Oscar Isaac (born Ã"scar Isaac Hernández; March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor and singer. He is known for his lead roles in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination, and A Most Violent Year (2014). He will star in the upcoming films Star Wars: The Force Awakens and X-Men: Apocalypse.
Early life and education
Isaac was born in Guatemala, to a Guatemalan mother, Maria Eugenia Estrada Nicolle, and a Cuban pulmonologist father, Ã"scar Gonzalo Hernández-Cano. His maternal grandfather was French. Isaac was raised in Miami, Florida. While in Miami, he played lead guitar and sang vocals for his band The Blinking Underdogs. He has described his evangelical Protestant upbringing as "very Christian".
Isaac liked to cause trouble at his private grade school when he was growing up. “I set off a fire extinguisher in the gym, defaced a mural, just stupid stuff,†he said in an interview. He liked to make kids laugh. At one point, his teacher had to screen off his desk from the rest of the class with a piece of cardboard. Eventually he was expelled.
Isaac graduated from the Juilliard School in New York City, where he was part of the Drama Division's Group 34 (2001â€"2005).
Career
Isaac was awarded the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actor of 2009, for his role as José Ramos-Horta in Balibo (2009).
Isaac's first major film role was as Joseph opposite Keisha Castle-Hughes in the film The Nativity Story. He also had small roles in All About the Benjamins and Guerrilla, Part Two of the Che Guevara biopic Che.
Isaac played King John in the 2010 film Robin Hood. Later that year, he portrayed a security guard in the film W.E., which was directed by Madonna and released in September 2011. In the same month, Isaac starred in the crime drama Drive. He also had a role in 10 Years, in which he played a musician. He performed his own song "Never Had" in the film. "Never Had" and "You Ain't Goin Nowhere" were included in the movie's soundtrack.
He has made an appearance in the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He appeared as Romeo in the Public Theater's "Shakespeare in the Park" performances of Romeo and Juliet and Two Gentlemen of Verona.
In 2013, Isaac starred in the film Inside Llewyn Davis, written and directed by the Coen Brothers. Isaac played a talented yet unsuccessful folk singer in a drama set in Greenwich Village in 1961. The film won the Grand Prix at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. For the role of Llewyn, Isaac received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Isaac co-starred with Jessica Chastain in J.C. Chandor's film A Most Violent Year (2014), replacing actor Javier Bardem.
In 2014, Isaac was announced as a cast member for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens for 2015. The film's first trailer, released on November 28, 2014, revealed his character to be an X-wing pilot, with the character's name being announced as Poe Dameron two weeks later.
On November 24, 2014, Isaac was announced to play the X-Men villain Apocalypse in the upcoming film X-Men: Apocalypse which will be released on May 27, 2016.
Filmography
References
External links
- Oscar Isaac at the Internet Movie Database
- Oscar Isaac Q&A 2006 interview at BroadwayWorld.com
