Nick Searcy Movies
An everyman character actor with a slightly authoritarian bent,
Nick Searcy spent his first two decades onscreen specializing in portrayals of such easily recognizable types as policemen, FBI agents, private detectives, and military colonels.
Searcy took one of his first bows as a highway patrol officer in the
Tom Cruise-headlined
Don Simpson/
Jerry Bruckheimer outing
Days of Thunder (1990), then followed this up with roles in such projects as the telemovies
Nightmare in Columbia County and
White Lie (both 1991) and the
Barbra Streisand feature drama
The Prince of Tides (1991). Moviegoers may also associate
Searcy with another portrayal from that same year, albeit a far nastier one: that of Frank Bennett, the slug of a husband who ends up as human barbecue at the Whistle Stop Café in
Jon Avnet's sleeper hit
Fried Green Tomatoes.
As the following two decades unfurled,
Searcy maintained an almost constant onscreen presence in dozens of films (albeit frequently low-profiled ones). Some of his more memorable projects included
Michael Apted's
Nell (1994) opposite
Jodie Foster,
Robert Zemeckis'
Cast Away (2000) opposite
Tom Hanks, and
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) opposite
Sean Penn. In 2008,
Searcy signed on as a regular -- portraying Roy Buffkin -- in the CW network's series drama
Easy Money. That series was short-lived, but Searcy kept going with roles in The Ugly Truth and Blood Done Sign My Name. He was part of the cast for Justified, the hit cable series based on the work of Elmore Leonard, and in 2011 he played Matt Keough in the Brad Pitt sports drama Moneyball. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

- 2012
- PG13
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A young woman (Amanda Seyfried) prepares to confront the assailant who previously abducted her, and who has now sought vengeance by kidnapping her sister in this thriller from director Heitor Dhalia. Jill (Seyfried) lives a quiet life, yet one marked by a severe anxiety that the man who once threw her in a ditch to die was going to come back and finish the job. When her sister Molly (Emily Wickersham) goes missing, Jill heads to the police, but no one will listen to her, save for Detective Hood (Wes Bentley), who might or might not have his own reasons for lending a hand. As time runs out, Jill becomes more frantic and takes to desperate measures, putting the police on her trail as she tries to put an end to her nightmare once and for all. Jennifer Carpenter, Joel David Moore, and Michael Pare co-star in the Summit Entertainment release. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Amanda Seyfried, Daniel Sunjata, (more)

- 2011
- PG13
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Bennett Miller's adaptation of Michael Lewis' non-fiction best seller Moneyball stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, a one-time phenom who flamed out in the big leagues and now works as the GM for the Oakland Athletics, a franchise that's about to lose their three best players to free agency. Because the team isn't in a financial position to spend as much as perennial favorites like the Yankees and the Red Sox, Beane realizes he needs to radically change how he evaluates what players can bring to the squad. After he meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), an Ivy League economics major working as an executive assistant for scouting on another team, Beane realizes he's found the man who understands how to subvert the system of assessing players that's been in place for nearly a century. However, as the duo begin to acquire players that seem too old, injured, or inept to play major-league baseball, they face stiff resistance from both the A's longtime scouts and the team's manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who outright refuses to allow Beane's more-nontraditional acquisitions to play. Moneyball screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, (more)

- 2010
- PG13
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Author Timothy Tyson's acclaimed novel is adapted for the screen in this sweeping civil rights drama from director Jeb Stuart. Set in Oxford, NC, in the 1970s, Blood Done Sign My Name tells the tale of Civil Rights leader Dr. Ben Chavis (Nate Parker), who played a pivotal role in desegregating North Carolina's public school system, and who would go on to become the youngest-ever executive director and CEO of the NAACP. The film centers on the racial tensions that flared after a white father and son were charged with murdering a black man, and were subsequently acquitted of the crime despite the fact that it took place in full view of the public. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Rick Schroder, Nate Parker, (more)

- 2010
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- 2008
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- 2007
- R
- Add An American Crime to Queue
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The true story of a young girl held captive by her insane caretaker comes to life in this disturbing film from Ella Enchanted director Tommy O'Haver. Hard Candy's Ellen Page stars as Sylvia Likens a teenager who, along with her sister, is left to live temporarily with seemigly-mild-mannered housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, played by Catherine Keener. Unfortunately for Sylvia, Gertrude soon snaps and holds her hostage in harsh conditions until the former's eventual death. Bradley Whitford costars as the prosecutor tasked with trying the case against Baniszewski. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Catherine Keener, Ellen Page, (more)

- 2007
- PG13
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The producers of Wedding Crashers are back with the comedy The Comebacks. Spoofing countless inspirational sports movies, the film stars David Koechner (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) as Lambeau Fields, a football coach who suffers from a streak of bad luck that has become the stuff of legend. As a last resort, he takes a job coaching a college football team populated with some of the least desirable players imaginable. He must pull this ragtag crew together in order to salvage his career. Carl Weathers plays rival coach Freddie Wiseman. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
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- Starring:
- David Koechner, Carl Weathers, (more)

