John Malkovich
John Malkovich was born on December 9, 1953, in Christopher, Illinois. A citizen of the United States, he attended Benton Consolidated High School for his early education before going on to study at Eastern Illinois University and then Illinois State University.
Over the years Malkovich built a career that spans an unusually wide range of disciplines. He works as a film actor, stage actor, television actor, and voice actor, and has also taken on roles behind the camera as a film director, theatre director, film producer, and screenwriter. That breadth extends further still: he has pursued work as a musician and as a fashion designer, and he works in both English and French. His stage work earned him the Theatre World Award and the Clarence Derwent Awards, recognition that reflected his standing in the theater world. His television work brought him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, adding a major screen credit to his list of honors. He has also received the Donostia Award, which added to a career marked by recognition across both stage and screen.
The range of crafts Malkovich has taken on — directing for both stage and film, producing, writing screenplays, lending his voice to projects, and designing fashion — makes it difficult to pin him to any single professional identity. He has continued to move between these roles across decades, working in both English and French throughout his career.
His name is catalogued by the Library of Congress under the authorized label "Malkovich, John," a concrete marker of the public record he has assembled. That record, stretching from his schooling in Illinois through a career that touches acting, directing, producing, screenwriting, music, and fashion design, reflects an unusually varied professional life rooted in origins that trace back to Christopher, Illinois.
Quotes by John Malkovich
John Malkovich's insights on:
I probably have more female friends than any man I've ever met. What I like about them is that almost always they're generally mentally tougher, and they're better listeners, and they're more capable of surviving things.
Most of the women that I like have a haunted quality - they're sort of like women who live in a haunted house all by themselves.
In New York in the Forties or Fifties, everybody’s in a suit, an overcoat and a hat.
You can be a mason and build 50 buildings, but it doesn’t mean you can design one.
I’ve always been an avid reader. Everyone in my family read a lot. Considering we were from a little town, we were pretty literate.
I’m more likely to lose my temper on a film set than almost anywhere. Often the level of idiocy is so exalted that it’s impossible to comprehend.