Anthony Charles Edwards (born July 19, 1962) is an American actor, director, and producer. He played Dr. Mark Greene on the first eight seasons of ER, for which he received a Golden Globe Award and six Screen Actors Guild Awards, and was nominated for four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards. He has appeared in various films and television series, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Top Gun, Zodiac, Gotcha!, Miracle Mile, Revenge of the Nerds, Thunderbirds, Planes, Northern Exposure, and Designated Survivor.

Early life Edwards was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Erika Kem Edwards Plack (née Weber), an artist/landscape painter, and Peter Edwards, an architect to whom he was one of five children. His maternal grandfather was German-born designer Kem Weber. Apart from his maternal German roots, Edwards also has English, Irish, Scottish and Mexican ancestry on his father's side. He received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in England and studied theater at the University of Southern California.

Career Television and film

Edward's early film appearances included roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Revenge of the Nerds (1984), Gotcha! (1985) and The Sure Thing (1985). It was Edwards's role as LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 film Top Gun that brought his first widespread public acknowledgement. His character, who died in an aviation accident, was among the most prominent and popular in the film. Scenes with him and his film family (played by Meg Ryan and Aaron and Adam Weis) were later reprised as flashbacks in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Edwards's roles following Top Gun included Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), Miracle Mile (1988), Downtown (1990), Pet Sematary Two (1992) and The Client (1994). He also had a recurring role on the TV series Northern Exposure from 1992 to 1993.

His best-known role is as Dr. Mark Greene on the long-running TV series ER, from the series premiere in 1994 to the end of the eighth season in 2002. The series also afforded Edwards his first opportunity to direct. Edwards's desire to pursue directing led to his request to be written out of the series. He reportedly earned $35 million for three seasons on ER, which made him one of television's highest-paid actors. Edwards received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for ER. He won a Golden Globe Award For Best Performance by an Actor-In a TV Series after being nominated four times and he has two Screen Actor's Guild Awards. In 2008, Edwards returned to ER to reprise his role as Dr. Greene (in flashback scenes, where he treats the dying son of character Catherine Banfield) for one episode during its 15th and final season. Following ER, he took some time to raise his children, appreciating the privilege that his ER salary provided.

His film appearances following ER included the science fiction film Thunderbirds (2004), the psychological thriller film The Forgotten (2004) and the crime thriller film Zodiac (2007). In 2010, Edwards appeared in the movie Motherhood, which set a record for the biggest bomb in British cinema history by garnering £88 on 11 tickets on opening weekend. Motherhood did not fare much better in the United States, earning $93,388 in three weeks of release. At the time, he said he took the role because "it seemed like a very organic and real thing. It really kind of reminded me of what the dynamic in a family is like." Edwards reunited with Val Kilmer, another actor from Top Gun, when he voiced one of the fighter jets in the Disneytoon Studios film Planes (2013).

In 2018, Edwards was cast in the recurring role in the third season of Netflix's Designated Survivor as Mars Harper, the President's Chief of Staff. In 2020, he served as an executive producer of the film adaptation of Martin Moran's The Tricky Part. In 2022, Edwards was cast as Alan Reed in Netflix's docu-series Inventing Anna.

Honors and awards Edwards received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for ER and won as an executive producer on Outstanding Television Movie winner Temple Grandin. He earned a People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series for ER (1995); and won six Screen Actors Guild Awards for: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1996 and 1998), and Best Ensemble Cast (1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999), all for ER. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Drama in 1998) for ER.

Edwards also won a Daytime Emmy for the production of the underground rock documentary N.Y.H.C. (1999) and the telepic adaptation of Kimberly Willis Holt's 1998 coming of age novel My Louisiana Sky (2001), and earned the Carnegie Medal Award for My Louisiana Sky (2003)."Anthony Edwards Biography". Film.com. Retrieved April 17, 2009.

Theater

After a long career in television, Edwards made his Broadway debut as his second act in 2018 in the revival of Children of a Lesser God at Studio 54. In 2015 he appeared in Classic Stage Company's A Month in the Country but his stage acting career began when he was growing up in Santa Barbara.

