Philip Baker Hall

Philip Baker Hall (born September 10, 1931) is an American actor.

Early life

Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of a factory worker father who was from Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Toledo. In 1961, he decided to become an actor. He moved to New York, enjoying success in Off Broadway and Broadway productions.

Career

In 1975, Hall moved to Los Angeles to make a career in television. Since then, he has had over 200 guest roles on television shows.

He starred in many films, including Robert Altman's Secret Honor in which he played the film's only role, Richard Nixon, but the film — though critically acclaimed — went largely unseen. It was not until Paul Thomas Anderson wrote a role in his film Hard Eight, specifically for Hall, that a cult following arose . (Anderson was a big fan of Hall's work, particularly Secret Honor. He has many times referred to him as his favorite actor and called him 'THE great American actor' on the Hard Eight DVD commentary .) Hall went on to have roles in two of Anderson's subsequent films, Boogie Nights and Magnolia. He also had a minor role as Captain Diel in the Rush Hour trilogy (though his scenes were cut from the theatrical release of Rush Hour 2).

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