Celebrity Birthday: Brad Dourif - 73

 

Today, we celebrate Brad Dourif’s 73rd birthday. He’s often described as a horror icon. I can’t argue with that description, but it also seems like a title that’s inadequate in defining Brad’s career and talent as a performer. After spending 48 years as a performer, Mr. Dourif has proven that he can take on virtually any role. While it would take thousands of words to appreciate all the work Brad has given to the world, let’s take a look at some of his best roles.

Brad Dourif Got His Start in the Cuckoo’s Nest

Although he had an uncredited role in 1975’s W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, Dourif’s role as Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest overshadowed that earlier big screen appearance. While many actors flounder through their first few years in Hollywood, taking whatever bit parts come their way, Brad seemed to step into success almost immediately. From providing a believable stutter for his character to his emotional confrontation with Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), Brad gave an incredible performance. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest also starred Jack Nicholson, Christopher Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, and Danny DeVito.

Brad Pops Up in Unexpected Places

Horror fans might have missed many of Dourif’s early work since he spent nearly a decade appearing in dramas, TV movies, and TV shows. Some of those early movie roles include Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980), Dune (1984), and Impure Thoughts (1986). On television, Mr. Dourif guest starred on The Equalizer, Spencer: For Hire, Moonlighting, Miami Vice, and The Hitchhiker.

For Brad Dourif, Acting is Child’s Play

In 1988, Brad Dourif made a big impact with horror fans, taking on a role that he would reprise through multiple films, spanning decades. That role was Charles Lee Ray and the voice of Chucky in Child’s Play. Even though his face rarely appeared on screen as Charles Lee Ray, Brad’s voice would become iconic as that of the killer doll.

Brad Dourif voiced Chucky in the following films:

Child’s Play (1988)

Child’s Play 2 (1990)

The Horror Hall of Fame - TV movie (1990)

Child’s Play 3 (1991)

Bride of Chucky (1998)

Seed of Chucky (2004)

Chucky’s Family Vacation (2004)

Curse of Chucky (2013)

Cult of Chucky (2017)

The Chucky TV series (2021-2022)

1990 Was the Year of Brad Dourif

In addition to Child’s Play 2 and The Horror Hall of Fame, Brad Dourif starred in several big and small screen horror projects. Possibly the most memorable role of his long career came with the release of The Exorcist III. Brad played The Gemini Killer in that film. While he never left his small, dark, and padded cell, Mr. Dourif delivered his lines with passion, and so many of his lines still stick in the minds of horror fans.

“I think the dead should shut up unless there’s something to say.”

“It’s a wonderful life...for some.”

“It’s the smiles that keep us going. The bits of giggles and good cheer.”

The Exorcist III was, by far, one of Brad’s best performances, but it was just one of many. Also in 1990, Mr. Dourif had a role in Graveyard Shift (not to be confused with 1986’s Graveyard Shift). 

In that film, he played a pest exterminator named Tucker Cleveland although he’s simply credited as The Exterminator. In Graveyard Shift, Dourif’s character is one of several workers in a rundown factory where the workers are mistreated and exploited. Things change when the workers, taking on an overtime project, uncover a dark secret in the building’s basement. Since this was adapted from a Stephen King short story, you can guess what that type of dark secret might be lurking in that basement.

Dourif Becomes a Dark and Demented Killer

Later in the 1990s, Brad Dourif found success in roles as a killer in some of the decade’s crime dramas and science fiction shows. In 1994, he played Clark in Color of Night. Starring Bruce Willis, the film centered around a murder mystery in which a therapist takes on his murdered colleague’s therapy group to uncover the killer.

In Beyond the Sea (season 1, episode 13 of The X-Files), Brad Dourif plays Luther Lee Boggs, a death row inmate who claims to be able to predict the deaths of two college coeds. Scully (Gillian Anderson) must determine if Boggs is faking it for a reprieve or if he really does have psychic abilities.

Brad would again play a killer in 1996, bringing a bit of darkness to Star Trek: Voyager. 

He appeared in three episodes, and, as a long-time fan of Star Trek, these three episodes are among the best in my opinion.

Season 2, episode 16 Meld

Season 2, episode 26 Basics: Part 1

Season 3, episode 1 Basics: Part 2

In Meld, Tuvok (Tim Russ) must uncover a murderer on board the ship and ultimately discovers that the killer is Lon Suder (Dourif), a mentally deranged Betazoid. Brad’s portrayal of the character is genuinely chilling. In the two-part cliffhanger Basics, Suder’s redemption arc comes full circle. I would recommend watching these three episodes back to back.

Among his other roles in the 90s, Brad appeared in Alien Resurrection (1997) and Urban Legend (1998).

Dourif Takes on Tolkien

Many people have described Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy as a nearly perfect adaptation. While diehard fans of the books find some fault in the adaptations, these films are generally praised for bringing Middle Earth to life in vivid detail. This includes giving an immersive taste of Sauron as he threatens to engulf the lands under his rule.

One of the Dark Lord’s acolytes is Brad Dourif’s Wormtongue. The corrupt, slimy character keeps counsel with King Theoden (Bernard Hill), helping Saruman (Sir Christopher Lee) keep the monarch under his thumb. Ultimately, Wormtongue is defeated and his downfall is a delicious reward that Brad portrays with excellence.

Brad Dourif Gave Halloween Fans a New Sherriff Brackett

In the original Halloween (1978), Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers) was a generally good-natured and somewhat naive small town law officer. When Rob Zombie rebooted the franchise in 2007, he gave us a more seasoned sheriff in the form of Brad Dourif. For the 2009 sequel, Dourif’s Sheriff Brackett had a fuller plate, fathering his daughter Annie (Danielle Harris), taking in emotionally-damaged Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), and managing his police department in the aftermath of Michael’s murders.

Brad Continues to Stay Active

Even though he’s long past retirement age, Brad Dourif still acts in film and television. In addition to voicing Chucky throughout the years, he has starred in both duds and smash hits. Some of those film roles include Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), Chain Letter (2010), Priest (2011), Gingerclown (2013), Wildling (2018), and Obsession (2019).

What’s Next for Brad Dourif?

Mr. Dourif will continue to voice Chucky in the upcoming third season of SyFy’s Chucky TV series. Additionally, Brad will play Dr. William Blackmore in the film Herbert West: Reanimator, which will be a new adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft short story. While there isn’t a release date for this film, it is currently in production.

In pre-production, Brad Dourif will star in Javelins of Light, written by Gavin J., Chalcraft and directed by Victor Salva. The drama centers around a small town in Iowa that becomes the target of a Heyoka. In Native American culture, the Sioux tribe describes a Heyoka as a sacred clown or jester. This entity is a contrarian, meaning that it moves in opposition to the people and events around it. A release date for Javelins of Light has yet to be announced.

While still in development, This Shining City is rumored to star Brad Dourif. The plot revolves around a U.S. border town as a congressional candidate takes extreme measures to protect the city.