John Malkovich is an American actor. Known for his character actor roles on stage and screen, he has received various accolades including three Emmy Awards and the Venice International Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actor as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Actor Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award.
Malkovich gained early acclaim for his role as a wounded war veteran in the Robert Benton drama Places in the Heart (1984) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He then played a brilliant but villainous CIA assassin in the Clint Eastwood directed crime drama In the Line of Fire (1993) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. He played himself in the Spike Jonze directed comedy Being John Malkovich (1999) for which he was nominated for the Actor Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture. For his role as another cynical CIA assassin in the Martin McDonagh dark comedy Wild Horse Nine (2026) he won the Venice Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
On television, Malkovich played Biff Lowman in the CBS television production of Death of a Salesman (1985) for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. He also played Kurt in the TNT television film Heart of Darkness (1994) for which she was nominated the Actor Award for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. He portrayed Herman J. Mankiewicz in the HBO television film RKO 281 (1999) and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord in the historical miniseries Napoléon (2002) both of which earned him nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards respectively.
On stage, he portrayed a volatile restaurant manager in the West End revival production of the Lanford Wilson play Burn This (1999) in London for which he received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. For his work Off-Broadway he received two Drama Desk Awards (among five nominations), two Outer Critics Circle Awards and a Theater World Award.
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1984Best Supporting Actor Places in the Heart 1993 In the Line of Fire
Actor Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1994 Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Heart of Darkness 1999 Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Being John Malkovich
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result British Academy Film Awards 1993 Best Actor in a Supporting Role In the Line of Fire
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Primetime Emmy Awards 1985 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or MovieDeath of a Salesman 2000 RKO 281 2003 Napoléon News & Documentary Emmy Awards 2010 Outstanding Informational Programming - Long Form Which Way Home Sports Emmy Awards 2018 Outstanding Writing Award Teasing John Malkovich
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1985 Best Supporting Actor – Television Death of a Salesman 1993 Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture In the Line of Fire 1994 Best Supporting Actor – Television Heart of Darkness
Laurence Olivier Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1991 Best Actor Burn This
Miscellaneous awards Year Association Category Project Result Ref. 1984 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Supporting ActorPlaces in the HeartKansas City Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actor National Society of Film CriticsBest Supporting Actor National Board of ReviewBest Supporting Actor 1984 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Supporting ActorThe Killing Fields National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor1991 Independent Spirit Award Best Supporting Male Queens Logic 1993 MTV Movie Award Best VillainIn the Line of Fire Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor1999 New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting ActorBeing John Malkovich Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor 2008 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Actor Burn After Reading 2008 Globe de Cristal Award Best Play Good Canary2010 Satellite Award Best Motion Picture Musical or ComedyRed Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor 2026 Venice International Film FestivalVolpi Cup for Best ActorWild Horse Nine 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Outstanding Performer of the Year Award
Theater awards Organizations Year Award Category Result Drama Desk Awards 1983 Outstanding Actor in a Play True West 1984 Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Death of a Salesman 1985 Outstanding Direction of a PlayBalm in Gilead Outstanding Sound Design 1988 Outstanding Actor in a Play Burn This Outer Critics Circle Awards 1984 Outstanding Debut Performance Death of a Salesman 1985 Outstanding Director Balm in Gilead Theater World Awards 1983 Distinguished Performance Award True West
Honorary awards Organizations Year Award Result San Sebastian Film Festival 1998 Lifetime Achievement Award Cairo International Film Festival 1999 Career Achievement Award Republic of Croatia 2003 Order of Danica Hrvatska (Zagreb) Locarno Film Festival 2005 Excellence Award Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2009 Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Moscow International Film Festival 2011 Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Munich Film Festival 2011 CineMerit Award Republic of Ukraine 2018 Order of Merit (Ukraine) Zurich Film Festival 2014 Golden Eye Award
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