Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his television debut in 1974 and has since appeared in supporting roles in several film and television productions. He gained international attention in the early 2000s for playing Nathaniel Fisher in the HBO drama series Six Feet Under, and along with the show’s principal cast, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2002. He gained mainstream success for his lead role in the film The Visitor (2008) that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role at the 81st Academy Awards.
Jenkins was born and raised in DeKalb, a farming town in Illinois. His mother, M. Elizabeth (née Wheeler), was a housewife, and his father, Dale Stevens Jenkins, was a dentist. Before he was an actor, Jenkins drove a linen truck (his boss was actor John C. Reilly’s father). Jenkins earned a degree in drama from Illinois Wesleyan University before relocating to Rhode Island.
The Cabin in the Woods is an upcoming 2010 horror film. Joss Whedon co-wrote the script with Cloverfield screenwriter Drew Goddard, who will also direct. The pair previously worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel together. The film is in pre-production, will start shooting in March, and is slated for wide release on February 5, 2010.
Plot
The Cabin in the Woods provides a new twist on a classic scenario, in this case the young-people-stranded-in-the-woods horror trope. Jenkins and Whitford will play white-collar co-workers with a mysterious connection to the cabin. A group of college kids spend a weekend at a mysterious cabin in the woods.
Here is the complete shortlist for the 81st Academy Awards, which are being held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on 22 February.
Best picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Best director
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry – The Reader
David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant – Milk
Best actor
Richard Jenkins – The Visitor
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn – Milk
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
Best actress
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie – Changeling
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Meryl Streep – Doubt
Kate Winslet – The Reader
Best supporting actress
Amy Adams – Doubt
Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis – Doubt
Taraji P Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
Best supporting actor
Josh Brolin – Milk
Robert Downey Jr – Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight Michael Shannon – Revolutionary Road
Best foreign language film
Revanche – Austria
The Class – France
The Baader Meinhof Complex – Germany
Departures – Japan
Waltz With Bashir – Israel
Best animated feature film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E
Best adapted screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Best original screenplay
Happy-Go-Lucky
Milk
Wall-E
In Bruges
Frozen River
Best original score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Best original song
Down To Earth – Wall-E
Jai Ho – Slumdog Millionaire
O Saya – Slumdog Millionaire
Art direction
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Changeling
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road
Cinematography
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Changeling
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
The Reader
Costume design
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Australia
Milk
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road
Best documentary feature
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble The Water
Best documentary short subject
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306
Film editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Make-up
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Best live action short film
Auf der Strecke (On The Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Best animated short film
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory – Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
Sound editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Iron Man
Wanted
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Sound mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Wanted
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Visual effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Oscars | Oscars 2009: The nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has emerged as the frontrunner for this year’s Oscars with 13 nominations.
Slumdog Millionaire, from Britain’s Danny Boyle, was close behind with 10 nominations, including best film.
The Dark Knight and Milk received eight nominations, with the late Heath Ledger receiving a best supporting actor nod.
Meryl Streep scored a 15th Oscar nomination for her role in the film Doubt, alongside Kate Winslet for best actress in Stephen Daldry’s The Reader.
Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire were joined by Milk, The Reader and Frost/Nixon as contenders for the coveted best picture prize.
