Tom Berenger

Thomas Michael Moore (born May 31, 1949), known professionally as Tom Berenger, is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of the Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in Platoon. He is also known for playing Jake Taylor in the Major League films and Thomas Beckett in the Sniper films.

Other films he appeared in include Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Dogs of War (1980), The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Betrayed (1988), The Field (1990), Gettysburg (1993), The Substitute (1996), Training Day (2001), and Inception (2010). He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance as Jim Vance in the 2012 miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.

Early life and education Berenger was born Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago, on May 31, 1949, to a Catholic family of Irish ancestry with his great-grandfather and grandmother settling in Chicago. He has a sister, Susan. His father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times and a traveling salesman.

Moore graduated in 1967 from Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois. He studied journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, but decided to seek an acting career following his graduation in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Moore selected "Berenger" as his professional name after he was forced to change his surname professionally, as there was already a "Tom Moore" in the Actors' Equity Association. He worked in soap operas and had a starring role as lawyer Tim Siegel on One Life to Live.

His feature film debut was the lead in Rush It, an independent film that was shot in 1976 but unreleased until 1978. In 1977, he had a supporting role as the killer of the lead character (played by Diane Keaton) in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, based on the murder of schoolteacher Roseann Quinn. In 1978, he had a starring role in the Canadian film In Praise of Older Women. In 1979, he played Butch Cassidy in Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, a role he got in part because of his resemblance to Paul Newman, who played the character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

Berenger starred in several significant films in the 1980s, including The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985), Platoon (1986), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Shoot to Kill (1988), and Major League (1989). In 1986, he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of the Staff Sergeant Barnes in Platoon (this performance won him a Golden Globe Award for "Best Supporting Actor"). A role for which he has become well known for is Thomas Beckett, the main character in the mid-1990s film Sniper (which would later be followed by six sequels, featuring Berenger in the starring role for four). Other notable films from that period in which he was featured include Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Shattered (1991), Sliver (1993), and Chasers (1994). When asked in a 1999 interview to name his favorite film out of those in which he had acted, Berenger said it was too difficult to choose but that the one he had watched most frequently was his 1993 film Gettysburg, where he played the role of Confederate General James Longstreet.

He established the Tom Berenger Acting Scholarship Fund in 1988 to award theatre students for excellence in performance.

In more recent years, Berenger has continued to have an active acting career in film and television, although often at a supporting level. One of his most notable television appearances was on Cheers in its last season as Rebecca Howe's blue collar-plumber love interest, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series". He also began a career as a producer in the 1990s. Berenger co-produced the 1997 miniseries Rough Riders, also starring as Theodore Roosevelt.

Berenger was also seen on the box art and promotional content for Novalogic's Delta Force: Black Hawk Down, as his roles in Sniper 2 and Sniper 3 were very similar to what was chosen for the game's artwork. He starred in the mini-series version of Stephen King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes, as a celebrated author who realizes the warped painting he recently purchased is alive with illustrations of impending doom for him in "The Road Virus Heads North". Berenger stars opposite Armand Assante and Busta Rhymes in the dramatic thriller Breaking Point, which had a limited release starting in December 2009.

Berenger appeared in the 2010 science fiction thriller Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio and Cillian Murphy, where he played a business executive who served as a mentor to and was an associate of the father of Murphy's character. It was his first major film role since Training Day in 2001. In 2012, he appeared in the television miniseries Hatfields & McCoys as Jim Vance, uncle of protagonist Devil Anse Hatfield (Kevin Costner). On September 23, 2012, Berenger won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the role.

In 2022, it was announced that Berenger would star in the comedy film Plan B, alongside Jon Heder and Shannon Elizabeth.

