My Take
Timothy Bottoms is one of those actors who essentially launched a golden era of American cinema with a single extraordinary year — 1971 — when he starred in both Johnny Got His Gun and The Last Picture Show back to back. His portrayal of Sonny Crawford in Peter Bogdanovich's black-and-white Texas elegy is achingly real, the kind of performance that feels less like acting and more like memory. Then he turned around and did The Paper Chase (1973), holding his own against the formidable John Houseman, which is no small feat. He never quite became the A-list superstar those early films suggested he might, but honestly, that almost makes his work feel more authentic — like he was in it for the craft, not the celebrity machine.
Overview
Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in Johnny Got His Gun (1971); Sonny Crawford in The Last Picture Show (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cybill Shepherd and Jeff Bridges, rose to fame; and as James Hart, the first-year law student who battles with Prof. Kingsfield, in the film adaptation The Paper Chase (1973).
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Timothy Bottoms
- Name (Japanese)
- ティモシー・ボトムズ
- Reading
- てぃもしー・ぼとむず
- Born
- August 30, 1951 (age 74)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Rabbit
- Origin
- Santa Barbara, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / film actor / actor / film producer / stage actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Santa Barbara High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.