Biography
A fixture of 1980s TV series and movies, prolific character actor David Morse became a reliable and much lauded supporting presence in feature films from the 1990s onward.
Raised in Hamilton, MA, Morse began his professional career after high school, joining the Boston Repertory Theater in 1971. Over the next six years, Morse acted in over 30 productions, amply preparing him for a move to New York theater in 1977. Morse subsequently got his first big movie break when he was cast in the drama
Inside Moves (1980). Though Morse proved that he could handle lighter films with
Neil Simon's comedy
Max Dugan Returns (1983), his detour into television in 1982 was initially more fruitful. As Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison, Morse spent six seasons on the esteemed hospital drama St. Elsewhere, co-starring with, among others,
Denzel Washington. During his stint on St. Elsewhere, Morse also starred in a diverse collection of TV movies. He was a priest in love with
Valerie Bertinelli's nun in
Shattered Vows (1984), a prisoner attempting a breakout from Alcatraz in
Six Against the Rock (1987), a detective in Down Payment on Murder (1987), and a mental hospital escapee in
Winnie (1988). Continuing his presence on the small screen after St. Elsewhere, Morse appeared in several more TV movies, including starring as a deranged kidnapper in Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann (1991).
Though he co-starred as a drifter in the indie film
Personal Foul (1987) and appeared in
Michael Cimino's noir remake
The Desperate Hours (1990), Morse did not concentrate most of his energies on feature films until the 1990s. After starring as
Viggo Mortensen's brother in
Sean Penn's directorial debut,
The Indian Runner (1991), Morse moved to more mainstream work with supporting roles in
The Good Son (1993), the
Alec Baldwin-
Kim Basinger version of
The Getaway (1994), and medical thriller
Extreme Measures (1996). While he appeared in
Terry Gilliam's thoughtful
La Jetée (1962) remake
12 Monkeys (1995), faced off with
Jack Nicholson in Penn's
The Crossing Guard (1996), and starred as a janitor-turned-rich man in George B. (1997), Morse really captured audience attention in a concurrent string of high-profile projects. Returning to Alcatraz, Morse projected quiet menace as one of
Ed Harris renegade Marines in the blockbuster hit
The Rock (1996). Morse tapped his bad self again in the action romp
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), then cemented his versatility with a small yet vital role as
Jodie Foster's gentle father in
Contact (1997). Notching his third major summer release in a row, Morse played a SWAT team commander up against Samuel L. Jackson's wrongly accused cop in
The Negotiator (1998). Returning to serious blockbuster fare, Morse then co-starred with
Tom Hanks as prison guards who witness miracles in
The Green Mile (1999).
After a foray into comedy with
Bait (2000), Morse stole hostage drama
Proof of Life (2000) from his glamorous tabloid-ready co-stars
Meg Ryan and
Russell Crowe with his intense performance as Ryan's kidnapped husband. Even as he became a popular Hollywood second lead, however, Morse wasn't afraid to veer away from the multiplex, winning an Obie Award for Paula Vogel's acclaimed play How I Learned to Drive and putting a believably human face on an utterly hateful character in
Lars von Trier's bleak, award-winning musical Dancer in the Dark (2000). Continuing his protean career, Morse appeared in another gentle
Stephen King adaptation Hearts of Atlantis (2001) and starred in
Diary of a City Priest (2001) for PBS. Morse followed the ill fated Hearts of Atlantis with a lead role in the indie drama
The Slaughter Rule (2002), which was well received on the film festival circuit. Morse subsequently returned to series television, and received top billing, in the CBS drama
Hack (2002). Starring Morse as an ex-cop-turned-cab driver,
Hack was pummeled by critics, but audiences took to Morse's well intentioned, marginalized law enforcer and
Hack became a modest ratings success. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide