SYDNEY POLLACK (Delano) has distinguished himself as a director, producer and actor. His movies have been box office smashes, won Oscars® and provided a framework for performances by some of the major actors of our era.
Pollack himself won an Academy Award® as Best Director for his 1985 film "Out of Africa," which also received the Best Picture award. He was previously nominated for "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "Tootsie." Among his other honors are the New York Film Critics Award, two Golden Globes, the National Society of Film Critics Award, the NATO Director of the Year Award, and prizes at the Moscow, Taormina, Brussels, Belgrade and San Sebastian film festivals.
Pollack made his directorial debut with "The Slender Thread," starring Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft, in 1965. Among the best known of his many films, in addition to "Tootsie," "Out of Africa," and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" are "The Firm" and "Sabrina" (both produced with Scott Rudin), "The Way We Were," "The Electric Horseman," "Jeremiah Johnson," "Absence of Malice" and "Three Days of the Condor."
Born in Lafayette, Indiana, Pollack went to New York after graduating high school. He studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse, eventually becoming Meisner's assistant, and then a teacher there. Soon he began to work professionally as an actor on stage and television. Following two years of military service, he began to direct as well. In 1965, he received an Emmy for "The Game," starring Cliff Robertson.
Pollack has produced his own films under the Mirage Enterprises banner since 1975, and has increasingly begun producing the films of other directors. Among the films to bear the Mirage/Pollack imprint are "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Sense and Sensibility," "The Fabulous Baker Boys," "White Palace," "Presumed Innocent," "Searching for Bobby Fischer" and "Iris" (the latter two produced with Scott Rudin).
Pollack has also become more visible as a screen presence of late, and his performances are usually met with critical raves. Audiences have enjoyed him in "Tootsie," "The Player," "Death Becomes Her," "Eyes Wide Shut" and Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives." He has also appeared in guest starring roles in such series as "Will & Grace," "Just Shoot Me" and "Mad About You."
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