Mar 18, 1950

Huntington, West Virginia, USA

Starting in school productions, he progressed to community theater, joining up with the Huntington Community Players, while attending Marshall University of Huntington. At age 19, he quit his hometown college and headed to New York City, where he worked with 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 Rider?', in wh... ... (read more...) ich he was spotted by director Miloš Forman who cast him in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).

Although this film is frequently cited as his film debut, in fact, Dourif made his first big-screen appearance with a bit part in W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975). Nevertheless, his portrayal of the vulnerable Billy Bibbit in Forman's film was undoubtedly his big break, earning him a Golden Globe (Best Actor Debut) and a British Academy Award (Supporting Actor): 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.
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Despite his attempts to avoid typecasting, he frequently plays demented, deranged, or disturbed characters, starting in Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), John Huston's Wise Blood (1979), and Forman's Ragtime (1981). Dourif then teamed up with director David Lynch for Dune (1984) and Blue Velvet (1986).

He has appeared in a number of horror films, notably as the voice of the evil doll Chucky in Child's Play (1988) and its sequels. Dourif broke from the horror genre with roles in Fatal Beauty (1987), Mississippi Burning (1988), Hidden Agenda (1990), and London Kills Me (1991). He also played Gríma Wormtongue in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

On television, Dourif appeared in the Babylon 5 episode "Passing Through Gethsemane", in the early X-Files episode "Beyond the Sea" as condemned serial killer Luther Lee Boggs, in the first season of Millennium as Dennis Hoffman, and in Oliver Stone's Wild Palms. He played Lon Suder, a murdering psychopath who eventually redeems himself, in a three-episode story arc on Star Trek: Voyager. He appeared as the villain Saavedro in Myst III: Exile (2001), the third game in the popular Myst franchise. He plays Doc Cochran in the HBO series Deadwood.The television show The Ponderosa the prequil to Bonaza playing "Frenchie"

Dourif was cast for the role of The Scarecrow who was set to appear in Batman Forever, whilst Tim Burton was attached to the project. However, Burton who was unhappy with the script, instead decided to use The Riddler as the main villain.