Thora Birch

Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982)[1] is an American actress. She had early roles in the short-lived sitcom Day by Day and in Purple People Eater (1988), in which she won a Young Artist Award for "Best Young Actress Under Nine Years of Age". She also starred in other films, such as All I Want for Christmas (1991), Patriot Games (1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Monkey Trouble (1994), Now and Then (1995) and Alaska (1996).

Her breakthrough role came in 1999 with the Academy Award winning film, American Beauty. Her performance was well received by both critics and audiences and brought Birch to international recognition. She later played the lead role in Ghost World (2001) for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. She appeared in independent films, such as Dark Corners (2006), Train (2008) and Winter of Frozen Dreams (2009).

After taking a break from acting, Birch resumed her acting career and plays software engineer Morgan in Carlton Cuse's 2016 television series Colony.[2][3][4]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 1988–1995 2.2 1996–2001 2.3 2002–2012 2.4 2015–present 3 Filmography 3.1 Film 3.2 Television 4 Awards and nominations 5 References 6 External links

Early life
Birch was born in Los Angeles, the eldest child of Jack Birch and Carol Connors. Her parents, who have been her business managers throughout her acting career, are former adult film actors; both appeared in the film Deep Throat.[5][6][7][8] Birch is of German Jewish, Scandinavian and Italian ancestry.[9] The family's original surname was Biersch.[9] Her name, Thora, is derived from the name of the Norse god of thunder and lightning, Thor;[10] she has a younger brother named Bolt.[11] Because of their own experience with the entertainment industry, Birch's parents were reluctant to encourage her, but they were persuaded to show her photograph to agents by a babysitter who noticed her imitating commercials.[citation needed] She appeared in commercials in the late 1980s for Burger King, California Raisins, Quaker Oats and Vlasic Pickles.[dead link][12]

Career
1988–1995

Birch made her film debut in Purple People Eater, for which she won a Youth In Film Award.[13] She also played Molly in the short-lived television series Day By Day. She was credited as "Thora". Birch played "tomboy" Billie Pike in Paradise, which starred Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith and Elijah Wood. During the 1990s, she starred in All I Want for Christmas (1991), Hocus Pocus (1993) and Monkey Trouble (1994). She appeared in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), as the daughter of Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford). Birch starred in Now and Then (1995) with Gaby Hoffmann, Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Rosie O'Donnell and Melanie Griffith.

1996–2001

In 1996, she landed a leading role in Alaska (1996). After guest-starring in a few television series, Birch took a break from acting.[14]

In 1999, she returned in the television film Night Ride Home and had an uncredited role for Anywhere but Here. Later, Birch won critical praise for the role of Jane Burnham in American Beauty and was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award. The film itself went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. As Birch was 16 at the time she made it, and thus classified as a minor in the United States, her parents had to approve her brief topless scene in the film. They and child labor representatives were on the set for the shooting of the scene.[15][16] After supporting roles in The Smokers (2000), where Birch was called "a scene-stealer" by The Hollywood Reporter,[17] and Dungeons & Dragons (2000), she landed the lead role alongside Keira Knightley in the horror film The Hole (2001). The film was released in theaters in the UK, and went direct-to-video in the US almost two years later and gained divided reviews. BBC.co.uk wrote: "Given that she has a much leaner role than the one she enjoyed in "American Beauty", the qualities which made her flourish in that multi-Oscar-winner are still abundantly clear".[18]

Birch landed the leading role in Ghost World (2001), with Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi and Brad Renfro. Her performances gained positive response from film critics and she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.[19] In his review for The New York Times, A. O. Scott praised her: "Thora Birch, whose performance as Lester Burnham's alienated daughter was the best thing about American Beauty, plays a similar character here, with even more intelligence and restraint".[20] In his Chicago Reader review, Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote, "Birch makes the character an uncanny encapsulation of adolescent agonies without ever romanticizing or sentimentalizing her attitudes, and Clowes and Zwigoff never allow us to patronize her".[21] However, in his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris disliked Birch's character of Enid and remarked: "I found Enid smug, complacent, cruel, deceitful, thoughtless, malicious and disloyal".[22]

2002–2012

Birch played Liz Murray in the television film Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003), for which she received an Emmy nomination.[23] The next year, she played Karen in Silver City (2004), written and directed by John Sayles, which after premiering at that year's Cannes Film Festival, received a mixed reception.[24][25]

In 2006, Birch starred in the low-budget horror film Dark Corners, as a troubled young woman who wakes up one day as a different person—someone who is stalked by creatures.[26] Tony Sullivan, for Eyeforfilm.co.uk, found Birch "convincing as the two halves of this split personality".[27] She also had the leading role in the 2008 slasher Train.