Personal life Berenger has been married four times and has six children. He married Laura Moretti in Sedona, Arizona, in early September 2012.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1977 The Sentinel Potential Male TenantUncredited Looking for Mr. Goodbar Gary 1978 Rush It Richard Moore In Praise of Older Women Andras Vayda 1979 Butch and Sundance: The Early Days Butch Cassidy 1980 The Dogs of War Drew Blakeley 1982 Beyond the Door Matthew Jackson 1983 The Big Chill Sam Weber Eddie and the Cruisers Frank Ridgeway 1984 Fear City Matt Rossi 1985 Rustlers' Rhapsody Rex O'Herlihan 1986 Platoon Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes 1987 Someone to Watch Over Me Detective Mike Keegan 1988 Shoot to Kill Jonathan Knox Betrayed Gary Simmons Last Rites Michael 1989 Major League Jake Taylor Born on the Fourth of July Gunnery Sergeant Hayes 1990 Love at Large Harry Dobbs The Field The American 1991 Shattered Dan Merrick At Play in the Fields of the Lord Lewis Moon 1993 Sniper MGySgt. Thomas J. "Tom" Beckett Sliver Jack Landsford Gettysburg Lieutenant General James Longstreet 1994 Major League II Jake Taylor Chasers Rock Reilly 1995 Last of the Dogmen Lewis Gates 1996 The Substitute Jonathan Shale An Occasional Hell Dr. Ernest Dewalt 1998 The Gingerbread Man Pete Randle Shadow of Doubt Jack Campioni 1999 A Murder of Crows Detective Clifford Dubose One Man's Hero John Riley Diplomatic Siege General Buck Swain Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying Sikes 2000 Takedown McCoy Rollins 2001 Training Day District Attorney Stanley 'Stan' Gursky The Hollywood Sign Tom Greener True Blue Rembrandt 'Remy' Macy Watchtower Art Stoner 2002 D-Tox Hank 2004 Sniper 3 MGySgt. Thomas J. "Tom" Beckett 2005 Detective Sgt. Malcolm Ainslie 2007 The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey Jonathan Toomey 2008 Stiletto Virgil Vadalos 2009 Silent Venom Admiral Bradley Wallace Charlie Valentine Becker Breaking Point Steven Luisi 2010 Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball Hal Leuco / FBI Agent Walter Weed Sinners and Saints Captain Trahan Inception Peter Browning Faster Warden 2011 Last Will Frank Emery Bucksville The Patron of Justice 2012 Brake Agent Ben Reynolds War Flowers General McIntire 2014 Bad Country Lutin Doc Holliday's Revenge Judge Wells Lonesome Dove Church John Shepherd Sniper: Legacy MGySgt. Thomas J. "Tom" Beckett Reach Me Teddy 2015 Impact Earth Herbert Sloan 2017 Sniper: Ultimate Kill MGySgt. Thomas J. "Tom" Beckett Cops and Robbers Captain Randolph 2018 American Dresser John Moore Battle of the Bulge: Wunderland Major McCulley Gone Are the Days Will 1st Born Jefferson Tucker 2019 Stakeout Joe Smith Supervized Ray 2020 Blood and Money Jim Reed Adam Jerry Niskar Sniper: Assassin's End MGySgt. Thomas J. "Tom" Beckett Battle of the Bulge: Winter War Major McCulley 2022 The Most Dangerous Game Benjamin Colt Black Warrant Nick Falconi As Good as Dead Sonny Kilbane A Tale of Two Guns McTeague 2023 Among Wolves Father Callahan 2024 One More Shot Mike Marshall Plan B Joe Cassidy 2026 Vampires of the Velvet Lounge Albert Sniper: No Nation MGySgt. Thomas J. "Tom" Beckett

Television Year Title Role Notes 1975–76 One Life to Live Tim Siegel 66 episodes 1977 Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye Billy Sutton Television film 1979 Flesh & Blood Bobby Fallon 1986 If Tomorrow Comes Jeff Stevens Miniseries 1991 Dream On Nick Spencer 1 episode 1993 Cheers Don Santry 2 episodes 1995 Body Language Gavin St. Claire Television film The Avenging Angel Miles Utley 1997 Rough Riders Theodore Roosevelt Miniseries 1999 In the Company of Spies Kevin Jefferson Television film 2000 Law & Order Dean Tyler Episode: "Panic" Cutaway Red Line Television film 2001 Jackson County War Cain Hammett 2002 Ally McBeal Harrison Wyatt Episode: "Nine One Nine" The Junction Boys Paul 'Bear' Bryant Television film Sniper 2 MGySgt. Thomas J. "Tom" Beckett 2003 Third Watch Aaron Noble 4 episodes Peacemakers Marshal Jared Stone 9 episodes 2004 Capital City Senator Foxworthy Television film 2005 Into the West Colonel J. Chivington Episode: "Hell on Wheels" Detective Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie Television film 2006 Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King Richard Kinnell Episode: "The Road Virus Heads North" 2007 America's Iliad: The Siege of Charleston Narrator (voice) Television film 2007–08 October Road Bob 'The Commander' Garrett 19 episodes 2008 Amber Alert: Terror on the Highway Larsan Television film 2011 XIII: The Series Rainer Gerhardt 6 episodes 2012 Hatfields & McCoys Jim Vance Miniseries 2013–15 Major Crimes Jackson Raydor 7 episodes 2014 Hawaii Five-0 Eddie Williams Episode: "Ma lalo o ka 'ili" 2017 Training Day District Attorney Stanley 'Stan' Gursky Episode: "Elegy" (reprised character from 2001 film of the same name)

Awards and nominations