Scott Wilson

Biography: SCOTT WILSON break-through film was "In Cold Blood," in which he played one of the killers in the movie based on Truman Capote's famous book. He also co-starred as Eugene in the film adaptation of another Capote book, "The Grass Harp," with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. Wilson portrayed Brother Albert in the l997 film "Our God's Brother," a feature about a Roman Catholic saint, based on a story written by Pope John Paul II before he became the Pontiff. And in Wilson's most recent picture, "The Jack Bull," which was shot late last year (l998), he stars as Wyoming's governor in the state's formative years. One of Wilson's most memorable roles was as the murdering garage owner in "The Great Gatsby." He also recently played Commander Salem in Ridley Scott's "G.I. Jane," with Demi Moore. His other dramatic roles have been in such feature films as Tim Robbins' "Dead Man Walking," Steve Kloves' "Flesh and Bone," "Young Guns II," two Walter Hill films "Johnny Handsome" and "Geronimo" and "Judge Dredd." In addition, he played the romantic lead in Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi's "A Year of the Quiet Sun," which won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival.

Wilson was born and raised in Atlanta, GA, and upon graduation from Thomas High School there was awarded a basketball scholarship at Georgia's Southern Tech University to study architecture. However, becoming an architect was more his building contractor father's idea than his own. Instead, Wilson hitchhiked to Los Angeles just "to see what it was like." One day after arriving in Hollywood, he met an actor in a bar who took him along on an audition. Invited to participate, Wilson read a monologue from "The Long Voyage Home." He failed to get that part but the chance meeting led the director to later cast him in "The Importance of Being Earnest." He did about 20 plays in Hollywood over the next five-and-half years.

Wilson made his motion picture debut in Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night," starring Rod Steiger and later co-starred as Steiger's son in "Lolly Madonna."

Steiger remembered Wilson's considerable talent, felt he would be perfect for Judd Travers, and suggested he be cast in Shiloh.

His other feature film roles include Sydney Pollack's "Castle Keep," Robert Aldrich's "The Grissom Gang," Richard Fleisher's "The New Centurions" and "On the Line," for which he was Best Actor co-winner at the Cartagena Film Festival. His role in "The Ninth Configuration" won him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Wilson lives on the west side of Los Angeles with his wife, Heavenly Wilson, an attorney and also a professional painter and sculptor.… Expand