She starred alongside Brittany Murphy in the psychological thriller Deadline. The film first premiered directly-to-video in October 2009 in the U.K. before being released in December in the U.S. In 2009. She starred in the mystery film Winter of Frozen Dreams. A controversy during filming involving Birch's father and his forced presence during Birch's taping of a sex scene for the film made tabloid headlines.[7] In January 2010, Birch played Sidney Bloom in the Lifetime movie The Pregnancy Pact.[28]

Birch was cast and scheduled to make her American stage debut in the off Broadway revival of Dracula, but was fired for the behavior of her father, her manager at the time, who physically threatened one of the show's cast members.[5] Reflecting on the incident in January 2014, Birch revealed that not only was she in a "state of shock," but later accepted that she had upset a lot of people and those around her wanted her to "be not fine."[25]

In 2012, she appeared as the lead character in Petunia, in which she also produced and one that received a limited release.[25][29] About the film, Birch said: "I think it's just something that's a little bit different from your standard summer fare. It's a little bit more intimate. It's also a very modern tale. I think it's actually honest."[30]

2015–present

Jane Fonda backstage with Birch before being honored at the 2015 Hollywood Film Awards

Birch as Jolene on the set of Above Suspicion After resuming her acting career, Birch portrays software engineer Morgan in the Carlton Cuse series Colony.[3][4] She is also starring in the independent film The Etruscan Smile with Brian Cox, which recently wrapped shooting in San Francisco and Scotland and is set for release in 2017.[31] Birch has also just started filming Above Suspicion,[32] a thriller adapted from the book by New York Times columnist Joe Sharkey, and co-starring Jack Huston, Emilia Clarke and Johnny Knoxville.[33] It was also recently announced that she will star in the political thriller Public Affairs.[34]

Filmography
Film

Year

Title

Role

Notes

1988 Purple People Eater (film) Molly Johnson 1991 Paradise Billie Pike 1991 All I Want for Christmas Hallie O'Fallon 1992 Patriot Games Sally Ryan 1992 Itsy Bitsy Spider Leslie McGroarty (voice) Short film 1993 Hocus Pocus Dani Dennison 1994 Monkey Trouble Eva Gregory 1994 Clear and Present Danger Sally Ryan 1995 Now and Then Tina "Teeny" Tercell 1996 Alaska Jessie Barnes 1999 American Beauty Jane Burnham 1999 Anywhere but Here Mary Uncredited 2000 The Smokers Lincoln Roth 2000 Dungeons & Dragons Empress Savina 2001 The Hole Elizabeth "Liz" Dunn 2001 Ghost World Enid 2004 Silver City Karen Cross 2004 The Dot Narrator (voice) Short film 2005 Slingshot April 2006 Dark Corners Susan Hamilton / Karen Clarke 2008 Train Alexandra "Alex" Roper 2009 Winter of Frozen Dreams Barbara Hoffman 2009 Deadline Lucy Woods 2012 Petunia Vivian Petunia 2017 The Etruscan Smile[35] Emily 2017 Above Suspicion[36][37] Jolene Filming

Television

Year

Title

Role

Notes

1988–89 Day by Day Molly Recurring role (21 episodes) 1989 Doogie Howser, M.D. Megan Episode: "Vinnie Video Vici" 1990 Dark Avenger Susie Donovan Television film 1990 Married People Emily Episode: "To Live and Drive in New York" 1990–91 Parenthood Taylor Buckman Main role (12 episodes) 1991 Amen Brittany Episode: "Nothing Says Lovin'..." 1994 Monty Ann Sherman Episode: "Here Comes the Son" 1995 The Outer Limits Aggie Travers Episode: "The Choice" 1997 Promised Land Allison Rhodes Episode: "Running Scared" 1997 Touched by an Angel Erin Episode: "The Pact" 1999 Night Ride Home Clea Mahler Television film 2002 Night Visions Susan Thornhill Episode: "The Maze" 2003 Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story Elizabeth "Liz" Murray Television film 2005 My Life as a Teenage Robot Vega (voice) Episode: "Escape from Cluster Prime" 2010 The Pregnancy Pact Sidney Bloom Television film 2016 Colony[3][4] Morgan Recurring role

Awards and nominations
Year

Association

Category

Work

Result

1989 Young Artist Award Best Young Actor/Actress Ensemble in a Television Comedy, Drama Series or Special Day by Day Nominated Best Young Actress Under Nine Years of Age Purple People Eater Won 1990 Outstanding Performance by an Actress Under Nine Years of Age Day by Day Nominated 1991 Best Young Actress Supporting or Re-Occurring Role for a TV Series Parenthood Nominated 1992 Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture Paradise Won 1993 Best Young Actress Under Ten in a Motion Picture Patriot Games Nominated Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture All I Want for Christmas Nominated 1994 Best Youth Actress Leading Role in a Motion Picture Comedy Hocus Pocus Won 1996 Best Performances by a Young Ensemble – Feature Film or Video Now and Then Nominated 1997 Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress Alaska Nominated 1999 SDFCS Award Best Supporting Actress American Beauty Won 2000 BAFTA Film Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated OFCS Award Best Supporting Actress Nominated OFCS Award Best Ensemble Cast Performance Won Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama Nominated Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture Won Young Hollywood Award Best On-Screen Chemistry (shared with Wes Bentley) Won Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress Won YoungStar Award Best Young Actress/Performance in a Motion Picture Drama Won 2001 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress Dungeons & Dragons Nominated Golden Space Needle Award Best Actress Ghost World Won TFCA Award Best Performance, Female Won Deauville Film Festival Best Female Performance Won SDFCS Award Best Actress Won 2002 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Nominated VFCC Award Best Actress Nominated Young Hollywood Award Talent for Charity Won Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award Female Dungeons & Dragons and Ghost World Nominated OFCS Award Best Actress Ghost World Nominated CFCA Award Best Actress Nominated MTV Movie Awards Best Line Nominated MTV Movie Award Best Dressed Nominated Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical Nominated 2003 Young Hollywood Award  Won DVD Premiere Award Best Supporting Actress The Smokers Nominated Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story Nominated 2007 Nellie Tayloe Ross Award  Won