Anthony Edwards (actor)

Anthony Edwards
File:Anthony Edwards 2018 - 1 in 6 181029-F-VX890-1029 (cropped).jpg Edwards in 2018
Born	Anthony Charles Edwards (1962-07-19) July 19, 1962 Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, director
Years active	1973–present
Spouse(s)	Jeanine Lobell (m. 1994; div. 2015) Mare Winningham (m. 2021)
Children	4

Anthony Charles Edwards (born July 19, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Dr. Mark Greene on the first eight seasons of ER, and for which he received a Golden Globe award and six Screen Actors Guild Awards, and was nominated for four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards. He has appeared in various films and television series, including Goose in Top Gun, Zodiac, Miracle Mile, Revenge of the Nerds, Planes, Northern Exposure and Designated Survivor.

Early life

Edwards was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Erika Kem Edwards Plack (née Weber), an artist/landscape painter, and Peter Edwards, an architect to whom he was one of five children His maternal grandfather was designer Kem Weber. He is of Irish descent. Edwards was encouraged by his parents to attend college before pursuing his interest in acting, which grew from the area's theater community. He received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in England and studied theatre at University of Southern California; but by the age of nineteen was being offered enough acting work to enable him to leave college.

Career

Television and film

Edwards' early work included a co-starring role in the TV series It Takes Two with Richard Crenna and Patty Duke Astin as his parents and Helen Hunt as his sister. He made a cameo in the hit 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High as "Stoner Bud." In 1984, he starred in the hit comedy film Revenge of the Nerds, playing the main role of Gilbert Lowell, a sensitive and well-meaning nerd, Lewis' (played by Robert Carradine) best friend and, later, president of the Tri-Lambs. He reprised the role of Gilbert for a few brief scenes in the sequel Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), with his character unable to join the rest of the nerds because of a broken leg.

He starred in the comedy Gotcha! (1985) as a college student who gets wrapped up in spy antics. It was Edwards' role as LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 film Top Gun that brought his first widespread public acknowledgment. His character, who died in an aviation accident, was among the most prominent and popular in the film. He appeared as a terminally ill patient in Hawks (1988) alongside Timothy Dalton. He starred in the 1990 movie Downtown with Penelope Ann Miller and Forest Whitaker. He also played widowed veterinarian Chase Matthews, father of Edward Furlong's character, in the horror film Pet Sematary Two. In 1992 and 1993, he played Mike Monroe in ten episodes of Northern Exposure.

Edwards' best-known role is as Dr. Mark Greene on the long-running TV series ER, from the series premiere in 1994 to the end of the eighth season in 2002. The series also afforded Edwards his first opportunity to direct. Edwards' desire to pursue directing led to his request to be written out of the series. He reportedly earned $35 million for three seasons on ER, which made him one of television's highest-paid actors. Edwards received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for ER. He won a Golden Globe Award For Best Performance by an Actor-In a TV Series after being nominated four times and he has two Screen Actor's Guild Awards. In 2008, Edwards returned to ER to reprise his role as Dr. Greene (in flashback scenes, where he treats the dying son of character Catherine Banfield) for one episode during its 15th and final season. Following ER, he took some time to raise his children, appreciating the privilege that his ER salary provided.

In 2007, Edwards appeared as SFPD inspector Bill Armstrong in David Fincher's Zodiac, about the Zodiac Killer, the notorious serial killer who terrorized San Francisco in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 2010, Edwards appeared in the movie Motherhood, which set a record for the biggest bomb in British cinema history by garnering £88 on 11 tickets on opening weekend. Motherhood did not fare much better in the United States. earning $93,388 in three weeks of release. At the time, he said he took the role because "it seemed like a very organic and real thing. It really kind of reminded me of what the dynamic in a family is like."

In 2013, Edwards returned to episodic television with the conspiracy drama Zero Hour, playing the male lead Hank Galliston. After three episodes, Zero Hour was cancelled due to poor ratings.

Edwards was the voice of Echo, one of the fighter jets, in the Disneytoon Studios film Planes, and also voiced the character Pegleg Pirate in an episode of Blaze and the Monster Machines.

Edwards served as the director of the 2016 film My Dead Boyfriend.

In 2017, Edwards played a recurring role as Judge Stanley Weisberg on Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.

In 2018, Edwards was cast in the recurring role in the third season of Netflix's Designated Survivor as Mars Harper, the President's Chief of Staff.

In 2022, Edwards was cast as Alan Reed in Netflix’s docu-series Inventing Anna.

In 2021, Edwards was cast in the leading role in the third spin-off to AMC's The Walking Dead, called Tales of the Walking Dead.

Honors and awards

Edwards received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for ER and won as an executive producer on Outstanding Television Movie winner Temple Grandin. He earned a People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series (1995); and won six Screen Actors Guild Awards for: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1996 and 1998), and Best Ensemble Cast (1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999). He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Drama in 1998).

Edwards also won a Daytime Emmy for the production of the underground rock documentary N.Y.H.C. (1999) and the telepic adaptation of Kimberly Willis Holt's 1998 coming of age novel My Louisiana Sky (2001), and earned the Carnegie Medal Award for My Louisiana Sky (2003).

