Dennis christopher gay
Dennis Christopher
Christopher had established himself in NYC, Los Angeles and regional theater before shifting to films in the 70s. He also spent some time in Paris as a member of the Living Theatre, executing in street theater and experimental films. While overseas he has a part in Fellini's experimental documentary on Federico Fellini's "Roma" (1972). Back stateside, Christopher appeared in "9/30/55" (1977) and Robert Altman's "A Wedding" (1978), as the brother of the bride and son of Carol Burnett and Paul Dooley. Christopher also has appeared in several worthy indies with gay themes. He was a maligned homosexual teacher in "The Disco Years" segment of the omnibus film "Boys Life" (1995) and one of the guests in Randal Kleiser's "It's My Party" (1996). Christopher has remained active on the stage, winning kudos for his portrayal of gay mathematician Alan Turing in the Los Angeles show of "Breaking the Code." He also provided the calming off-stage voice of an AIDS plan doctor in a Los Angeles film of "A Peaceful End."
Dennis Christopher
This once boyishly handsome, stage-trained character player enjoyed a little stint as a Hollywood principal man in the late 1970s and early 80s after the surprising success of "Breaking Away" (1979). Christopher proved extremely likable as a young Italophile cyclist in middle America coming to grips with growing up. Though he was already 24 at the time, Christopher was so convincing at conveying the anxieties of youth that he won a Youth in Film Award.
This could have been a career transforming role but he faltered with his next two projects, "Fade to Black" (1980) and "Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder" (1982). The former was a gory thriller in which he went over-the-top as a movie-obsessed serial killer. Christopher shifted gears with the latter, playing a sensitive American GI paired with a dedicated doctor (Susan Saint James) during the Vietnam War. While his notices were respectable, the film failed to register at the box office.
After a five year hiatus from the big screen, Christopher returned as a supporting player in genre movies beginning with the move comedy misfire "Jake Speed" (1986). This was followed by dubious (almost) direct-to-video titles and o
Jobriath Photo By Dagmar (All Photos Courtesy of Jobriath The Movie Dot Com)
Timing is everything. While being an openly gay singer or actor is absolutely no big deal at all today, it wasn’t that long ago that a gay entertainer stayed in the closet for the sake of his or her career. Rock fans who were around in the late 1970s may recall that Elton John went from being indisputably the Biggest Rock Star in the World to a virtual non-entity once he came out of the closet. His career eventually rebounded, but it took years. Even Freddie Mercury, the most famous flamboyantly gay musician in modern rock history didn’t officially enter out of the closet until the day before he died. Because in the macho Rock Arena of that era, it may have been okay for the glam rockers to wear make-up and dress in drag, or for Bowie and Jagger to spin rumors about shagging each other, but to actually disclose to being gay and to inhabit the out lifestyle was career suicide. It just wasn’t done.
It is a fact that those artists who split ground rarely obtain to reap the rewards of their efforts. In many ways, the one-of-a-kind and deeply engaging new documentary, Jobriath A.D. is a heartbreaking caut
Dennis Christopher has been at this ‘acting thing’ for 40 years, beginning with his debut as a child on TV’s sci-fi series Time Tunnel in 1967 and continuing through The Lost Room mini-series last year with Peter Krause and Margaret Cho and the final season of Deadwood in 2005. Christopher has had many notable movie roles as well—from Robert Altman’s The Wedding to his remarkable starring part in the 1979 classic Breaking Away. His Broadway debut set up him playing scenes with Elizabeth Taylor and Maureen Stapleton in a revival of Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, the first of many stage performances. Christopher’s ability to essay a variety of parts has been a hallmark of his career and, with his role in the gay-themed drama Nine Lives (on DVD for $24.95), he does it again. In the clip, a modern version of the French play La Ronde, Christopher plays a libidinous and complex crystal meth dealer who has a memorable (and very sexy) encounter with a gay hustler.
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Dennis Christopher in Nine Lives.
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Windy City Times: How did you become involved with Nine Lives? Did you appear in the play version at one point?
Dennis