Bruce Greenwood Movies
Canadian character actor Bruce Greenwood spent the 1970s working in regional Vancouver theater, and appeared in many Canadian TV shows during the '80s. His first American film was a walk-on role in Rambo: First Blood. In the U.S., he fared much better with television pilots, miniseries, and made-for-TV movies. His first big role was Dr. Seth Griffin on St. Elsewhere from 1986-1988. Other TV projects included The FBI Murders, The Servants of Twilight, and Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys. By the '90s, he had found a home for himself on television. Greenwood played Pierce Lawson in 1991 on the evening soap opera Knots Landing, earned a Gemini (the Canadian Emmy) nomination for The Little Kidnappers, and then took home an award for his role in Road to Avonlea. He also starred as Thomas Veil on the UPN dramatic series Nowhere Man and guest starred as Roger Bingham on the HBO comedy series The Larry Sanders Show. He did quite well on NBC, as well, appearing in many TV movies (including Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge) and starring in the sci-fi mystery show Sleepwalkers as Dr. Nathan Bradford. Greenwood made the leap to the big screen with a fellow Canadian, Egyptian-born filmmaker Atom Egoyan. In Exotica, he played the troubled Francis, a tax collector obsessed with a stripper. The film was a hit at the Cannes Film Festival, and Greenwood re-teamed with the director for his next film, The Sweet Hereafter, which won a special jury prize at Cannes, while Greenwood was nominated for a Genie award for his supporting role of mourning father Billy Ansell. By contrast, he played bad guys in mainstream thrillers in the '90s, with starring roles in Disturbing Behavior, Hide and Seek, Double Jeopardy, and Rules of Engagement He may be most well known, however, for playing President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the political thriller Thirteen Days, for which he won a Golden Satellite Award. With this role under his belt, Greenwood moved into more dramatic territory with the A&E miniseries The Magnificent Ambersons as well as a dual role in Egoyan's Ararat. In 2003, he produced fellow Canadian Deepa Mehta's film The Republic of Love and appeared in the action comedy Hollywood Homicide and the sci-fi thriller The Core. Projects for 2004 include Being Julia, I, Robot, and Racing Stripes. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie GuideStockard Channing stars in this made-for-cable comedy-drama as Dr. Beth Noonan, a female psychiatrist trying to hold her life together as she guides four of her patients through personal turmoil. Lauren Travis (Elle MacPherson), a respected lawyer, finds her sexual identity thrown into question when she discovers she's attracted to another woman, Casey (Kate Capshaw). Helen McCormick (Glenne Headly) is forced to spend a week with her two estranged sisters, Kathy (Allison Janney) and Kim (Rebecca DeMornay) after the death of their mother. Nia Morgan (Lynn Whitfield) is convinced her husband is being unfaithful to her; she hires Rachel (Linda Hamilton) to lure her spouse into infidelity, but Rachel learns that Nia's husband is actually involved with Betty (Mia Farrow), an older and unglamorous waitress. And after Dr. Noonan decides she can't handle the deep neuroses of Suzanne Nabor (Camryn Manheim), Suzanne snaps and takes the doctor hostage, along with three other people. It's a Girl Thing also stars Scott Bakula, Buck Henry, and Bruce Greenwood; it first aired in two parts on the Showtime premium cable network in January, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Elle MacPherson, (more)
If you liked the Australian thriller Dead Calm, then the look-alike American TV movie Adrift will probably tickle your fancy as well. Kate Jackson and Kenneth Welsh play a honeymooning couple, relaxing on their yacht in the South Pacific. When they come upon a shipwrecked couple (Bruce Greenwood and Kelly Rowan), the newlyweds pull the castaways on board their vessel. That's their first mistake; the castaways are evil incarnate, and they proceed to put the young marrieds through hell. Filmed off the coast of New Zealand, Adrift premiered on April 13, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this lively comedy, a womanizing actor dies and is granted a second chance at life on the condition that he remain faithful to only one woman. That's easier said than done, and once he's back on Earth he must choose between a virtuous lass and a shady lady. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Vanessa Angel, (more)
Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan explores his Armenian heritage, and how the country's tragic history has touched several generations of the nation's expatriates, in this ambitious drama. Edward Saroyan (Charles Aznavour), a veteran filmmaker of Armenian descent, is in Toronto shooting a film about the Siege of Van, in which invading Ottoman armies forced the evacuation of Armenian communities in 1915, leading to the genocide of over a million Armenian people at the hands of Turkish troops. Twenty-one-year-old Raffi (David Alpay) has been sent to Turkey to shoot background footage for the film; Raffi's mother Ani (Arsinee Khanjian), an author and historian, is also involved in the project as a consultant. Lately Raffi and Ani have been at odds; Raffi has been dating Celia (Marie-Josee Croze), Ani's stepdaughter, who is convinced that Ani is somehow responsible for the death of her father. Ani's first husband, who was Raffi's father, is also dead, after taking part in an assassination attempt on a Turkish political leader. As Raffi attempts to re-enter Canada with cans of exposed film, he's detained by David (Christopher Plummer), a suspicious customs official who has his own tenuous link to Saroyan's film -- David is struggling to come to terms with the gay lifestyle of his son Philip (Brent Carver), whose lover Ali (Elias Koteas) is playing the villain in the picture. Ararat also features Eric Bogosian and Bruce Greenwood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Alpay, Charles Aznavour, (more)
Up on Bear Island -- somewhere off the northeast American coast -- a U.S. meteorological team discovers German submarines stashed with gold. Though the plot is difficult to follow, it does involve murder and a certain amount of intrigue, though many have felt that this movie version of the excellent Alistair MacLean novel left most of the intrigue between the covers of the book. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
A woman scorned unleashes her fury in this droll comedy based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) is a famous and well-respected actress, but though her life in the limelight seems glamorous, things are not going well for her off-stage. Julia's husband is unfaithful to her (and not especially discreet about it), her son is angry with her, and she's afraid she's losing her looks and allure as she advances further into middle age. In the midst of this, Julia meets a handsome and dashing young American named {%Tom.. Tom makes no secret of his attraction to Julia, and the feeling is mutual, leading the two into a torrid affair. But, while Julia at first dives into this adulterous romance with little care for how it could affect her reputation, she becomes livid with rage when she learns that Tom is also involved with a younger actress, and is only using Julia to advance himself. Julia then plots an elaborate revenge against Tom in a scheme that will help her win back the pride and confidence life has recently stripped from her. Being Julia also stars Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon, Bruce Greenwood, and Shaun Evans. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, (more)
Reflecting studio executives' taste for material that crosses genres, this film from director David Twohy and co-screenwriter Darren Aronofsky mixes the war movie and supernatural thriller genres. After they rescue a trio of survivors that includes a nurse, Claire Page (Olivia Williams), from a British hospital ship sunk by the Nazis, the crew of the American submarine U.S.S. Tiger Shark comes to believe that their vessel is haunted. The unexpected death of their commander forces first officer Lt. Brice (Bruce Greenwood) to take command, trying to avoid a German destroyer on the hunt for his ship, while investigating the series of mysterious incidents that are terrifying his crew. Is the Tiger Shark haunted, or is there something otherworldly inhabiting the waters where the sailors are currently trapped? Originally entitled "Proteus," this project was slated to be Aronofsky's follow-up to Pi (1998), but the writer/director opted to helm Requiem for a Dream (2000) instead. Below co-stars Scott Foley, Zach Galifianakis, Dexter Fletcher, and Holt McCallany. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Olivia Williams, (more)
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Virginia Madsen, (more)
The creation of one of the most memorable books of the 1960s -- and the impact the writing and research would have on its author -- is explored in this drama based on a true story. In 1959, Truman Capote (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) was a critically acclaimed novelist who had earned a small degree of celebrity for his work when he read a short newspaper item about a multiple murder in a small Kansas town. For some reason, the story fascinated Capote, and he asked William Shawn (Bob Balaban), his editor at The New Yorker, to let him write a piece about the case. Capote had long believed that in the right hands, a true story could be molded into a tale as compelling as any fiction, and he believed this event, in which the brutal and unimaginable was visited upon a community where it was least expected, could be just the right material. Capote traveled to Kansas with his close friend Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), herself becoming a major literary figure with the success of To Kill a Mockingbird, and while Capote's effete and mannered personal style stuck out like a sore thumb in Kansas, in time he gained the trust of Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper), the Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent investigating the murder of the Clutter family, and with his help Capote's magazine piece grew into a full-length book. Capote also became familiar with the petty criminals who killed the Clutter family, Dick Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), and in Smith he found a troubling kindred spirit more like himself than he wanted to admit. After attaining a sort of friendship with Smith under the assumption that the man would be executed before the book was ever published, Capote finds himself forced to directly confront the moral implications of his actions with regards to both his role in the man's death, and the way that he would be remembered. Capote also co-stars Bruce Greenwood as Capote's longtime companion Jack Dunphy, and Amy Ryan as Mary Dewey, Alvin's wife who became a confidante of Capote's. