Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon (birthname: Susan Abigail Tomalin) has been one of the longest and most durable American actors spanning more than five decades, including a period in the 1990s when she was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar four times in five years. Sarandon landed a key role in her big-screen debut in the charged drama, Joe (1970), starring Peter Boyle and directed by John G. Avildsen, grossing an astounding $19.3 million on a $106,000 budget.

Sarandon earned some cult status as Janet in the trend-setting screen version of the camp musical, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), starring Tim Curry and Barry Bostwick under co-writer Jim Sharman’s direction, and earning $170 million worldwide on $1.4 million costs. Sarandon joined director George Roy Hill and star Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), with Bo Svenson and Margot Kidder, and taking in $20.6 million globally on $5 million costs.

Susan Sarandon collaborated as co-star with the great French filmmaker Louis Malle on the controversial drama written by Polly Platt, Pretty Baby (1978), starring Brooke Shields and Keith Carradine, and a few years later Sarandon worked again with Malle on his American-made masterpiece, Atlantic City (1981), starring Burt Lancaster, Kate Reid, and Michel Piccoli, and which was nominated for the top five Oscars (picture, director, screenplay, actor, actress), including Sarandon’s first best actress Oscar nomination.

Sarandon earned acclaim and fans for her daring performance in director Tony Scott’s erotic horror debut, The Hunger (1983), co-starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Cliff De Young, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before a $10 million MGM/UA release. Sarandon’s star status rose with her wild co-starring performance in director George Miller’s comic version of John Updike’s 1984 novel, The Witches of Eastwick (1987), co-starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Veronica Cartwright, and grossing $64 million against $22 million costs for Warner Bros.

Susan Sarandon became a movie star with her winning turn opposite Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins in Ron Shelton’s beloved baseball movie, Bull Durham (1988), ranked by Sports Illustrated magazine as the greatest sports movie of all time and hitting a box office homer for Orion Pictures with a $51 million return. Sarandon earned a Golden Globe nomination for her lead performance in the Luis Mandoki-directed erotic drama, White Palace (1990), co-starring James Spader, with Jason Alexander and Kathy Bates, and released by Universal Pictures.

Sarandon then enjoyed a remarkable best actress Oscar nomination run, with four nominations in an astonishing five-year period, starting with: Ridley Scott’s feminist action comedy-drama written by Oscar-winning Callie Khouri, Thelma & Louise (1991), co-starring Geena Davis, and with Harvey Keitel and Brad Pitt; Lorenzo’s Oil (1992), in which Sarandon reunited with writer-director George Miller and co-starred with Nick Nolte and Peter Ustinov, and released by Universal Pictures; The Client (1994), co-starring Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony LaPaglia, Anthony Edwards, and Ossie Davis under Joel Schumacher’s direction, and which earned a potent $117.6 million for Warner Bros.; and director/writer/producer Tim Robbins’ highly acclaimed true-story drama, Dead Man Walking (1995), with Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey, and Scott Wilson, garnering four Oscar nominations and Sarandon’s first Oscar win for best actress.

Susan Sarandon joined the fine ensemble under Gillian Armstrong’s direction in Robin Swicord’s screen adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1994), co-starring Winona Ryder, Gabriel Byrne, Trini Alvarado, Samantha Mathis, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, Christian Bale, and Eric Stoltz, and grossing $95 million on $18 million costs. Sarandon had one of her first voice performances in an animated feature with Henry Selick’s brilliant stop-motion version of Roald Dahl’s fanciful 1961 novel, James and the Giant Peach (1996), with the voices of Paul Terry, Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes, Pete Postlethwaite, and David Thewlis.

Sarandon co-starred with Paul Newman and Gene Hackman in director/co-writer Robert Benton’s (with Richard Russo) noirish mystery for Paramount Pictures, Twilight (1998), with James Garner, Stockard Channing, Reese Witherspoon, and Giancarlo Esposito, and then Sarandon earned a Golden Globe nomination for her co-starring role with Julia Roberts and Ed Harris in Stepmom (1998), directed by Chris Columbus and released by Sony Pictures to a solid $160 million gross. Sarandon starred with Natalie Portman in director Wayne Wang’s comedy-drama based on Mona Simpson’s novel, Anywhere but Here (1999), with Bonnie Bedelia, Shawn Hatosy, and Hart Bochner, premiering at the Toronto film festival before a poor release by 20^th Century Fox.

