{{Short description|American actor and producer (born 1953)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Tom Hulce | image = TomHulce (cropped).jpg | caption = Hulce in 2006 | birth_name = Thomas Edward Hulce | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|12|6}} | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|theater producer}} | education = <!-- Per MOS:INFOEDU, for graduates of secondary schools only --> | years_active = 1974–present }} '''Thomas Edward Hulce''' ({{IPAc-en|'|h|ʊ|l|s}}; born December 6, 1953)<ref>{{cite web |title=Tom Hulce Biography |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tom-hulce/bio/3000236407/ |website=TV Guide |quote=Birth Name: Thomas Edward Hulce. |access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2024-12-06 |title=Celebrity Birthdays |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1147491956/ |work=The Detroit Free Press |quote=Actor Tom Hulce, 71. |page=3B |access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref> is an American actor and theater producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Academy Award-winning film ''Amadeus'' (1984), as well as the roles of Larry "Pinto" Kroger in ''Animal House'' (1978), Larry Buckman in ''Parenthood'' (1989), and Quasimodo in Disney's animated film ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996). Hulce's awards include an Emmy Award for ''The Heidi Chronicles'', a 2007 Tony Award for Best Musical as a lead producer for ''Spring Awakening'', an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for ''Amadeus'', and four Golden Globe nominations.
==Early life== Hulce was born in Detroit, Michigan, and was raised in nearby Plymouth,<ref name="freep">{{cite news |last=Monaghan |first=John |date=2012-01-12 |title=From punk disc to Broadway musical |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/108222332/ |work=The Detroit Free Press |quote=Hulce...[t]he Detroit-born, Plymouth-raised actor... |page=Play 21 |access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref> the youngest of four children.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=December 10, 1984 |title=With Amadeus, Tom Hulce Finds His Career Crescendoing |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20089375,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116190211/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20089375,00.html |archive-date=2010-11-16 |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=People}}</ref> His mother, Joanna Winkleman, sang briefly with Phil Spitalny's ''All-Girl Orchestra,'' and his father, Raymond Albert Hulce, worked for the Ford Motor Company.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 11, 1988 |title=Playing Ordinary Man Difficult for Hulce |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F2448D4845C3DF9&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025074751/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F2448D4845C3DF9&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |archive-date=2012-10-25 |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=Charlotte Observer |via=Nl.newsbank.com}}</ref> As a child, he wanted to be a singer, but switched to acting after his voice broke.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Butz |first=Doris |date=December 5, 2006 |title=Amadeus Reinvents Himself |url=https://playbill.com/article/amadeus-reinvents-himself-com-136841 |access-date=May 1, 2026 |website=Playbill}}</ref> As a teen, Hulce spent a year at the Interlochen Arts Academy before entering Beloit College.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-08-08 |title=Hulce, Tom 1953 - {{!}} Wisconsin Historical Society |url=https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS8901 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251112130557/https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS8901 |archive-date=2025-11-12 |access-date=2026-05-01 |work=Wisconsin Historical Society |language=en-US}}</ref> He then studied acting the North Carolina School of the Arts, but left without a degree in 1973.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- Not stated --> |date=1989-01-06 |title=AFTER SERIES OF ECCENTRICS |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/01/06/after-series-of-eccentrics/ |work=The Chicago Tribune |access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref>
==Career== ===Actor=== Hulce debuted as an actor in 1974, playing opposite Anthony Hopkins in ''Equus'' on Broadway and in Los Angeles. Throughout the rest of the 1970s and the early 1980s, he worked primarily as a theater actor, taking occasional parts in movies. His first film role was in the James Dean-influenced film ''September 30, 1955'' in 1977. His next movie role was as freshman college student Larry "Pinto" Kroger in the classic comedy ''Animal House'' (1978). In 1983, he played a gunshot victim in the television show ''St. Elsewhere.''