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, (more)
Former USC Middleweight Champion Richard Franklin stars in this sci-fi action flick about a former death row inmate who is genetically reconstructed to be the perfect human weapon, and who attempts to blow the lid off the clandestine military program responsible for his remarkable transformation. I.S.A.A.C. (Intuitive Synthetic Autonomous Assault Commando) is the prototype of a highly classified government program designed to create assassins that are both intellectually superior, and possess the power to physically regenerate their bodies and minds. Upon breaking free from the lab, I.S.A.A.C. takes Deputy Lindsay Rearden (Tiffani Thiessen) hostage in an attempt to expose the program used to create him to the public. But accomplishing this mission will be no simple task, because world-renowned robotic engineer Simon Hart (Bruce Greenwood) is hot on I.S.A.A.C.'s trail, and he's got a small army of military agents who have orders to shoot on sight. Now the chase is under way, and the man responsible for creating I.S.A.A.C. is about to find out just what a remarkable specimen he's truly created. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tiffani Thiessen, Bruce Greenwood, (more)

- 1995
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The happiness and heartbreaks of first-time parenting are lavishly visualized in this TV adaptation of Danielle Steel's novel Mixed Blessings. The teleplay by Virginia L. Browne and Rebecca Soladay evenly divides its time among three newly married couples, each one seriously contemplating parenthood. Though Brad Coleman (James Naughton) has a touchy relationship with his grown daughter from a previous marriage, his younger bride Pilar (Bess Armstrong) wants to experience motherhood firsthand. The relationship between Andy and Diana Douglas (Bruce Greenwood, Gabrielle Carteris) is imperiled when Diana has trouble conceiving. And while Charlie Winwood (Scott Baio) wants a baby in his life, his spouse Beth (Alexandra Paul) is not so easily persuaded. Add to this mixture a heavy dollop of "outside" emotional baggage and a few picture-book happy endings, and you have a typical (and typically well-received) Danielle Steel soufflé. The film initially aired December 11, 1995, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabrielle Carteris, Scott Baio, (more)
Based on a popular novel by Judith Krantz, this sudsy romantic drama features a prominent photographer who heads to Gay Paree, unaware that greedy family members are plotting to bilk her father out of his valuable ranch land. Love blossoms in the City of Light when she encounters a fellow picture taker. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Hartman, Cliff Robertson, (more)
In this drama, also titled "Great Pretender," an award-winning reporter, who has been demoted to nowhere position at his paper, reveals a government backed and highly corrupt land deal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
First telecast April 3, 1987,Destination: America is a "search for oneself" opus, spiced up with a bit of mystery and intrigue. Bruce Greenwood plays the disenfranchised son of billionaire Rip Torn. Unable to see eye to eye with his father, Greenwood takes to the road, hoping to find some purpose in life. Along the way, he becomes mixed up in the plight of battered wife Corinne Bohrer. Things really begin to heat up when Bruce's father is murdered by a serial killer. The topheavy nature of the plotline gives away the fact that Destination: America was intended as the pilot for a TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
David Nutter made his directorial debut with this fantasy thriller, attempting a switch on The Stepford Wives premise. The Clark family moves from Chicago to Cradle Bay, and Steve Clark (James Marsden) is cautioned by Gavin Strick (Nick Stahl) about the separating factions at the local high school, where the Blue Ribbons, a club of robotic perfect students, rule. Gavin claims a conspiracy is afoot, and sure enough, he turns into an ultra-perfect himself. Rachel Wagner (Katie Holmes) joins Steve in investigating, and they soon suspect school psychiatrist Dr. Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood), a neuropharmacology specialist. The soundtrack contrasts alternative rock with tunes by Barry Manilow, Wayne Newton, and Olivia Newton-John. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Marsden, Katie Holmes, (more)
In this thriller, Ashley Judd plays Elizabeth Parsons, who is convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to a long stretch in prison. After Elizabeth has spent six years behind bars, it turns out that her husband is still alive: he faked his own death as part of an insurance scam, and Elizabeth is soon released. However, Elizabeth's feelings for her husband can hardly be described as warm, and she wants custody of her son. Elizabeth's parole officer (Tommy Lee Jones) wonders if she might try to make his murder a real thing after all, especially since the law states a person cannot be convicted of the same crime twice. Double Jeopardy was directed by Bruce Beresford, from a screenplay by Douglas S. Cook and David Weisberg. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Ashley Judd, (more)
- Starring:
- Patsy Kensit, Bruce Greenwood, (more)
Adrenaline loving director Tony Scott teams with iconic action producer Jerry Bruckheimer for this high flung sci-fi action thriller concerning a New Orleans based maverick ATF agent named Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) who is brought in on a top secret government program to catch the terrorist (Jim Caviezel) responsible for a ferry bombing that kills hundreds. Able to do what most law enforcement officers only dream of, Carlin is now able to look back in time at the perpetrator's movements, and at the life of the innocent woman whose death would set the events into motion. Carlin's instincts tell him that something is amiss, however, and while the government agent who tapped him for the job (Val Kilmer) and the team of ultra-cool scientists who run the project (Adam Goldberg, Erika Alexander) tell him one story about the quantum physics behind this marvel of technology, the hotshot agent suspects that there is a greater power at their fingertips--one that might not just solve the crime at hand, but prevent it. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, (more)
Eight brave sled dogs search for the master who is looking for a way to rescue them in this adventure drama. An American geologist (Bruce Greenwood) flies to Antarctica to participate in a project at the United States Research Base, where he teams up with arctic guide Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) and his best friend, Cooper (Jason Biggs). The scientist soon discovers that Shepard also has eight other valuable friends -- a pack of sled dogs he's worked with for years, who have rescued him from a number of tight spots. As the three men explore a frozen mountain region, an unexpected accident coupled with a massive storm front forces them to fly to safety, leaving the dogs behind. Shepard is determined to rescue his canine friends, but he has to wait until the weather will allow him to travel back to the mountain, while the dogs struggle against the elements to survive as they attempt to make their way back home. Eight Below was inspired by a true story involving Japanese researchers exploring the Antarctic in 1957; the story was made into the film Nankyoku Monogatari. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Walker, Bruce Greenwood, (more)
The action in Canadian provocateur Atom Egoyan's cryptic Exotica revolves largely around the strip club, which lends the film its name, a faux-tropical hothouse where young female dancers cater to their customers' sexual and psychological needs. Among the regulars is Francis (Bruce Greenwood), a troubled taxman haunted by Christina, a young stripper played by Mia Kirshner. As the film hypnotically unfolds, their relationship is slowly explored, the narrative dovetailing with the stories of a gay pet shop owner (Don McKellar), the Exotica's pregnant owner (Arsinee Khanjian), and its embittered DJ (Elias Koteas). Like all of Egoyan's films, Exotica is a riddle, its answers only fostering more questions. The director's recurring themes of family breakdowns, voyeurism and obsession are all in the mix here as well, but essayed with a new clarity of vision and intensity. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Mia Kirshner, (more)
Two of the screen's most popular comic actors meet in this movie about two men brought together by unexpected circumstances. On the surface, Jack Lawrence (Billy Crystal) and Dale Putley (Robin Williams) wouldn't appear to have much in common. Jack is an efficient, serious-minded lawyer with a successful practice and a beautiful wife, Carrie (Julia-Louis Dreyfus). Dale is a very single performance artist given to dramatic mood swings and extreme overreaction to the sad state of his career. However, 17 years ago both men were involved with the same woman, Collette Andrews (Nastassja Kinski); she later had a son, Scott (Charlie Hofheimer), without being sure if Jack or Dale was actually the father. Collette chose to raise the boy on her own, but when Scott runs away from home and she can't track him down, she calls both Jack and Dale looking for help. It doesn't take long for the two men to discover that they're both looking for the same boy in the same places, and they decide to join forces, though their personalities don't get much more compatible the longer they hunt for Scott. Keep an eye peeled for a brief cameo by Mel Gibson and an appearance by the rock band Sugar Ray, shortly before their commercial breakthrough. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, (more)
