Edward Furlong
Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's 1991 science fiction action film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was followed by a mini-sequel, short attraction film T2-3D: Battle Across Time.
Edward Furlong
In 1992, he gave an Independent Spirit Award-nominated turn opposite Jeff Bridges in American Heart, and earned a second Saturn Award nomination for his work in Pet Sematary Two. He won a Young Artist Award for his performance alongside Kathy Bates in A Home of Our Own (1993) and appeared in Before and After (1996) with Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson.[1] Furlong received acclaim for his starring roles in the 1998 motion pictures Pecker, co-starring Christina Ricci, and American History X, co-starring Edward Norton.[1] He had significant roles in the comedy Detroit Rock City (1999) and the crime drama Animal Factory (2000).
Early life[edit]
Edward Furlong was born August 2, 1977,[2] in Glendale, California, the son of Eleanor Torres, a youth-center worker, and Heinrich Bruno Wittig. Furlong is of Mexican descent on his mother's side, and has also described himself as "part Russian".[3][4][5][6]
Furlong's father died when he was about three years old.[7] His mother's sister, Nancy Tafoya, and their half-brother, Sean Furlong, obtained custody of him for several years, including 1990–1991, when he began his acting career. Initially, the two served as Furlong's managers.[3][4][5][6]
Career[edit]
1990s[edit]
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.
He followed this role with a string of moderately successful high-profile films and independent films, sharing the screen with Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson in Before and After (1996); Tim Roth, Maximilian Schell and Vanessa Redgrave in Little Odessa (1995); Jeff Bridges in American Heart (1993); and Anthony Edwards and Clancy Brown in Pet Sematary Two (1992).
In 1993, he was featured in Aerosmith's music video for "Livin' on the Edge". He played the lead role of Michael Brower, a horror and videogame-obsessed teen in the sci-fi horror film Brainscan (1994). In 1995, he starred in the film adaptation of Truman Capote's The Grass Harp. He reprised his role as John Connor in the 1996 theme park ride T2-3D: Battle Across Time alongside Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Patrick.
In 1998, 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."[8]
In 1998, he starred in the film Detroit Rock City. During filming, he met Natasha Lyonne whom he then dated. He played a young convict in Steve Buscemi's film Animal Factory (2000).
2000s[edit]
Furlong's career and stardom declined considerably after 2000, with most of his subsequent films being released straight to DVD.[9] 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 expected to play John Connor again in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003); however, Nick Stahl was cast just before filming began.[10] He later elaborated to have had a deal to reprise his role and was removed after the producers discovered his drug addiction.[11]
In 2004, he appeared in a music video for Metallica's "The Unnamed Feeling",[12] and played Jimmy in the low budget independent film Jimmy & Judy (2004), during which time he met Rachael Bella. The two became romantically involved and later married.[13] He played the lead in The Crow series' fourth film The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005), alongside David Boreanaz and Tara Reid, which was planned for a theatrical release but upon release was widely panned by critics and audiences and was released to DVD after one week in limited theaters. He appeared in Night of the Demons, the 2009 remake of the 1988 horror classic, which was shot in New Orleans and released straight to DVD.
In 2006 and again in 2010, he appeared in five episodes of the television program CSI: NY as Shane Casey.