Bruce_Campbell

Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell

American actor (born 1958)

For other people named Bruce Campbell, see Bruce Campbell (disambiguation).

Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead horror series, beginning with the short movie Within the Woods (1978). He has also featured in many low-budget cult movies such as Crimewave (1985), Maniac Cop (1988), Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989), and Bubba Ho-Tep (2002).

Quick Facts Born, Occupations ...

Campbell had the main roles of the television series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993–1994) and Jack of All Trades (2000), and a recurring role as Autolycus, King of Thieves in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1999) and Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–1999). He played Sam Axe on the USA Network series Burn Notice (2007–2013) and reprised his role as Ash for the Starz series Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015–2018). He also appeared in The Escort (2015).

Campbell directed, produced, and featured in the documentaries Fanalysis (2002) and A Community Speaks (2004); co-wrote, directed, produced, and featured in the movie Man with the Screaming Brain (2005); and directed, produced, and featured in a parody of his career My Name Is Bruce (2007).

Campbell is known for frequent collaborations with the aforementioned Raimi, his brother Ted, Josh Becker, and Scott Spiegel.

Early life

Bruce Lorne Campbell[1] was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, on June 22, 1958,[2] the son of advertising executive and college professor Charles Newton Campbell and homemaker Joanne Louise (née Pickens).[3] He is of English and Scottish ancestry,[1] and has an older brother named Don and an older half-brother named Michael.[4] His father was also an actor and director for local theater.[3] Campbell began acting and making short Super 8 movies with friends as a teenager. After meeting future moviemaker Sam Raimi while the two attended Wylie E. Groves High School, they became good friends and collaborators. Campbell attended Western Michigan University and continued to pursue an acting career.[5]

Career

Film

Campbell signing a VHS copy of The Evil Dead in 2009.

Campbell and Raimi collaborated with a 30-minute Super 8 version of the first Evil Dead movie, titled Within the Woods (1978), which was initially used to attract investors.[6] He and Raimi got together with family and friends to begin working on The Evil Dead (1981). While featuring as the protagonist, Campbell also participation with the production of the movie, receiving a co-executive producer credit. Raimi wrote, directed, and edited the movie, while Rob Tapert produced. After an endorsement by horror author Stephen King, the movie slowly began to receive attention and offers for distribution.[7] Four years after its original release, it became the most popular movie in the UK. It was then distributed in the United States, resulting in the sequels Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992).[8]

Campbell was also drawn in the Marvel Zombie comics as his character, Ash Williams. He is featured in five comics, all in the series Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness. In them, he fights alongside the Marvel heroes against the heroes and people who have become zombies (deadites) while in search of the Necronomicon (Book of the Names of the Dead).[9] Campbell also played as Coach Boomer in the movie “Sky High”.

He has appeared in several of Raimi's movies other than the Evil Dead series, notably having cameo appearances in the director's Spider-Man film series.[10] Campbell also joined the cast of Raimi's movie Darkman[11] and The Quick and the Dead, though having no actual screen time in the latter movie's theatrical version.[12] In March 2022, Campbell was announced to have a cameo in Raimi's Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.[13]

Campbell often performs quirky roles, such as Elvis Presley for the movie Bubba Ho-Tep.[14] Along with Bubba Ho-Tep, he played a supporting role in Maniac Cop and Maniac Cop 2, and spoofed his career in the self-directed My Name is Bruce.[15]

Other mainstream movies for Campbell include supporting or featured roles in the Coen Brothers movie The Hudsucker Proxy, the Michael Crichton adaptation Congo, the movie version of McHale's Navy, Escape From L.A. (the sequel to John Carpenter's Escape From New York), the Jim Carrey drama The Majestic and the 2005 Disney movie Sky High.[16]

Campbell had a major voice role for the 2009 animated adaptation of the children's book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and a supporting voice role for Pixar's Cars 2.[17]

Campbell produced the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead, along with Raimi and Rob Tapert, appearing in the movie's post-credits scene in a cameo role with the expectation he would reprise that role in Army of Darkness 2.[18] The next year, the comedy metal band Psychostick released a song titled "Bruce Campbell" on their album IV: Revenge of the Vengeance that pays a comedic tribute to his past roles.

