Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Miller | |
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Miller photographed by Andrew Horovitz
on September 25, 2011 |
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Born | Wentworth Earl Miller III June 2, 1972 Chipping Norton, England |
Residence | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Education | Bachelor's degree |
Alma mater | Princeton University |
Occupation | |
Years active | 1998–present |
Wentworth Earl Miller III (born June 2, 1972)[1] is an American actor, model, screenwriter and producer. He rose to prominence following his role as Michael Scofield in the Fox series Prison Break, for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination for best actor in a leading role. He made his screenwriting debut with the 2013 thriller film Stoker. He is currently playing a recurring villain in The Flash as Leonard Snart/Captain Cold, and is playing the role as a series regular in the spin-off DC's Legends of Tomorrow. Miller will reprise his role as Michael Scofield for the Prison Break series in mid-2016.
Contents
Early life
Born in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, Miller is the son of Roxann, a special education teacher, and Wentworth E. Miller II, a lawyer and teacher.[1] His father, a Rhodes Scholar, was studying at Oxford at the time of Miller's birth.[2] Miller said in 2003, "My father is black and my mother is white".[3] His paternal grandparents had African-American, Jamaican, English, German, Jewish, and Cherokee ancestry. His mother is of Russian, French, Dutch, Syrian, and Lebanese ancestry.[4][5][6][7]
Miller's family moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn when he was a year old.[2][8] He graduated from Princeton University in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in English literature. While at Princeton, he performed with the a cappella group the Princeton Tigertones, and was a member of the Quadrangle Club and the Colonial Club.[9]
Career
In 1995, Miller relocated to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.[10] He has stated that his rocky road to stardom "was a long time in the coming and there were a lot of upsets and a lot of failures and roadblocks, but I couldn’t walk away from it. I needed it like I needed air, it was just something I had to do."[11] Miller's first TV appearance was as student-turned-sea monster Gage Petronzi on Buffy the Vampire Slayer ("Go Fish", 1998).
Miller's first starring role was in 2002 as the sensitive, introverted David Scott in ABC's mini-series Dinotopia. After appearing in a few minor television roles, he moved on to co-star in the 2003 film The Human Stain, playing the younger version of the Anthony Hopkins character, Coleman Silk. He identified strongly with the core dilemma of the movie, about a black man who chooses to "pass" as white. Miller worked extensively on the role, not only in researching Anthony Hopkins, but by embarking on a four-month regimen to accurately portray Silk as a boxer. Also in 2003, he had a minor role in the film Underworld, playing a doctor and friend of the character Michael Corvin.
In 2005, Miller was cast as Michael Scofield in Fox Network's television drama Prison Break. He played the role of a caring brother who created an elaborate scheme to help his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) escape death row after being found guilty of a crime he did not commit. His character had a full upper body (front and back) tattoo. Covering both the front of Miller's torso and his back, along with both arms from shoulders to wrists, the special effects for the tattoo took over four hours to apply. His performance in the show earned him a 2005 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series.[12]
Miller appeared in two Mariah Carey music videos, "It's Like That" as a party guest and "We Belong Together" as her love interest. Director Brett Ratner, who directed the pilot episode of Prison Break, was also signed on to direct the two Carey videos. Ratner decided to use Miller in the videos as well.[13]
In addition, Miller guest-starred in the Season 11 premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective Nate Kendall, a detective from Precinct 24 of the NYPD.[14][15] He also featured in Resident Evil: Afterlife, the fourth film in the commercially successful Resident Evil film series based on the video game series of the same name; Miller plays Chris Redfield, one of the protagonists of the video game series.
Miller wrote the screenplay for the film Stoker, as well as a prequel to Stoker, Uncle Charlie.[16] He used the pseudonym Ted Foulke, later explaining, "I just wanted the scripts to sink or swim on their own."[17] Miller's script was voted to the 2010 "Black List" of the 10 best unproduced screenplays then making the rounds in Hollywood.[18] The film is about a teenage girl who must deal with a mysterious uncle following the death of her father. Miller described it as a "horror film, a family drama and a psychological thriller".[19] Although influenced by Bram Stoker's Dracula, Miller has clarified that Stoker is not a vampire story.[19][20] Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt also influenced the film but only as a jumping-off point, from which the story takes a different direction.[19] Park Chan-wook directed, with stars Mia Wasikowska as the teenager, Nicole Kidman as the mother, and Matthew Goode as the uncle.[21] The film was released in 2013.
Miller scripted the film The Loft, an American-Belgian thriller film, which is a remake of the 2008 Dutch-language Belgian film Loft by Erik Van Looy. The plot is about five married men who share an upmarket loft with their mistresses. When the body of a murdered woman is found in the loft, the men begin to suspect each other of having committed the gruesome crime, as they are the only ones with keys to the premises. Through flashbacks, which are intertwined with scenes from the present, the entire story is unraveled.
