Happy Birthday! Christian Slater August 18
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor who has starred in films such as Heathers, Kuffs, True Romance, He Was a Quiet Man and The Legend of Billie Jean.
Trivia
Birth of his son, Jaden Christopher Haddon-Slater, with girlfriend Ryan Haddon. [6 April 1999]
Half brother of actor Ryan Slater.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#79). [1995]
Won the roles of the Interviewer in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) and Eric Draven in The Crow (1994) after the death of friend and fellow actor River Phoenix (who had been cast in the first role and turned down the second). Slater also turned down the lead in The Crow (1994), leading producers to actor Brandon Lee – who would become permanently linked with the film and its story when he was accidentally killed on the set.
Daughter, Eliana Sophia, born. [15 August 2001]
Is a green belt in kempo karate. [August 2003]
Past girlfriends include Kim Walker, whom he broke up with during the filming of Heathers (1988) for Winona Ryder, later Samantha Mathis, Christina Applegate and Patricia Arquette. Has also been engaged to actress/model Nina Huang.
His mother, Mary Jo Slater was the casting director in 4 of his feature film appearances: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991); Murder in the First (1995); The Contender (2000) and Who Is Cletis Tout?(2001).
British stage debut as Randle P. McMurphy in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in August of 2004, delayed by a bout of chicken pox. Received a standing ovation on his first night playing McMurphy in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” on the London stage.
Born on the same day as Oscar-nominated actor Edward Norton. He also shares a birthday with the following celebrities: Denis Leary, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Patrick Swayze and Robert Redford.
Attended Dalton School and the Professional Children’s School.
Born and reared in New York.
Made his theater debut in “The Music Man” at the age of 9.
The trousers worn by him in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) are the same ones worn by William Shatner in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982). He noticed the name label still inside them.
Donated all of his paycheck from Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) to River Phoenix’s favorite charities after the young actor’s untimely death at 23.
As a teenager, he appeared in the musical “Merlin,” one of the most expensive and most notorious flops in Broadway history. The show had been conceived as a vehicle for Doug Henning’s magic, with Henning playing the eponymous wizard. Slater played “Young Merlin” and “Arthur”; other stars included Chita Rivera and Nathan Lane (in what was only his second Broadway role).
The long-standing rumor about Christian’s eyebrows (that he shaved them off to look like Spock and they never grew back properly) is actually false. Christian was joking with a reporter in one of his first interviews, and it was somehow printed as fact. He actually stated that he regretted mentioning it, as he still gets asked about the “Halloween costume gone bad” nearly two decades later.
Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2006 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was a suggestion in the Worst Actor category for his performances in Alone in the Dark (2005) and Mindhunters (2004). He failed to receive a nomination, however (had he gotten the nomination, it would have been his first in 14 years. He was previously nominated for Worst Supporting Actor at the 1992 Razzie Awards for his roles in Mobsters (1991) and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)).
He has co-starred with each of the two leads of Face/Off (1997), John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, in Broken Arrow (1996) and Windtalkers (2002), respectively. All three films were directed by ‘John Woo’ (I).
His favorite movies are The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and The Shining (1980), both starring his idol Jack Nicholson.
Is of English/Irish descent.
No relation to actress Helen Slater, who, ironically, played his sister in the movie The Legend of Billie Jean.
His favorite TV shows are “Boston Legal” and “Entourage”.
Favorite song is “A Little Less Converstion” by Elvis Presley.
During his interview and director’s commentary on the DVD for Der Name der Rose (1986), director Jean-Jacques Annaud reported that after 15-year-old Christian Slater had been cast as Adso of Melk, he was asked to read with three actresses auditioning for the role of “The Girl.” He read first with Valentina Vargas and was scheduled to read with the other two actresses the next day, but that evening, he sent his mother (casting agent Mary Jo Slater) to tell Annaud that young Christian was so smitten with the 22-year-old Vargas that he didn’t want the other two women to be considered. Annaud, amused, complied with Slater’s wish.
