# Tom Hulce
**Tom Hulce** (Thomas Edward Hulce) is an American actor, singer, and theater producer, born in 1953 in Whitewater, Wisconsin, best known for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://www.edgepedia.org/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart) in *Amadeus* (1984) and for Larry "Pinto" Kroger in *National Lampoon's Animal House* (1978).[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/) Since retiring from acting in the mid-1990s he has worked chiefly as a stage director and Broadway producer, winning the 2007 [Tony Award for Best Musical](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-award-for-best-musical) for *Spring Awakening*.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-tom-hulce-20180927-story.html) • [1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953, Whitewater, Wisconsin, USA[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868) |
| Signature screen roles | Larry "Pinto" Kroger in *Animal House* (1978); Mozart in *Amadeus* (1984), Oscar-nominated for Best Actor[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/awards/) |
| Voice work | Speaking and singing voice of Quasimodo in Disney's *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (1996)[5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Tom-Hulce/) |
| Acting awards | Emmy (1996, *The Heidi Chronicles*); Oscar and Tony nominations; four Golden Globe nominations; David di Donatello (1985)[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/tom-hulce) • [7](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/thomas-hulce/umc.cpc.1uqfc4qxzdaylzjd80q2gnblp) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/awards/) |
| Directing | Co-director, with Jane Jones, of the two-evening stage adaptation of *The Cider House Rules*; Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Director of a Play (2000)[8](https://www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf-stages/What-Spring-Wanted/) • [1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868) |
| Producing | Tony Award for Best Musical, *Spring Awakening* (2007); Tony nominations for *American Idiot* (2010) and *Ain't Too Proud* (2019)[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868) |
| Acting retirement | Left acting in the mid-1990s; brief returns in *Stranger Than Fiction* (2006) and *Jumper* (2008)[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-tom-hulce-20180927-story.html) |
## Training and early stage career
Hulce was raised in Michigan and studied theater at the North Carolina School of the Arts.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/) Within a month of moving to New York City he was chosen to understudy [Peter Firth](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-firth) as Alan Strang in the Broadway production of Peter Shaffer's *Equus*, and he eventually succeeded Firth in the role of the troubled young man; the IBDB record lists him as an understudy and replacement in the original 1974–1977 run.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/) • [1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868) In 1976 he appeared on Broadway with [Meryl Streep](https://www.edgepedia.org/meryl-streep) and [John Lithgow](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-lithgow) in Arthur Miller's *A Memory of Two Mondays*, playing Bert in the double-bill revival.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/) • [1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868)
## Screen career
**Film debut and breakthrough.** Hulce made his film debut in James Bridges' *9/30/55* (1977), as a Southern young man deeply affected by the death of [James Dean](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-dean), and came to prominence the following year as Larry "Pinto" Kroger, one of the eager new pledges in [John Landis](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-landis)' *National Lampoon's Animal House*.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/) He followed with a turn as a naive actor experiencing summer stock and the ego of a fallen star played by [Frank Langella](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-langella) in *Those Lips, Those Eyes* (1980).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/)
**Amadeus.** Director Miloš Forman cast Hulce as Mozart in *Amadeus* (1984), a performance that earned him a nomination for the [Academy Award for Best Actor](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-actor) in a Leading Role; his co-star [F. Murray Abraham](https://www.edgepedia.org/f-murray-abraham), who played Salieri, was nominated in the same category and won.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/awards/) • [9](https://archive.newportbeachlibrary.org/NBPL/0/edoc/1295336/1985-02-06%20-%20Orange%20Coast%20Pilot.pdf) For the role Hulce learned to play the piano and to conduct.[10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/bio/) The film was shot in Prague, and Hulce described the strangeness of standing in the very spot where the historical Mozart had stood conducting the opera he was recreating.[11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/) He won the David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor for the performance in 1985.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/awards/)
**Later films.** Rather than pursue high-profile Hollywood features, Hulce chose smaller projects: *Echo Park* (1985), as a pizza delivery man who aspires to be a poet, and Wayne Wang's thriller *Slam Dance* (1987), as a cartoonist caught up in a murder.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/) He played Larry Buckman in [Steve Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-martin)'s *Parenthood* (1989) and appeared in *Dominick and Eugene* (1988), *Black Rainbow* (1991), *The Inner Circle* (1991), *Fearless* (1993), and *Mary Shelley's Frankenstein* (1994) as Henry Clerval.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-tom-hulce-20180927-story.html) • [12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tom_hulce) Two of his films, *Animal House* and *Amadeus*, have been selected for the [National Film Registry](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-registry) by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant.[10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/bio/)
**Voice work.** In 1996 Hulce provided the speaking and singing voice of [Quasimodo](https://www.edgepedia.org/quasimodo) in Disney's animated *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*, and he repeated the role in the 2002 direct-to-video sequel.[5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Tom-Hulce/) • [12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tom_hulce) He received an Annie Award nomination for Best Individual Achievement: Voice Acting for the part.