Dean Stockwell Biography

Actor Dean Stockwell is best known for his sidekick role in the TV series Quantum Leap, and for his eccentric performances in films such as Blue Velvet and the 1984 version of Dune.

Stockwell spent nearly his entire life on the screen, starting with an MGM contract in 1945, when he was not yet ten years old.

Stockwell worked steadily as a child, appearing dozens of times in feature films, from his debut in Anchors Aweigh (1945, starring Frank Sinatra), to The Boy with Green Hair (1948) and Kim (1950, starring Errol Flynn).

Stockwell left acting as soon as he could, but drifted back into it after a few years of wandering, often playing serious roles and sensitive types on TV throughout the 1970s.

In the 1980s Stockwell’s career got a big boost, thanks to quirky performances in movies such as Paris, Texas (1984), Dune and Blue Velvet (1984 and 1986, both directed by David Lynch).

In more mainstream films, Stockwell turned in notable performances in Tucker (1988, starring Jeff Bridges), Married to the Mob (1988, he earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting role) and The Player (1992, directed by Robert Altman).

He won over a new generation of fans as the co-star of Quantum Leap (1989-93, starring Scott Bakula), and spent the rest of his career working mostly in television, including a recurring role in Battlestar Galactica (2006-09).