A Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Sam Shepard divides his time between acting, writing and directing. As an actor, he most recently appeared in Michael Almereyda's contemporary version of "Hamlet." 

He made his feature film debut in 1978 with "Days of Heaven" and received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager in "The Right Stuff." His film career has also included "Renaldo and Clara" (which he co-wrote), "Resurrection," "Raggedy Man," "Frances," "Country," "Fool for Love" (which he also wrote), "Crimes of the Heart," "Baby Boom," "Steel Magnolias," "Bright Angel," "Defenseless," "Voyager," "Thunderheart," "The Pelican Brief," and "Safe Passage." Shepard's television credits include A&E's "Dash and Lily," TNT's "Purgatory," Showtime's "Lily Dale," "Streets of Laredo," and "Good Old Boys." He has also appeared in "Curtain Call" and "The Only Thrill."

Apart from acting, Shepard has an equally prominent career as one of America's most acclaimed and prolific living playwrights. "Curse of the Starving Class," "Buried Child," "Tooth of Crime," "La Turista," and "Red Cross" received Obie Awards in the years of their debuts. "Buried Child" was also awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Recently, Shepard wrote and directed the critically acclaimed off-Broadway production "Simpatico," which also ran at London's Royal Court Theater. 

Shepard has written and directed two films, "Silent Tongue" and "Far North," and has co-written the screenplays for Wim Wenders' "Paris, Texas" and Robert Frank's "Me and My Brother." His latest collection of prose is Cruising Paradise.

Credit: cinema.com