Anthony Charles Edwards (born July 19, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Dr.

Mark Greene Mark Greene, Doctor of Medicine, M.D. is a fictional character from the American medical drama series ''ER (TV series), ER,'' portrayed by actor Anthony Edwards (actor), Anthony Edwards. He first appears in the series' 24 Hours (ER), pilot epi ...

on the first eight seasons of '' ER'', for which he received a Golden Globe award and six Screen Actors Guild Awards, and was nominated for four consecutive

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

. He has appeared in various films and television series, including '' Top Gun'', ''

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...

'', '' Gotcha!'', ''

Miracle Mile Miracle Mile may refer to: Places in the United States * Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, a district of Los Angeles * Miracle Mile (Coral Gables), a shopping area in Coral Gables, Florida * Miracle Mile (Manhasset), New York, a premium sh ...

'', ''

Revenge of the Nerds ''Revenge of the Nerds'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Ted McGinley, and Bernie Casey. The film's plot chronicles a group of nerds at the fictional Adams College tryi ...

'', '' Planes'', '' Northern Exposure'' and ''

Designated Survivor In the United States, a designated survivor (or designated successor) is a named individual in the presidential line of succession, chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from events such as State of the Union addresses and pre ...

''.

Early life

Edwards was born in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

, the son of Erika Kem Edwards Plack (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Weber), an artist/landscape painter, and Peter Edwards, an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

to whom he was one of five children His maternal grandfather was designer Kem Weber. He is partly of German and Irish descent. He graduated from San Marcos High School in 1980. Edwards was encouraged by his parents to attend college before pursuing his interest in acting, which grew from the area's theater community. He received a scholarship to the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

in England and studied theatre at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

; but by the age of nineteen was being offered enough acting work to enable him to leave college.

Career

Television and film

It was Edwards' role as

LTJG Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

Nick "Goose" Bradshaw alongside

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

in the 1986 film '' Top Gun'' that brought his first widespread public acknowledgment. His character, who died in an aviation accident, was among the most prominent and popular in the film. Scenes with him and his film family (played by

Meg Ryan Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra; November 19, 1961) is an American actress. She began her acting career in 1981 when she made her acting debut in the drama film ''Rich and Famous''. She later joined the cast of the CBS soap oper ...

and

Aaron and Adam Weis Aaron Weis and Adam Weis (sometimes misspelled ''Weiss'') are American former child actors and school teachers. They are known for sharing the role of four-year-old Bradley Bradshaw in the 1986 film ''Top Gun''. Their appearance was reprised in th ...

) were later reprised as flashbacks in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Edwards' best-known role is as Dr.

on the long-running TV series '' ER'', from the series premiere in 1994 to the end of the eighth season in 2002. The series also afforded Edwards his first opportunity to direct. Edwards' desire to pursue directing led to his request to be written out of the series. He reportedly earned $35 million for three seasons on ''ER'', which made him one of television's highest-paid actors. Edwards received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for ''ER''. He won a Golden Globe Award For Best Performance by an Actor-In a TV Series after being nominated four times and he has two Screen Actor's Guild Awards. In 2008, Edwards returned to ''ER'' to reprise his role as Dr. Greene (in flashback scenes, where he treats the dying son of character

Catherine Banfield Catherine "Cate" Banfield is a fictional character in the American medical drama '' ER'', portrayed by Angela Bassett. She is an attending physician with a mysterious past with County General. Bassett's addition into the main cast opening credits ...

) for one episode during its 15th and final season. Following ER, he took some time to raise his children, appreciating the privilege that his ''ER'' salary provided. In 2010, Edwards appeared in the movie ''

Motherhood ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gesta ...

'', which set a record for the biggest bomb in British cinema history by garnering £88 on 11 tickets on opening weekend. ''Motherhood'' did not fare much better in the United States, earning $93,388 in three weeks of release. At the time, he said he took the role because "it seemed like a very organic and real thing. It really kind of reminded me of what the dynamic in a family is like." Edwards reunited with

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

, another actor from Top Gun, when he voiced one of the fighter jets in the Disneytoon Studios film '' Planes''. In 2018, Edwards was cast in the recurring role in the third season of

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

's ''

'' as Mars Harper, the President's Chief of Staff. In 2022, Edwards was cast as Alan Reed in Netflix’s docu-series ''

Inventing Anna ''Inventing Anna'' is an American drama television miniseries created and produced by Shonda Rhimes, inspired by the story of Anna Sorokin and the article in ''New York'' titled "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People" by Jessica Pres ...

''.

Honors and awards

Edwards received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for ''ER'' and won as an executive producer on Outstanding Television Movie winner ''

Temple Grandin Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American academic and animal behaviorist. She is a prominent proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. Gra ...

''. He earned a

People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series (1995); and won six Screen Actors Guild Awards for: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1996 and 1998), and Best Ensemble Cast (1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999). He won the

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Drama in 1998). Edwards also won a Daytime Emmy for the production of the underground rock documentary ''N.Y.H.C.'' (1999) and the telepic adaptation of

Kimberly Willis Holt Kimberly Willis Holt is an American writer of children's literature. She is best known for the novel ''When Zachary Beaver Came to Town'', which won the 1999 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature.coming of age novel ''

My Louisiana Sky ''My Louisiana Sky'' is a 1998 novel by Kimberly Willis Holt. Plot summary The novel is set in 1957, in the small town of Saitter, Louisiana, where 12-year-old Tiger Ann Parker lives with her mentally challenged parents. She tries to get the popu ...

'' (2001), and earned the Carnegie Medal Award for ''My Louisiana Sky'' (2003)."Anthony Edwards Biography"
Film.com. Retrieved 2009-04-17.

Theater

After a long career in television, Edwards made his Broadway debut as his ''second act'' in 2018 in the revival of '' Children of a Lesser God'' at Studio 54. In 2015 he appeared in

Classic Stage Company Classic Stage Company, or CSC, is a classical Off-Broadway theater. Founded in 1967, Classic Stage Company is one of Off-Broadway's oldest theaters. Its 199-seat theatre is the former Abbey Theatre located at 136 East 13th Street between Third a ...

's ''A Month in the Country'' but his stage acting career began when he was growing up in Santa Barbara. On May 13, 2022, Edwards made his unexpected Broadway musical debut when he appeared as Dr. Walker in the Broadway production of ''

Girl from the North Country "Girl from the North Country" (occasionally known as "Girl ''of'' the North Country") is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was recorded at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City in April 1963, and released the following month as the second tra ...

'' due to COVID-19 cases impacting the cast. The show also stars his wife, Mare Winningham.

Personal life

Edwards was married to Jeanine Lobell, with whom he had one son and three daughters, from 1994–2015. At the end of 2021, Edwards and long-time friend and fellow actor

Mare Winningham A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...

eloped. On November 10, 2017, Edwards wrote an essay on ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

'', in which he stated that screenwriter/producer

Gary Goddard Gary Goddard (born July 18, 1954) is an American producer and director who co-founded the Landmark Entertainment Group. In 2002, he left it to form Gary Goddard Entertainment (GGE), later known as the Goddard Group, an entertainment design firm ...

befriended and then sexually assaulted him and several of his friends "for years" beginning when they were 12 years old. Edwards has been a licensed private pilot since 2012.

Filmography

Film

Television

Producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Anthony 1962 births Living people American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Santa Barbara, California USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni Daytime Emmy Award winners Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male voice actors Television producers from California Film producers from California American television directors Primetime Emmy Award winners