William Gaither Crudup is an American actor who was born on July 8, 1968. For his work in Jesus’ Son (1999), he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015), Jackie (2016), Alien: Covenant (2017), Big Fish (2003), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Watchmen (2009), Public Enemies (2009), Almost Famous (2000), and Jackie all featured him in lead or supporting parts.
Crudup has been nominated for four Tony Awards, winning one in 2007 for his performance in Tom Stoppard’s play The Coast of Utopia. He has additionally appeared in the streaming television shows Gipsy (2017), and The Morning Show (2019), for which he won both a Critics’ Choice Television Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, and Hello Tomorrow (2023).
| Full Name | William Gaither Crudup |
| Birth Date / Age | July 8, 1968 / |
| Birth Place | Manhasset, New York, United States |
| Source of Wealth | Actor |
| Relationship Status | Marry Naomi Watts in 2023 |
| Height | 5 ft. 9 in. / 174 cm |
| Net Worth | $8 Million Estimated |
Early Life
John Crudup was born in Manhasset, New York. During his formative years, his parents, Georgann (née Gaither) and Thomas Henry Crudup III, went through the cycle of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, only to end up divorcing again. These familial dynamics had a profound impact on Crudup, especially his relationship with his father. He often describes his late father, who passed away in 2005, as an “unrelenting gambler and persuasive salesman,” who incessantly pursued the illusory promise of striking it rich.
Digging into Crudup’s lineage, we discover that he hails from the bloodline of Congressman Josiah Crudup from North Carolina. On his mother’s side, his maternal grandfather was William Cotter “Billy” Gaither, Jr., a renowned trial attorney in Florida. It is worth noting that his maternal grandmother eventually remarried and tied the knot with Episcopal bishop James Duncan.
Crudup, the second-born among three brothers, comes from a family with a creative inclination. Both his brothers, Tommy and Brooks, have found their place in the entertainment industry as producers. When Crudup was around eight years old, his family decided to uproot from New York, embarking on a journey that led them to Texas and eventually settling in Florida. It was in Fort Lauderdale that Crudup completed his high school education, graduating from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in 1986.
Continuing his academic pursuits, Crudup enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Here, he delved into his passion for acting as a part of the undergraduate acting company, LAB! Theatre. His talents extended beyond the theater, as he also showcased his acting skills on UNC-STV’s popular program, General College. As a member of the Beta Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon, Crudup was actively involved in campus life. Subsequently, he pursued his graduate studies in acting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, earning a coveted Master of Fine Arts degree in 1994.
Career
Crudup started acting in movies like 1996’s Sleepers, 1997’s Imagining the Abbotts, and 1998’s Unbounded, where he assumed the part of running legend and Olympian Steve Prefontaine. His most memorable job in an enlivened element was in 1999’s English arrival of Princess Mononoke, in which he featured as Ashitaka. He then, at that point, played lead guitarist Russell Hammond from Stillwater, the imaginary band at the focal point of Cameron Crowe’s Practically Renowned (2000). In 2006’s The Great Shepherd, he played English government operative Curve Cummings, a substitute for Kim Philby. That very year, he assumed a supporting part in Mission III. In 2007, he assumed the main part of Henry Roth in the film Commitment.
Crudup finished shooting Guardians with Zack Snyder in Vancouver, English Columbia. He depicted the superhuman Specialist Manhattan. He depicted previous U.S. Secretary of the Depository Timothy Geithner in a television film around 2008’s monetary emergency, Too Large to Even consider fizzling (2011). Crudup stars in the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show, for which he won an Early evening Emmy Grant in 2020.
Personal Life
Crudup was in a relationship with Mary-Louise Parker from 1996 to November 2003. When Crudup quit their relationship and started dating actress Claire Danes, she was seven months along with their son, William Atticus Parker, who was born in January 2004. Crudup and Danes parted ways in 2006.
After interacting with British actress Naomi Watts during the shooting of the Netflix drama series Gipsy, Crudup started dating her in 2017. In a simple ceremony, the pair wed in June 2023 in New York City.
