Craig T. Nelson Movies
Solidly built American actor Craig T. Nelson started out as a comedy writer and performer, doing radio and nightspot gigs in the Los Angeles area. Success was not immediately forthcoming, and Nelson took a four-year sabbatical from show business, moving with his family to a remote cabin in Northern California. In 1979, he made his first film, ...And Justice For All, written by his onetime partner Barry Levinson.While subsequent roles in Poltergeist and Silkwood followed, Nelson would find true stardom on television. For eight seasons beginning in 1989, he starred as college athletics instuctor Hayden Fox on the top-ranked ABC sitcom Coach. Appearing alongside supporting players Jerry Van Dyke and Shelly Fabares, Nelson received an Emmy for his work on the show in 1992.
After Coach, Nelson showed up in a few small roles in feature films and television mini-series before returning to series work in 2000, leading the cast of CBS's D.C.-based cop-drama The District. While enjoying the success of that show, Nelson found time for his first high-profile feature film role in over a decade, providing the voice of the head of a family of superheroes in the 2004 Disney/Pixar animated film The Incredibles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An ambitious high school senior who dreams of escaping his dreary small town and his depressive single father receives a visit from a disheveled senior citizen claiming to be the boy's older self in an intimate fantasy drama starring Robert Loggia, Craig T. Nelson, and John Amos. Seventeen year-old inventor Z.T. (Ean Mering) is athletic and creative, and seems to be headed for a bright future. Lately, Z.T. has been dreaming of getting out from under the protective arm of his gloomy father Cole (Nelson) and venturing out into the real world. Suddenly, sixty-eight year-old alcoholic named Zack (Loggia) shows up in town claiming to be the older incarnation of Z.T. Despite the fact that Zack can't quite remember the specifics about his mission, he claims to have arrived in order to stop Z.T. from making a single mistake that will send the boy's life into an irreversible downward spiral. Later, as Zack and Z.T. begin working together to avert disaster, the young boy falls for a beautiful local girl named Delena (Emilie Jacobs) and does his best to deal with the demands of his overbearing coach (John Amos). When Z.T.'s dad makes a devastating confession, Zack's time-traveling mission quickly takes on a newfound sense of urgency. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ean Mering, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
Much attention was given to the Robert Mapplethorpe photographs that became the center of controversy when they were exhibited at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center in 1990, but less was known about Dennis Barrie, the museum director responsible for the exhibit. Barrie's obscenity trial and condemnation by right-wing conservatives are the focus of this Showtime telepic. Played by James Woods, Barrie is shown standing up for his museum's right to display controversial art and coping with the toxic windfall that surrounded his actions. Diana Scarwid gives plenty of support as Dianne, Barrie's wife, and interviews with personalities ranging from Susan Sarandon to Salman Rushdie are interspersed with the film's narrative. Thanks to the cooperation of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, a number of the actual photographs that were at the heart of the controversy were used in the production. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Woods, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
- 2000
Craig T. Nelson stars as Jack Mannion, a policeman brought in to fight crime in the nation's capital in this television drama series. After a controversial but successful stint as chief of police in Newark, NJ, Mannion makes a positive impression on Deputy Mayor Mary Ann Mitchell (Jayne Brook) and is hired to do the same job in Washington, D.C. But the D.C. police's Chief of Patrol, Joe Noland (Roger Aaron Brown), isn't quite as impressed with his new boss, whose tough exterior is leavened with a broad sense of humor. Don Baker (John Amos), D.C.'s mayor, often butts heads with the new chief of police, who takes a firm stand against internal corruption and doesn't shrink from placing responsibility on his own officers. Working alongside Mannion are statistics clerk Ella Farmer (Lynn Thigpen), public affairs director Nick Pierce (Justin Theroux), and Irish beat-cop David McGregor (David O'Hara). The District premiered on the CBS television network on October 7, 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig T. Nelson, Jayne Brook, (more)