In the early 1980s, Hulce was chosen over intense competition (including David Bowie, Mikhail Baryshnikov,<ref name=":0" /> Mark Hamill,<ref>{{cite news|first=Tara|last=Brady|title=Mark Hamill: 'If I had to climb a Skellig, I was staying at the top'|newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/mark-hamill-if-i-had-to-climb-a-skellig-i-was-staying-at-the-top-1.3301093|date=November 25, 2017|access-date=December 6, 2018}}</ref> and Kenneth Branagh<ref>{{cite book|last=Branagh|first=Kenneth|author-link=Kenneth Branagh|title=Beginning|year=1990|publisher=Norton|isbn=978-0-393-02862-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beginning00bran/page/105 105–109]|location=New York|oclc=20669813|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/beginning00bran/page/105}}</ref>) to play the role of Mozart in ''Amadeus'', director Miloš Forman's adaptation of Peter Shaffer's play of the same name. In 1985, Hulce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Amadeus'', losing to his co-star, F. Murray Abraham. In his acceptance speech, Abraham paid tribute to Hulce, saying, "There's only one thing missing for me tonight, and that is to have Tom Hulce standing by my side."
[[File:Tom Hulce and Faye Dunaway.jpg|thumb|right|Hulce with Faye Dunaway at the 42nd Golden Globe Awards, January 1985]] In 1989, Hulce received his second Best Actor Golden Globe Award nomination for a critically acclaimed performance<ref>{{cite web |author=amctv.com |url=http://movies.amctv.com/movie/14251/Dominick-and-Eugene/review |title=AMC Movie Guide |publisher=Movies.amctv.com |access-date=December 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224215845/http://movies.amctv.com/movie/14251/Dominick-and-Eugene/review |archive-date=February 24, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> as an intellectually-challenged garbage-collector in the 1988 movie ''Dominick and Eugene.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://goldenglobes.com/person/tom-hulce/|date=2016|title=Tom Hulce|website=GoldenGlobes.com|access-date=July 25, 2025}}</ref> He played supporting roles in ''Parenthood'' (1989), ''Fearless'' (1993) and ''Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' (1994). In 1988, he played the title part in the British–Dutch movie ''Shadow Man'', directed by the Polish director Piotr Andrejew.
In 1990, he was nominated for his first Emmy Award for his performance as the 1960s civil rights activist Michael Schwerner in the 1990 TV-movie ''Murder in Mississippi.'' He starred as Joseph Stalin's projectionist in Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky's 1991 film ''The Inner Circle.'' In 1996, he won an Emmy Award for his role as a pediatrician in a television-movie version of the Wendy Wasserstein play ''The Heidi Chronicles,'' starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Also that year, he was cast in Disney's animated film adaptation of ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame,'' providing the speaking and singing voice of the protagonist Quasimodo. Although Hulce largely retired from acting in the mid-1990s, he had bit parts in the movies ''Stranger Than Fiction'' (2006) and ''Jumper'' (2008).
Hulce remained active in theater throughout his entire acting career. In addition to ''Equus,'' he appeared in Broadway productions of ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' and ''A Few Good Men,'' for which he was a Tony Award nominee in 1990. In the mid-1980s, he appeared in two different productions of playwright Larry Kramer's early AIDS-era drama ''The Normal Heart.''<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 1986 |title=The Heart of the Matter |url=http://www.tomhulcenewsletter.be/THN2/pagephoto/gaytimes.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228152803/http://www.tomhulcenewsletter.be/THN2/pagephoto/gaytimes.htm |archive-date=2009-12-28 |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=Gay Times |via=www.tomhulcenewsletter.be}}</ref> In 1992, he starred in a Shakespeare Theatre Company production of ''Hamlet.''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Jeanne |date=1992-11-23 |title='HAMLET,' HULCE THE ISSUE OF CHARACTER |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/11/23/hamlet-hulce-the-issue-of-character/21185a5f-25c8-45a1-aff8-4f4e81a027aa/ |access-date=2026-05-01 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> His regional theatre credits include ''Eastern Standard'' at the Seattle Repertory Theatre and ''Nothing Sacred'' at the Mark Taper Forum, both in 1988.<ref name="regional">{{Cite web |last=Isenberg |first=Barbara |date=1988-10-16 |title=Regional Theater Finds a Winner : 'Nothing Sacred' Is the Play of the Year Although It's Never Received the Broadway Stamp of Approval |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-16-ca-6588-story.html |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
