Who is Tom Hulce?
American actor and producer Thomas Edward ‘Tom’ Hulce, was born in Detroit, Michigan USA, on 6 December 1953, making his zodiac sign Sagittarius. He’s appeared in 29 movies and TV series, and is perhaps still best known for his playing of the lead character Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the critically acclaimed 1984 biographical musical movie “Amadeus”, directed by Milos Forman, and which also starred F. Murray Abraham and Elizabeth Berridge. It follows the life of Mozart as seen through the eyes of composer Antonio Salieri, who was jealous of his talent, and even claimed to have killed Mozart. The movie won 51 of its 66 award nominations, including eight Oscar wins for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Director, amongst others.
Tom retired from acting in 2008, and has since been focused on producing and directing theatre plays, as well as TV movies and series.
Education and early life
Tom and his three siblings were raised in Detroit by their father Raymond Albert Hulce who was employed at the Ford Motor Company, and their mother Joanna Winkleman who was a singer, and performed with All-Girl Orchestra.
Tom grew up wanting to become a famous singer, and began taking lessons when he was nine, however, his voice changed in his teenage years, and he thus chose acting over singing. He was 15 when he left home and went on to study at Interlochen Arts Academy; upon matriculating in 1972, Tom enrolled at North Carolina School of the Arts, but quitting a year before he was to graduate.
He enrolled at Beloit College a couple of years later, and eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Roles in TV series
Tom’s debut TV series appearance was in the 1976 episode “Song of Myself” of the drama mini-series “The American Parade”, and a couple of his following roles were in the 1976 episode “Chapter X: John Quincy Adams, Congressman” of the historical drama “The Adams Chronicles”, three episodes of the 1983 comedy drama “St. Elsewhere”, and the 1986 episode “The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket” of the romantic comedy drama “American Playhouse”.
The year 1986 also saw Tom play Quinn in the family comedy drama “Tall Tales & Legends”, which starred David McCharen, Stewart Duvall and Shelley Duvall; it covers various mythical characters throughout history, aired from 1985 to ‘88 and won two of its six award nominations.
Tom then played Joe in the 1993 horror thriller drama “The Hidden Room”; it starred Mimi Kuzyk, Yannick Bisson and Don Francks, and each episode follows a woman struggling in life. The series was nominated for 14 awards.
Tom’s since had only a single TV series role: he voiced Keith in the 1995 episode “She’s the Boss” of the comedy “Frasier”, which aired from 1993 to 2004, and won 167 of its 443 award nominations.
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Roles in movies
Tom’s debut film appearance was in the 1977 drama “Emily, Emily”, and he could then have been seen playing supporting characters in the 1977 drama “September 30, 1955”, the 1978 comedy “National Lampoon’s Animal House”, and the 1980 romantic comedy “Those Lips, Those Eyes”.
Tom portrayed Jonathan in the 1985 comedy drama “Echo Park”, and then gained recognition in 1988, with his playing of C. C. Drood in the mystery crime drama “Slam Dance”, directed by Wayne Wang, and in which he starred alongside Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Virginia Madsen. It follows an artist who’s been framed with a murder, and the movie was nominated for two awards.
A couple of Tom’s roles in the remainder of the ‘80s were in the 1988 drama “Dominick and Eugene”, another 1988 drama “Shadowman”, and the 1989 comedy drama “Parenthood”.
The year 1993 saw him play Brillstein in the thriller drama “Fearless”, directed by Peter Weir, and which starred Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini and Rosie Perez. It follows a man who’s just survived a plane crash, and the film won six of its 16 award nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Rosie Perez).
Tom could then have been seen playing and voicing characters in the 1994 romantic horror drama “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”, the 1995 romantic adventure “Wings of Courage”, and the 1996 animated family drama “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (voice role).
He retired from acting with his voicing of Quasimodo in the 1996 video game “Disney’s Animated Storybook: The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, but has since returned for three roles: in the 2002 animated adventure comedy “The Hunchback of Notre Dame II” (voice role), the 2006 fantasy comedy drama “Stranger Than Fiction” and the 2008 action science fiction adventure “Jumper”.
Other credits
Tom received special thanks for the 2002 documentary video “The Making of ‘Amadeus”, and the 2018 comedy film “Stuck”.
He produced the 2004 romantic movie “A Home at the End of the World”, and the 2018 romantic comedy drama “The Seagull”.
Tom’s been featured in many documentary movies, including the 1997 “The Reality Trip”, the 2009 “Kyle Riabko: The Lead” and the 2022 “Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known”.
Some of the talk-shows in which Tom’s made a guest appearance include “Wogan”, “Lou Rawls Parade of Stars”, and “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”.
Awards and nominations
Tom’s won four of his 14 award nominations, including a 1985 Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for his performance in “Amadeus”.
He won a 1985 David di Donatello Award for Migliore Attore Straniero (Best Foreign Actor) and a 1985 Silver Ribbon for Best Foreign Actor at the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Awards, both for his performance in “Amadeus”. Tom also won a 1996 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special, and a 1996 Annie Award for Best Individual Achievement, Voice Acting, both for his performance in “The Heidi Chronicles.
He’s also been nominated for four Golden Globes, in 1985 (“Amadeus”), 1989 (“Dominick and Eugene”), 1991 (“Murder in Mississippi”) and 1996 (“The Heidi Chronicles”).
Love life and sexual orientation
While giving an interview to the weekly newspaper “Seattle Gay News”, Tom revealed that he was gay. He also spoke about the rumors which were circulating media at that time, stating that he wasn’t married to Italian woman Cecilia Ermini, and that they didn’t have a daughter Anya together; there are even today many articles on the internet, which mistakenly claim that Tom’s married to Cecilia.
Tom hasn’t spoken of the men whom he’s perhaps been with, but it’s believed that he’s been in a couple of relationships; there’s a rumor that he once dated American theatre producer Stephen Spinella, but this remains unconfirmed.
Tom seems to be unattached as of October 2022, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Tom produced the critically acclaimed Broadway play “Spring Awakening”, which in 2007 won eight Tony Awards.
He has a ‘messaging’ Instagram account, which is today followed by nearly 1,000 people, and numbers over 30 pictures and videos posted onto it; it’s believed that Tom often answers his fans’ questions related to theatre plays, and he occasionally posts their original art which they send to him.
Tom’s work has taken him all around the world, and he’s become quite passionate about travelling; his favorite city to travel to is Rome, Italy.
His favorite movie directors are Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino and Francis Ford Coppola, and some of his favorite films include “Jaws”, “West Side Story” and “Schindler’s List”.
Height, eyes and net worth
Tom’s age is 68. His eyes are blue and his hair’s gray, he weighs around 165lbs (75kgs) and he’s 5ft 6ins (1.69m) tall.
Tom’s net worth’s been estimated at over $15 million as of October 2022.
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