Campbell worked as an executive producer for the 2023 movie Evil Dead Rise.[19]

Television

Campbell at WonderCon in 2013

Other than cinema, Campbell has appeared in a number of television series. He featured in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. a boisterous science fiction comedy western created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse that played for one season.[20] He played a lawyer turned bounty hunter who was trying to hunt down John Bly, the man who killed his father. He featured in the television series Jack of All Trades, set on a fictional island occupied by the French in 1801. Campbell was also credited as co-executive producer, among others. The show was directed by Eric Gruendemann, and was produced by various people, including Sam Raimi.[21] The show was broadcast for two seasons, from 2000 to 2001. He had a recurring role as "Bill Church Jr." based upon the character of Morgan Edge from the Superman comics on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.[22]

From 1996 to 1997, Campbell was a recurring guest actor of the television series Ellen as Ed Billik, who becomes Ellen's boss when she sells her bookstore in season four.[23]

He is also known for his supporting role as the recurring character Autolycus ("King of Thieves") on both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, which reunited him with producer Rob Tapert.[24] Campbell played Hercules/Xena series producer Tapert in two episodes of Hercules set in the present.[25] He directed a number of episodes of Hercules and Xena, including the Hercules series finale.[26]

Campbell also obtained the main role of race car driver Hank Cooper for the Disney made-for-television remake of The Love Bug.[27]

Campbell had a critically acclaimed dramatic guest role as a grief-stricken detective seeking revenge for his father's murder in a two-part episode of the fourth season of Homicide: Life on the Street. Campbell later played the part of a bigamous demon in The X-Files episode "Terms of Endearment".[28] He also featured as Agent Jackman in the episode "Witch Way Now?" of the WB series Charmed, as well as playing a state police officer in an episode of the short-lived series American Gothic titled "Meet The Beetles".

Campbell co-featured in the television series Burn Notice, which was broadcast from 2007 to 2013 by USA Network. He portrayed Sam Axe, a beer-chugging, former Navy SEAL now working as an unlicensed private investigator and occasional mercenary with his old friend Michael Westen, the show's main character. When working undercover, his character frequently used the alias Chuck Finley, which Bruce later revealed was the name of one of his father's old co-workers.[29] Campbell was the star of a 2011 Burn Notice made-for-television prequel focusing on Sam's Navy SEAL career, titled Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe.[30]

In 2014, Campbell played Santa Claus for an episode of The Librarians. Campbell played Ronald Reagan in season 2 of the FX original series Fargo. More recently Campbell reprised his role as Ashley "Ash" Williams in Ash vs Evil Dead,[31] a series based upon the Evil Dead series that began his career. Ash vs Evil Dead began airing on Starz on October 31, 2015, and was renewed by the cable channel for second[32] and third seasons,[33] before being cancelled.[34]

In January 2019, Travel Channel announced a new version of the Ripley's Believe It or Not! reality series, with Campbell serving as host and executive producer. The 10-episode season debuted on June 9, 2019.[35]

Voice acting

Campbell is featured as a voice actor for several video games. He provides the voice of Ash in the four games based on the Evil Dead movies series: Evil Dead: Hail to the King, Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick, Evil Dead: Regeneration and Evil Dead: The Game.[36] He also provided voice talent in other titles such as Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man,[37] and Dead by Daylight.[38]

He provided the voice of main character Jake Logan for the PC game, Tachyon: The Fringe, the voice of main character Jake Burton for the PlayStation game Broken Helix and the voice of Magnanimous for Megas XLR. Campbell voiced the pulp adventurer Lobster Johnson in Hellboy: The Science of Evil and has done voice-over work for the Codemaster's game Hei$t, a game which was announced on January 28, 2010 to have been "terminated". He also provided the voice of The Mayor for the 2009 movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, the voice of Rod "Torque" Redline in Cars 2, the voice of Himcules in the 2003 Nickelodeon TV series My Life as a Teenage Robot, and the voice of Fugax in the 2006 movie The Ant Bully.[37]

Despite the inclusion of his character "Ash Williams" in Telltale Games' Poker Night 2, Danny Webber voices the character in the game, instead of Bruce Campbell.[39]

He has a voice in the online MOBA game, Tome: Immortal Arena in 2014.[40] Campbell also provided voice-over and motion capture for Sgt. Lennox in the Exo Zombies mode of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.[41]

Writing

In addition to acting and occasionally directing, Campbell has become a writer, starting with an autobiography, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor, published in June 2001.[42] The autobiography was a successful New York Times Best Seller.[43] It describes Campbell's career to date as an actor in low-budget movies and television, providing his insight into "Blue-Collar Hollywood".[42] The paperback version of the book adds details about the reactions of fans during book signings: "Whenever I do mainstream stuff, I think they're pseudo-interested, but they're still interested in seeing weirdo, offbeat stuff, and that's what I'm attracted to".[42]

Campbell's next book Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way was published on May 26, 2005. The book's plot involves him (depicted in a comical way) as the main character struggling to make it into the world of A-list movies.[44] He later recorded an audio play adaptation of Make Love with fellow Michigan actors, including longtime collaborator Ted Raimi. This radio drama was released by the independent label Rykodisc and spans 6 discs with a 6-hour running time.

In addition to his books, Campbell also wrote a column for X-Ray Magazine in 2001, an issue of the popular comic series The Hire, and comic book adaptations of his Man with the Screaming Brain. Most recently he wrote the introduction to Josh Becker's The Complete Guide to Low-Budget Feature Filmmaking.

In late 2016, Campbell announced that he would be releasing a third book, Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor, which will detail his life from where If Chins Could Kill ended. Hail to the Chin was released in August 2017, and accompanied by a book tour across the United States and Europe.[45]

Campbell maintained a weblog on his official website, where he posted mainly about politics and the movie industry, though it has since been deleted.[46]

Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival

Since 2014, the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival, narrated and organized by Campbell, was held in the Muvico Theater in Rosemont, Illinois. The first festival was originally from August 21 to 25, 2014, presented by Wizard World, as part of the Chicago Comicon.[47] The second festival was from August 20 to 23, 2015, with guests Tom Holland and Eli Roth.[48] The third festival took place over four days in August 2016.[49] Guests of the event were Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert and Doug Benson.[50]

Personal life

Campbell married Christine Deveau in 1983, and they had two children before divorcing in 1989. He met costume designer Ida Gearon while working on Mindwarp, and they were married in 1992.[51] They reside in Jacksonville, Oregon.[51]

Campbell is also ordained and has performed marriage ceremonies.[52]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

More information Year, Film ...

Television

More information Year, Title ...

Video games

More information Year, Title ...

Accolades

More information Year, Award ...

See also

  • Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way (ISBN 0-312-31260-1)

References

  1. [1]
    Millar, John (July 1, 2012). "Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell is so proud to be a Highlander". Daily Record. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  2. [2]
    Wise, Damon (February 14, 2009). "The Mighty Bruce". The Guardian. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  3. [3]
    CHARLES CAMPBELL – Obituary. Legacy.com (November 7, 2004). Retrieved on August 9, 2017.
  4. [4]
    Bruce Campbell biography, Yahoo! Movies
  5. [5]
    "An Interview With Bruce Campbell". IGN. December 18, 2002. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  6. [6]
    Becker, Josh (2006). The Complete Guide to Low-Budget Feature Filmmaking. Point Blank. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-8095-5690-8.
  7. [7]
    Grossberg, Josh (February 22, 2018). "Bruce Campbell Toasts Stephen King For Helping Get Evil Dead 2 Made". SyFyWire. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  8. [8]
    Muir, John Kenneth (2004). "The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi". Applause. p. 152. ISBN 1-55783-607-8.
  9. [9]
    Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities. Marvel Comics. 2007.
  10. [10]
    Wake, Matt (October 22, 2020). "Bruce Campbell talks 'Evil Dead,' 'Spider-Man,' 'Xena'". AL.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  11. [11]
    Parker, Ryan (August 20, 2020). "'Darkman' Turns 30: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand and More Remember the Arduous Making of Sam Raimi's Influential Superhero Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  12. [12]
    Leighton, Susan (March 13, 2019). "Bruce Campbell: What really went down on The Quick and the Dead?". 1428 Elm. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  13. [13]
    Andrews, Tim (March 15, 2021). Radio Labyrinth Presents - Interviews - Bruce Campbell. Radio Laberynth Podcast – via YouTube.
  14. [14]
    Collis, Clark (August 22, 2017). "Bruce Campbell says he won't play Elvis in Bubba Ho-Tep sequel". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  15. [15]
    McIntyre, Gina (December 19, 2008). "Bruce Campbell's spoof hits home in several ways". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  16. [16]
    Holden, Stephen (July 29, 2005). "Being Picked Last in Gym, Even if You're a Superhero". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  17. [17]
    Cheney, Alexandra (June 24, 2011). "Bruce Campbell on 'Keeping the Pipes Clean' for 'Cars 2′". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  18. [18]
    "Bruce Campbell Confirms He Will Do Army Of Darkness Sequel". ComicBook.com. September 6, 2017.
  19. [19]
    Squires, John (August 24, 2022). "'Evil Dead Rise' Getting a Theatrical Release in April 2023!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  20. [20]
    Butler, Karen (July 15, 2020). "Bruce Campbell announces 'Brisco County Jr.' reunion". United Press International. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  21. [21]
    Fries, Laura (January 13, 2000). "Jack of All Trades". Variety. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  22. [22]
    Byrne, Craig (September 5, 2017). "The Ten Best Episodes of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman". ComicBook.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  23. [23]
    Heisler, Steve (February 11, 2009). "Bruce Campbell". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  24. [24]
    Weisbrot, Robert (2004). Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing. pp. 208–209. ISBN 1-58979-120-7.
  25. [25]
    Weisbrot 2004, pp. 125–127.
  26. [26]
    Accinelli, Laura (November 27, 1999). "After 5 1/2 Years, Hercules Has Turned In His Sword". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  27. [27]
