Timothy Bottoms


Timothy James Bottoms is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in Johnny Got His Gun ; Sonny Crawford in The Last Picture Show, where he and his fellow co-stars, Cybill Shepherd and Jeff Bridges, rose to fame; and as James Hart, the first-year law student who battles with Prof. Kingsfield, in the film adaptation The Paper Chase. He is also known for playing the main antagonist in the disaster film Rollercoaster and for playing President George W. Bush multiple times, including on the sitcom That's My Bush!, the comedy film The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course and the docudrama DC 9/11: Time of Crisis.

Early life

Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the eldest of four sons of Betty and James "Bud" Bottoms, a sculptor and art teacher.
He graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1970. During his time there he gained acting and singing experience during various theater productions.

Career

Bottoms made his film debut in 1971 as Joe Bonham in Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun. The same year, he appeared alongside his brother Sam in The Last Picture Show.. In 1973's The Paper Chase, he starred as Harvard law student Hart facing the fearsome Professor Kingsfield. Among the other films he has appeared in are Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing , The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder, Operation Daybreak, A Small Town in Texas, Rollercoaster ''Hurricane, Invaders from Mars and Elephant .
As a result of both a physical resemblance to U.S. President George W. Bush and an ability to impersonate his voice, Bottoms has portrayed Bush in three widely varying productions. In 2000 and 2001, he played a parody of Bush in the Comedy Central sitcom That's My Bush!; he subsequently appeared as Bush in a cameo appearance in the family film The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course. Finally, following the September 11 attacks, Bottoms once again played Bush, this time in a serious fashion, in the TV film DC 9/11: Time of Crisis, one of the first films to be based upon the attacks.
He appeared in a recurring role during the first season of the FX series Dirt as Gibson Horne, owner of the magazine for whom the main character Lucy Spiller, played by Courteney Cox, worked.
He also co-produced the documentary Picture This – The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas, a behind-the-scenes work about the making of the films The Last Picture Show and Texasville. In the documentary, he revealed that he had a crush on his co-star Cybill Shepherd during The Last Picture Show, but she did not reciprocate his romantic feelings, even though she said in a separate interview that she found him "very attractive". He was also heavily featured in the Metallica video for "One", which featured footage of the film Johnny Got His Gun''.
In 2023, Bottoms released a novel entitled The Pier. The story follows a young boy out fishing for a day and the people and situations he encounters. The book was published by Tall Tales Press.

Personal life

He is the eldest brother of actors Joseph Bottoms, Sam Bottoms, and Ben Bottoms.
Bottoms has been married twice, first to singer Alicia Cory in 1975. They had a son before divorcing in 1982. His marriage to Marcia Morehart in 1984 produced three children.

Filmography

Film

Johnny Got His Gun as Joe Bonham The Last Picture Show as Sonny CrawfordLove and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing as Walter ElbertsonThe Paper Chase as HartThe White Dawn as DaggettThe Crazy World of Julius Vrooder as VrooderOperation Daybreak as Jan KubisA Small Town in Texas as Poke JacksonThe Story of David as young DavidRollercoaster as Young ManThe Other Side of the Mountain Part 2 as John BootheHurricane as Jack SanfordThe High Country as JimTin Man as CaseyHambone and Hillie as Michael RadcliffeThe Census Taker as PeteWhat Waits Below as Maj. Elbert StevensThe Sea Serpent as Pedro FontánIn the Shadow of Kilimanjaro as Jack RingtreeInvaders from Mars as George GardnerThe Fantasist as Danny SullivanMio min Mio as The KingThe Drifter as ArthurReturn from the River Kwai as Seaman MillerA Case of Honor as Sgt. Joseph 'Hard' CaseIstanbul as FrankTexasville as Sonny Crawford Digger as Sam CorlettBlue Sky as Owens Ranch Cowboy Ava's Magical Adventure as SlaytonIll Met by Moonlight as EgeusHorses and Champions as Ben ChoiceTop Dog as Nelson HousemanRipper Man as Charles WalkanHourglass as Jurgen BraunerDesperate Obsession American Hero as Jack ArmstrongLone Tiger as MarcusTotal Force as DrakeUncle Sam as Donald Crandall' as ClayThe Prince as JohnAbsolute Force as Lt. John DrakeTiger as LarryMr. Atlas as Phillip FroddenThe Man in the Iron Mask as FouquetMixed Blessings as Carl WeaverDiamondbacks as Ed WilliamsThe Waterfront as Salvatore SolletoNo Rest for the Wicked as Father JeremyThe Prince and the Surfer as Johnny Canty The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes as John CarverBlack Sea 213 as DeanThe Hiding Place as JackHeld for Ransom as Fred DonovanThe Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course as President George Walker Bush Elephant as Mr. McFarlandThe Entrepreneurs as RotunnoThe Girl Next Door as Mr. KidmanIllusion Infinity as Francis / Douglas / Henry / Patricia's Father / Older AlanPocket Angel Paradise, Texas as Mack CameronShanghai Kiss as Adelaide's FatherAlong the Way as Michael McCafferyChinaman's Chance: America's Other Slaves as ThomasParasomnia as Dr. Emil Corso

Television

Look Homeward, Angel as Eugene GantWinesburg, Ohio The Story of David as DavidThe Moneychangers as Miles EastinThe Gift of Love as Rudi MillerA Shining Season as John BakerEscape as Dwight WorkerEast of Eden as Adam TraskLove Leads the Way: A True Story as Morris FrankPerry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun as Father Thomas O'NeilThe Hitchhiker as PeterIsland Sons as Tim FaradayThe Twilight Zone as Miley JudsonFreddy's Nightmares as Mr. FranklinThe Ray Bradbury Theater as DriscollLand of the Lost as Tom Porter500 Nations Yakuza Connection as Ward DerderianPersonal Vendetta as Zach BlackwellDeath Game as JackMurder Seen as Detective StepnoskiGideon's Crossing as Rev. ChuckThat's My Bush! as George W. BushThat '70s Show as Vice Principal ColeDC 9/11: Time of Crisis as President George W. BushIke: Countdown to D-Day as Walter Bedell "Beetle" SmithNCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service as Ritt EverettJane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't as ClarenceVampire Bats as Hank PoelkerGrey's Anatomy as Carl MurphyDeceit as Martin FordDirt as Gibson HorneHoliday in Handcuffs as Richard Chandler Deadly Suspicion as Sheriff Carl LovettLone Rider as GusBound by a Secret as Will Hutchinson

Video game

Fox Hunt as FrankAmerican Hero as Jack Armstrong

Producer

  • ''Picture This: The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas''