I first saw Eric act in the wonderful 1985 film “Mask” (as the disfigured Rocky Dennis) along side Cher and Sam Elliott but of course couldn’t see his face.  His performance made a profound enough impact on me that I kept his name in mind and looked for his work continuously thereafter.  The first role I remember his visage in was “Some Kind Of Wonderful” (1987) with Mary Stuart Masterson and a very fair, freckled, red-headed, blue-eyed handsome countenance it was!  He hasn’t changed much over the years.  He’s aged very well and still has that “It” factor where I’m concerned.  However, it’s his brilliant and eclectic résumé of work in television and film that I enjoy revisiting and will continue to appreciate as the years go by. 

The 6’ tall, Viking-featured, animal-loving vegetarian Eric was born on September 30, 1961 in Whittier, California, the youngest of three children, to two teachers who raised him in both American Samoa and Santa Barbara, California.  He has had a colourful, semi-public love life as he has a penchant for actresses.  Eric lived with Alley Sheedy in college, then with actress Jennifer Jason Leigh from 1985-1989 and with Bridget Fonda from 1990-1998.  He also dated Lili Taylor, Rachel Griffiths and Laura Linney.  He lives in New Mexico (where he doesn’t watch TV) with his new wife, singer-songwriter Bridgette Moley.  They had their first child this year.

An interesting Eric quote from imdb.com:
"I find that there are two kinds of actors (or actresses) that you work with constantly: (1) The Respectful Actor. This person is kind and giving and talented and fun to work with and respectful of your relationship. (2) The Predatory Actor. This person is kind and giving and talented and fun to work with but feels that because they are famous they don't have to function within society's rules, i.e., if they are hungry, they eat; if they are attracted to their co-star, they act on it, married or not, no matter what destruction may ensue. These people obviously should be in therapy."

Eric is one of the most diverse and dynamic performers (he ranges from the sensitive outcast to the sociopathic criminal) in independent film and is also an accomplished producer and director.  He produced some of my favourite films that he also starred in including “Bodies, Rest & Motion”, “Sleep With Me” and “Mr. Jealousy” and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for the cable movie “My Horrible Year”.  He also directed the highest rated 2005 episode of Law & Order entitled Tombstone.

This member of The Actors Studio was trained in the theatre where he studied with the legendary acting teachers Stella Adler and Peggy Feury.  He has appeared both on Broadway and off in “Three Sisters”, “The Importance Of Being Ernest”, “Arms And The Man”, The Glass Menagerie”, “Two Shakespearean Actors”, “Sly Fox” and “Our Town”, his 1988 Broadway debut for which he was Tony-nominated.  He later recreated the role of George Gibbs for a 1989 TV movie.

I have seen and can recommend Eric in most of the following movies: “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” (although you’d better not blink for his time was limited), “Sister, Sister”, “Lionheart”, “The Fly II”, “Say Anything” (another very small part), “Memphis Belle”, “Money”, “The Waterdance” (a gorgeous film and a must see!), “Singles” (a cameo, really), “Bodies, Rest & Motion”, “Naked In New York” (and you really get to see him naked ladies!), the brutally exciting Roger Avary picture “Killing Zoe”, the very good relationship film, “Sleep With Me”, the Tarantino classic “Pulp Fiction”, “Little Women”, “Rob Roy” (another of my favourite Eric performances as Rob Roy McGregor’s best friend Alan MacDonald), “Fluke”, “The Prophecy” with the always magnificent Christopher Walken (one of my favourite horror films of all time), “Kicking And Screaming” (another cameo), “Grace Of My Heart” (sporting the worst haircut you’ve ever seen), “Inside” (made for TV), “2 Days In The Valley”, “Jerry Maguire” (another cameo), “Keys To Tulsa” (a very good movie co-starring James Spader and a young Charlize Theron), “Anaconda” (you can’t win them all), “Hi-Life”, “A Murder Of Crows”, “Common Ground” (made for TV), “The House Of Mirth” with the beautiful Gillian Anderson, “The Rules Of Attraction” (another cameo), the excellent, recent “Happy Hour” featuring a heart-breaking performance by Anthony Lapaglia, a small part in a strange remake of “The Honeymooners” and “The Butterfly Effect” in which he gave a terribly creepy performance as a child pornographer.  Eeewwwwww…

Unfortunately I have missed a lot of Eric’s television work because I don’t watch much network TV, but I did see him perform as Helen Hunt’s recurring ex-boyfriend Alan Tofsky in Mad About You, Dr. Robert Yeats on Chicago Hope (1994) for a year, and Felicity Huffman’s tortured, yet cheating husband Mark Colm in the excellent mini-series Out Of Order.  That is one to rent at your local video store!  Stoltz was also Debra Messing’s boyfriend Tom Cassidy on Will and Grace and the English teacher/poet August Dimitri in the Billy Campbell showcase, Once and Again (a series on which he also directed).  With Eric, you never know where he’s going to turn up, but he usually does somewhere!

There are a few pretty descent websites dedicated to him called All Things Eric Stoltz at www.geocities.com/fmrbruin_la, Eric Stoltz – The Rooster Page at www.geocities.com/lorbooks/es.html and Eric Stoltz - A Tribute by a Fan at www.negativschnitt.de/eric_stoltz. Eric Stoltz’s work, no matter how big the part, is always captivating and memorable so if you haven’t given him much thought in the past, please think again.