Enduring, strong-featured, and genial star of US cinema, Burt Reynolds started off in TV westerns in the 1960s and then carved his name into 1970/1980s popular culture as a male sex symbol (posing nearly naked for "Cosmopolitan" magazine) and on-screen as both a rugged action figure and then as a wisecracking, Southern-type "good olé' boy."
Burton Leon Reynolds was born in Lansing, Michigan. He is the son of Fern H. (Miller) and Burton Milo Reynolds, who was in the army and later served as chief of police. His family moved to Florida, where he excelled as an athlete and played with Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before a knee injury and a car accident ended his football career. Midway through college he dropped out and headed to New York with aspirations of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV spot or theatre role.
He was spotted in a New York City production of "Mister Roberts," signed to a TV contract, and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series, Hawk, l'oiseau de nuit (1966).
Reynolds continued to appear in undemanding western roles, often playing an Indian halfbreed, in films such as Navajo Joe (1966), Les 100 fusils (1969) and Sam Whiskey le dur (1969). However, it was his tough-guy performance as macho Lewis Medlock in the John Boorman backwoods nightmare Délivrance (1972) that really stamped him as a bona-fide star. Reynolds' popularity continued to soar with his appearance as a no-nonsense private investigator in Le fauve (1973) and in the Woody Allen comedy Tout ce que vous avez toujours voulu savoir sur le sexe (sans jamais oser le demander) (1972). Building further on his image as a Southern boy who outsmarts the local lawmen, Reynolds packed fans into theaters to see him in Les bootleggers (1973), Plein la gueule (1974), W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975) and Gator (1976).
At this time, ex-stuntman and longtime Reynolds buddy Hal Needham came to him with a "road film" script. It turned out to be the incredibly popular Cours après moi shérif (1977) with Sally Field and Jerry Reed, which took in over $100 million at the box office. That film's success was followed by Tu fais pas le poids, shérif! (1980) and Cours après moi shérif 3 (1983). Reynolds also appeared alongside Kris Kristofferson in the hit football film Les faux-durs (1977), with friend Dom DeLuise in the black comedy The End (1978) (which Reynolds directed), in the stunt-laden buddy film La fureur du danger (1978) and then in the self-indulgent, star-packed road race flick L'équipée du Cannonball (1981).
The early 1980s started off well with a strong performance in the violent cop film L'anti-gang (1981), which he also directed, and he starred with Dolly Parton in La cage aux poules (1982) and with fellow macho superstar Clint Eastwood in the coolly received Haut les flingues! (1984). However, other projects such as Stroker Ace (1983), Stick, le justicier de Miami (1985) and Paternity (1981) failed to catch fire with fans and Reynolds quickly found himself falling out of popularity with movie audiences. In the late 1980s he appeared in only a handful of films, mostly below average, before his old friend television came to the rescue and he shone again in two very popular TV shows, Un privé nommé Stryker (1989) and Evening Shade (1990), for which he won an Emmy.
He was back on screen, but still the roles weren't grabbing the public's attention, until his terrific performance as a drunken politician in the otherwise woeful Striptease (1996) and then another tremendous showing as a manipulative porn director in Boogie Nights (1997), which scored him a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Like the phoenix from the ashes, Reynolds had resurrected his popularity and, in the process, had gathered a new generation of young fans, many of whom had been unfamiliar with his 1970s film roles. He put in entertaining work in Pups (1999), Mystery, Alaska (1999), Driven (2001) and L'enfant et le loup (2002). Definitely one of Hollywood's most resilient stars, Reynolds has continually surprised all with his ability to weather both personal and career hurdles and his 40-plus years in front of the cameras is testament to his staying ability, his acting talent and his appeal to film audiences.
