted by mankind. Battles rage for the remainder between the competing Corporations. During one such battle the seal is broken and awakens an ancient and deadly machine that was once defeated thousands of years ago. The order that awaited its return must now lead a small group of soldiers to destroy it once and for all.

A Wedding

Wedding Guest (uncredited)

1978

Muffin's wedding to Dino Corelli is to be a big affair. Except the ageing priest isn't too sure of the ceremony, only the families actually turn up as the Corelli Italian connection is suspect, security guards watch the gifts rather over-zealously, and Dino's grandma expires in bed just as the reception starts. Could be quite an occasion.

Arkansas

Bright

2020

Kyle and Swin live by the orders of an Arkansas-based drug kingpin named Frog, whom they've never met. But when a deal goes horribly wrong, the consequences are deadly.

Shadow of the Vampire

F. W. Murnau

2000

Director F.W. Murnau makes a Faustian pact with a vampire to get him to star in his 1922 film "Nosferatu."

Art School Confidential

Professor Sandiford

2006

Starting from childhood attempts at illustration, the protagonist pursues his true obsession to art school. But as he learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him.

Siberian Education

Grandfather Kuzya

2013

The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against this backdrop two best friends, Kolyma and Gagarin, gradually become fierce enemies as they find themselves on opposite sides of the strict code of honour of the ‘honest criminal’ brotherhood.

Production

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Producer

2012

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him discover the joys of friendship, music and love.

Juno

Producer

2007

Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, sixteen year old high-schooler, Juno MacGuff, makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.

Shattered

Producer

2022

Demolition

Producer

2016

An emotionally desperate investment banker finds hope through a woman he meets.

Ghost World

Producer

2001

Two quirky, cynical teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives after high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls’ friendship.

Young Adult

Executive Producer

2011

A divorced writer from the Midwest returns to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame, who's now married with a family.

The Libertine

Producer

2004

The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.

The Accidental Tourist

Executive Producer

1988

After the death of his son, travel writer Macon Leary seems to be sleep walking through life. Macon's wife is having similar problems. They separate, and Macon meets a strange, outgoing woman who brings him 'back down to earth', but his wife soon thinks their marriage is still worth another try.