Thomas Haden Church Biography

Thomas Haden Church won an Oscar nomination for his ripe comic turn as Jack, the aging and philandering actor in the 2004 comedy Sideways. Church was already known to TV audiences as Lowell Mather, the none-too-bright Nantucket mechanic on the situation comedy Wings (1990-95). He left Wings after its sixth season to star as the conniving newlywed Ned in the sitcom Ned and Stacey (1995-97, opposite Debra Messing). In the movies he played one of the Clanton brothers in the western Tombstone (1993, with Billy Bob Thornton) and the devious prig Lyle Van Der Groot in both George of the Jungle (1997) and the 2003 sequel George of the Jungle 2. He took a break from acting to write and direct the goofy 2002 independent film Rolling Kansas, called a “stoner road movie” by the All Movie Guide. Church won raves from the critics for Sideways, playing a washed-up actor determined to have one last fling with a chum (Paul Giamatti) before giving in to marriage. He was nominated for an Academy Award as best supporting actor for the role; the film won a total of five Oscar nominations, including a best supporting actress nomination for his co-star Virginia Madsen. He also played the villain Sandman in Spiderman 3 (2007) and a not-too-mature brother to Dennis Quaid in the 2008 film Smart People.