Hollywood's hottest canine commodity has gotten hopelessly lost after wandering away from his master, and now the former movie star has become the beacon of hope for a small-town firehouse on the verge of collapse. Rex is the dog that every child in America has fallen in love with. A pompous A-list barker whose list of perks overshadows that of even the most esteemed Hollywood actor, Rex 's fate takes an unexpected turn when a skydiving stunt goes awry and his handlers assume that their cash-canine has perished as a result. Now, despite being very much alive, the former doggie diva has become just another mangy stray wandering the streets in search of a home. Lost in an unfamiliar city and pursued by animal control, Rex seeks refuge in a run down building that soon goes up in flames. Shane Fahey (Josh Hutcherson) is a rebellious preteen whose single-parent father, Connor (Bruce Greenwood), is struggling to care for his son and cope with the death of his brother, the former captain of the local fire department. Pressed with the responsibility of getting the crumbling inner-city fire house back in working order while helping his 12-year-old son deal with the untimely loss of a beloved family member, Connor just can't seem to convince Shane to keep his grades up and stop ditching school. Upon rescuing the unidentified Rex from the four-alarm blaze, Connor attempts to teach young Shane the meaning of responsibility by charging him with the task of locating the dog's owner. Despite an initial clash of personalities, the headstrong mutt and the disobedient adolescent soon form a strong bond. Subsequently adopted as the scrappy fire department's new mascot, Rex proves just the catalyst needed to reenergize the dejected firefighters and reform the once-tenuous bond between father and son. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hutcherson, Bruce Greenwood, (more)
First Blood is the Sylvester Stallone film that unleashed "Rambo" onto an unsuspecting world. Wandering into a small, hostile town, ex-Green Beret John Rambo (Stallone) is targeted for persecution and abuse by potbellied Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy). When he can stand no more, Rambo goes bonkers, killing a deputy and heading into the surrounding hills, armed to the teeth. Only after Rambo has picked off practically every law enforcement officer within a radius of 50 miles do the local authorities bring in his former commanding officer, Trautman (Richard Crenna), for advice. Trautman's response -- that the locals had better get a lot of body bags ready -- is hardly encouraging. First Blood proved to be one of Stallone's biggest non-Rocky hits. Kirk Douglas had originally been cast as Trautman, but he quit the project when the producers refused to cave in to his demand that Trautman kill Rambo in the finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, (more)
An American journalist takes on the dangerous responsibility of rescuing nearly a thousand refugees from a Nazi concentration camp in this two-part made-for-TV movie based on a true story. In the early days of America's involvement in World War II, Ruth Gruber (Natasha Richardson) is a reporter who has been giving particular attention to a recent story: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in violation of United States policies of the day, has announced he will grant asylum in America to 982 European refugees from Nazi labor camps. But someone needs to escort the prisoners to the U.S.; Gruber, of European ancestry and Jewish faith, volunteers for the assignment over the objections of her parents (Anne Bancroft and Martin Landau). Gruber travels to Italy on behalf of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes (Hal Holbrook), where she helps the refugees board the U.S.S. Henry Gibbins. But Gruber discovers that the American sailors manning the ship regard their passengers as little better than their Nazi jailers, and the State Department declares, upon their arrival in the United States, that all the refugees are to be housed in a camp in Oswego, NY -- even those who have families willing to sponsor them in America. Gruber realizes her work with the refugees is far from done, and she bravely battles against both bureaucracy and prejudice to win both dignity and fair treatment for the new settlers. Haven was originally broadcast on the CBS television network on February 11 and 14, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natasha Richardson, Hal Holbrook, (more)
Some parents are faced with a difficult decision in this dramatic made-for-TV movie. Based on a true story, parents (Bruce Greenwood and Michelle Greene) of an ill infant decide to donate their brain-damaged baby's heart to help save the life of another newborn in need. The film was nominated for a Humanitas Award. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide






























