Edward Allen Harris, born November 28, 1950, in Englewood, New Jersey, is a celebrated American actor, director, and filmmaker whose intense performances have captivated audiences for over four decades.
A star athlete in high school, Harris captained his varsity football team and later played at Columbia University, where he was a teammate of future U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
After two years at Columbia, Harris discovered his passion for acting through local theater productions, prompting him to leave college and pursue drama at the University of Oklahoma.
He later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts in 1975.
Harris’s career began on stage, with early roles in plays like Baalam at the Pasadena Repertory Theatre, before transitioning to television and film, where he became a household name.
Siblings
Ed Harris is the middle child of three brothers, raised in a tight-knit family that valued hard work and creativity.
His older brother, Robert Harris, born around 1939, and younger brother, Paul Harris, born around 1956, grew up alongside Ed in Tenafly.
While Ed pursued acting, less is publicly known about his brothers’ professional lives.
Robert and Paul Harris are not reported to have entered the entertainment industry, and details about their careers remain private.
Career
Harris’s career spans over 100 acting credits, with a range of roles that showcase his ability to embody stoic, complex, and commanding characters.
He first gained recognition in 1983 as astronaut John Glenn in The Right Stuff, a role that catapulted him to stardom.
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That same year, he won an Obie Award for his performance in Sam Shepard’s off-Broadway play Fool for Love.
His filmography includes critically acclaimed performances in The Abyss (1989), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Apollo 13 (1995), The Truman Show (1998), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and The Hours (2002).
Harris also made his mark as a director, helming Pollock (2000), in which he starred as painter Jackson Pollock, and the Western Appaloosa (2008).
On television, Harris earned praise for roles in Empire Falls (2005), Game Change (2012), and Westworld (2016–2022), where he played the enigmatic Man in Black, reportedly earning $250,000 per episode.
His stage work includes a 1986 Broadway debut in Precious Sons and a 2019 portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Accolades
Harris has earned four Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actor for Apollo 13 (1995), The Truman Show (1998), and The Hours (2002), and Best Actor for Pollock (2000).
He won two Golden Globe Awards—Best Supporting Actor for The Truman Show and Best Supporting Actor in a Series for Game Change.
Harris also secured two Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work in Apollo 13, including Outstanding Performance by a Cast and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.
His stage performances garnered a Tony Award nomination for Precious Sons (1986), along with a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor. Harris received three Primetime Emmy nominations for Empire Falls, Game Change, and Westworld.
Additional honors include a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015, an honorary degree from Muhlenberg College, and recognition from the National Board of Review and the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.
In 2019, he was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame for his contributions to the performing arts.
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