Robert Forster
Author profile
born
July 13, 1941
in Rochester, New York, The United States
gender
male
About this author
Robert Forster was born in Rochester, New York in 1941 and first become interested in acting while attending Rochester's Madison High School where he performed as a song-and-dance man in musical revues. After graduating in 1959, Forster attended Heidelberg College, Alfred University, and the University of Rochester on football scholarships and continued to perform in student theatrical revues.
After earning a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Rochester in 1963, Forster took an apprenticeship at an East Rochester theater where he performed in such plays as "West Side Story." Forster moved to New York City in 1965, where his first big break came when he landed the lead in the two-character play "Mrs. Dally Has a Lover" opposite Arlene Franc...more
Robert Forster was born in Rochester, New York in 1941 and first become interested in acting while attending Rochester's Madison High School where he performed as a song-and-dance man in musical revues. After graduating in 1959, Forster attended Heidelberg College, Alfred University, and the University of Rochester on football scholarships and continued to perform in student theatrical revues.
After earning a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Rochester in 1963, Forster took an apprenticeship at an East Rochester theater where he performed in such plays as "West Side Story." Forster moved to New York City in 1965, where his first big break came when he landed the lead in the two-character play "Mrs. Dally Has a Lover" opposite Arlene Francis. But after the play ran its course, work was hard to find in the theater. Forster returned to Rochester where he worked as a substitute teacher and construction worker until an agent from 20th Century Fox Pictures offered him a five-picture deal. His movie debut was a small part in the 1967 drama Reflections in a Golden Eye, which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando. Forster went on to appear in small and minor roles and acting alongside some top Hollywood actors in films like The Stalking Moon (1968) and Medium Cool (1969), and a large part in Justine (1969). Although he continued to act in feature films, he took the part of a hardboiled detective in the short-lived 1972 TV series "Banyon."
Forster also appeared in notable parts in The Black Hole (1979), Avalanche (1978), and as the lead in the cult horror flick Alligator (1980), and played the part of a factory worker-turned-vigilante in the 1982 thriller Vigilante. Forster also was offered the lead as a taxi driver in Walking the Edge (1983) by director Norbert Meisel. A series of action flicks followed, the most notable being Delta Force (1986) which starred Chuck Norris. By the late 1980s Forster's acting career had begun to slide, with work becoming less and less, and if there was any, he would be cast in small parts playing villains. Forster then began to work as a motive speaker and an acting coach in Hollywood film schools.
But then in the mid-1990s, Forster's career was resurrected by writer-director Quentin Tarantino, a long-time fan of Forster's early work, who offered him an audition for a part in his latest movie. After a seven-hour audition, Tarantino cast Forster in the role of the tough but sympathetic bail bondsman Max Cherry in Jackie Brown (1997), which netted him an Academy Award nomination and some nationwide recognition. His success landed him more high-profile starring roles in films such as All the Rage (1998), Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho (1998), and Supernova (2000). Forster continues to act in many big budget Hollywood productions playing many charming characters who often steal the scene.(less)
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