- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJames Thomas Patrick Walsh
- Nickname
- Jim
- Height5′ 11½″ (1.82 m)
- J.T. Walsh was born on September 28, 1943 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Breakdown (1997), Sling Blade (1996) and Needful Things (1993). He was married to Susan West. He died on February 27, 1998 in La Mesa, California, USA.
- SpouseSusan West(1972 - 1982) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- Often played cowardly, sinister villains
- Deep authoritative voice
- Jack Nicholson dedicated his Best Actor Academy Award (for As Good as It Gets (1997)) to Walsh.
- Before his death, he was hoping to follow the example of Gene Hackman and get away from playing the psychopaths and cowards he had been typecast as, playing more complicated and substantial character parts.
- Although he acted in college at the University of Rhode Island, as well as on and off-Broadway productions, he did not act in his first film until he was nearly 42 years old.
- Early jobs included social worker, encyclopedia salesman, junior high school teacher, and reporter.
- Held a bachelor's degree in sociology from Rhode Island University.
- (1997) I like to read fiction because it transports me away from Hollywood, and I like travel novels. I also drive up the coast to Santa Barbara to escape and get out of town. I stay the most at the San Ysidro Ranch. It's a quiet and simple, protected village and no one bothers you. It's also very pretty.
- I never resented being called a character actor in New York, but with the caste system they have in Hollywood, you feel the little sting of it. There is a distinction made between the person who is getting $20 million and everyone else. You're the one directors know they don't have to worry about, so they can turn their attention to more pressing problems, like finding the star a bigger trailer.
- [on Barry Levinson] I was a little bit in awe of Barry's ability. Tin Men (1987) is much more complicated than the usual movie. It's intelligent. The rhythms of the language are real.
- [on his role as John Ehrlichman in Nixon (1995)] He was a foil to the slavish adoration of Nixon [Richard Nixon], with this meek moral voice that would ask the questions no one else asked.
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