    Gill, Suzanne (November 28, 1997). "A new Love Bug rolls off the line at Disney". Ludington Daily News. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  28. [28]
    Mooney, Darren (2017). Opening The X-Files: A Critical History of the Original Series. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4766-6526-9.
  29. [29]
    "Get Burnt DVD commentary feature for episode 3: Fight or Flight". usanetwork.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012.
  30. [30]
    O'Hare, Kate (April 13, 2011). "Bruce Campbell gets 'action hands' in 'Burn Notice: Fall of Sam Axe'". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  31. [31]
    Rhodes, Joe (September 12, 2008). "Bruce Campbell's Prime-Time Moment". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  32. [32]
    Patten, Dominic (October 28, 2015). "'Ash Vs Evil Dead' Renewed For Season 2 By Starz Ahead Of Halloween Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  33. [33]
    Patten, Dominic (October 7, 2016). "Starz Renews 'Ash Vs. Evil Dead' For Third Season – NY Comic-Con". Deadline. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  34. [34]
    Otterson, Joe (April 20, 2018). "'Ash vs. Evil Dead' Canceled at Starz After Three Seasons". Variety. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  35. [35]
    Oller, Jacob (January 2, 2019). "Ripley's Believe It or Not! show names Bruce Campbell host". Syfy Wire. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  36. [36]
    Squires, John (August 16, 2018). "[Exclusive] Bruce Campbell Will Be Voicing Ash Williams in an Upcoming 'Evil Dead' Game!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  37. [37]
    "Bruce Campbell". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  38. [38]
    Crecente, Brian (March 28, 2019). "'Evil Dead's' Ash Coming to 'Dead by Daylight' Voiced by Bruce Campbell". Variety. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  39. [39]
    "Poker Night 2 (Video Game 2013)". IMDb. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  40. [40]
    "KIXEYE – TOME: Immortal Arena".
  41. [41]
    Chalk, Andy (June 1, 2015). "Bruce Campbell to Star in New Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare DLC". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  42. [42]
    Campbell, Bruce (June 23, 2001). If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-24264-0.
  43. [43]
    "Best Sellers Plus". The New York Times. July 8, 2001.
  44. [44]
    Campbell, Bruce (October 2015). Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way. Macmillan. ISBN 9781250099280.
  45. [45]
    "Newsroom - Bruce-Campbell.com". www.bruce-campbell.com. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  46. [46]
    "Bruce Campbell Blog".
  47. [47]
    "The Awesome Fest Presents: Bruce Campbell's Horror Film Festival @ Chicago Comic Con 2014". Archived from the original on July 24, 2015.
  48. [48]
    "Second Annual Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival Scares Up Surprises at Wizard World Chicago".
  49. [49]
    Collis, Clark (August 22, 2016). "Bruce Campbell's Horror Film Festival: Special Groovy Report". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  50. [50]
    Wolfe, Clarke (June 25, 2016). "Everything You Need to Know About Bruce Campbell's Horror Film Festival". Nerdist. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  51. [51]
    Lee, Luaine (July 11, 2012). "Bruce Campbell Learned to Go With the Flow". Toledo Blade. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  52. [52]
    "Bruce Campbell interview: Evil Dead, being ordained, making bombs". Den of Geek. April 5, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  53. [53]
    Jamie Lovett (November 29, 2023). "Bruce Campbell Confirms Spider-Man and Doctor Strange Characters Are Same Person, Reveals New Marvel Talks (Exclusive)". ComicBook.com.
  54. [54]
    Amin, Arezou (July 24, 2022). "Bruce Campbell on Working with Sam Raimi, 'Evil Dead,' and Pizza Poppa's Backstory". Collider. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  55. [55]
    Mottram, James (April 13, 2023). "'Evil Dead Rise': inside the year's scariest horror film". NME. Retrieved April 13, 2023. Lee Cronin: "Bruce came over to Ireland when we were working on the sound and I asked him if he would do this teeny, tiny, little cameo for me. And the fun part is, that's not necessarily Bruce Campbell playing someone else – that could very well be Ash Williams."
  56. [56]
    Ausiello, Michael (March 24, 2015). "Fargo Elects Bruce Campbell to Play Ronald Reagan in Season 2". TVLine. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  57. [57]
    "Bruce Campbell's Ash returns to fight 'Evil Dead'". USA TODAY. October 29, 2015.
  58. [58]
    "My Southern Family Christmas Bruce Campbell: Everett Bergeron". IMDb. November 24, 2022.
  59. [59]
    Otterson, Joe (April 21, 2023). "Bruce Campbell Joins Satanic Panic Drama 'Hysteria!' at Peacock (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  60. [60]
    Wilson, Mike (December 10, 2020). "[TGA 2020] Bruce Campbell Returns as Ash in 'Evil Dead: The Game'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bruce Campbell.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Bruce Campbell.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Bruce_Campbell, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.