Name	Bruce Davison
Height	6' 1"
Naionality	American
Date of Birth	28 June 1946
Place of Birth	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Famous for

Finding a click on acting while in university, Bruce Davison got his start on Broadway with the Lincoln Center Repertory production of “Tiger at the Gates” when he was 21. Within two years, the blonde performer made the move to the wide screen by playing supporting role Dan in the sensitive teen flick Last Summer, helmed by the award-winning director Frank Perry and starring Barbara Hershey and Richard Thomas. Promisingly playing his part, a relatively newcomer Davison soon scored a lead when director Stuart Hagmann had him play Simon, opposite Kim Darby, in the drama-romance The Strawberry Statement (1970). Adored by fans and press who had seen the film, Davison attracted more attention when he landed the title role in the blockbuster thriller Willard (1971), portraying a rat-loving social loner. The same year, he made TV movie debut with a supporting part in the drama Owen Marshall, Counsellor at Law.

Momentarily forayed into minor big screen projects for much of the 1970s and 1980s, Davison found success on the small screen with several outstanding films such as the Emmy Award winner for Best Dramatic Special, The Gathering (1977) playing George Pelham, the NBC heartbreaking coming-of-age drama Summer of My German Soldier (1978, with Patty Bergen) and the David Greene and Don Taylor-directed Ghost Dancing (1983). During that period, Davison also tried to increase his movie career by taking on the controversial turn of a child molester in Robert M Young’s realistic prison drama Short Eyes (1977), but it did not work.

Davison finally received his big break in 1990 when filmmaker Norman René cast him in the supporting role of David in the Campbell Scott vehicle Longtime Companion. For his impressive portrait of a gay man nursing his AIDS-stricken lover, Davison was garnered countless rave reviews from film critics and a luxuriously merited Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor. Additionally, he earned nods at the Independent Spirit, New York Film Critics Circle as well as Golden Globe.

Following the great accomplishment Davison found himself enormously busy working in both the small screen and the big one. He was seen as the father of a child who is hit by a car in Robert Altman’s Short Cuts (1993, starred with Andie MacDowell), appeared as Larkin, one among many taken in by Will Smith’s character, in the mystery Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and starred in the syndicated comedy series “Harry and the Hendersons” (1991-93, also served as co-director). Davison again showed his concern about AIDS by taking part in films The Cure (1995, as Dr. Stevens) and writer/director Randal Kleiser’s It’s My Party (1996), and offered a fine turn as Michael Millerton, a doctor who takes care for Beau Bridges’ sick daughters in the Showtime film Hidden in America (1996). He gave other notable supporting performances as Reverend Paris in the film adaptation of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (1996) and as Brad Renfro’s understanding, yet naive dad in Bryan Singer’s Apt Pupil (1998), as well as received an Emmy nomination for his guest appearance as Jacob ‘Jake’ Weiss in an episode of “Touched By an Angel” (1998). In between, Davison resurfaced on the New York stage by playing a man who commits incest with his niece in the Off-Broadway play “How I Learned to Drive” (1997) and starred in the controversial Showtime film The Color of Justice (1997).

The demanding actor opened the new millennium with an outstanding supporting role of Senator Kelly, a politician who believed mutants should not be treated like human in the wide screen version of the Marvel Comic’s hit X-Men (2000), a role which he reprised in the 2003 sequel X2.Also in 2000, he undertook another supporting part, playing Ray in the independent compelling drama The King Is Alive, opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh, Janet McTeer and the late Brion James. He also amazingly played a friend of Bobby’s (Dylan McDermott), who has been accused of killing his wife, in nine episodes of the highly acclaimed ABC series “The Practice” (2000-2001). He again took double duty as a director and actor for the well-received holiday-themed TV film Off Season (2001), and portrayed Jessica Biel’s father in the Freddie Prinze Jr. romance Summer Catch, that same year. Still in 2001, he undertook another parent role, this time as Kirsten Dunst’s dad in Crazy/Beautiful.

The next years saw roles in a number of films, including High Crimes (2002), Runaway Jury (2003), Out of the Ashes (2003, TV), Rules of the Game (2003), The Clinic (2004, TV), Evergreen (2004), On the Couch (2004), Confession (2005), Going Shopping (2005) and Touched (2005). He also costarred as Dr. ‘Steg’ Stegman, the supercilious chief of staff in Stephen King’s medical miniseries “Kingdom Hospital” (2004) and had a recurring role of Doug Hellman in the Jim Leonard-created legal drama “Close to Home” (2005), starring Jennifer Finnigan, Kimberly Elise and John Carroll Lynch.

The 60-year-old player is set to star along side Willis Chung, Lee Garlington, Johnny Lewis and Avery Waddell in the Untitled Brad Copeland Project (2006), a comedy telepic directed by Roger Kumble. On the silver screen, Davison will star as Bruce Howard in writer-director Benjamin Louis’ upcoming thriller The Real Catch (2006), opposite Luke Perry and Paul Sorvino. Moreover, he will step into Billy Ray’s shoes, taking on the role of John O’Neill in Breach, a crime-thriller for 2007 release.