Bradford Claude "Brad" Dourif is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian who gained
early fame for his portrayal of Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and has
since appeared in a number of memorable roles.
He is best known for portraying Charles Lee Ray / Chucky in the Child's Play franchise,
Deputy Clinton Pell in Mississippi Burning, Younger Brother in Ragtime, Piter De Vries
in David Lynch's Dune, Gríma Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings and Doc Cochran in Deadwood.
Dourif has also worked with renowned film director Werner Herzog on many occasions,
appearing in Scream of Stone, The Wild Blue Yonder, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New
Orleans and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?.
From June through September, 2013, Dourif starred alongside Amanda Plummer in an Off
Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play, his first stage appearance
in 29 years.
Early life Dourif was born Bradley Claude Dourif in Huntington,
West Virginia on March 18, 1950, the son of Jean Henri Dourif, an art collector who owned
and operated a dye factory, and Joan Mavis Felton, an actress.
His paternal grandparents emigrated from France, and his paternal grandfather co-founded the
Standard Ultramarine and Color Company in Huntington.
After Dourif's father died in 1953, his mother remarried champion golfer William C. Campbell,
who helped raise Dourif and his five siblings.
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 a flower arranger, he was eventually inspired
to become an actor by his mother's participation as an actress in a community theater called
"Give me Shelter."
After Aiken Prep, Dourif attended another private school, Fountain Valley School in
Colorado Springs, Colorado, graduating in 1968.
Dourif attended Marshall University for a time, before quitting college and moving to
New York City to study acting on the advice of actress Conchata Ferrell.
Career Starting in school productions, Dourif progressed
to community theater, joining up with the Huntington Community Players while attending
Marshall.
In New York, he studied with Sanford Meisner, and worked with Marshall Mason and Lanford
Wilson at 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.
Although One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is frequently cited as his film debut, in fact,
Dourif made his first appearance in a low-budget film called Split, which was never released.
His first studio film was W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings but his bit part was cut.
Nevertheless, his portrayal of the vulnerable Billy Bibbit in Cuckoo's Nest was his big
break, earning him a Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Award; 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".
Stage Though Dourif is a prolific screen actor who
hasn't been on stage in nearly 3 decades, he chose to star alongside Amanda Plummer
in the Off Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play that played to critical-acclaim
at the New World Stages.
He explained, in a filmed interview released by the producers, why he broke his 29-year
hiatus from acting in live theater: "I hated the stage, did not want to do it.
And then somebody said, 'Will you do a play?
It's with Amanda Plummer', and I said, 'Oh shit!
No.
Oh God, I'm gonna have to do this...'".
It opened on June 10, 2013 and closed on September 29, 2013.
Film and television Despite his attempts to avoid typecasting,
Dourif frequently plays eccentric or disturbed characters, starting in Eyes of Laura Mars,
John Huston's Wise Blood, Forman's Ragtime and Marc Didden's Istanbul.
Dourif then teamed up with director David Lynch for Dune and Blue Velvet.
He also appears in the 1984 music video for the single "Stranger in Town" by Toto.
Dourif has appeared in a number of horror films, notably as the voice of Chucky in the
Child's Play franchise.
He portrayed the Gemini Killer in The Exorcist III, Death Machine, but has broken from the
horror genre with roles in Fatal Beauty, Mississippi Burning, Hidden Agenda, and London Kills Me.
Dourif also played Gríma Wormtongue in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
On television, Dourif appeared in The X-Files episode "Beyond the Sea" as the psychic serial
killer Luther Lee Boggs.
He also portrayed Lon Suder in a 3-episode story arc on Star Trek: Voyager and has guest
starred as a troubled monk haunted by visions in Babylon 5.
In 1984, Dourif played a suspected serial killer in the episode "Number Eight" of Tales
of the Unexpected.
He played a role as a villain by the name of Wyatt in the Miami Vice episode "Theresa."
Dourif is also a fan of video games and voiced Saavedro in Myst III: Exile and Reed in GUN.
He also voiced Piero Joplin in Dishonored.
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.
Other roles Dourif has played are Doc Cochran in Deadwood, receiving a 2004 Emmy Award nomination
for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series."
He also appeared in Sinner and portrayed Sheriff Lee Brackett in Halloween and Halloween II.
In 2013, Dourif reprised his voice role as Chucky in Curse of Chucky, which has just
finished filming.
His daughter Fiona Dourif starred with him in the 6th installment of the Child's Play
franchise.
Dourif guest starred in the third-season finale of Fringe.
He also had a brief scene in one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Personal life Dourif has been married twice.
He had one daughter Fiona Dourif with his ex-wife Joni and adopted Joni's daughter Kristina
Dourif Tanoue.
Filmography Discography
2012 "Misery Together" LP and Download.
Dourif contributed spoken words to three songs on this album by the Norwegian duo Thinguma*jigsaw.
He also featured in the video to "Drinking from the Bottle" by Calvin Harris feat Tinie
Tempah.
Video games Myst III: Exile - as Saavedro
Run Like Hell - as Fred GUN - as Reverend Josiah Reed
Dishonored - as Piero References
External links Brad Dourif at the Internet Movie Database
Brad Dourif at the Internet Off-Broadway Database Brad Dourif at the TCM Movie Database
Brad Dourif at AllMovie