Thomas Jane

Early life

Jane was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Cynthia, an antiques dealer, and Michael Elliott, a genetic engineer. In 1987, he graduated from Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School. At age 18, he moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. He was initially homeless and lived out of his car, often doing street performances to earn money: "I had two songs in my repertoire that I hammered to death, 'Hey Joe' and 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'. People used to pelt me with change just to shut me up."

Career

Jane began his acting career with the Indian Telugu language film Padamati Sandhya Ragam (1987), directed by Jandhyala. His early roles included Zeph in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). He also had supporting roles in several high-profile films, including The Crow: City of Angels (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), Thursday (1998) and Magnolia (1999). After receiving critical acclaim as baseball player Mickey Mantle in 61**, Jane received offers for leading roles beginning with Andre Stander in the South African film Stander (2003), for which he gained further critical acclaim.

Along with director Jonathan Hensleigh and Avi Arad, Jane has said he was the first and only actor to be asked to play the title role in the film The Punisher (2004). He turned down the role twice, as he did not have much interest in the superhero genre. When they asked him the second time to play the Punisher, it was Tim Bradstreet's artwork of the character that secured his interest. After finding out that the character was not a traditional superhero, but more of an anti-hero and a vigilante crime fighter, he accepted. He read as many Punisher comics as he could find and quickly became a fan, then trained for several months with Navy SEALs, gaining more than 20 pounds (9.1 kg) of muscle.

In addition to starring in the film, he contributed his voice to the video games The Punisher and Gun. He also co-owns RAW, an entertainment company which he runs with Steve Niles and Tim Bradstreet. RAW Studios, the company's comic book division, released Bad Planet (written by Jane) through Image Comics. Jane became a spokesperson for Steve Niles and the cover model for comic book character Cal McDonald in 2006. In addition to his screen work, Jane has appeared several times on stage, and received strong critical reviews as Tom in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, and as Chris in Arthur Miller's All My Sons. He has also portrayed a fictionalized version of himself in an episode of the television series Arrested Development.

Jane did not return in the planned sequel to The Punisher. Lions Gate Entertainment had approved a direct sequel due to the strong sales of the film on DVD. However, the project lingered in development for over three years. Jonathan Hensleigh completed a first draft of the script before leaving the project in 2006. John Dahl was in talks to direct the film, but cited his dislike of the script and the reduced budget as his reasons for refusing. In a statement on May 15, 2007, and in two audio interviews, Jane said that he pulled out of the project due to creative differences and the studio's further reduction of the budget.

Jane said in June 2007 that Zack Snyder had expressed interest in casting him for the role of The Comedian for the adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen, but because he was too busy, he turned down the role. The same year he starred in Frank Darabont's adaption of the Stephen King book, The Mist. His directing debut was the 2009 film Dark Country, in which he also played the main character. In 2009, Jane starred with Ving Rhames in the crime film Give 'Em Hell, Malone, which premiered at San Diego Comic Con.

On December 18, 2008, HBO announced it was picking up the black comedy Hung, and Jane was contracted to star in the show. He plays the character of Ray Drecker, a high school history teacher and basketball coach, who, after attending a self-help class while being down on his luck, decides to market the large size of his penis as a path to success. The series was renewed for a second season which aired in the summer of 2010. The show was renewed for a final season, which aired in fall of 2011.

Jane appeared on the June/July 2010 cover of Men's Fitness magazine. He voiced the character Jonah Hex in an animated short as a companion piece on the Special Edition Blu-ray and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD release of Batman: Under the Red Hood.

Jane had been set to play the role of a cop in Sylvester Stallone's hitman action film Headshot, but then he was deemed not "ethnic" enough and let go. In a recent interview with Collider he mentions an upcoming film project called The Lycan. Jane has described this project as a gothic werewolf romance set in a castle in the 18th century.

On June 7, 2012, Jane released a digital EP titled Don't Come Home under the moniker Rusty Blades. At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, Jane debuted an independently financed Punisher short film, directed by Phil Joanou and co-starring Ron Perlman, titled Dirty Laundry.

As of January 23, 2017, Jane was confirmed to star in Shane Black's The Predator, a direct sequel to the 1987 film Predator. Production was expected to begin February 2017 and it is slated to hit theaters in early 2018.

On February 1, 2017, Syfy began a two-episode debut of the second season of its critically acclaimed "murder mystery in space," The Expanse. Jane portrays the lead role of Detective Joe Miller in this futuristic saga, in which humans have colonized both Mars and the Asteroid Belt (which separates Mars from our solar system's largest planet, gas giant Jupiter). The asteroids are rife with precious metals that residents on both planets—Earth and Mars—spar over, leaving the asteroid miners in the middle and understandably feeling like underappreciated pawns. And unequal rights on Mars and in the Belt, as compared to Earth's, only serve to add to heighten the tension—and give Det. Miller plenty of added motive in the murders he investigates. Last winter's first season of 10 episodes proved so successful critically and in ratings that Syfy ordered a second season of 13 episodes, although the debut is about two months later than last season's, which premiered in December 2015.

Personal life

Jane married actress Aysha Hauer, daughter of Rutger Hauer, in 1989. The couple starred in a number of films together before they divorced in 1995. Jane was engaged to Olivia d'Abo from 1998 to 2001. After meeting through common friends in 2001, Jane and actress Patricia Arquette became engaged in 2002. Their daughter, Harlow Olivia Calliope, was born on February 20, 2003. Jane and Arquette subsequently married on June 25, 2006 at the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo in Venice, Italy.

In January 2009, Arquette filed for divorce from Jane on the grounds of irreconcilable differences, but the couple soon reconciled and Arquette requested to abandon the divorce petition on July 9, 2009. However, on August 13, 2010, Jane's representative announced that Jane and Arquette had decided to proceed with a divorce. The divorce was finalized on July 1, 2011. The pair were granted joint custody of their child.