Jean de Segonzac directs Richard Crenna and Craig T. Nelson in the police thriller To Serve and Protect. Police officer Tom Carr begins to look into the death of a woman, but his suspicions that his perp is a serial killer become more pronounced after the death of a judge. Although Carr is able to get help from two other generations in the Carr family, he must step up his game when the killer takes an unexpected hostage. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Crenna, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
Rockne S. O'Bannon scripted this two-part TV miniseries adaptation of Peter Benchley's novel, found floating in the wake of his Jaws and The Beast. The origins of the tale's hybrid horror begin in 1972 at a secret Navy base off St. Lucia, where researchers cross a dolphin with a great white shark, creating a monster to generate fear and loathing in Vietnam. The Navy covers up the failed experiment, and 25 years later, cut to the Chase -- namely, scientist Simon Chase (Craig T. Nelson), who moves to the island to research a cancer-shark connection. Chase brings along his scientist ex-wife (Kim Cattrall), his 15-year-old son, Max (Matthew Carey), and their pet sea lion. Naturally, the "creature" resurfaces and gnaws on islanders -- with Chase soon in pursuit. Creature effects by Stan Winston. Filmed in St. Lucia, West Indies and Vancouver, British Columbia. Premiered May 17, 1998 on ABC. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig T. Nelson, Kim Cattrall, (more)
The compilation film If These Walls Could Talk consists of three short films that each deal with the controversial issue of abortion. Although each of the stories is set in a different decade, the unifying element (aside from the subject matter) is that all three transpire in the same house. The first story stars Demi Moore as the widow of a soldier killer in combat. She becomes pregnant and does not feel it would be morally appropriate to have the baby. Because it is the '50s, she must attempt to secure an illegal abortion. The second story, set in the '70s, stars Sissy Spacek as a mother of a struggling family. Having successfully raised four children on a meager income, Spacek's character must now decide if she should seek an abortion after finding out she is expecting a fifth. The final story takes place in the '90s. Anne Heche portrays a grad student who crosses protestors' picket lines in order to consult a doctor (Cher) about having an abortion. The first two parts, "1952" and "1974," were directed by Nancy Savoca, and the last part, "1996," was helmed by Cher, in her directorial debut. If These Walls Could Talk aired originally on HBO. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1994
In this tender made-for-television drama, a motorcycle racer changes his outlook on life after becoming close to a young mother and her dying son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig T. Nelson, Helen Shaver, (more)
Kirk Douglas has the starring role in this made-for-television drama which is based on the novel The Lies Boys Tell by Lamar Herrin. Douglas stars as Ed Reece, an elderly man who decides that he wants to spend his final days back in the town where he was born. He persuades his grown son to make the journey with him for a long goodbye. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
This ecological drama, set in 2017, presents a world where pollution has generated ever more unpredictable weather and rendered large chunks of the planet into disaster zones. After a hurricane destroys everything they've built for themselves, Louisiana shrimp fisherman Drew Morgan (Craig T. Nelson) and his family, including wife Suzanne (Bonnie Bedelia), flee through a series of refugee camps to upstate New York, where Drew's estranged former business partner Larry Richter (Jurgen Prochnow) -- who has designs on Suzanne -- lives in comfort and affluence. Along the way, Drew loses his daughter, Linnie (Ashley Jones), to an agrarian doomsday cult; watches his elderly father (Richard Farnsworth) suffer a stroke; and almost drives away his confused oldest son, Paul (Justin Whalin). When Larry offers to shelter Drew's family if Drew himself will leave, Suzanne and the kids rally behind him. Things go awry, however, when an attempt to smuggle themselves across the border ends with Craig washed up on Canadian shores and the rest of the family stranded and penniless back in America. Originally presented as a two-part miniseries, The Fire Next Time premiered on CBS on April 18 and 20, 1993. The movie has no connection to the James Baldwin book of the same name. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia, (more)
- 1992
Based on a true story, this is the saga of the survivor of an automobile crash who is left wheelchair bound and bitter. Ignoring friends and family, it becomes his sole quest to end his life with dignity. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cole, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