- 2007
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- Add Deadly End to Queue
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The tree-lined streets of a picturesque suburban neighborhood cast a dark shadow over a deadly secret in this morbid tale of unhinged madness and vile self-mutilation. When Bob and Wendi Peterson purchased their dream home on Wormwood Drive, they thought they were taking the first step towards a wonderful new life. Their new neighbor, Adrien Trumbull, came by to welcome them with a friendly smile and a box of chocolates, and it seemed as if the couple was now as far away from the crime-ridden streets of the big city as possible. But the madness doesn't stop at the city limits, it has a strange way of corrupting even the most serine of surroundings as well. Now, as Bob and Wendi begin to uncover the terrifying truth about their outwardly smiling neighbor Adrien, they quickly discover how useless the Neighborhood Watch program is when the one you fear most lives just next door. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Jack Huston, Pell James, (more)

- 2007
- R
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When Mike and Sheryl head out for a weekend of camping in Lake Kumbrabow State Park, a peaceful excursion gives way to sheer terror as Sheryl is brutally abducted by a murderous cult in search of a newborn child. Later, as Mike wanders the woods in search of his missing mate, a mysterious, God-fearing woman offers her hand in help. Little does Mike realize that the outwardly benevolent soul is in fact the very person he should fear most, and by the time he sees Sheryl bound to a table in a dank cabin cellar, it may already be too late for both of them. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Josh Randall, Brianna Brown, (more)

- 2006
- PG
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A young woman pins her hopes and dreams on a maverick horse in this drama based on the classic novel by Mary O'Hara. Katy (Alison Lohman) is the teenage daughter of a horse rancher (Tim McGraw) who is grooming his son to take over the family business, while Katy is sent to an exclusive private school where she feels like a misfit. One day, while out riding, Katy finds a wild horse, a beautiful black mustang, and she feels an emotional connection with the animal. While her father is convinced having a mustang around his herd will be bad for both his thoroughbred ponies and the wild horse, Katy is certain she can break the strong-willed steed and make him a champion, and she even gives the horse a name -- Flicka. As Katy struggles to tame the headstrong Flicka, she also tries to prove to her father that she knows horses as well as he does, and that she's every bit as capable of running the ranch as her brother. Also starring Maria Bello and Ryan Kwantan, Flicka was previously adapted for the screen as My Friend Flicka in 1943. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Tim McGraw, Alison Lohman, (more)

- 2006
- R
- Add The Dead Girl to Queue
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Karen Moncrieff, the Independent Spirit Award-nominated director of Blue Car, assembles a stellar cast comprised of Toni Collette, James Franco, Giovanni Ribisi, and Mary Beth Hurt to tell the tale of one girl's mysterious death, and how the tragic actions of the people who surround her eventually led to her savage murder. When the brutalized and lifeless body of a once-vital young girl (Brittany Murphy) is discovered, a community is scarred by the unspeakable horror of seeing one of their own so viciously desecrated. But the discovery of the body is just the beginning of the story, and now as a wife uncovers her husband's dark secret, a mother searches frantically for her missing daughter, and a series of other, seemingly unrelated occurrences slowly begin to converge, the heartbreaking truth behind a tragic act of violence will shake the very foundation of a once close-knit community. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, (more)

- 2006
- R
- Add Cold Storage to Queue
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A backwoods recluse steals the body of a young girl killed in a violent car crash, locking her in the freezer of his isolated shed as her sister and boyfriend search frantically for any clues to her whereabouts. The woman of Clive's dreams may be dead, but she'll always be true and she'll never grow old - at least as long as he keeps her on ice. When Cathy and Deric show up looking for the missing traveler, Clive takes them both hostage in a sinister bid to hide his ghoulish secret. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, (more)

- 2005
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- 2005
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- 2004
- R
- Add The Assassination of Richard Nixon to Queue
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The true story of a man who, on February 22, 1974, was thwarted from an ambitious plan for political assassination provides the basis for this striking psychological drama. Sam Bicke (Sean Penn) is a salesman for an office-supply company whose life is slowly beginning to unravel. Bicke's job is going nowhere, his wife, Marie (Naomi Watts), has left him, and his boss (Jack Thompson) keeps pushing self-help books on him that make a mockery of his state of mind. One of Bicke's few friends is Bonny Simmons (Don Cheadle), an auto mechanic, and together they come up with an idea for a tire shop on wheels; while neither has the money to finance the project, Bicke has learned of a program for small-business loans instituted by President Richard Nixon, which he's certain will come through for him. But Bicke is denied his loan, which dovetails with his increasing suspicion of the president's Vietnam policies and a sudden interest in the "by any means necessary" political activism of the Black Panther Party. Desperate to seem important in some way, Bicke becomes increasingly obsessed with the duplicity of Richard Nixon, until he chooses to take it upon himself to stop the president once and for all. The Assassination of Richard Nixon was the first feature film from director Niels Mueller. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Sean Penn, Don Cheadle, (more)

