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Malkovich was born in Christopher, Illinois, to a Roman Catholic family of
Croatian descent (his paternal grandparents are from Ozalj, near Karlovac).
As a boy, Malkovich was reportedly heavy-set. By high school, he had
transformed himself physically and was a star athlete. He attended Illinois
State University with an interest in ecology. But he soon changed his major
to theater when one professor later said to Malkovich he would never have a
career as an actor. Shortly after quitting college, Malkovich took on a
series of odd jobs to make ends meet: school bus driver, house painter,
office supply store employee, and landscaping.
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The Malkovich family published the Benton Evening News in Benton, Illinois,
and a magazine, "Outdoor Illinois". The Malkovich family is widely
acknowledged as one of the founding families of the environmental movement
in Illinois.
In 1976, Malkovich became a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre
Company in Chicago, Illinois. He moved to New York City, New York in 1983
and appeared in the play True West. He appeared on Broadway with Dustin
Hoffman in Death of a Salesman (1984). Malkovich won an Emmy Award for this
role when the play became a television movie. One of his first forays into
film was as an extra alongside Terry Kinney, George Wendt, Joan Allen, and
Laurie Metcalf in Robert Altman's A Wedding (1978). He made his film debut
in Places in the Heart (1984) for which he was nominated for an Academy
Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 1994, he was nominated for an
Oscar in the same category for In the Line of Fire (1993). Though he played
the title role in the Charlie Kaufman-penned Being John Malkovich, he is
playing a slight variation of himself, as indicated by the character's
middle name of "Horatio". Malkovich has a cameo in the movie Adaptation.—also
written by Kaufman—appearing as himself during the filming of Being John
Malkovich. The Dancer Upstairs, Malkovich's directorial debut, was released
in 2002.
Malkovich has been based in France for many years but has recently announced
he is ending his residency in that country. He and his French girlfriend,
Nicoletta Peyran, have two children, Amandine and Loewy.
Malkovich caused controversy in the United Kingdom in 2002 at the Cambridge
Union Society; when asked who he would most like to "fight to the death" he
replied that he would rather just shoot journalist Robert Fisk and British
MP George Galloway. Malkovich did not explain his reasons for choosing Fisk
and Galloway other than to say that Galloway does not tell the truth. Many
speculate that Fisk and Galloway have offended Malkovich with their
criticism of US Middle East policy and of the state of Israel.
On April 4, 2005, while speaking at Illinois State University, Malkovich was
awarded a diploma in Theatre. When attending the university as a student in
the 1970's, he failed to take his last remaining graduation requirement, the
U.S. Constitution test. This requirement was waived in order to award him
the diploma.
Of the many people he has worked with, Malkovich is often associated with
Gary Sinise, a fellow Steppenwolf alum. Also, Joan Allen was a fellow drama
student at Illinois State University whom Malkovich brought into
Steppenwolf. He met actor John Mahoney in a Chicago acting class years
later, and advised him to join Steppenwolf.
Malkovich remains faithful to the company that gave him his start, and
frequently returns to Steppenwolf whether it be acting or directing. |
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