Edward Furlong

Edward Furlong
Born	Edward Walter Furlong (1977-08-02) August 2, 1977 (age 35)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1991 – Present
Spouse(s)	Rachael Bella (2006–present; filing for divorce; 1 child)

Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977)^[1] is an American actor whose best known film roles are John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Daniel Vinyard in American History X. He is a two-time Saturn Award nominee, winning the 1992 Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor for his work in Terminator 2.

He also won the 1992 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance for his work in the film. After the 1990's Furlong's career declined due to multiple arrests and court cases, and enduring substance abuse and alcoholism.^[2]

[edit] Early life

Furlong was born in Glendale, California, near Burbank, the son of Eleanor (née Tafoya), a youth-center worker, and an unknown father. He is of Mexican descent on his mother's side, and also has Russian and possibly Native American ancestry. Furlong has a younger half-brother, Bobby Torres, from his mother's marriage to Moises Torres.

Furlong moved in with his aunt and uncle, Nancy Tafoya and Sean Furlong, in 1990. The two gained legal guardianship of Furlong in September 1991 and subsequently lost it to his mother in August 1993.^[3]

Furlong attended Charles W. Eliot Middle School in Altadena, and South Pasadena Junior High School in South Pasadena, California. He never completed high school. He became legally emancipated at the age of 16.^[4]

[edit] Career

[edit] 1990s

In 1991, Furlong began his film career as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a role that earned him an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Role and a Saturn Award for best young actor. He was discovered for the part by casting director Mali Finn while visiting the Pasadena Boys and Girls Club in September 1990. Furlong had no acting ambitions. He has stated, "I fell into [acting], it wasn't something that I planned".^[5]

He followed this role with a string of moderately successful high-profile films and indies, sharing the screen with Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson in Before and After; Tim Roth, Maximilian Schell, and Vanessa Redgrave in Little Odessa; and Anthony Edwards in Pet Sematary Two.

In 1993, Furlong was featured in Aerosmith's music video for "Livin' on the Edge". This was also the only major Aerosmith video from Get a Grip not to feature Alicia Silverstone. He played the lead role of Michael Brower, a horror and videogame-obsessed teen in the 1994 film Brainscan. In 1995, he starred in the film adaptation of Truman Capote's The Grass Harp.

In 1997, he starred in American History X alongside Edward Norton and appeared in his first comedy role in Pecker, directed by John Waters. Of his title role in Pecker, Furlong stated, "It's true most of the characters that I've played so far are kind of like suicidal. Really dark roles, which I like. But I wanted to do something different and John gave me a chance to do that."^[6]

In 1998, he starred in the film Detroit Rock City. During filming he met Natasha Lyonne, whom he then dated.^[7] Furlong played a young convict in Steve Buscemi's film Animal Factory, filmed in the summer of 1999.

[edit] 2000s

Furlong's career and stardom declined considerably after the end of the 1990s, with most of his subsequent films being released straight to DVD.^[8] In 2001 he took a role in I Cavalieri che fecero l'impresa aka The Knights of the Quest, a little-seen film by Italian filmmaker Pupi Avati.

Furlong was supposed to reprise his most famous role as John Connor in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. However, in December 2001 it was reported he had been dropped from the film, and that the producers were looking for a different actor to play the role.^[9] Eventually Nick Stahl was cast just before filming began in April 2002. Furlong later stated, "It just wasn't the time. I was going through my own thing at the point in my life – whatever, it just wasn't meant to be".^[10]

He appeared in a music video for Metallica's "The Unnamed Feeling", released in February 2004.^[11]

He starred as Jimmy in the low budget independent film Jimmy & Judy in 2004, during which time he met Rachael Bella. The two became romantically involved and later married.