- 1990
Filmed in semidocumentary fashion, Extreme Close-up features Morgan Weisser as a 16-year-old boy grieving the death of his mother (Blair Brown). Trying to assuage his grief, Weisser runs family videotapes of his mother. It becomes increasingly clear that the woman was falling apart emotionally in the months before her death, and Weisser wants to know why. Looking for answers, he begins taping new videos of his turbulent home life -- which slowly mirror the disintegration of his mother. Made for television, Extreme Close-up was written by thirtysomething veterans Marshall Herkovitz and Edward Zwick; its director was Peter Horton, who'd played Gary on thirtysomething. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blair Brown, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
- 1989
Ben Kingsley stars as Simon Weisenthal, an Austrian Jew who is interred in the Malthausen concentration camp during World War II. When the camp is liberated, it is Weisenthal's eyewitness testimony, coupled with sketches that he's made of the many Nazi atrocities, that leads to the capture of Malthausen's escaped commandants. Weisenthal goes on to join the American War Crimes unit, collecting evidence for the Nuremberg trials. Eventually he dedicates his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals, at great personal cost to himself and his wife (Renee Soutendjik). His most daunting task is to convince his daughter (Louisa Haigh) that he is pursuing justice, not vengeance. Made for HBO, Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story premiered April 22, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
One by-product of two consecutive Oscar wins is that Tom Hanks no longer has to appear in such potboilers as Turner and Hooch. Hanks plays Turner, a meticulously groomed, excruciatingly well-organized detective working in a small California coastal town. When local "character" John McIntyre is murdered by drug smugglers, the only witness is McIntyre's slobbery, smelly mutt Hootch. You're way ahead of us, folks: Turner, who despises dogs in general and Hooch in particular, is compelled to put the cantankerous dog up as his house guest. Also easily predictable is the fact that Turner and Hooch will, by the next-to-last reel, become boon companions. To its credit, the film has an abundance of laughs and thrills...but, gee, that ending! Neither terrific nor terrible, Turner and Hooch is a pleasant time-filler; we do wish, however, that more time had been spent on the budding romance between Turner and veterinarian Emily Carson (Mare Winningham). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Mare Winningham, (more)
This uneven reworking of the famous Grimm Brother's fairy tale stars Amelia Shankley as Red Riding Hood. Craig T. Nelson plays a double role of twin brothers. Godfrey is the evil brother who rules the kingdom when the virtuous Percival is missing in action after riding off to war. Lady Jeanne (Isabella Rossellini) is Percival's faithful wife who uses magic to change Dagger (Rocco Sisto) into a wolf to enable him to spy. She also fends off the unwanted advances of her lecherous brother-in-law. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig T. Nelson, Isabella Rossellini, (more)
- 1986
This factual drama chronicles the battle of Senator Edward Kennedy's oldest son after he is diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer that costs him his leg. Though only 12, the young boy does not let the tragedy get him down. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Alex: The Life of a Child is based on the true story of Sports Illustrated writer Frank Deford and his dying 8-year-old daughter Alex. Craig T. Nelson plays Deford and Gennie James is Alex, both of whom come to grips in different ways with Alex's fatal cystic fibrosis. A subplot involves the torment of Deford's wife (Bonnie Bedelia), who wonders whether she should adopt a child after Alex's death in 1980. Alex: The Life of a Child is effective, but not as well made as its subject matter deserves. Better examples of this particular TV-movie genre include Death be Not Proud (75), based on author John Gunther's recollections of his son's struggle against a degenerative brain tumor, and Mary White (77) the story of a personal tragedy in the life of Kansas journalist William Allen White. