William H Macy

William Hall Macy, Jr. (Miami, March 13, 1950), better known as William H. Macy, is an American actor, also dedicated to directing in theater, film and television, known for having been nominated for an Oscar for playing Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo (1996), a film by the Coen brothers. His film career has been built on his work in independent films, although he has also appeared in commercial films. Macy has described his on-screen style as "a stereotypical middle-class, WASP, Lutheran guy" 34;. He has won two Emmy Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards; He has also been nominated thirteen times for an Emmy, eleven for the Screen Actors Guild and five for the Golden Globe.

Early Years

Macy was born in Miami, Florida, and grew up in Georgia and Maryland. His father, William Hall Macy, Sr., was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal for piloting a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in World War II. World; he later ran a construction company in Atlanta and worked for the Dun & Bradstreet before assuming control of an insurance agency in Cumberland, Maryland, when Macy was nine years old. Her mother, Lois, was widowed after the war and met Macy's father after her husband died in 1943; Macy has described her as a “southern lady.” Macy has a half-brother, Fred Merrill, from her mother's first marriage.

Macy describes himself as a 'prankster,' despite being relatively shy until high school. After his brother taught him to play the guitar, he began singing at a talent show, much to the approval of the public. He later ran himself as class president, even though he was performing poorly academically. After graduating in 1968 from Allegany High School in Cumberland, Maryland, he participated in the hippie antiwar movement, and used large amounts of drugs, including marijuana and LSD. Macy studied vet at Bethany University of West Virginia, and by his own admission, he was a "horrible student." He transferred to Goddard College and became involved in the theater where he acted in productions such as The Threepenny Opera , A Midsummer Night's Dream and a wide variety of contemporary and improvised pieces. That's where he met David Mamet. After graduating in 1971, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, and to pay the rent he got a job as a waiter. Within a year, he and David Mamet, among others, founded the successful St. Nicholas Theater Company, a theater where Macy played characters in Mamet plays such as American Buffalo and The Water Engine.

Career

After living for some time in Los Angeles, California, Macy moved to New York in 1980. In New York, she landed roles in more than fifty Broadway and off-Broadway plays. One of her first film roles was a turtle named Socrates in the telefilm The Boy Who Loved Trolls (1984), appearing in the credits as W.H. Macy. He also worked in David Mamet films such as House of Games, Things Change, Homicide, Oleanna (playing the same role than in the play of the same name), Wag the Dog, State and Main and Spartan. From 1994 to 1998, Macy played the supporting role of Dr. David Morgenstern on the medical drama ER, returning to reprise it for the series' final season.

One of Macy's most famous roles is the one he played in Fargo (1996), for which he was nominated for an Oscar and helped launch his career, although his characters would often be typecast. as worried and nervous. After Fargo Macy would work in films such as Benny & Joon, Above Suspicion, Mr. Holland's Opus, Ghosts of Mississippi, Air Force One, Boogie Nights, Pleasantville, Twenty Bucks, Gus Van Sant's version of Psycho, Happy, Texas, Mystery Men, Magnolia, Jurassic Park III, Focus, Panic, Welcome to Collinwood, Seabiscuit, The Cooler and Sahara.

Macy during a leading strike in 2003

Private life

On September 5, 1997, Macy married actress Felicity Huffman. The couple have two children, Sofia Grace (b. August 1, 2000) and George Grace (b. March 14, 2002). They live in Los Angeles, California, and have had a cabin in Vermont since the 1980s.

Macy and Huffman appeared at a 2004 Democrat John Kerry presidential campaign rally. Macy also plays the ukulele and is an avid woodcarver, even appearing on the cover of Fine Woodworking magazine. . He is a national ambassador for the United Cerebral Palsy Association.

Filmography

As director

• Krystal (2017)
• The Layover (2017)
• Rudderless (2014)
• Lip Service (1988) (TV)

Awards

• Oscar
  • 1997 Best cast actor - Fargo - Candidate

• Golden Globes
  • 2003 Best actor - Miniserie or telefilm - Door to Door - Candidate
  • 2004 Best cast actor - Seabiscuit - Candidate
  • 2005 Best actor - Miniserie or telefilm - The Wool Cap - Candidate
  • 2015 Best actor - series of comedy or musical - Shameless - Candidate
  • 2018 Best actor - Musical or comedy series - Shameless - Candidate

• Emmy Awards
  • 1997 Best guest actor - Dramatic series - ER - Candidate
  • 2000 Best guest actor - Comedy series - Sports Night - Candidate
  • 2000 Best actor - Miniserie or telefilm - A Slight Case of Murder - Candidate
  • 2003 Best actor - Miniserie or telefilm - Door to Door - Winner
  • 2003 Best Screenplay - Miniserie, Telefilm or Dramatic Space - Door to Door - Winner
  • 2004 Best actor - Miniserie or telefilm - Stealing Sinatra - Candidate
  • 2005 Best Telefilm - The Wool Cap - Candidate
  • 2005 Best actor - Miniserie or telefilm - The Wool Cap - Candidate
  • 2007 Best actor - Miniserie or telefilm - Nightmares and Dreamscapes - Candidate
  • 2014 Best actor - Comedy series - Shameless - Candidate
  • 2015 Best actor - Comedy series- Shameless - Candidate
  • 2017 Best actor - Comedy series - Shameless - Candidate
  • 2018 Best actor - Comedia series - Shameless - Candidate

• Awards of the Union of Actors
  • 1997 Best cast actor - Fargo - Candidate
  • 2003 Best cast actor - Seabiscuit - Candidate