William Michael "Hoot" Hootkins (July 5, 1948 â€" October 23, 2005)
was an American character actor and voice actor, best known for
supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars, Raiders
of the Lost Ark, and Batman.Hootkins was born in Dallas, Texas. He
attended St. Mark's School of Texas from grade 1 through 12. At age
15, Hootkins found himself caught up in the FBI's investigation into
the assassination of President John F. Kennedy when he was interviewed
about Ruth Paine, his Russian teacher. Marina Oswald, the Russian wife
of the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, and their children had been living
with Paine in Dallas. In school he also developed his taste for
theatre, joining the same drama group as Tommy Lee Jones, who was a
year ahead of him in high school. Hootkins would later say that, since
Jones was better-looking and got all the best parts, "I supported from
then on in."Hootkins attended Princeton University, studying
astrophysics before transferring to oriental studies, where he became
fluent in Mandarin Chinese. This stood him in good stead when he
played the part of an interpreter in an episode of The West Wing
titled "Impact Winter". He was a mainstay of the Theatre Intime,
making a particular impact with his performance in Orson Welles' Moby
Dickâ€"Rehearsed. On the recommendation of his friend John Lithgow, he
moved to London in the early 1970s and trained as an actor at the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He made his home in
London until 2002, when he moved to Los Angeles.
was an American character actor and voice actor, best known for
supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars, Raiders
of the Lost Ark, and Batman.Hootkins was born in Dallas, Texas. He
attended St. Mark's School of Texas from grade 1 through 12. At age
15, Hootkins found himself caught up in the FBI's investigation into
the assassination of President John F. Kennedy when he was interviewed
about Ruth Paine, his Russian teacher. Marina Oswald, the Russian wife
of the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, and their children had been living
with Paine in Dallas. In school he also developed his taste for
theatre, joining the same drama group as Tommy Lee Jones, who was a
year ahead of him in high school. Hootkins would later say that, since
Jones was better-looking and got all the best parts, "I supported from
then on in."Hootkins attended Princeton University, studying
astrophysics before transferring to oriental studies, where he became
fluent in Mandarin Chinese. This stood him in good stead when he
played the part of an interpreter in an episode of The West Wing
titled "Impact Winter". He was a mainstay of the Theatre Intime,
making a particular impact with his performance in Orson Welles' Moby
Dickâ€"Rehearsed. On the recommendation of his friend John Lithgow, he
moved to London in the early 1970s and trained as an actor at the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He made his home in
London until 2002, when he moved to Los Angeles.
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