- 2004
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- 2004
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- 2004
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Barry Pepper stars as stock-car racing legend Dale Earnhardt in this made-for-cable drama. Dale was raised by Ralph Earnhardt (J.K. Simmons), a proud man who worked at a mill to feed and clothe his family but found true satisfaction rebuilding jalopies in his garage and racing them at local events on the weekends. Ralph was a minor legend in Southern stock-car racing, and when Dale dropped out of high school to follow his own passion for racing, he started out in his father's shadow -- and with no illusions about the odds stacked against him. But after more than a decade of struggle, Dale finally began to break into the big leagues in the late '70s, and in time he became the biggest money maker in NASCAR history, tying with the great Richard Petty as the winner of the Winston Cup trophies. But the lessons Dale learned from his father took on a deeper meaning when his own teenage son, Dale Jr. (Chad McCumbee), also decided to take up racing at the age of 16 -- and Dale tried to keep his hot-headed son away from the track. Named for Earnhardt's racing number, 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story debuted on the ESPN cable network on December 11, 2004, and was released on home video shortly afterward. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Barry Pepper, Elizabeth Mitchell, (more)

- 2003
- PG13
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Can a high-attitude African-American politician who says what he thinks stand a chance in a presidential campaign? Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock) is a straight-talking alderman representing a inner-city neighborhood in Washington, D.C. In the midst of a hard-fought race for the White House, the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential candidates are killed in an airline crash, and with little time to prepare a new campaign, the Republican candidate, Vice President Brian Lewis (Nick Searcy), seems all but guaranteed to win. With practically nothing to loose, party head Martin Geller (Dylan Baker) approaches Gilliam and asks him to stand as the Democrat's presidential candidate. While Gilliam is dubious at first, before long his streetwise style and willingness to face the issues head-on earns him surprising figures in the polls, especially after he persuades his short-fused older brother, Mitch Gilliam (Bernie Mac), to join the ticket as vice presidential candidate -- a big jump for a bail bondsman. Gilliam's love life also becomes more complicated as his ex-girlfriend Kim (Robin Givens) decides she wants him back now that he has a shot at the White House, even though Gilliam only has eyes for Lisa (Tamala Jones). Head of State marked the directorial debut for comic and actor Chris Rock, who also co-wrote and co-produced the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, (more)

- 2003
- PG13
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Three people attempt to bend justice for their own purposes in this drama based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham. After a man dies in a shooting incident, his wife files a lawsuit against the company that manufactured the gun, with her lawyer, Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), arguing that the firm in question knew the shop which sold the weapon was not following federal regulations pertaining to the sale of firearms. As the case goes to trial, the firearm manufacturer is taking no chances on the outcome of a potentially devastating case, and they hire as part of their legal team Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman), a "jury consultant" who makes it his business to see that he knows enough about the jurors to be able to guarantee the result of the trial. Fitch and his team have learned incriminating secrets about nearly everyone hearing the evidence, but Fitch discovers two factors he wasn't counting upon -- Nick Easter (John Cusack), the jury member who appears to have an agenda all his own, and Marlee (Rachel Weisz), a mysterious woman who has her own plans regarding bending the jury to her will. Bruce Davison, Jeremy Piven, and Bruce McGill round out the supporting cast. Incidentally, in John Grisham's original book, the case was filed against a cigarette manufacturer, but the producers opted to adjust the story after several real-life trials against tobacco companies. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- John Cusack, Gene Hackman, (more)

- 2000
- PG
- Add The Angel Doll to Queue
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Originally intended for theatrical release, The Angel Doll is an adaptation of Jerry Bledsoe's bestselling novel of the same name. Set in the South of the '50s, the story focuses on "Whitey" Black (Cody Newton), a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who befriends middle-class youngster Jerry Barlow (Michael Welch) while the two share a paper route. Jerry learns that Whitey wants to purchase a "very special" doll as a Christmas present for his terminally ill sister. Not only does Whitey meet with opposition from the locals because his sister has polio and is thus regarded as "contagious," but the doll he wants is nowhere to be found in his hometown. Thus it is that Whitey and Jerry embark upon a lengthy, adventure-laden journey in search of the elusive doll, meeting people of all sorts (and all temperaments) along the way. Keith Carradine is top-billed as the adult Jerry Barlow, while Diana Scarwid is given the extremely difficult (and highly contrary) role of Whitey's drink-sodden mother. Filmed in 2002, The Angel Doll was not widely seen until it was picked up for cable play by the Lifetime network in 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Betsy Brantley, (more)