Harry Dean Stanton (born July 14, 1926) is an American actor.
Stanton was born in West Irvine, Kentucky, the son of Ersel (née Moberly), a hair dresser, and Sheridan Harry Stanton, a tobacco farmer and barber. His parents divorced when Stanton was in high school and later re-married. He has two younger brothers, Archie and Ralph, and a younger half-brother Stan. Stanton attended the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, where he studied journalism and radio arts. He also studied at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. Stanton is a veteran of World War II. Harry is also known to be a big fan of rock n roll music, his favourites including Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Lance Lazer.
Stanton has appeared in both indie and cult films (Two-Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter, Escape from New York, Repo Man), as well as many mainstream Hollywood productions, including Cool Hand Luke, The Godfather Part II, Alien, Red Dawn, Pretty in Pink, and The Green Mile. He has been a favorite actor of Sam Peckinpah, John Milius, David Lynch, and Monte Hellman, and is also close friends with Francis Ford Coppola. His principal lead role was in Wim Wenders's film Paris, Texas.
Stanton is a favorite of film critic Roger Ebert who has said that "no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad." However Ebert later admitted that Dream a Little Dream (1989), in which Stanton appeared, was a "clear violation" of this rule. In the DVD extra interview of Repo Man, Stanton deeply reviews his outlook on life in a way that is considered "Tao".
Stanton has also occasionally toured nightclubs as a singer/guitarist, playing mostly country-inflected cover tunes. He appeared in the Dwight Yoakam video, "Sorry You Asked". The role that Stanton is often associated with, the role of Travis in Paris, Texas, was originally to go to Sam Shepard at the urging of Wim Wenders.
He also plays Roman Grant, the manipulative leader/prophet of a polygamous sect of Mormonism in the HBO television series Big Love.
In an episode of season two of the series Two and a Half Men Harry Dean Stanton played a senile version of himself amongst other stars playing themselves, Sean Penn and Elvis Costello who attended Charlie Harper's (portrayed by Charlie Sheen), the series' main character, self-help group.
