Aaron Eckhart

Actor

• Born: March 12, 1968
• Place of Birth: Cupertino, California

Contribution: Aaron Eckhart is an actor known for his roles in Erin Brockovich (2000), Thank You for Smoking (2005), and The Dark Knight (2008). Later in his career, Eckhart played the lead in many action/thriller films, such as Ambush (2023), Rumble Through the Dark (2023), The Bricklayer (2024), and Classified (2024).

Background

Aaron Edward Eckhart was born on March 12, 1968, in Cupertino, California. His parents are Mary Martha Eckhart, an author of children’s books, and James Conrad Eckhart, who worked in computers. They raised Eckhart and his three older brothers as Mormons.

In 1981, when Eckhart was thirteen years old, his father moved the family to Cobham, Surrey, England. Eckhart attended the American Community School, which offers an American curriculum. Eckhart has stated that he became very introverted in school. Then he became interested in acting and joined the theater program, which helped him open up. In 1985, his family moved to Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, where Eckhart attended the American International School of Sydney. During his senior year, he starred in a production of Samuel Beckett’s 1953 play Waiting for Godot before dropping out to work at a movie theater. Between high school and college, Eckhart also served as a Mormon missionary in Switzerland and France.

When he was seventeen years old, Eckhart returned to the United States and enrolled at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, where he majored in film. While in college, he appeared in plays and had a small role in a Mormon seminary video called Godly Sorrow. He graduated in 1994 with a bachelor of fine arts degree.

Career

After graduating, Eckhart moved to New York City and took on various odd jobs while he pursued acting. He appeared in some small-budget films and the failed television series Aliens in the Family (1996) before getting his big break in the comedy In the Company of Men (1997), directed by Neil LaBute, whose plays Eckhart had starred in while both attended BYU. In the Company of Men was a breakout success, and Eckhart won several awards for his performance as Chad, including the Independent Spirit Award for best debut performance. LaBute cast Eckhart again in his next film, Your Friends & Neighbors (1998). Eckhart has also starred in two other LaBute’s films, Nurse Betty (2000) and Possession (2002).

After a small role in the sports drama Any Given Sunday (1999), Eckhart took nine months off from acting. He had found himself drifting away from what he hoped to accomplish as an actor, so he used the time to hone his craft. In 2000, Eckhart returned to the screen and gained wide recognition for his role as George, the boyfriend of Julia Roberts's title character, in the hit film Erin Brockovich. The film was a critical success, and Eckhart’s performance was frequently applauded in reviews.

Eckhart next starred alongside Jack Nicholson in the mystery film The Pledge (2001) and then dabbled in the natural-disaster film genre with The Core (2003). The same year, he starred in the western thriller The Missing (2003) and the action thriller Paycheck (2003). Eckhart then appeared in two 2004 episodes of the television sitcom Frasier and several minor films before another major role came his way: a star turn as tobacco-industry spokesman Nick Naylor in the satirical comedy Thank You for Smoking (2005). Critics praised the film, and in 2006 Eckhart was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best actor.

Eckhart played a police officer named Lee Blanchard in The Black Dahlia (2006), a film based on the gruesome Black Dahlia murder of 1947. While the film garnered mixed reviews, Eckhart’s performance was celebrated. The same year, he was included in People magazine’s list of the hundred most beautiful people. Perhaps in reaction to this, Eckhart starred as the title character in the comedy Meet Bill (2007), for which he gained thirty pounds and wore a fat suit. He also appeared in Alan Ball’s controversial film Towelhead (2007) as a soldier who molests a thirteen-year-old girl

Eckhart gained even more recognition with his role as district attorney Harvey Dent in the Batman film The Dark Knight (2008). Director Christopher Nolan stated that he chose Eckhart for the role after seeing him play other villainous characters. The film was a box-office smash and came to be regarded as one of the best films of the decade. Eckhart has said that the role of Dent appealed to him because he is interested in good guys who fall from grace.

