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Who is David Morse?
American actor David Bowditch Morse was born in Beverly, Massachusetts USA on 11 October 1953, making Libra his zodiac sign. He has over 100 acting credits, but is probably still known best for portraying Brutus Howell in the 1999 crime fantasy movie “The Green Mile”, which starred Michael Clarke Duncan and Tom Hanks, was directed by Frank Darabont and based on the eponymous book by Stephen King. It follows Paul, the lead guard of a Southern jail, as he’s learned about a death row inmate John’s gift to heal people, and is now determined to stop his execution; the movie won 15 of its 52 award nominations, including four Oscar nominations, two of which were for Best Picture and Best Sound.
David’s still active in the movie industry, and is currently working on four upcoming movies, including “The Gettysburg Address”, “Blood Knot” and “La Gloria”.
Education and early life
David was raised alongside his three younger siblings in Essex, Massachusetts by their father Charles Morse who was a sales manager, and mother Jacquelyn Morse who was a high school teacher.
The family eventually moved to Hamilton, Massachusetts where David attended a local high school, and where he became passionate about acting; he watched TV every day, and appeared in several school plays, mostly portraying lead characters. He matriculated in 1971 and then enrolled at William Esper Studio, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in acting in 1975.
Prior to launching his career on TV, David was a member of the Boston Repertory Theatre and appeared in a number of plays; one of his most notable performances was starring as Oblio in Esquire Jauchem’s production of “The Point!” in 1976.
Roles in movies
David’s debut film role was starring as Jerry Maxwell in the hit 1980 romantic comedy “Inside Moves”, which also starred John Savage and Diana Scarwid, and was directed by Richard Donner. It follows a man who’s become handicapped after an unsuccessful suicide attempt -,the movie was nominated for a 1971 Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Diana).
Some of David’s following roles were in the 1981 crime action “Our Family Business”, the comedy “Max Dugan Returns” and the science fiction “Prototype” both in 1983. What marked the decade for him was perhaps portraying Albert in the 1990 crime action “Desperate Hours”, which starred Anthony Hopkins and Mickey Rourke, and was directed by Michael Cimino. It follows an escaped convict who’s moved into a married couple’s house – the film was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actor (Mickey).
The first half of the ‘90s saw David appear in several popular movies, such as the 1992 drama “Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster”, and in 1993 the drama “Miracle on Interstate 880”, and the thriller “The Good Son”; the year 1995 saw him play Dr. Peters in the evergreen mystery science fiction thriller “12 Monkeys”, which starred Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, and was directed by Terry Gilliam. It follows a convict who’s been sent back in time to gather information after a virus which killed nearly all creatures on Earth, and the film won 11 of its 36 award nominations, including two Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Brad Pitt). The remainder of the decade saw David appear in the 1996 action thriller “The Rock”, the 1997 comedy “George B.”, and the 2000 crime musical “Dancer in the Dark”.
He starred as Kevin Richter in the 2002 fantasy mystery horror “Double Vision”, which also starred Tony Ka Fai Leung and was written and directed by Kuo-Fu Chen. It follows a Taiwan police officer and an FBI agent as they’re trying to catch a serial killer, and the film won two of its 12 award nominations. Some of David’s notable performances in the remainder of the decade were in the 2005 romantic comedy “Nearing Grace”, the 2006 action thriller “16 Blocks” and the 2009 short drama “Empire State”.
He portrayed Former CIA Agent in the hit 2013 action horror “World War Z”, which starred Daniella Kertesz and Brad Pitt, and was directed by Marc Forster. It follows Gerry Lane as he’s trying to stop a zombie pandemic which is threatening to destroy humanity, and the film won three of its 28 award nominations.
David’s three most recent film roles have been in the 2017 comedy “Trouble and the biographical war drama “Thank You for Your Service”, and the 2021 action thriller “The Virtuoso”.