Theater

After a long career in television, Edwards made his Broadway debut as his second act in 2018 in the revival of Children of a Lesser God at Studio 54. In 2015 he appeared in Classic Stage Company's A Month in the Country but his stage acting career began when he was growing up in Santa Barbara.

On May 13, 2022, Edwards made his unexpected Broadway musical debut when he appeared as Dr. Walker in the Broadway production of Girl From The North Country due to COVID-19 cases impacting the cast. The show also stars his wife, Mare Winningham.

Personal life

Edwards was married to Jeanine Lobell, with whom he had one son and three daughters, from 1994-2015. At the end of 2021, Edwards and long-time friend and fellow actor Mare Winningham eloped.

On November 10, 2017, Edwards wrote an essay on Medium, in which he stated that screenwriter/producer Gary Goddard befriended and then sexually assaulted him and several of his friends "for years" beginning when they were 12 years old.

Edwards has been a licensed private pilot since 2012.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Big Zapper	Kono's Boy
1982	Fast Times at Ridgemont High	Stoner Bud
1983	Heart Like a Wheel	John Muldowney (age 15-23)
1983	High School U.S.A.	Bo Middleton (Age 18)
1984	Revenge of the Nerds	Gilbert Lowe
1985	Gotcha!	Jonathan Moore
1985	The Sure Thing	Lance
1986	Top Gun	Lt. (j.g.) Nick "Goose" Bradshaw
1987	Summer Heat	Aaron
1987	Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise	Gilbert Lowe
1988	Hawks	Deckermensky, 'Decker'
1988	Miracle Mile	Harry Washello
1988	Mr. North	Theophilus North
1989	How I Got into College	Kip Hammett
1990	Downtown	Alex Kearney
1992	Pet Sematary Two	Chase Matthews
1992	Delta Heat	Mike Bishop
1992	Landslide	Bob Boyd
1993	Sexual Healing	David	Nominated — CableACE Award for Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
1994	The Client	Clint Von Hooser
1994	Charlie's Ghost Story	Dave
1998	Good Night, Gorilla	Zookeeper	Voice
1998	Playing by Heart	Roger
1999	Don't Go Breaking My Heart	Tony Dorfman
2000	The Island of the Skog	Narrator	Voice
2001	Jackpot	Tracy
2003	Northfork	Happy
2004	Thunderbirds	Ray "Brains" Hackenbacker
2004	The Forgotten	Jim Paretta
2007	Zodiac	Inspector William Armstrong
2009	Motherhood	Avery Welsh
2010	Flipped	Steven Loski
2012	Big Sur	Lawrence Ferlinghetti
2013	Planes	Echo	Voice
2015	Experimenter	Miller
2015	Consumed	Lab Scientist
2022	Top Gun: Maverick	Lt. (j.g.) Nick "Goose" Bradshaw	Photographic Appearance

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	The Killing of Randy Webster	Tommy Lee Swanson	Television film
1981	Walking Tall	Robbie	Episode: "The Fire Within"
1982–1983	It Takes Two	Andy Quinn	Main role, 22 episodes
1983	High School U.S.A.	Beau Middleton	Television film
1984	Call to Glory	Billy	1 episode
1985	Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story	Bill Johnson	Television film
1990	El Diablo	Billy Ray Smith	Television film
1990	Hometown Boy Makes Good	Boyd Geary	Television film
1992–1993	Northern Exposure	Mike Monroe	Recurring role, 10 episodes
1994–2002, 2008	ER	Dr. Mark Greene	Main role, 180 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1998) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1996, 1998) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1996–1999) TV Land Award - Icon Award (2009) Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1996–1997, 1999) Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama Series (1995–98) Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1997) Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1997, 1999, 2001) Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1995, 2000–01) Nominated — TV Guide Award for Actor of the Year in a Drama Series (2001)
1995	Saturday Night Live	Host	1 episode
1996	In Cold Blood	Dick Hickock	Miniseries, 2 episodes
2001	Cursed	Ricky	1 episode
2001	Frasier	Tom	1 episode
2013	Zero Hour	Hank Galliston	Main role, 10 episodes
2015	Girls	Melvin Shapiro	1 episode
2015	Blue Bloods	Owen Cairo	1 episode
2016	Billions	Judge Whit Wilcox	2 episodes
2016	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Patrick Griffin	1 episode
2016	Drunk History	Giles Allen	1 episode
2017	Law & Order True Crime	Judge Stanley Weisberg	Recurring role, 6 episodes
2019	Designated Survivor	White House Chief of Staff Mars Harper	Recurring role, 10 episodes
2022	Inventing Anna	Alan Reed	Miniseries, 5 episodes
2022	WeCrashed	Bruce Dunlevie	Miniseries
TBA	Tales of the Walking Dead	Kyle Adler	Upcoming series

Producer

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Don't Go Breaking My Heart	Executive producer
1999	Border Line	Executive producer	Television film
1999	N.Y.H.C.	Executive producer
2001	My Louisiana Sky	Executive producer	Television film Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video (2002) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special (2002)
2003	Die, Mommie, Die!	Producer
2010	Temple Grandin	Executive producer	Television film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie (2010)

External links

• Anthony Edwards at the Internet Movie Database