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Overview
Tony Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor and director best known for playing the villain Carter Burke in Ghost (1990) and for his lead role as President Fitzgerald Grant in the ABC drama Scandal (2012–2018). He is the grandson of MGM co-founder Samuel Goldwyn. Goldwyn graduated from Hamilton College with the Class of 1982 and was an active and prominent presence in Hamilton’s theater program during the late 1970s and early 1980s. After Hamilton he trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) before launching his professional career.
Relevance to Research
Goldwyn’s undergraduate acting career at Hamilton is well documented in the Spectator. He appeared in at least four productions between spring 1979 and spring 1980, demonstrating a rapid rise from ensemble roles to leads. In spring 1979 he had a role in Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, a senior project written and directed by Tracy Shoolman. In fall 1979 he played Valere (the young lover) in Moliere’s Tartuffe, and the Spectator reviewer singled him out as “definitely the more dynamic actor.” In spring 1980, as a sophomore, he took the title role (Brother Jerome Savonarola) in Armand Salacrou’s The World Is Round directed by assistant professor Rod Umlas, a significant lead for an underclassman. A student reviewer described watching Goldwyn be flogged onstage in that production with visceral discomfort. He also appeared in another production in May 1979. These notices establish him as one of the most accomplished student actors of his Hamilton cohort.
Notes
- Hamilton College alumnus, Class of 1982 (enrolled c. 1978)
- Born May 20, 1960; grandson of MGM co-founder Samuel Goldwyn
- Spring 1979: appeared in Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (senior project, dir. Tracy Shoolman) — Spectator, April 13, 1979
- May 1979: appeared in an additional theatrical production alongside Sarah Jarvis and Kendra Anderson, dir. John Moon — Spectator, May 11, 1979
- Fall 1979: played Valere in Moliere’s Tartuffe; Spectator reviewer called him “definitely the more dynamic actor” — Spectator, November 9, 1979
- Spring 1980 (sophomore): took the lead role of Brother Jerome Savonarola in The World Is Round by Armand Salacrou, dir. Rod Umlas (Assistant Professor of Theater); performed April 17–20 and 24–27 at Minor Theater — Spectator, April 18 and April 25, 1980
- After Hamilton, trained at LAMDA in London
- Career highlights: Ghost (1990), The Pelican Brief (1993), Scandal (2012–2018, starring role as President Grant), and numerous film and television credits
Related Sources
- spec-1979-04-13 — listed in cast of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
- spec-1979-05-11 — listed in cast of a spring 1979 production
- spec-1979-11-09 — reviewed as Valere in Tartuffe; praised as “more dynamic actor”
- spec-1980-04-18 — announced as lead in The World Is Round, Salacrou play
- spec-1980-04-25 — reviewed in The World Is Round; visceral audience reaction noted
Related Topics
- performing-arts-music-theater — Goldwyn was a central figure in Hamilton theater in the late 1970s
- kennedy-arts-center-and-performing-arts — theater context at Hamilton
- hamilton-spectator-archive — primary source for his undergraduate activities