On this date in 1968, William Gaither “Billy” Crudup was born in Manhasset, N.Y., to Georgann (née Gaither) and Thomas Henry Crudup III. His parents divorced when he was in junior high and remarried when he was in high school before divorcing again.
Crudup (pronounced CREW-dup) has some distinguished lineage, including a North Carolina congressman, a prominent Florida trial lawyer and an Episcopal bishop step-grandfather. But Crudup, who describes himself as an atheist, said the “distinguished” didn’t extend to his father: “He proclaimed he had great faith, but meanwhile he was a bookie and a conman and a loan shark, so I had kind of a dubious relationship with people of faith.” (The Times of London, May 15, 2017)
His family moved several times, including to Texas and Florida, and it’s been surmised that playing the class clown was a way for the new kid to fit in, along with acting in school plays and developing funny impersonations. After graduating from a Florida Catholic high school, he earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After moving in with a brother, he earned an M.F.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1994. He joined The Lab! theater troupe and played Schroeder in the children’s musical “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.” He won the Outer Critics Circle Outstanding Newcomer Award for his Broadway performance in Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” in 1995.
He won a Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Play in the 2006 Broadway production of Stoppard’s “The Coast of Utopia,” a nine-hour trilogy. By that time he had demonstrated his acting chops in movies, most notably as a ’70s rocker in Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” (2000), hailed by Roger Ebert as the year’s best film.
“A self-described student of human nature, Crudup has said that he looks for characters wrestling with their mistakes.” (Internet Movie Database) Cate Blanchett, who starred with him in “Charlotte Gray” (2001) and “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” (2019), described the 5-foot-8-inch Crudup as “incredibly intense.” Others have noted his ability to be both charming and dangerous while displaying alpha-male assurance.
“World Traveler” (2001) opposite Julianne Moore bombed at the box office and with critics but ensuing films such as “Big Fish” (2003), “Mission: Impossible III” and “The Good Shepherd” (both in 2006) were successful. Appearing as Joseph Merrick in a 2002 revival of “The Elephant Man” on Broadway wasn’t. It closed after 65 performances. He starred with Javier Bardem and Julia Roberts in “Eat Pray Love” (2010), playing Roberts’ ex-husband.
In “Spotlight” (2015), he played a lawyer representing victims of sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. He called the Boston Globe’s uncovering of decades of abuse “gut wrenching … especially if you have a child.” (The Times of London, May 15, 2017) He played a journalist in “Jackie” (2016), a drama starring Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy.
In “The Morning Show,” which premiered on Apple TV+ in 2019, he plays a network news executive. The series was renewed for a fourth season in 2023. He won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2020 and 2024 for his role.
Crudup was in a relationship with actress Mary-Louise Parker from 1996 to November 2003. Four years older than him, she was seven months pregnant with their son William Atticus Parker (b. Jan. 7, 2004) when he ended their relationship and started dating actress Claire Danes, 11 years his junior. They split in 2006.
Parker was devastated. “I am alone. Look, see? I am pregnant and alone. It hurts to even breathe,” she wrote in a 2015 memoir. (Hello! online, June 14, 2023) They had agreed to put their differences aside “for the sake of the baby” and not engage in a custody battle, Parker’s spokesperson told People magazine in 2004. They teamed up to co-star in one of William’s student films when he was 15.
When Crudup married British actress Naomi Watts in June 2023, Parker told The Guardian: “I wish them well. And absolutely I honestly of course wish them every happiness because that’s my son’s father.” He and Watts started dating after they met on the set of the 2017 Netflix drama series “Gypsy.” It was not renewed for a second season. Rotten Tomatoes critics said the “ludicrous plot trudges along, dragging a talented cast with it.”
He participated in 2023 in the annual Charity Day hosted by the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund in New York City. The fund provides financial support to families impacted by acts of terrorism, natural disasters and other emergencies, including members of the military. It was established by the financial services firm in response to the loss of 658 employees in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and has since raised over $300 million.
PHOTO: Crudup in 2015 at the PEN Gala at the American Museum of Natural History; photo by Beowulf Sheehan/PEN American Center under CC 2.0.