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/awards/) According to an IMDb biography note, he had never done voiceover work for a full film before, and performing song and voice for a character he could not watch while performing was a new experience for him.[10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/bio/)
## Television and the 1989 Broadway return
Hulce's television work brought him both of his Emmy nominations. He was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a [Miniseries](https://www.edgepedia.org/miniseries) or Special in 1990 for playing civil-rights worker Mickey Schwerner in NBC's *Murder in Mississippi*, and he won Outstanding Supporting Actor for a Miniseries or a Special in 1996 for playing Peter Patrone opposite [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamie-lee-curtis) in TNT's *The Heidi Chronicles*.[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/tom-hulce) He also won a CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries for the same performance.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/awards/)
On Broadway in 1989 he originated the role of Lt. j.g. Daniel Kaffee in Aaron Sorkin's *A Few Good Men*, the role Tom Cruise later played in the 1992 film, and received a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Play.[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868) • [13](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/a-few-good-men-was-loosely-based-on-a-true-story-even-wilder) In 1992 he starred in a Shakespeare Theatre Company production of *Hamlet*.[5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Tom-Hulce/)
## Leaving acting, directing, and producing
Hulce retired from acting in the mid-1990s to focus on stage directing and producing.[7](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/thomas-hulce/umc.cpc.1uqfc4qxzdaylzjd80q2gnblp) The turning point, by his own account, was *The Cider House Rules*, his epic two-evening, eight-hour stage adaptation of John Irving's novel, co-directed with Jane Jones, which played Seattle Repertory Theatre in 1996, L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum in 1998, and Off-Broadway's Atlantic Theater. "Cider House was a glorious, unique adventure and education, and in some way pushed me toward producing work," he told TDF.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-tom-hulce-20180927-story.html) • [8](https://www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf-stages/What-Spring-Wanted/) He received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Play for *The Cider House Rules, Part One* in 2000.[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868)
He next produced *Talking Heads*, a festival of Alan Bennett's one-man plays that won six Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award, a special Outer Critics Circle Award, and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play; Hulce himself was a 2003 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding New Play for it.[5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Tom-Hulce/) • [1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868)
**Broadway producing.** With producing partner Ira Pittelman, Hulce's Broadway credits include *Spring Awakening* (2006–2009), which won him the 2007 Tony Award for Best Musical; *American Idiot* (2010), adapted from the Green Day album, a Tony nominee for Best Musical; *On a Clear Day You Can See Forever* (2011); *Significant Other* (2017); and *Ain't Too Proud* (2019), the Temptations musical, a 2019 Tony nominee for Best Musical.[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868) He is also lead producer of the 2025 Broadway revival of *Chess*.[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868) In film he produced *A Home at the End of the World*, an adaptation of a Michael Cunningham novel he had optioned years earlier while searching for a director, and *The Seagull* (2018).[14](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621215714) • [15](https://playbill.com/article/amadeus-reinvents-himself-com-136841)
He made brief returns to acting in supporting roles in *Stranger Than Fiction* (2006) and *Jumper* (2008), but by the time of a 2018 Los Angeles Times interview he described acting as a lapsed career: "Living a fiction became less compelling, I guess. I definitely became more intrigued with all the parts of storytelling and not just playing a part inside the story."[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-tom-hulce-20180927-story.html)
## Personal notes
His parents are Raymond Albert Hulce and Joanne Winkleman, and his surname is pronounced "hulch".[10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/bio/) In a 2008 interview with the *Seattle Gay News*, Hulce refuted internet rumors that he had ever been married to a woman or had a child, saying "That information—having a wife and child—is false," and stated that he was comfortable being listed among gay actors, noting he had stopped acting about ten years earlier.[10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/bio/)
## References
1. [Thomas Hulce – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/thomas-hulce-67868)
2. [Tom Hulce – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tom-hulce/)
3. [Tom Hulce has gone from acting in 'Animal House' to producing the Broadway-bound 'Ain't Too Proud', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-tom-hulce-20180927-story.html)
4. [Tom Hulce – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/awards/)
5. [Tom Hulce – Broadway & Theatre Credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Tom-Hulce/)
6. [Tom Hulce – Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/tom-hulce)
7. [Thomas Hulce Movies and Shows, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/thomas-hulce/umc.cpc.1uqfc4qxzdaylzjd80q2gnblp)
8. [What "Spring" Wanted, TDF Stages](https://www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf-stages/What-Spring-Wanted/)
9. [Orange Coast Daily Pilot, February 6, 1985](https://archive.newportbeachlibrary.org/NBPL/0/edoc/1295336/1985-02-06%20-%20Orange%20Coast%20Pilot.pdf)
10. [Tom Hulce – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/bio/)
11. [Tom Hulce, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001371/)
12. [Tom Hulce Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tom_hulce)
13. [I Never Knew A Few Good Men Was (Loosely) Based On A True Story, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/a-few-good-men-was-loosely-based-on-a-true-story-even-wilder)
14. [Thomas Hulce – Movies and Music, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621215714)
15. [Amadeus Reinvents Himself, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/amadeus-reinvents-himself-com-136841)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames He to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license