The Cast
David Strathairn is Ralph McIntosh
“I was drawn to the film because this was a big moment for First Amendment issues, and also because the poem was such an embodiment of that time in our culture. I thought it would be exciting if the poem became introduced to new generations. HOWL deals with many of the same issues as GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK—the ways that an assault on a certain way of thinking can be perceived as very threatening.”
David Strathairn won the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival and earned nominations from the Academy®, Golden Globe®, Screen Actors Guild®, BAFTA, and Independent Spirit Awards for his compelling portrait of legendary CBS news broadcaster Edward R. Murrow in George Clooney’s 2005 Oscar®-nominated drama GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
His 2005 Independent Spirit nomination was the fourth in a stellar career that dates back to his 1980 motion picture debut in John Sayles’s first film, THE RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN. Strathairn subsequently collaborated with Sayles on seven titles, winning the IFP honor for his supporting performance in CITY OF HOPE, while collecting additional nominations for PASSION FISH and LIMBO.
His early screen efforts included supporting roles in Mike Nichols’ SILKWOOD, Fred Schepisi’s ICEMAN, James Foley’s AT CLOSE RANGE, Robert M. Young’s DOMINICK AND EUGENE, as well as Sayles’s acclaimed dramas MATEWAN and EIGHT MEN OUT, and his 1984 satire, THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET.
Turning the decade, Strathairn continued a busy screen career with co-starring roles in several critically acclaimed films, including Tim Robbins’ directorial debut BOB ROBERTS, Penny Marshall’s A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, LOSING ISAIAH, Sydney Pollack’s THE FIRM, SNEAKERS, Taylor Hackford’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel DOLORES CLAIBORNE, Jodie Foster’s HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, as well as two projects with Curtis Hansen: THE RIVER WILD and the Oscar®-winning L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, in which Strathairn shared a Screen Actors Guild Award® nomination with the all-star ensemble cast. His additional movie credits include MEMPHIS BELLE, A MAP OF THE WORLD, SIMON BIRCH, LOST IN YONKERS, MISSING IN AMERICA, Michael Hoffman’s adaptation of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, Philip Kaufman’s TWISTED, and THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE.
He has also maintained a high profile in the theatrical world, with roles at such venues as the Manhattan Theatre Club, the New York Shakespeare Festival, SoHo Rep, the Hartford Stage Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Seattle Repertory.
