Brad Dourif

Bradford Claude "Brad" Dourif (born March 18, 1950) is an American film and television actor who gained early fame for his portrayal of Billy Bibbitt in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and has since appeared in a number of memorable roles, including the voice of Chucky in the Child's Play franchise, Younger Brother in Ragtime, Gríma Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings, the Betazoid Lon Suder in the TV series Star Trek: Voyager, and Doc Cochran in the HBO television series Deadwood.

Early life
Dourif was born in Huntington, West Virginia. His father, Jean Dourif, was an art collector and owned and operated a dye factory. After Dourif's father died in 1953, his actress mother, Joan (née Bradford), remarried champion golfer William C. Campbell, who helped raise Dourif and his five siblings (four sisters and one brother). From 1963 to 1965, Dourif attended the private Aiken Preparatory School in Aiken, South Carolina. There he pursued his interests in art and acting. Although he briefly considered becoming an artist, he was eventually inspired to become an actor by his mother's participation as an actress in a community theater. After Aiken Prep, he attended another private school, Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, graduating in 1969. He attended Marshall University for a time, before quitting college and moving to New York City to study acting, on the advice of Conchata Ferrell.

Early career
Starting in school productions, he progressed to community theater, joining up with the Huntington Community Players, while attending Marshall. In New York, he worked with the Circle Repertory Company. During the early 1970s, Dourif appeared in a number of plays, off-Broadway and at Woodstock, New York, including The Ghost Sonata, The Doctor in Spite of Himself, and When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, in which he was spotted by director Miloš Forman who cast him in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).

Although this film is frequently cited as his film debut, in fact, Dourif made his first big-screen appearance with a bit part in W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975). Nevertheless, his portrayal of the vulnerable Billy Bibbit in Cuckoo's Nest was his big break, earning him a Golden Globe (Best Actor Debut) and a British Academy Award (Supporting Actor); he was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Skeptical of his instant stardom, Dourif returned to New York, where he continued in theater and taught acting and directing classes at Columbia University until 1988, when he moved to Hollywood.

In 1981, Vincent Canby listed Dourif as one of twelve actors to watch, calling Dourif "one of the most intense, most interesting young film actors of his generation".

Film and television
Despite his attempts to avoid typecasting, he frequently plays eccentric or disturbed characters, starting in Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), John Huston's Wise Blood (1979), Forman's Ragtime (1981) and Marc Didden's Istanbul. Dourif then teamed up with director David Lynch for Dune (1984) and Blue Velvet (1986). He also appears in the 1984 music video for Toto's single Stranger in Town.

He has appeared in a number of horror films, notably as the voice of the evil killer doll Chucky in Child's Play (1988) and its sequels, as well as in Exorcist III as the Gemini Killer (1990). Dourif broke from the horror genre with roles in Fatal Beauty (1987), Mississippi Burning (1988), Hidden Agenda (1990), and London Kills Me (1991). He also played Gríma Wormtongue in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

On television, Dourif appeared in The X-Files episode "Beyond the Sea" as Luther Lee Boggs. He also played Lon Suder, a murderous psychopath who eventually redeems himself, in a three-episode story arc on Star Trek: Voyager, and has guest-appeared in shows such as Babylon 5. In 1984, he played a suspected serial killer in the episode "Number Eight" of the British TV series Tales of the Unexpected.

He is a fan of video games and appeared as Saavedro in Myst III: Exile (2001), the third game in the popular Myst franchise, and as the sadistic preacher Reed in GUN (2005).

Dourif was cast as The Scarecrow in Batman Forever, while Tim Burton was attached to the project. However, Joel Schumacher eventually took over the project, and instead cast Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Jim Carrey as The Riddler.

Dourif played Doc Cochran in the HBO series Deadwood, receiving a 2004 Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series." He voiced Chucky in the fifth Child's Play film, Seed of Chucky, appeared in the film Sinner, and played Sheriff Brackett in 2007 in Rob Zombie's version of Halloween and its sequel in 2009, Halloween II.

Personal life
Dourif was formerly married to businesswoman and claimed remote viewer Joni Dourif, with whom he has two daughters, Kristina and Fiona. He lives in Manhattan and plays the didgeridoo, an Australian Aboriginal musical instrument.

Dourif is the uncle of Nat Friedman.

Video games

 * Myst III: Exile (2001) - as Saavedro
 * Run Like Hell (2002) - as Fred (voice only)
 * GUN (2005) - as Reverend Josiah Reed (voice only)