Susan Sarandon reunited with her life partner Tim Robbins, who directed, wrote, and produced Cradle Will Rock (1999), a fictionalization of the making of Marc Blitzstein’s 1937 musical and co-starring Hank Azaria, Ruben Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Philip Baker Hall, Cherry Jones, Angus Macfadyen, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, John Turturro, and Emily Watson, and released by Buena Vista Pictures via Touchstone Pictures. Sarandon co-starred with Goldie Hawn in writer-director Bob Dolman’s comedy, The Banger Sisters (2002), with Geoffrey Rush, and Erika Christensen, grossing a fine $38 million for Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Sarandon co-starred in another hit comedy with the Peter Chelsom-directed remake of Masayuki Suo’s 1996 Japanese film, Shall We Dance? (2004), co-starring Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Stanley Tucci, Richard Jenkins, Bobby Cannavale, Ja Rule, and Nick Cannon, and released by Miramax Films to a solid return of $170 million. Sarandon played support in another remake, director/co-writer/producer Charles Shyer’s failed comedy-drama, Alfie (2004), starring Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, Omar Epps, Nia Long, Jane Krakowski, and Sienna Miller, losing money for Paramount Pictures.

Susan Sarandon co-starred with Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst in Cameron Crowe’s widely dismissed dark comedy, Elizabethtown (2005), and then Sarandon joined co-stars James Gandolfini and Kate Winslet for director-writer-producer John Turturro’s musical rom-com, Romance & Cigarettes (2005), with Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Christopher Walken, Barbara Sukowa, Elaine Stritch, Eddie Izzard, and Amy Sedaris, premiering at the Venice film festival and released by MGM for a $3 million return. Sarandon played the evil stepmother in Disney’s live-action/animated musical fantasy, Enchanted (2007), starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, and Idina Menzel, and delivering a terrific $340.5 million globally for Disney.

Sarandon co-starred with Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli, and Saoirse Ronan in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s supernatural novel for Paramount Pictures, The Lovely Bones (2009), proving to be a rare box-office loser for filmmaker Jackson. Sarandon reunited with Richard Gere for writer-director Nicholas Jarecki’s corporate crime drama, Arbitrage (2012), with Tim Roth, Brit Marling, and Laetitia Casta, grossing a very good $35.5 million for Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions.

Susan Sarandon played Melissa McCarthy’s grandmom in the commercial comedy hit (and critically slammed) Tammy (2014), directed and co-written (with McCarthy) by Ben Falcone and earning over $100 million for Warner Bros.. Sarandon co-starred with Rose Byrne and J.K. Simmons in director-writer Lorene Scafaria’s comedy-drama, The Meddler (2015), premiering at the Toronto Film Festival and squeaking out a middling $5.5 million globally for Sony Pictures Classics.

Sarandon joined the rowdy ensemble of writers-directors Scott Moore’s and Jon Lucas’ comedy sequel, A Bad Moms Christmas (2017), co-starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Cheryl Hines, and Christine Baranski, earning over $130 million on $28 million costs for distributor STXfilms. Sarandon as lead star joined highly regarded late director Roger Michell for the drama, Blackbird (2019), screenwriter Christian Torpe’s English-language remake of his Danish original titled Silent Heart with Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, Lindsay Duncan, Rainn Wilson, and Sam Neill, and which premiered at the Toronto film festival before a release by Screen Media Films.

Susan Sarandon reunited with filmmaker-star John Turturro for The Jesus Rolls (2019), his goofy spinoff from the Coen Brothers’ cult hit, The Big Lebowski (1998) and a remake of Bertrand Blier’s dark-comic road movie, Going Places (1974), with Bobby Cannavale, Audrey Tatou, Christopher Walken, Jon Hamm, and Pete Davidson, premiering at the Rome film festival and proving a money-loser for distributor Screen Media Films. Sarandon joined the starry ensemble of writer-director Michael Jacobs’ rom-com, Maybe I Do (2023), with Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Emma Roberts, William H. Macy, and grossing $4.5 million for Vertical Entertainment.

Sarandon appeared in her first DC Comic superhero movie, Blue Beetle (2023), with Xolo Mariduena, Adriana Barranza, Damian Alcazar, and George Lopez under Angel Manuel Soto’s direction, but failed at the box office for Warner Bros. with a $130.8 million return. Sarandon co-starred with Bette Midler, Megan Mullally, and Sheryl Lee Ralph in the Jocelyn Moorhouse-directed comedy released by Bleecker Street, The Fabulous Four (2024), and then Sarandon was part of the colorful ensemble of the Stephen Chbosky-directed Staten Island comedy, Nonnas (date to be announced), co-starring Vince Vaughn, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Linda Cardelini, Drea de Matteo, Joe Manganiello, Michael Rispoli, and Campbell Scott.

Susan Sarandon played a determined woman dying from cancer in writer-director Thomas A. Morgan’s drama, Exit Right (date to be announced), with William H. Macy and Marcia Cross. Sarandon joined director John Krokidas for the school shooting drama, Tunnels (date to be announced), co-starring Patrick Wilson, Alicia Silverstone, and Anna Faris.