In 2005, Furlong played the lead in the fourth film in The Crow series, The Crow: Wicked Prayer, alongside David Boreanaz and Tara Reid. The film was planned for a theatrical release, but eventually went straight to DVD. Despite this, Furlong was optimistic, stating, "I feel through word of mouth people will find it. There's a huge base for Crow fans. Just from what I've seen on the Internet, people are really excited about it. Personally, I say it's the best one since the first one".^[5]

In 2006 and again in 2010, Furlong appeared in five episodes of the television program CSI: NY as character Shane Casey.

Furlong appeared in the 2009 remake of the 1988 horror classic Night of the Demons, shot in New Orleans. The film was released straight to DVD.

Several of Furlong's recent films are still in post-production, or have been shown at film festivals rather than in major theatrical release. He appeared in the film Kingshighway, which was due to be released 2010. He starred in Mortician 3D alongside Method Man.^[12] He played the role of Ravi in the psychological thriller Crave, which was filmed in Detroit, Michigan. Furlong played the lead role alongside Michael Berryman in the low budget Canadian horror thriller Below Zero.^[13]

He also appeared in one scene of the 2011 Seth Rogen film, The Green Hornet.

He starred in This is not a Movie, an English language Mexican film written and directed by Olallo Rubio and co starring Peter Coyote and Edi Gathegi. The film is scored by ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash. The film was released in Germany in 2010 and Mexico in January 2011.

[edit] Other work

After Furlong achieved particular popularity in Japan as a result of Terminator 2,^{[citation needed]} he appeared in TV advertisements for various Japanese products.^[14] He also released an album in Japan called Hold on Tight, which included a cover of The Doors song "People Are Strange".^[15] Furlong would later say that the music was "the exact opposite of rock" and "a bad mistake".^[16]

Furlong has also modeled, in 1996 for Calvin Klein^[17] and for The Gap.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Personal life

By September 1992 Furlong had begun a sexual relationship with his 29-year-old tutor, Jacqueline Domac, who became his manager for several years. By the time he was 16 he was living at her house and openly introducing her to people as his girlfriend.^[18] When they split in May 1999 she sued him for "assault" and 15% of his earnings.^[19]

Furlong married Rachael Bella on April 19, 2006. The couple's son, Ethan Page Furlong, was born on September 21, 2006.^[20] On July 8, 2009, Rachael Bella filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.^[21] In September 2009 Bella claimed that Furlong was in lockdown after being violent with her.^[22]

In October 2010, Bella received a restraining order from a court, against Furlong. She claimed he threatened to commit suicide,^[23] repeatedly refused to undergo any drug tests,^[24] and that he told her he hit their son's testicles.^[25] He was also ordered by the court to undergo counseling.^[26] She told the court he regularly drove past her house in an intimidating manner, and threatened to hire people to beat her with metal chains and baseball bats.^[27]

In January 2011 Furlong told a judge he is "completely broke", and cannot afford to pay child support.^[28] Furlong was ordered to pay Bella over $15,000 in backdated child support in October 2011.^[29]

On August 23, 2012 Furlong told police his wallet was stolen after he asked a stranger for directions in a notorious drug-dealing area of Skid Row, Los Angeles.^[30] However, five days later he told reporters that his wallet was returned to him.^[31]

[edit] Substance abuse and legal problems

Furlong has battled alcoholism and drug addiction, which derailed his career. He began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in 1997, and spent time in a $500-a-night treatment centre.^[32] He went into rehab in October 2000, although he claimed this was only for alcohol abuse and denied reports that he was a heroin and cocaine addict.^[33] On April 24, 2001 he was hospitalized for a suspected drug overdose after his date found him in a pool of vomit.^[34] In August 2001 he admitted he felt suicidal, leaving a message on a friend's answerphone which said, "I just want to die, I can't take it any more."^[35] On September 25, 2001 he was arrested twice in the same day for two separate incidents involving driving without a license and DUI.^[36]