Hulce largely retired from acting beginning in the mid-1990s to focus on stage directing and producing.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Blankenship |first1=Mark |title=Producer Hulce springs to new Rialto role |url=https://variety.com/2006/legit/news/producer-hulce-springs-to-new-rialto-role-1117954888/ |work=Variety |date=December 3, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307061531/https://variety.com/2006/legit/news/producer-hulce-springs-to-new-rialto-role-1117954888/ |archive-date=March 7, 2021}}</ref> In 2023, Hulce made a brief return to acting by reprising the role of Quasimodo in the live-action/animated short ''Once Upon a Studio''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burlingame |first=Russ |date=2023-10-16 |title=Once Upon a Studio: Here's All the Actors Who Turned Up for Disney's 100th Anniversary Celebration |url=https://comicbook.com/anime/news/once-upon-a-studio-heres-all-the-actors-who-turned-up-for-disneys-100th-anniversary-celebration/ |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=ComicBook.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tom Hulce (visual voices guide) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Tom-Hulce/ |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=Behind The Voice Actors |language=en-US}}</ref>
===Producer=== Among Hulce's major projects are the six-hour, two-evening stage adaptation of John Irving's ''The Cider House Rules''; and ''Talking Heads'', a festival of Alan Bennett's one-man plays that won six Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award, a special Outer Critics Circle Award, and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play.<ref>{{cite web|title=Talking Heads, Off-Broadway's Acclaimed Alan Bennett Fest, Ends Sept. 7|author=Jones, Kenneth|date=August 12, 2003|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/talking-heads-off-broadways-acclaimed-alan-bennett-fest-ends-sept-7-com-114785|work=Playbill}}</ref> He also headed ''10 Million Miles'', a musical project by Keith Bunin and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, that premiered in Spring 2007 at the Atlantic Theater Company.
Hulce was a lead producer of the Broadway hit ''Spring Awakening'', which won eight Tony Awards in 2007, including one for Best Musical. He is also a lead producer of the stage adaptation of the Green Day album ''American Idiot''. The musical had its world premiere in Berkeley, California, at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009 and opened on Broadway in April 2010. In 2017 he began work as a producer on the musical ''Ain't Too Proud'', which received 11 Tony Award nominations in 2019. He also produced the 2004 movie ''A Home at the End of the World'', based upon Michael Cunningham's novel.
==Personal life== In 2008, Hulce identified as gay in an interview with ''Seattle Gay News'', and dispelled the internet rumor that he had been married to a woman with whom he had fathered a daughter.<ref name=SGN>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews36_40/page21.cfm |title=SGN Exclusive Interview: The Incredible Hulce|first=Eric|last=Andrews-Katz|newspaper=Seattle Gay News|date=October 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421163246/http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews36_40/page21.cfm|archive-date=April 21, 2021}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1977 ! scope="row"| ''September 30, 1955'' | Hanley | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1978 ! scope="row"| ''Animal House'' | Lawrence "Pinto" Kroger | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1980 ! scope="row"| ''Those Lips, Those Eyes'' | Artie Shoemaker | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1984 ! scope="row"| ''Amadeus'' | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | {{ubl|David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor|Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor|Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama}} |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1986 ! scope="row"| ''Echo Park'' | Jonathan | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1987 ! scope="row"| ''Slam Dance'' | C.C. Drood | |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 1988 ! scope="row"| ''Dominick and Eugene'' | Dominick "Nicky" Luciano | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |- ! scope="row"| ''Shadow Man'' | David Rubenstin / The Shadow Man | |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 1989 ! scope="row"| ''Parenthood'' | Lawrence "Larry" Buckman | |- ! scope="row"| ''Black Rainbow'' | Gary Wallace | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1991 ! scope="row"| ''The Inner Circle'' | Ivan Sanshin | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1993 ! scope="row"| ''Fearless'' | Steven Brillstein | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1994 ! scope="row"| ''Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' | Henry Clerval | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1995 ! scope="row"| ''Wings of Courage'' | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1996 ! scope="row"| ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' | rowspan="2" | Quasimodo | Voice<br />Nominated — Annie Award for Best Achievement in Voice Acting |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2002 ! scope="row"| ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame II'' | Voice<br />Direct-to-DVD |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2004 ! scope="row"| ''A Home at the End of the World'' | {{n/a}} | Producer |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2006 ! scope="row"| ''Stranger Than Fiction'' | Dr. Cayly | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2008 ! scope="row"| ''Jumper'' | Mr. Bowker | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2009 ! scope="row"| ''Kyle Riabko: The Lead'' | Self | Documentary |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2018 ! scope="row"| ''The Seagull'' |{{n/a}} | Producer |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2022 ! scope="row"| ''Spring