Roles in TV series
David’s debut TV series role was playing Kevin Mallory in the 1981 episode “Equal Opportunity” of the drama “Nurse”, and from 1982 through 1988, he starred as Dr. Jack Morrison in all 137 episodes of the comedy “St. Elsewhere”, which also starred Howie Mandel and Ed Begley Jr, and was created by Joshua Brand. It follows the people working at a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and won 25 of its 108 award nominations. The remainder of the ‘80s saw David appear in two episodes of both the thriller mini-series “Brotherhood of the Rose” (lead role) and the drama “Midnight Caller”.
He appeared in an episode of only a couple of series in the ‘90s, including the action family adventure “SeaQuest 2032”, the crime drama “The Hat Squad”, and the mystery crime “Homicide: Life on the Street”.
From 2002 through 2004, David starred as Mike Olshansky in the crime drama “Hack”, which also starred Andre Braugher and was created by David Koepp. It follows former police officer Mike who’s become a vigilante now that he’s been fired from his job and abandoned by his family, and the series was nominated for an Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (Andre). The remainder of the 2000s saw David appear in three more TV series: the mystery “House”, the biographical historical mini-series “John Adams”, and the crime fantasy “Medium”.
In 2016 and 2017, he starred as Big Foster Farrell in all 26 episodes of the crime drama “Outsiders”, which also starred Ryan Hurst and was created by Peter Mattei. It follows the hungry for power people from the mysterious hills of Appalachia – the series was nominated for a Golden Trailer Award for Best Music.
David’s three most recent TV series roles have been in the 2020 episode “Meet the Lord” of the western mini-series “The Good Lord Bird”, six episodes of the 2021 comedy “The Chair”, and two episodes of the 2023 mystery thriller “The Last Thing He Told Me”.
Kinks include Sandra Oh correcting men's grammar
(📺: The Chair) pic.twitter.com/s546rcwOUm
— Netflix (@netflix) August 31, 2021
Other credits
David received special thanks for the 2014 documentary film “Walking the Mile (Director’s Cut)”.
He produced the 2013 crime mystery movie “McCanick” and the 2015 horror thriller film “The Boy”.
Some of David’s recent talk-show appearances have been in “Eli Roth’s History of Horror”, “GMA3: What You Need to Know” and “The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales”.
Awards and nominations
David’s won five of his 19 award nominations, including two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Actor in 2007 and 2008, for his performance in “House” and “John Adams”, respectively.
Some of his wins include a 2003 Philadelphia FirstGlance Film Festival Award, a 2009 Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance for “The Hurt Locker” (shared with colleagues), and a 2011 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Award for Best Actor, for “Collaborator”.
Love life and wife
David avoids speaking about his love life in public, but it’s known that he’s been a married man for more than 40 years now.
He and American actress and author Susan Wheeler Duff exchanged vows in a private ceremony on 19 June 1982; she’s perhaps still known best for playing Nurse in the 1986 comedy movie “Miracles”, while she’s also known for her book “The Habit”, published in 2011.
David and Susan have twin sons and a daughter together, but their birthdates haven’t been disclosed; it’s known that their daughter, Eliza Morse is today a still photographer.
The family lived in Los Angeles until the 1994 Northridge earthquake, after which they moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they’ve been living to this day.
There are no other women whom David’s been with, that his fans know about; he’s married to Susan Wheeler Duff as of June 2023, and they have three children together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
To this day, David remains the only actor to have portrayed both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
He’s appeared in three movies based on Stephen King’s novels: the 1996 “The Langoliers”, the 1999 “The Green Mile”, and in 2001 “Hearts in Atlantis”; he also appeared in the 2013 movie “Horns”, which was based on the eponymous novel by King’s son Joe Hill.
David broke several fingers while shooting a fight scene for the 2007 crime mystery movie “Disturbia”.
American actor and director William Daniels was once David’s mentor; he’s today 96 years old.
David’s allergic to most forms of sugar.
Colin Farrell’s one of his favorite actors, while some of David’s favorite movies are “Phone Booth”, “The Batman”, and “Seven Psychopaths”.
Height, eyes and wealth
David’s age is 69. He has blue eyes and grey hair, is 6ft 3ins (1.92m) tall and weighs around 200lbs (90kgs).
David’s net worth’s been estimated at over $3 million, as of June 2023.
