Joe Unger

JOE UNGER, EARL
Joe Unger was born and grew up in rural Lake County, Tennessee. The colorful characters he knew there informed his work as a character actor, as Joe was often cast early in his career as a farmboy or biker.

When Joe was 22, he made the move to New York City, and fell in with the acclaimed improv group FOURTH WALL DEMOLITION. He appeared in countless off-Broadway plays, working with many interesting playwrights, including Tennessee Williams himself. He studied with Sanford Meisner, and honed his craft with a variety of roles.

In the mid-1970’s, Joe moved to Los Angeles, and landed a co-starring role in GO TELL THE SPARTANS, opposite Burt Lancaster. This acclaimed drama was one of the first Hollywood films to deal with the Vietnam war in a honest way. Other choice roles soon followed, including a famous scene from the Kurt Russell starring ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, where Joe plays Snake Plisken’s best friend who goes down in a blaze of glory in the first reel.

In the 1980’s, Joe worked with some of Hollywood’s best directors, including Peter Bogdonavich in MASK, Barbet Shroeder in BARFLY, and Wes Craven in NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. He also co-starred in the cult hit ROADHOUSE, and had several more roles for director John Carpenter in CHRISTINE and STARMAN. All the while, Joe did network episodic roles in such series as HILL STREET BLUES , CAGNEY AND LACEY, and THE A-TEAM.

In the 90’s and throughout this decade, Joe has continued to act in a variety of films and theater…appearing on stage with such actors as Peter Fonda and Dwight Yoakum, who became good friends with Joe. Dwight wrote the lead villain role of Nogales in the film SOUTH OF HEAVEN, WEST OF HELL especially for Joe.

Joe gave his all for the role of Earl in BROKE SKY, and his dedication inspired the whole cast and crew. Joe loves to make independent films, and it shows. He is currently working with BLAIR WITCH director Eduardo Sanchez and has a starring role in the festival favorite TOGETHER AND ALONE, soon to be released on special edition DVD.