Biography
Actor, writer, director, and musician Frank Whaley is best known for his vivid portrayals of put-upon, sometimes ill-fated young men. Born in Syracuse, NY, on July 20, 1963, Whaley studied theater at both the University of New York, Albany and New York City's Actors Studio, where he earned a B.A.
The actor got his first break with a role in
Ironweed (1987), sharing the screen with
Jack Nicholson and
Meryl Streep. Following secondary parts in films like
Field of Dreams and
Born on the Fourth of July (both 1989), he landed the more substantial role of Steve Bushak in
The Freshman (1990). The film put Whaley on the Hollywood map, and he was able to work consistently throughout the rest of the decade, turning in particularly strong performances in films like
A Midnight Clear (1991), in which he played a doomed World War II soldier;
The Doors (1991), which cast him as Doors guitarist Robby Kreiger;
Swing Kids (1993), in which he played a musician
and a doomed man; and
Pulp Fiction (1994), in which he had a brief but memorable appearance as an ill-fated business associate of Marsellus Wallace. The same year that he appeared in
Pulp Fiction, Whaley starred in
Swimming With Sharks, a black comedy that gave him one of his comparatively few leading roles. As used and abused office boy of a sadistic studio executive (
Kevin Spacey), Whaley gave torment a good name, proving that it was possible to display a certain kind of finesse when portraying someone relentlessly slapped by power.
In 1999, after spending the previous few years playing more conflicted men (to particular acclaim in the made-for-TV World War II drama
When Trumpets Fade), Whaley took matters into his own hands by writing and directing
Joe the King. A dark independent feature starring
John Leguizamo,
Camryn Manheim,
Val Kilmer, and
Ethan Hawke, it premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where Whaley won a Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for his efforts. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide