Craig T Nelson

Born: April 4, 1944
Where: Spokane, Washington, USA

The all-American actor first attracted attention as the stricken father in the horror thriller Poltergeist in 1982.

Subsequent high profile supporting roles included the nuclear thriller Silkwood and Cambodian holocaust drama The Killing Fields.

In the 1990s, his big screen roles subsided to small screen appearances with the occasional role in features such as The Devil's Advocate and The Skulls.

However, in 2004 he enjoyed a creative renaissance when he voiced the character of Bob Parr/Mr Incredible in Pixar's box office smash The Incredibles.

After beginning his career as a writer and performer on radio, Nelson branched out to become a stand-up comedy in Los Angeles.

In 1970, he was given a job as a writer for The Tim Conway Comedy Hour, and after a couple of years he became a guest performer on a TV pilot Bachelor at Law.

He also provided the (uncredited) voice of the monster in Flash Gordon.

At this point, Nelson decided to take a break from comedy and for four years worked in menial jobs such as carpenter, teacher, janitor, plumber, and logger.

In 1978 he returned to Los Angeles to raise financing for documentaries about artists who choose a rural lifestyle, a success story that became America Still.

The following year he made his feature debut in Norman Jewison's And Justice For All and roles followed in Private Benjamin and Stir Crazy.

In 1982 he played Steve Freeling in the Tobe Hooper-directed Poltergeist and went on to star in The Osterman Weekend and All The Right Moves.

After Silkwood, which also starred Meryl Streep, he played a military attache in Roland Joffe's The Killing Fields.

In 1986 Nelson reprised the Freely role in Brian Gibson's Poltergeist II: The Other Side, and three years later starred alongside Shelley Long in Troop Beverly Hills.

Three years later Craig played Chief Hyde in Turner and Hooch and then he was cast in the TV sitcom Coach, which he also executive produced.

In The Devil's Advocate he played the role of a bad guy alongside Pacino and Keanu Reeves, but the critical and commercial failure of The Skulls meant this was Nelson's last succesful movie until 2004.

he returned to Hollywood to voice the lead character in the Pixar smash-hit, The Incredibles.