Tom Berenger Interview (November 4, 1983)

Tom Berenger (born Thomas Michael Moore; May 31, 1949) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in Platoon (1986). He is also known for playing Jake Taylor in the Major League films and Thomas Beckett in the Sniper films. Other films he appeared in include Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Dogs of War (1980), The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Betrayed (1988), The Field (1990), Gettysburg (1993), The Substitute (1996), One Man's Hero (1999), Training Day (2001), and Inception (2010).
Berenger won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance as Jim Vance in the 2012 miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.
Early life and education[edit]
Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago, on May 31, 1949, to a Catholic family of Irish ancestry with his great-grandfather and grandmother settling in Chicago.[2] He has a sister, Susan.[3] His father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times and a traveling salesman.
Moore graduated in 1967 from Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois.[4] He studied journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, but decided to seek an acting career following his graduation in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

[@amaniiim.2632]

I love Tom Berenger both as an actor and as a man. He has such a rugged charm and appealing demeanor which you can’t really find in today’s men. He always carries the same sense of cool and authenticity to his characters, truly a standout actor

[@laylarebecca12]

You took the words right out of my mouth!

[@captainorocay2493]

THOMAS MICHAEL MOORE

[@leemorrell9912]

Tom Berenger is one of my favourite actors. I don’t understand why he never became an A lister. He was up there with Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and all the rest of them. Perhaps he just didn’t want to play the Hollywood game?

[@captainorocay2493]

Same he is my fav actor

[@morrisonreed1]

he may have a bit of a drinking problem , thats speculation based on here say ,

[@lizib3378]

Look at how many movies he's done He's up there Maybe didn't want the parades

[@wegotlumpsofitroundtheback5065]

who the hell was the camera man on this? the framing at 03:42 is such a rank amateur mistake and this is loaded with them (07:38 is just unforgiveable!). Sorry, I was a camera for 30 years and this is just beyond embarrassing work.

[@2020girlygirl]

Tom ❤❤❤❤❤

[@Johnykickimgbird]

I really don't understand why Tom was so disgusted with his character in this movie.whose character obviously had a rough life and it damaged him and turned himself into something he did not want to be.

[@vpreggie]

Acting is such a crap shoot. You might have a great writer but poor direction and poor acting. You might get a good actor who just doesn’t grasp the concept of a character, or you might get the perfect triumvirate of actor\director\writer that gets submarined by poor production or poor choices from studio execs. Then you get Platoon. A perfect storm of great writing, a focused director and an enigmatic yet capable actor in Tom Berenger who just came together and nailed the part. Barnes is despicable, inhuman, haunting and utterly unforgettable. I don’t know what depths Beregnger sank to embody the character of Barnes but Platoon is the result of that perfect storm. Bravo to everyone for bringing the most terrifying villain since Darth Vader to the screen.

[@morrisonreed1]

" Barnes is despicable, inhuman, haunting and utterly unforgettable." yes ,but not inhuman.

[@bria78]

Disagree on inhuman. Bunny is inhuman, a cold ignorant killer little beast. Elias is inhuman, in his pureness that has not being spoiled by war. Barnes represents, in my opinion, the perfect example of what war does to an average human being. The transformation of his soul in the horror of the conflict. You see some scenes where he’s devastated by the death of his soldiers, and remembers his own painful story. What’s more human than that? And also his depression, evident when he asks two times to be killed, because he knows his life is worthless at that point. Chris (without realizing that) relieves him from the pain of existence, in the end. Academy decided to give an Oscar to Michael Caine that year, but the real winner was Berenger. A lost occasion, if you ask me, because Tom did not give other remarkable performances after Platoon.

[@franciscovega2042]

One of my favorite movies is True Blue. Not the best movie but Tom is great. Talk about range and talent.

[@bria78]

I do not entirely agree with him about acting schools. Leonardo Di Caprio never went to an acting school, he had a great private teacher - as far as I know - but no academic education. Yet, he’s on top and even won an Oscar (deserved another one for Django imo). Pure talent and passion are fundamental elements. If you do not have them, you only waste time in acting schools which are also very expensive.

[@morrisonreed1]

key phrase "private teacher" ,That is often as good or better than an acting "school".

[@bria78]

@@morrisonreed1 and that is correct too. I only think acting schools are expensive and often useless. Many great performances came from actors who had no training. Just think of the Neorealism movement in the 40s. Fellini literally used people taken from the streets for his movies along with big names.

[@nomiddlenamenmn427]

I agree. I believe Leonardo is gifted similar to the late River Phoenix. Their acting is natural no matter the role.

[@anniegianni]

👍❤