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Sleepers | Tommy | |
| Everyone Says I Love You | Ken | ||
| 1997 | Inventing the Abbotts | Jacey Holt | |
| Grind | Eddie / Terry’s brother | ||
| 1998 | Monument Ave. | Teddy Timmons | |
| Without Limits | Steve Prefontaine | ||
| The Hi-Lo Country | Pete Calder | ||
| 1999 | Princess Mononoke | Ashitaka (voice) | English dub |
| Jesus’ Son | FH | ||
| 2000 | Waking the Dead | Fielding Pierce | |
| Almost Famous | Russell Hammond | ||
| 2001 | World Traveler | Cal | |
| Charlotte Gray | Julien Levade | ||
| 2003 | Big Fish | Will Bloom | |
| Stage Beauty | Ned Kynaston | ||
| 2005 | Trust the Man | Tobey | |
| 2006 | Mission: Impossible III | Musgrave | |
| The Good Shepherd | Arch Cummings | ||
| 2007 | Dedication | Henry Roth | |
| 2008 | Pretty Bird | Curtis Prentiss | |
| 2009 | Watchmen | Jon Osterman / Dr. Manhattan | |
| Public Enemies | J. Edgar Hoover | ||
| 2010 | Eat Pray Love | Stephen | |
| 2011 | Thin Ice | Randy | |
| Too Big to Fail | Timothy Geithner | Television film | |
| 2012 | The Watch | Paul | |
| 2013 | Blood Ties | Frank | |
| 2014 | Rudderless | Sam | |
| The Longest Week | Dylan Tate | ||
| Glass Chin | J.J. Cook | ||
| 2015 | The Stanford Prison Experiment | Dr. Philip Zimbardo | |
| Spotlight | Eric MacLeish | ||
| 2016 | Youth in Oregon | Brian | |
| Jackie | The Journalist | ||
| 20th Century Women | William | ||
| 2017 | 1 Mile to You | Coach K | |
| Alien: Covenant | Oram | ||
| Justice League | Henry Allen | ||
| 2019 | After the Wedding | Oscar Carlson | |
| Where’d You Go, Bernadette | Elgie | ||
| 2021 | Die in a Gunfight | Narrator | |
| Zack Snyder’s Justice League | Henry Allen | Director’s cut of Justice League | |
| Donnybrook | Victor Roberts | Short |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Gypsy | Michael Holloway | The main role, 10 episodes |
| 2019 | At Home with Amy Sedaris | Dr. Raddish | Episode: “Halloween” |
| 2019–present | The Morning Show | Cory Ellison | The main role, 20 episodes |
| 2022 | The Last Movie Stars | James Goldstone (voice) | Docuseries |
| 2023 | Hello Tomorrow! | Jack Billings | Main role |
Short film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Ballad of G.I. Joe | Zartan |
| 2017 | Alien: Covenant – Prologue: Last Supper | Christopher Oram |
Stage
| Year | Play | Role | Production | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | America Dreaming | Robert | Vineyard Theatre | |
| 1995 | Arcadia | Septimus Hodge | Lincoln Center Theatre | |
| 1996 | Bus Stop | Bo Decker | Circle in the Square Theatre | |
| 1997 | The Three Sisters | Staff Captain Solyony | Roundabout Theatre | |
| 1998 | Oedipus | Oedipus | Blue Light Theatre Company | |
| 2001 | Measure for Measure | Angelo | Public Theatre | Shakespeare in the Park |
| 2002 | The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | Flake / Defense Counsel | National Actors Theatre | |
| The Elephant Man | John Merrick | Royale Theatre | ||
| 2004 | The 24-Hour Plays | Bobby | — | Staged reading |
| 2005 | The Pillowman | Katurian | Edwin Booth Theatre | |
| 2006–07 | The Coast of Utopia: Part 1 – Voyage | Vissarion Belinsky | Lincoln Center Theatre | |
| The Coast of Utopia: Part 2 – Shipwreck | ||||
| 2009 | The 24-Hour Plays | Billy | — | Staged reading |
| 2010 | The Metal Children | Tobin Falmouth | Vineyard Theatre | |
| 2011 | Arcadia | Bernard Nightingale | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | |
| 2013 | No Man’s Land | Foster | Berkeley Repertory Theatre | |
| Cort Theatre | ||||
| Waiting for Godot | Lucky | Berkeley Repertory Theatre | ||
| Cort Theatre | ||||
| 2017 | Harry Clarke | Various | Vineyard Theatre | |
| 2018 | Minetta Lane Theatre |
Net Worth
Billy Crudup is an American actor who has a net worth of $8 million estimated.