Miller has also sold a screenplay for a film called The Disappointments Room, the story reportedly also a family drama with horror elements similar to Stoker, to Voltage Pictures and Killer Films.[22] Miller is reportedly in negotiations to write the screenplay adaptation of the novel The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski which is set to be produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks among others.[23]
In July 2014, it was announced that Miller had joined the cast of The CW superhero series The Flash in a recurring role as Leonard Snart / Captain Cold.[24] He made his first appearance in the fourth episode of the first season, and reprised his role on Legends of Tomorrow.[25] Miller exited Legends of Tomorrow as a series regular at the end of season one, but signed a contract with Warner Bros. TV to continue portraying Snart simultaneously on multiple shows in the Arrowverse.[26]
Personal life
Miller lives in Los Angeles, California. He has two sisters, Leigh and Gillian. He holds dual British and US citizenship by virtue of his birth in the United Kingdom to American parents.[20]
In 2007, Miller denied to InStyle magazine that he was gay.[27] However, he came out as gay in August 2013, when he posted a letter on GLAAD's website declining an invitation to attend the Saint Petersburg International Film Festival because he felt "deeply troubled" by the Russian government's treatment of its gay citizens (referring to Russian LGBT propaganda law enacted the previous June which banned "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations").[28][29] Miller wrote that he "cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly".[28]
At the 2013 Human Rights Campaign Dinner in Seattle, Washington, Miller said he had attempted suicide multiple times as a teenager before coming out as gay.[30] He said: "When someone asked me if that was a cry for help, I said no, because I told no one. You only cry for help if you believe there's help to cry for."[30] He discussed struggling in Hollywood as a closeted actor, and talked about how his involvement in the ManKind Project helped him learn about brotherhood, sisterhood, and being part of a community.[31]
In a 2016 Facebook post, he revealed that he "[had] struggled with depression since childhood. It's a battle that's cost me time, opportunities, relationships, and a thousand sleepless nights." He made this emotional post in reaction to a meme of himself which poked fun at his weight gain in 2010. Miller said that his weight gain was down to him finding comfort in food as he was suicidal.[32]
Filmography
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Denotes films/television series that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Romeo and Juliet | Paris | Direct-to-video |
2001 | Room 302 | Server #1 | Short |
2003 | Underworld | Dr. Adam Lockwood | |
2003 | The Human Stain | Young Coleman Silk | |
2005 | The Confession | The Prisoner / Tom | Short |
2005 | Stealth | EDI | Voice |
2009 | Blood Creek | German soldier | Uncredited |
2010 | Resident Evil: Afterlife | Chris Redfield | |
2014 | The Loft | Luke Seacord | |
2015 | Two Hours to Vegas | Guy in rally car | Short |
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2013 | Stoker | Writer and co-producer |
2016 | The Disappointments Room ![]() |
Writer |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Gage Petronzi | Episode: "Go Fish" |
1999–2000 | Time of Your Life | Nelson | 3 episodes |
2000 | Popular | Adam Rothschild-Ryan | 2 episodes |
2000 | ER | Mike Palmieri | Episode: "Homecoming" |
2002 | Dinotopia | David Scott | Main role |
2005 | Joan of Arcadia | Ryan Hunter | 2 episodes |
2005–09 | Prison Break | Michael Scofield | Main role |
2005 | Ghost Whisperer | Sgt. Paul Adams | Episode: "Pilot" |
2009 | Family Guy | Jock #4 / Popular Kid #2 | Voice; Episode: "Stew-Roids" |
2009 | Prison Break: The Final Break | Michael Scofield | Television film |
2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Detective Nate Kendall | Episode: "Unstable" |
2011 | House | Benjamin Byrd | Episode: "Charity Case" |
2013 | Young Justice | Slade Wilson / Deathstroke | Voice; Episode: "The Fix" |
2014–15 | The Flash | Leonard Snart / Captain Cold | 8 episodes |
2016 | Legends of Tomorrow | Leonard Snart / Captain Cold | Main role |
2017 | Prison Break ![]() |
Michael Scofield | Main role; Filming |
Year | Song title | Artist |
---|---|---|
2005 | "We Belong Together" and "It's Like That" | Mariah Carey |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Prison Break: The Conspiracy | Michael Scofield | Voice |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Result | Work |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Black Reel Award | Best Actor | Nominated | The Human Stain |
2004 | Black Reel Award | Best Breakthrough Performance | Nominated | The Human Stain |
2005 | Golden Globe Award | Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Drama | Nominated | Prison Break |
2005 | Saturn Award | Best Actor on Television | Nominated | Prison Break |
2006 | Gold Derby Award | Breakthrough Performer of the Year | Nominated | Prison Break |
2006 | Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Actor | Nominated | Prison Break |
2006 | Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Breakout Star | Nominated | Prison Break |
2007 | Bravo Otto | Best Male TV Star | 2nd place | Prison Break |
2007 | Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Actor: Drama | Nominated | Prison Break |
2008 | Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Actor: Action Adventure | Nominated | Prison Break |
2013 | Fright Meter Award | Best Screenplay | Nominated | Stoker |
2013 | International Online Cinema Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | Stoker |
2014 | Fangoria Chainsaw Award | Best Screenplay | 2nd place | Stoker |
2015 | Saturn Award | Best Guest Starring Role on Television | Won | The Flash |
References
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- ↑ Paumgarten, Nick.Central Casting: The Race Card, The New Yorker, November 10, 2003. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (subscription required)
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- ↑ Dutch television program Jensen!, September 10, 2007.
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- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Wentworth Miller Script 'The Disappointments Room' Grabbed by Voltage Pictures and Killer Films, Jay A. Fernandez, April 13, 2012
- ↑ Wentworth Miller in Talks to Adapt the Bestselling Novel, THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE, Dave Trumbore, August 13, 2012,
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Pages containing links to subscription-only content
- Articles with hCards
- 1972 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- Male actors from New York City
- Gay actors
- LGBT entertainers from the United States
- LGBT models
- LGBT people from New York
- LGBT entertainers from the United Kingdom
- People from Chipping Norton
- Princeton University alumni, 1990–99
- People from Brooklyn
- American male film actors
- American male models
- American male television actors
- American people of African descent
- American people of Cherokee descent
- American people of Dutch descent
- American people of English descent
- American people of French descent
- American people of German descent
- American people of Jamaican descent
- American people of Jewish descent
- American people of Lebanese descent
- American people of Russian descent
- American people of Swedish descent
- American people of Syrian descent
- British emigrants to the United States