Eckhart next appeared opposite Jennifer Aniston in the romantic comedy Love Happens (2009) and with Nicole Kidman in the drama Rabbit Hole (2010). He then took on an alien invasion in the science-fiction thriller Battle: Los Angeles (2011), followed by a role in the comedy The Rum Diary (2011), based on the Hunter S. Thompson novel.

Eckhart portrayed the president of the United States in the action film Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and its sequel, London Has Fallen (2016). The films received mixed reviews but satisfied fans of the action genre. Eckhart starred in the title role of I, Frankenstein, an action thriller, in 2014, and in 2016 he supported Tom Hanks in Sully. In 2019, Eckhart starred in Midway and Line of Duty. In Midway, he played Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle in the Battle of Midway during World War II. In Line of Duty, Eckhart played a police officer who must race against time to save his kidnapped daughter. In Wander (2020), Eckhart assumed the role of an unstable conspiracy theorist, starring alongside actor Tommy Lee Jones, who played a private investigator.

In 2023, Eckhart starred in several action/thrillers, most of which were panned by critics but were popular among genre fans. In Ambush, Eckhart portrayed Captain Drummond, who led a group of elite commandos during the Vietnam War. Eckhart was a disgraced LA police officer in Muzzle, who ventured into the underworld to find out who killed his K9 companion. In Rumble Through the Dark, Eckhart played an underground pit fighter nicknamed "The Slayer."

Eckhart next assumed roles related to the CIA in several 2023 films. The Bricklayer is based on the novel of the same name. Steve Vail, a disgraced CIA agent played by Eckhart, works laying bricks but is summoned back to the CIA after three international journalists are murdered within a month. In Chief of Station, a CIA station chief, played by Eckhart, learns that his wife's death was not an accident and retreats into the underworld to find her killer. In Classified, Eckhart portrayed a CIA hitman who gets his assignments from the classified section of newspapers.

Eckhart played a pilot in the 2024 horror film Deep Water. Eckhart's character and the passengers must work together and fight for their lives after their flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai makes an emergency landing in shark-infested water.

Impact

After getting his start in low-budget independent films, Eckhart appeared in one of the highest-grossing blockbusters of all time, The Dark Knight. Throughout his successful career, he has maintained his integrity by selecting roles that appeal to him as an artist. Although his work has garnered him several nominations and awards, he has managed to keep a low profile in the face of the celebrity spotlight.

Personal Life

Although Eckhart has described himself as a lapsed Mormon, he has also said that he values his upbringing even though he no longer subscribes to the religion’s dogma. At one time, he was engaged to actress Emily Cline, but the pair broke up in 1998. He dated country music singer Kristyn Osborn from 2006 to 2007 and briefly dated model and actor Molly Sims in 2009.

Bibliography

Bedell, Geraldine. “Mormon Becomes Electric.” Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 3 Apr. 2004. Web. 27 Aug. 2013.

Boucher, Geoff. “Aaron Eckhart: Not Just Another Pretty Face in The Dark Knight.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2008. Web. 27 Aug. 2013.

Eckhart, Aaron. “Aaron Eckhart Interview: Olympus Has Fallen, White Cargo, The Core, Directing and More.” Interview by Duncan Bowles. Den of Geek. Dennis, 19 Apr. 2013. Web. 27 Aug. 2013.

Gardetta, Dave. “In the Kitchen with Aaron.” Los Angeles Magazine Apr. 2007: 52–57. Print.

Kay, Jeremy. "First Look: Aaron Eckhart in Survival Thriller 'Deep Water'." Screen Daily, 15 Feb. 2024, www.screendaily.com/news/first-look-aaron-eckhart-in-survival-thriller-deep-water-exclusive/5190549.article. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.

Keegan, Rebecca. “Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart Go Down the Rabbit Hole Together.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 Aug. 2013.

Kirschling, Gregory. “Aaron Eckhart Unfiltered.” Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly, 17 Mar. 2006. Web. 27 Aug. 2013.

Iley, Chrissy. “Learning to Smile.” Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 18 Aug. 2007. Web. 27 Aug. 2013.

Synnot, Siobhan. “Interview: Aaron Eckhart on Playing the President.” Scotsman. Johnston, 14 Apr. 2013. Web. 27 Aug. 2013.