Will Oldham

Though he enjoyed a healthy and prolific career as an actor, Will Oldham is perhaps best known as the progenitor of an indie rock band with a distinctive country flair. The said act performed and recorded under an endless series of stage names, but was most commonly billed as Palace Music. As the only constant and fixed member, Louisville native Oldham almost single-handedly maintained Palace until 1997, when he inexplicably (given its popularity and recognition) decided to scrap that name and strike out on his own as a solo act with efforts that exhibited a much darker tone and musical voice than Palace; these opuses, such as the 1997 Joya, scored points both critically and commercially, as did two follow-ups, Ode Music (2000) and Guarapero: Lost Blues 2 (2003). Cinematically, Oldham began appearing in films in his late teens, debuting with a small turn in John Sayles' mining drama Matewan (1987), and following that up with contributions to features on the big screen (Thousand Pieces of Gold, 1991; Radiation, 1999) and small screen Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure, (1989). The offbeat experimental psychodrama Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) introduced Oldham to eccentric writer-director Harmony Korine; the two teamed up on a musical level two years later on the album Ease Down the Road. After several additional film projects, including the 2004 Seafarers and the 2005 Old Joy, Oldham returned to the big screen as a young man whose path intersects with a down-and-outer played by Michelle Williams in Kelly Reichardt's melancholic drama Old Joy. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide