Tom Noonan


Tom Noonan is an American actor, director, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his roles as Francis Dollarhyde in Manhunter, Frankenstein's Monster in The Monster Squad, Cain in RoboCop 2, The Ripper in Last Action Hero, Sammy Barnathan in Synecdoche, New York, Reverend Nathaniel in Hell on Wheels, the Pallid Man in 12 Monkeys and as the voice of everyone else in Anomalisa.
Noonan is also a writer and film director, his debut feature film What Happened Was won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Early life

Noonan was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the son of Rita, a mathematics teacher, and John Noonan, Sr., a jazz musician and doctor of dental surgery. He had an older brother, John Ford Noonan, a playwright, and two sisters, Barbara and Nancy.

Career

Noonan started working in theatre, but in the 1980s he began working in film. At 6 feet, 5 inches, Noonan's imposing presence is probably responsible for his tendency to be cast as menacing villains, as in RoboCop 2, Last Action Hero, Manhunter, and The Pledge. His height was used for comic effect in "The Moving Finger," the series finale of the horror anthology Monsters.
In 1986, Noonan played Francis Dollarhyde, a serial killer who kills entire families, in Michael Mann's Manhunter, the first movie to feature Hannibal Lecktor. Another supporting role, and another collaboration with director Michael Mann was in 1995, as Kelso in Heat. He also played the Frankenstein monster in The Monster Squad. During the 1990s, he wrote various plays, including two that he made into movies, What Happened Was... and The Wife. In the 2000s, Noonan appeared in various other movies, including a widely praised role as Sammy Barnathan in Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut.
Noonan has also made numerous appearances in television series, including The X-Files, ', ', Tales from the Darkside and , and Detective Victor Huntley in Damages. He recently appeared on Louie as a doctor who takes the young Louie through the crucifixion in graphic anatomical detail. He also portrayed the Reverend Nathaniel Cole in the AMC original series Hell on Wheels.
In 2015, Noonan voiced all of the supporting characters in Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman's stop-motion comedy-drama film Anomalisa, for which he won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Filmography

Film

Television