You might know him as one of the actors that plays a very down to earth person in most of his roles or you might just know him from whatever roles you’ve seen him in throughout his long career. Actually you probably know him for playing his most sinister role which would be on “Scandal” as Olivia Pope’s father. Whatever the case is Joe Morton has proven that he’s one of the better but underrated actors on the scene. It’s true that a lot of his roles seem to be done in the same type of voice and with the same kind of attitude and feeling but you’ve got to remember that Morton is a classic kind of actor, he’s not the man of a million faces or voices and he doesn’t use gimmicks for his parts. What you get when you see him is what you see. In other words he acts like himself.
Here are five things you might not know about Joe Morton.
5. He was in The Pest.
In this ridiculous shock-happy comedy he was the wary Mr. Kent, the father of Pestario’s girlfriend Xantha. Needles to say he didn’t approve of Pestario at all, but it could have had something to do with the fact that Pest showed up wearing what was supposed to be traditional African clothing to their home. They were a well to do American family that enjoyed their culture but weren’t too sure what to make of Pest.
4. He got his start on Broadway in the production Hair.
Hair is a classic production about the constant pressures of the hippie lifestyle versus conservative America and what kind of pressures it puts on individuals. When one of their number is pressed to either fight against the system or conform and do what is demanded of him the story takes an interesting turn before progressing. It’s been called a very controversial production for many reasons.
3. He spent a good part of his childhood in Germany and Okinawa.
With his father being in the military Joe had to move around a bit and as a result his childhood was spent abroad for a good portion of time. Unfortunately Joe’s father passed away when he was only 10. This would eventually lead him to come home and stay as he started attending classes again and did what he could to maintain without his father around.
2. He graduated from Hofstra Universty with a degree in drama.
He’s definitely a person that knew what he wanted to do early on which is great. So many people decide to hem and haw about their life plans until they finally fall into something or find it necessary to make a choice. Joe is the kind of actor that seems, and most likely is, very driven and can be very passionate about what he wants.
1. He’s a Primetime Emmy award winner.
He’s been nominated many times and won a few. Sometimes though it’s not so much the effort of getting nominated or winning but the simple act of being remembered that really makes an actor. The awards are really more of a bonus to say that the actor has climbed the mountain and is, for the moment, at the top.
Joe Morton is still one of the best, but he’s definitely a niche actor.
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