Craig T. Nelson biography

He played Tom Cruise's football coach in the 1983 film All the Right Moves, then earned critical praise for his portrayal of Air Force Colonel Raynor Sarnac in the 1984 TV series Call to Glory. Impressed by his depiction of a football coach in All the Right Moves,

in 1989 ABC tapped Nelson to play Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach. Nelson's particular brand of deadpan humor proved a perfect fit for the tough but good-humored Coach Hayden. Coach ran for eight seasons and earned Nelson the 1992 Emmy Award (outstanding lead actor in a comedy series).

Since Coach went off the air in 1997, Nelson has landed several other major leading roles. From 2000-2004, he starred as police Chief Jack Mannion in the CBS police drama The District. Nelson then moved into voice acting, playing the voice of Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) in Disney's highly acclaimed 2004 animated film The Incredibles. Other notable performances include the films Blades of Glory (2007) and The Proposal (2009), and the TV series My Name is Earl (2007) and Parenthood (2010).

Beyond acting, Nelson is a huge auto-racing enthusiast. He has participated in numerous celebrity racing tournaments and founded his own racing team, Screaming Eagle Racing, in 1994. Nelson lives with his second wife, karate instructor Doria Cook Nelson. Living with Doria, Nelson has added a new activity to his very busy acting schedule: chores. "When you are married to a karate black belt, you don't wait to be asked to make dinner and take out the garbage," Nelson said. "You just do it."

Political Views

In May 2009, Nelson made headlines not for his acting but for his outspoken political views. In an interview with Fox News personality Glenn Beck, Nelson trashed the national government and the government of California, declaring that he would refuse to pay taxes and that California was no longer a state, but a hedge fund. While his rant earned him ridicule on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Nelson has not backed down from his remarks. He even called for a "tax revolt" on a March 2010 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. While Nelson continues to act, he is increasingly making a name for himself as a spokesman for politically frustrated Americans. Asked in an interview to sum up America's political mood, Nelson paraphrased Peter Finch's famous speech from the 1976 film Network: "We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore!"

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