John Malkovich
Biography
John Malkovich is an American actor known for eccentric and amoral characters. He was raised in Benton, Illinois, and in 1976 joined the group that founded Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, winning an Obie Award for a Steppenwolf production of Sam Shepard's True West in New York. His Broadway debut came as Biff in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, and he reprised the part in a CBS television film that won him a Primetime Emmy. His feature-film debut, as a blind boarder in Places in the Heart (1984), brought his first Academy Award nomination for supporting actor, and a second came for his portrayal of a plotter against the president in In the Line of Fire (1993). He played the sinister Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and a version of himself in Being John Malkovich (1999), later appearing in Burn After Reading (2008) and Bird Box (2018). He directed The Dancer Upstairs (2002) and played Hercule Poirot for the BBC.
72years old
Turns 73 on December 9in 29 days
- Born Christopher
- Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21
- Also credited as John Horatio Malkovich
Movie Career
- Films
- 88
- Career span
- 42 years1984 to 2026
Genres
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Early training
Malkovich was one of the charter members of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 1976, joining Joan Allen, Gary Sinise, and Glenne Headly.
A role that slipped away
Malkovich was approached to play the Green Goblin in Spider-Man (2002) but passed because of scheduling conflicts, and Willem Dafoe took the part.
Behind the camera
For a movie titled 100 Years, Robert Rodriguez took the directing job and Malkovich both wrote the script and acted in it. That film sits locked in a vault in southern France, with audiences unable to watch it until 2115.
Languages
Malkovich recited verses of the Croatian national anthem, Lijepa nasa domovino, in Croatian for Nenad Bach's 1990 song Can We Go Higher?
Early training
Malkovich transferred to Illinois State University and majored in theater there, but he dropped out. He later took acting classes at the William Esper Studio.
A change of course
Malkovich started a fashion label called Mrs. Mudd in 2002 and designed its clothes himself. The company brought out a menswear line, "Uncle Kimono", in 2003.
John Malkovich movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Robert Schwentke directed two of these films, Peter Berg two and Randall Wallace two. Two actors appear in four of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Julian Sands's page
Mary-Louise Parker's page
Bruce Willis's page
John Cusack's page
Helen Mirren's page
Glenn Close's page
Robert SchwentkeDirector, 2 films, 2010 to 2023
All films by Robert Schwentke
All films by Peter Berg
Randall WallaceDirector, 2 films, 1998 to 2010
All films by Randall Wallace
Also three films together2 more actors
- Terry KinneyExtremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019), Mile 22 (2018) and Queens Logic (1991)
- Chris MullinaxChariot (2022), Mindcage (2022) and Arkansas (2020)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What John Malkovich's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$4.2 billion
51 of the 87 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 87 films: 51 worldwide figure; 7 us gross only; 7 never in cinemas; 2 streaming, short cinema run; 19 figure not found; 1 too new to count.
- 51Worldwide figure
- 7US gross only
- 7Never in cinemas
- 2Streaming, short cinema run
- 19Figure not found
- 1Too new to count
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 65% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$1.1B26.7% of the total
- 2$374M8.9% of the total
- 3$250M5.9% of the total
- 4$224M5.3% of the total
- 5$199M4.7% of the total
- 6$196M4.6% of the total
- 7$183M4.3% of the total
- 8$177M4.2% of the total
$1.5 billionfrom the other 43 films with a worldwide figure, 35% of the total
Awards
Seven awards and honors from 1983 to 2026, two of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 1986 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Death of a Salesman | Won |
| Venice Film Festival | |||
| 2026 | Volpi Cup for Best Actor | Wild Horse Nine | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 1998 | Donostia Award | Won | |
| 1983 | Theatre World Award | Won | |
| Clarence Derwent Awards | Won | ||
| Order of Danica Hrvatska | Won | ||
| Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.