On September 1, 2004, Furlong was arrested for public intoxication following an incident at a Meijer grocery store in Florence, Kentucky (in the Cincinnati area), where he was filming the independent film Jimmy and Judy. According to the police report, he and some friends were getting rowdy and pulling lobsters out of the store's tank. When police arrived, an unsteady Furlong, who "smelled of booze," began to "turn around in circles" when an officer tried to frisk him. Furlong spent a few hours in custody before making bail on the misdemeanor count.^[37]

Furlong said in December 2006 that from ages 22 to 26 he was "on and off" hard drugs, adding that, "I was a heroin and cocaine addict. It was really scary." In the same interview, he said, "I don't even think about [partying] anymore. It seems lonely now: running and clubbing and doing coke. I have nightmares about doing hard drugs. I'll wake up and I'm like, 'Did I relapse?'"^[38] He told People magazine that he smokes 40-60 cigarettes a day.^[39]

In September 2009 Furlong was arrested for allegedly punching and threatening his wife Rachael Kneeland.^[40] On January 11, 2011, Furlong was arrested and jailed for violating his probation stemming from the restraining order his estranged wife filed.^[41] That evening he was still in jail needing to post a $75,000 bond for release. He was released the following morning.^[41]

Furlong was involved in a car crash in Los Angeles on October 23, 2012.^[42] On October 30, 2012, he was arrested and charged with domestic violence after an argument with his girlfriend Monica Keena at LAX Airport in Los Angeles, and his probation was revoked. He was arrested again for domestic violence on November 21, 2012, after allegedly inflicting "corporal injury" on Keena.^[43] The court hearing was set for January 2013.^[44]

On December 14, 2012 Furlong appeared before a judge to dispute a court order which forbids him from being alone with his six-year-old son. The child had tested positive for cocaine after spending time with Furlong. The judge ruled the existing custody restrictions remain in place, and expressed concern for Furlong's physical appearance.^[45]

On January 13, 2013 Furlong was arrested for a third time for domestic violence against his girlfriend Monica Keena.^[46] There was already a $30,000 warrant out for his arrest, stemming from one of the two previous incidents.^[47] Furlong was placed in jail and his bail was set at $50,000.^[48] On January 15, 2013 he pleaded not guilty to domestic violence battery; his lawyer asked for the judge to reduce the bail, but this was denied and Furlong was remanded in jail until the hearing on January 25.^[49]

Following his third arrest for domestic violence Furlong was fired from the film "Other Plans"; he had already been fired from the film "Misled" following his second arrest for domestic violence in November 2012.^[50] Furlong had been charged on December 12, 2012 for the second domestic violence arrest, but he failed to appear in court for the hearing.^[51] Furlong was kept in solitary confinement in prison. On January 25, 2013 he appeared in handcuffs before a judge, who set the jury trial for February 6.^[52]

Furlong also faced a probation violation hearing on February 15, 2013 for contempt of court, stemming from a case in Los Angeles.^[53] The judge told him he belonged in a lockdown facility for substance abuse, and remanded him in jail pending a further hearing on March 4.^[54] His bail was set at $250,000.^[55] On March 4, Furlong was sentenced to six months in jail for violating his probation.^[56] Monica Keena had filed a protection order against him, which he violated twice by being violent toward her.^[57] According to his attorney Brian Michaels, Furlong had refused to go into a drug rehabilitation center, even though it might have allowed him to avoid a jail sentence.^[58] The court case concerning his arrest on January 13 for attacking his ex-girlfriend Monica Keena is still ongoing.^[59]

As of mid-April 2013 Furlong and Keena are still together.^[60] On April 26 he pleaded not guilty to the first of three arrests for attacking her, and the trial was set for June.^[61]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Film

[edit] Television

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Edward Furlong

• Official website
• Edward Furlong at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Furlong, Edward
Alternative names	Furlong, Edward Walter
Short description
Date of birth	1977-8-2
Place of birth	Glendale, California,  United States
Date of death
Place of death