Awakening: Those You've Known'' | Self | Producer<br />Documentary |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2023 ! scope="row"| ''Once Upon a Studio'' | Quasimodo | Voice<br />Short film |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1975 ! scope="row" | ''Great Performances'' | Young Frank | Episode: "Forget-Me-Not-Lane" |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 1976 ! scope="row" | ''The American Parade'' | Brother | Episode: "Song of Myself" |- ! scope="row"| ''The Adams Chronicles'' | Student | Episode: "Chapter X: John Quincy Adams, Congressman" |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1983 ! scope="row" | ''St. Elsewhere'' | John Doe No. 12 / David Stewart | 3 episodes |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 1986 ! scope="row" | ''American Playhouse'' | Daniel Rocket | Episode: "{{sortname|The|Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket|nolink=1}}" |- ! scope="row"| ''Tall Tales & Legends'' | Quinn | Episode: "John Henry" |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1990 ! scope="row" | ''Murder in Mississippi'' | Michael "Mickey" Schwerner | Television film{{ubl|Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film|Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie}} |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1993 ! scope="row" | ''The Hidden Room'' | Joe | Episode: "Dreams About Water" |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 1995 ! scope="row" | ''Frasier'' | Keith (voice) | Episode: "She's the Boss" |- ! scope="row"| ''{{sortname|The|Heidi Chronicles|The Heidi Chronicles (film)}}'' | Peter Patrone | Television film{{ubl|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie|CableACE Award for Best Supporting Actor - Miniseries or Movie|Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film}} |}
==Theater== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1974 ! scope="row" | ''Equus'' | Alan Strang | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1976 ! scope="row" | ''A Memory of Two Mondays / 27 Wagons Full of Cotton'' {{small|(revival)}} | Bert | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1981 ! scope="row" | ''Twelve Dreams'' | Sanford Putnam | |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1989 ! scope="row" | ''A Few Good Men'' | Lieutenant Junior Grade Daniel A. Kaffee | Nominated — Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play<br />Nominated — Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Play |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1992 ! scope="row" | ''Hamlet'' | Hamlet | Nominated — Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play |- | style="text-align:center;" | 1999 ! scope="row" | ''The Cider House Rules'' | {{n/a}} | Director<br />Nominated — Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2003 ! scope="row" | ''Talking Heads'' | {{n/a}} | Producer<br />Nominated — Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2006 ! scope="row" | ''Spring Awakening'' | {{n/a}} | Producer<br />Tony Award for Best Musical<br />Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2010 ! scope="row" | ''American Idiot'' | {{n/a}} | Producer<br />Nominated — Tony Award for Best Musical<br />Nominated — Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2011 ! scope="row" | ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' {{small|(revival)}} | {{n/a}} | Producer |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2017 ! scope="row" | ''Significant Other'' | {{n/a}} | Producer |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2019 ! scope="row" | ''Ain't Too Proud'' | {{n/a}} | Producer<br />Nominated — Tony Award for Best Musical |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2025 ! scope="row" | ''Chess'' {{small|(revival)}} | {{n/a}} | Producer |} Sources:<ref>{{cite web|author=The Broadway League |url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=83187 |title=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=Ibdb.com |access-date=December 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Username: *|title=Washington Theatre Guide | Your Ticket to Washington Theatre|url=http://www.helenhayes.org|access-date=December 5, 2013|publisher=Helenhayes.org}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{iobdb name|16688}} * {{IBDB name|83187}} * {{IMDb name|1371}} * {{cite web |access-date=July 11, 2010 |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/49/Thomas-Hulce.html |title=Tom Hulce at Filmreference.com}}
{{Navboxes | title = Awards for Tom Hulce | list = {{David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor}} {{EmmyAward MiniseriesSupportingActor 1976-2000}} }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulce, Tom}} Category:1953 births Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:American gay actors Category:American gay musicians Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:American male voice actors Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American theatre managers and producers Category:Beloit College alumni Category:David di Donatello winners Category:Film producers from Michigan Category:LGBTQ people from Michigan Category:Living people Category:Male actors from Detroit Category:Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Category:People from Plymouth, Michigan Category:Tony Award winners Category:University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni Category:Interlochen Center for the Arts alumni Category:American people of English descent