Philip Baker Hall
Encyclopedia : P : PH : PHI : Philip Baker Hall
Philip Baker Hall (born September 10, 1931 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American screen actor. He did not have aspirations to be an actor until late in his life. He first served in the military, started a family and became a high school English teacher. In 1961, having become bored with his life, he decided to become an actor. He moved to New York, enjoying success both on and off Broadway.
In 1975, he moved to Los Angeles to make a career in television. Since then, he has had over 200 guest roles on television shows, including a memorable role as the library cop "Lt. Bookman" on Seinfeld in the episode "The Library".
He starred in many films, including Robert Altman's Secret Honor in which he played Richard Nixon, but had not gained much attention for his performances. It was not until Paul Thomas Anderson wrote a role in his film Hard Eight, specifically for Hall, that a cult following arose. (Anderson was a big fan of Hall's career, particularly Secret Honor.) Hall went on to have significant roles in Anderson's two subsequent films, Boogie Nights and Magnolia. He also had a minor role as Captain Diel in "Rush Hour", in which he informs Detective James Carter (played by Chris Tucker) that the FBI wants the LAPD's help in the investigation of a Chinese consul's daughter's kidnapping, and subsequently assigns Carter to the task, but not for the reason Carter believes.
Recently he has had roles in Bruce Almighty, In Good Company, Dogville, and The Amityville Horror.
He is currently in a new sitcom on Fox called The Loop.
External links
Quotes
(The following dialogue is from Philip Baker Hall's scene with Chris Tucker in Rush Hour)- Captain Diel: Well, who would want such a bullshit assignment? It's a disgrace to me! It's a disgrace to my department! It's a disgrace to--(he sees Detective Carter pass by his office window and waves him in)--Dan, I'm sending someone right over. (he hangs up as Carter enters)
Captain Diel: Two officers were shot. One man lost a pinky.
Carter: But didn't nobody die!
Diel: You destroyed half a city block!
Carter: That block was already messed up!
Diel: And you lost a lot of evidence!
Carter (tentatively): We still got a little bit left...
Diel: What you did was dangerous, and completely against policy! And not only that...you did a good job.
Carter (surprised by the compliment): What?
Diel: Everyone around here is so image conscious. Everyone's so afraid of their own goddamn shadow. It's nice to meet an L.A. detective who's willing to...lay it on the line.
Carter: Cap--Captain, that's the same way I feel! That's what I been tryin' to tell everybody!
Diel: The truth is, every once in a while, we gotta show the general public that we can still blow shit up.
Carter: You goddamn right! That's the only way I work, Captain!
Diel: I just got off the phone with the FBI. The 10-year-old daughter of a Chinese diplomat was kidnapped this morning, and they want you on the case.
Carter: FBI want me?
Diel: That's right.
Carter (disbelieving): Stop lyin'.
Diel: I don't lie.
Carter: Tell the truth.
Diel: I'm telling the truth.
Carter (excitedly): Whoo!
(they shake hands and Carter goes to leave)
Diel: Congratulations, Carter! You are goin' to the show!
Carter: Captain, I ain't gonna forget this. I'm gonna remember you when I go to the top. I'll make you mayor.
Diel (point-of-fact): I'd rather you didn't.
(This last line of dialogue was completely ad-libbed by Hall for comedic effect.)
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.