Church was born Thomas Richard McMillen[2][3] on June 17, 1960,[4] in Woodland, Yolo County, California,[4] to Maxine (née Sanders; 1936–2021)[5] and Carlos "Carl" Richard McMillen (1936–2008), who served for eight years in the Marines and who was on active duty at the end of the Korean War; after 1962, Carl worked as a surveyor.[6] Church's parents divorced and his mother moved to Laredo, Texas. She remarried in 1969, to widower George A. Quesada, a veteran of an Army Air Forces reconnaissance unit which served in Guam in World War II.[7] Church took his stepfather's surname for a time but changed it to 'Haden Church', extracted from the names of other relatives, when people found 'Quesada' difficult to pronounce.[2] He left high school in 1977 to work in the oil fields of Louisiana, but he returned to graduate from Harlingen High School in 1979. He attended the University of North Texas while living in Dallas.[2]
Career
Church started in the entertainment business as a radio personality and doing voice-over work.[8] After appearing in an independent film, he moved to California to pursue an acting career. His character delivers a love letter to Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) from her deceased former lover, Eddie LaBec, in the Cheers episode, "Death Takes a Vacation on Ice". He played the part of slow-witted aircraft mechanic Lowell Mather for six seasons (1990–95) on the NBC sitcom Wings.[9]
In 2003, director Alexander Payne called him regarding the role of Jack, the selfish best friend of Paul Giamatti's character, in Sideways. During the audition, Church stripped naked to read the audition scene, later saying "To me, it was painfully obvious... I was reading the scene where Jack comes in naked and there has to be in-born vulnerability in the scene."[8] (He later found that he was the only actor to strip down for the audition).[10]Sideways earned acclaim for Church; he won an IFP Independent Spirit Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Church at the Spider-Man 3 (2007) premiere in New York City
In December 2021, it was announced that Church will star alongside Toni Collette and Anna Faris in the comedy film The Estate, directed by Dean Craig.[17]
Church lives on his 2,000-acre (810 ha) ranch near Kerrville, Texas.[8][18] During the filming of Divorce, he rented a house in New Rochelle, New York.[19] He has two children from a former relationship with Mia Zottoli. Church has never married.[1][20][18] Church's father, Carl, died in 2008,[6] and his stepfather, George, died in 2012.[7]
^ abHow did Thomas Haden Church land his role on Divorce? 'I was age-appropriate', Oct. 2016 in the Guardian: As he points out, he has never been divorced (or married). "But I did go through a pretty significant upheaval several years ago. I have an ex with two children. So having gone through something as sort of life-changing as that myself ... " he trails off a bit, sounding uncomfortable, and pivots to something less personal.
^ abcBuck, Jerry (August 3, 1992). "'Wings' Character Stumbles, But He's Not Stupid, Star Says". Deseret News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2013. His birth name was McMillen, but he took his stepfather's name of Quesada. He changed it to Thomas Haden Church 'because nobody could spell Quesada or pronounce it.'
