Short Biography

Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor, appearing primarily in independent films. After appearances as a bumbling actor in 1999`s sci-fi satire Galaxy Quest, in the 1999 Shakespeare adaptation A Midsummer Night`s Dream as Flute, and as gregarious villain Eric Knox in Charlie`s Angels (2000), Rockwell won the biggest leading role of his career as The Gong Show host Chuck Barris in George Clooney`s 2002 directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Rockwell`s performance was well received, and the film received generally positive reviews.

Rockwell has also received positive notices for his role opposite Nicolas Cage in Ridley Scott`s Matchstick Men (2003), with Entertainment Weekly calling him "destined by a kind of excessive interestingness to forever be a colorful sidekick." He received somewhat more mixed reviews as Zaphod Beeblebrox in the 2005 film version of The Hitchhiker`s Guide to the Galaxy. He then had a notable supporting role as Charley Ford, brother of Casey Affleck`s character Robert Ford, in the well-received 2007 drama The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, in which Brad Pitt played the lead role of Jesse James. According to an interview on The Howard Stern Show, director Jon Favreau considered casting him as the titular character in Iron Man as the studio was initially hesitant to work with Robert Downey, Jr. who had been considered for his role in The Hitchhiker`s Guide To The Galaxy. He has been confirmed to appear in the Iron Man sequel, scheduled for release in 2010. He is said to have accepted the role of Justin Hammer without reading the script. He had never heard of the character before he was contacted about the part, and was unaware Hammer is an old man in the comics. Rockwell has never been married, and stated in a 2007 interview, "I definitely don`t want to become a parent. It`s not my bag."

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