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Call to Glory was intended as an ABC miniseries, depicting the turbulent 1960s as seen through the eyes of an Air Force family. A pre-Coach Craig T. Nelson stars as Colonel Raynor Sarnac, with Cindy Pickett as his wife Vanessa and Elizabeth Shue and Gabriel Damon as the Sarnac children. The 2-hour pilot concentrates on the 13 fateful days of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the Fall of 1962. This pilot, and the miniseries itself, was originally slated for telecast in May of 1984, but ABC smelled potential in the project and ordered that it be expanded to a 13-week series. The premiere was moved up to August 13, 1984, with the pilot film unveiled right after ABC's Olympics coverage. Call to Glory was a huge ratings hit at the outset; alas, ABC's decision to move away from the historical aspects of the program to concentrate on the soapish goings-on within the Sarnac family prompted a severe drop-off in viewer interest. The program was finally axed in February of 1985. Later that year, scenes from the untelecast Call to Glory episodes were stitched together into another 2-hour TV "movie", Call to Glory: JFK. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
High school athlete Tom Cruise would do anything to escape the dull provincialism of his home town. Cruise's bullying coach Craig T. Nelson cajoles Cruise into seeking an athletic scholarship to a major university. Inevitably, the boy begins to question his goals in life, and soon his soul is the object of a tug of war between Nelson and Cruise's girlfriend Lea Thompson. The first directorial effort for cinematographer Michael Chapman, All the Right Moves was photographed by Jan DeBont, who'd later direct such box-office bonanzas as Speed and Twister. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
- 1982
The pilot film for the ABC series of the same name, Paper Dolls concentrates upon two pretty teenagers: Taryn Blake (Daryl Hannah) and Laurie Caswell (Alexandra Paul). Prodded on by their ambitious mothers (played by Joan Hackett and Jennifer Warren) and further exploited by a ruthless agent (Joan Collins), the two otherwise normal girls are transformed into 2,000-dollar-per-day fashion models. Although the glamour and excitement of the modeling world is thrilling at first, both Taryn and Laurie suffer mightily at the hands of those older than themselves. To make matters worse, both girls are thoroughly ostracized by their fellow teens. First telecast May 24, 1982, Paper Dolls became a weekly series over two years later, by which time the original stars had been replaced by Nicollette Sheridan (as Taryn), Terry Farrell (as Laurie), Brenda Vaccaro (as Taryn's mother), and Morgan Fairchild (as Racine, the agent); only Jennifer Warren was carried over from the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daryl Hannah, Alexandra Paul, (more)
- 1981
In this made-for-TV docudrama, Sam Elliott stars as John Hill, a Houston plastic surgeon accused of the murder of his socialite wife Joan, the daughter of oil baron Ash Robinson. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1981
The Chicago Story was the two-hour pilot film for the subsequent TV series. The wounding of a 10-year-old girl by a sniper is seen through the eyes of three sets of Chicago professionals. Vincent Baggetta and Craig T. Nelson are the defense and prosecuting attorneys respectively (they'd been roommates while in law school). Kristoffer Tabori and Kene Holliday are the doctors ministering to the victim. And Jack Kehoe and Dennis Franz are the cops who must track down the unknown assailant. When Chicago Story became a series proper, most of the TV movie's leading actors, with the exception of Jack Kehoe, were retained as regulars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Lightning Over Water is a penetrating documentary of the last days of cult film director Nicholas Ray. The film was lovingly assembled by Wim Wenders, whose idolatry of Ray is obvious in virtually every frame of his own work. Dying slowly of cancer, Ray reflects on a lifetime of accomplishments, failures and compromises, with plenty of screen time given over to his reminiscences of Joan Crawford, James Dean and others who appeared in his films. Most of the film was lensed in Ray's modest New York City loft, a sharp and poignant contrast to the comparative luxury of his Hollywood years. Lightning Over Water has also been released as Nick's Film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholas Ray, Wim Wenders, (more)
- 1980
Husband, father, rapist. All three succinctly describe the character portrayed by David Soul in the made-for-TV Rage. Though he would seem to be a hopeless case, Soul is subjected to prison therapy sessions, on the theory that he might be curable. As the sessions continue under the guidance of therapist James Whitmore, Soul pours out a lifetime worth of anger, revealing the deep psychological wounds that have formed his warped personality. Contrasted with Soul is Yaphet Kotto, as an allegedly rehabilitated prisoner. Based on several case histories as recorded by New Jersey's Avenel Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Rage was originally telecast September 25, 1980 ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
