Robert Forster

Robert Wallace Forster, Jr. (born July 13, 1941), known professionally as Robert Forster, is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool and Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has since appeared in films such as Mulholland Drive, The Descendants, Olympus Has Fallen, and its upcoming sequel London Has Fallen. He has also appeared in television series such as Heroes, Alcatraz, Last Man Standing, and Breaking Bad. He is a member of the Triple Nine Society.

Early life
Forster was born in Rochester, New York, the son of Grace Dorothy (née Montanarella) and Robert Wallace Foster, Sr., who worked as an elephant trainer for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and later as an executive for a baking supply company. His mother was Italian American, while his father was of English and Irish descent. The two divorced in 1949. As a tribute to his father, Forster hung one of his father's Barnum & Bailey Circus posters in the office of his character in Jackie Brown.

Forster completed his Bachelor of Arts in history in 1964 at the University of Rochester, where he starred in student dramatic performances such as Bye Bye Birdie and, after initially intending to study law, instead decided to forgo his future legal career in favor of acting.

Career
After acclaimed supporting performances in two major Hollywood films, one as Private Williams in John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), another as part-Indian Army scout Nick Tana in Robert Mulligan's The Stalking Moon (1968), Forster starred in the critically acclaimed 1969 film Medium Cool. After starring roles in the TV shows Banyon (1972) and Nakia (1974), he played mostly supporting roles in action and horror films including Disney's The Black Hole (1979). Forster had lead roles in cult B-movies in the 1980s like Alligator (1980), Vigilante (1983), The Delta Force (1986), and The Banker (1989). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1997 for Jackie Brown, which he credits with reviving his career. He has since had consistent work in the film industry, appearing in Like Mike; Mulholland Drive; Me, Myself, & Irene; Lucky Number Slevin and Firewall, to name a few. He recently appeared in the made-for-television movie The Hunt for the BTK Killer, as the detective intent on capturing serial killer Dennis Rader. Forster also played the father of Van on the short-lived Fox series Fastlane.

Forster recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign, encouraging reading of books by Elmore Leonard (he starred in the movie adaption of Leonard's book Rum Punch, filmed as Jackie Brown). Forster is also a motivational speaker.

Forster appeared in the hit NBC show Heroes as Arthur Petrelli, the father of Nathan and Peter Petrelli, as well as the Emmy award winning AMC crime drama Breaking Bad as Walter White's new identity specialist.

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