On May 13, 2022, Edwards made his unexpected Broadway musical debut when he appeared as Dr. Walker in the Broadway production of Girl from the North Country due to COVID-19 cases impacting the cast. The show also stars his wife, Mare Winningham.

Edwards appeared in the 2024 Broadway production of Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon.

Personal life Edwards was married to Jeanine Lobell from 1994 to 2015. They have one son and three daughters. At the end of 2021, Edwards and longtime friend and fellow actor Mare Winningham eloped.

On November 10, 2017, Edwards wrote an essay on Medium, in which he stated that producer and screenwriter Gary Goddard had befriended and for years sexually assaulted him and his friends, beginning when they were 12 years old.

Edwards has been a licensed private pilot since 2012.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1982 Fast Times at Ridgemont High Stoner Bud 1983 Heart Like a Wheel John Muldowney (age 15–23) 1984 Revenge of the Nerds Gilbert Lowe1985 Gotcha! Jonathan Moore The Sure Thing Lance 1986 Top Gun Lt. Jr. Grd. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw1987 Summer Heat Aaron Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise Gilbert Lowe 1988 Hawks Deckermensky, 'Decker' Miracle Mile Harry Washello Mr. North Theophilus North 1989 How I Got into College Kip Hammett 1990 Downtown Alex Kearney 1992 Pet Sematary Two Chase Matthews Delta Heat Mike Bishop 1993 Sexual Healing David ShortNominated — CableACE Award for Actor in a Movie or Miniseries1994 The Client Clint Von Hooser Charlie's Ghost Story Dave Also director1998 Playing by Heart Roger Good Night, Gorilla Zookeeper (voice) Short 1999 Don't Go Breaking My Heart Tony Dorfman 2001 Jackpot Tracy 2003 Northfork Happy2004 Thunderbirds Ray "Brains" Hackenbacker The Forgotten Jim Paretta 2007 Zodiac Inspector William Armstrong 2009 Motherhood Avery Welsh 2010 Flipped Steven Loski 2012 Big Sur Lawrence Ferlinghetti 2013 Planes Echo (voice) 2015 Experimenter Miller Consumed Lab Scientist2016My Dead BoyfriendDirector2022Top Gun: MaverickLt. Jr. Grd. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Archive footage for flashback scenes)

Television

Year Title Role Notes1981 The Killing of Randy Webster Tommy Lee Swanson Television film Walking Tall Robbie Episode: "The Fire Within" 1982–1983 It Takes Two Andy Quinn Main role 1983 High School U.S.A. Beau Middleton Television film 1984 Call to Glory Billy 1 episode 1985 Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story Bill JohnsonTelevision film1990 El Diablo Billy Ray Smith Hometown Boy Makes Good Boyd Geary 1992–1993 Northern Exposure Mike Monroe Recurring role 1994–2002, 2008 ER Dr. Mark Greene Main role, also directed 4 episodesGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1998)Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1996, 1998)Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1996–1997–1998–1999)TV Land Award - Icon Award (2009)Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1996–1997, 1999)Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama Series (1995–98)Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1997)Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1997, 1999, 2001)Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1995, 2000–01)Nominated — TV Guide Award for Actor of the Year in a Drama Series (2001) 1995 Saturday Night Live Host 1 episode 1996 In Cold Blood Dick Hickock Miniseries2001 Cursed Ricky1 episode Frasier Tom 2013 Zero Hour Hank Galliston Main role2015 Girls Melvin Shapiro1 episode Blue Bloods Owen Cairo2016 Billions Judge Whit Wilcox 2 episodes Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Patrick Griffin1 episode Drunk History Giles Allen 2017 Law & Order True Crime Judge Stanley WeisbergRecurring role 2019 Designated Survivor White House Chief of Staff Mars Harper2022 Inventing Anna Alan ReedMiniseries WeCrashed Bruce Dunlevie Tales of the Walking Dead Dr. Chauncey Everett 1 episode2026Law & OrderJudge Kenneth SullivanEpisode: "Liberty" Paul Bosco Main role

Producer Year Title Role Notes 1999 N.Y.H.C. Executive producer 2001 My Louisiana Sky Executive producer Television filmCarnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video (2002)Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special (2002) 2003 Die, Mommie, Die! Producer 2010 Temple Grandin Executive producer Television filmPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie (2010)

References

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