Chris Sarandon

Chris Sarandon is an American actor born on July 24, 1942, in Beckley, West Virginia, where he was raised as the son of Greek-American restaurateurs Cliffie (née Cardullias) and Chris Sarandon. His father's surname was originally Sarondonethes, derived from the Greek Σαραντονίδης, and the family traced its roots to Greek parents in Istanbul. Sarandon completed his secondary education at Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, then pursued a degree in speech at West Virginia University before earning a master's degree in theater from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Following his graduate studies, Sarandon toured with improvisational companies and established himself in regional theater, making his professional stage debut in The Rose Tattoo in 1965. In the summer of 1968, he and his then-wife Susan Sarandon performed together at the Wayside Theatre in Middletown, Virginia, after which he relocated to New York City. His early New York work included Broadway appearances in productions such as The Rothschilds and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and he made regular appearances at Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw festivals throughout the United States and Canada. His Broadway career, which spanned from 1970 to 2007, also encompassed Censored Scenes From King Kong and additional productions across those decades.

Sarandon's screen career gained significant momentum with his role as Leon Shermer in Dog Day Afternoon (1975), a performance that earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Best New Male Star of the Year at the Golden Globes. He subsequently appeared in the thriller Lipstick (1976) and as a demon in The Sentinel (1977), and took on the title role of Christ in the television film The Day Christ Died (1980). He received accolades for portraying Sydney Carton in a television adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities (1980), co-starred with Dennis Hopper in The Osterman Weekend (1983), based on the Robert Ludlum novel, and appeared alongside Goldie Hawn in Protocol (1984). He starred in the 1986 television film Liberty, which addressed the making of the Statue of Liberty.

Sarandon became widely recognized for a series of prominent genre roles, beginning with his portrayal of the vampire Jerry Dandrige in Fright Night (1985). He went on to play Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride (1987) and Detective Mike Norris in Child's Play (1988). In 1992 he appeared as Joseph Curwen and Charles Dexter Ward in The Resurrected, and in 1993 he provided the speaking voice of Jack Skellington in the animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas. He has since reprised that role in the video games Kingdom Hearts and The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge, as well as in Disneyland Halloween events and attractions including Halloween Screams, the Frightfully Fun Parade, and the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay.

On television, Sarandon held the role of Dr. Tom Halverson on The Guiding Light from 1973 to 1974 and later appeared in the primetime films The Satan Murders (1974) and Thursday's Game. In subsequent years he took on a recurring role as Dr. Burke on the NBC medical drama ER, guest-starred as the Necromancer demon Armand in Charmed, and appeared as superior court judge Barry Krumble in six episodes of Judging Amy.

Sarandon returned to Broadway in 1991 in the short-lived musical Nick & Nora, based on the film The Thin Man, alongside Joanna Gleason, the daughter of Monty Hall. He and Gleason married in 1994, and the two subsequently appeared together in several films, including Edie & Pen (1996), American Perfekt (1997), and Let the Devil Wear Black (1999). In 2006, Sarandon played Signor Naccarelli in the six-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The Light in the Piazza at Lincoln Center. He later appeared on Broadway as Antoine de Guiche in a production of Cyrano de Bergerac alongside Kevin Kline, Jennifer Garner, and Daniel Sunjata. In 2016, he performed in the Off-Broadway production of Dave Malloy's musical Preludes, taking on the roles of Anton Chekhov, Tchaikovsky, Alexander Glazunov, Leo Tolstoy, Tsar Nicholas II, and The Master.

Sarandon has been married three times. He wed actress Susan Tomalin on September 16, 1967, the two having met at Catholic University of America; the marriage ended in divorce in 1979. His second marriage, to fashion model Lisa Ann Cooper in 1980, produced two daughters and one son before ending in divorce in 1989. His third marriage, to Joanna Gleason in 1994, followed their meeting during the Nick & Nora production. Sarandon is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church and serves on the advisory board for the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg, West Virginia. His papers are held as part of the Distinguished West Virginians Archive at the West Virginia and Regional History Center at West Virginia University.