Rise to Fame
He flunked out of Arizona State on a football scholarship and reportedly ended up in an acting class in Laurel Canyon through a friend. A decade of regional theater paid off when Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) gave him 12 episodes to build a national profile, and the Emmy nomination meant filmmakers took note. 48 Hrs. (1982) made him a movie star, and The Prince of Tides (1991) earned him a Golden Globe and his first Oscar nomination. He arrived late to the A-list and turned out to be harder to dislodge than anyone expected.
In the Spotlight
The 2002 mugshot is his most recognizable image, and it wasn't for a movie. Pulled over on Pacific Coast Highway after six drivers called 911 about a weaving Mercedes, he was reportedly drooling on GHB he'd taken before a gym workout. The photo went everywhere. He pleaded no contest, got probation, checked into a psychiatric facility for 30 days, and has been sober since. Three Oscar nominations (The Prince of Tides, Affliction, Warrior) bracket both sides of that incident. His turn in Die My Love (2025) opposite Jennifer Lawrence means somebody still wants him in the room.
Side Notes
He was convicted of selling counterfeit draft cards in 1961, which gave him a 45-year suspended sentence and, practically speaking, kept him out of Vietnam. He drifted into acting by accident and spent years in regional theater before anyone noticed. People named him Sexiest Man Alive in 1992 at 51. His reaction was to suggest Walter Cronkite as the better candidate. He built a treehouse in Malibu and lives in it. The man contains contradictions he's stopped trying to explain.