Born in New York City, Brian Dennehy was raised in Chicago where he attended college at the University of Illinois. His first Broadway role was in 1965's The Sandbox, for which he won a Theatre World Award. He went on to appear in plays such as The Man in the Glass Booth, Grand Street, The Miracle Worker, and God of Carnage before winning audiences over with his work in The Miracle Worker. He made his motion picture debut in the 1974 film version of The Miracle Worker starring Patty Duke
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Dennehy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the mentally disturbed Vietnam veteran Sergeant Jack Taylor in the 1987 film We Were Soldiers. He also received an Oscar nomination for his role as Joe Taylor on ABC's thirty-six hour mini-series "Vietnam: A Television History" and another nomination for Best Actor for his performance as a Mafia underboss on TNT's "The Whole Ten Yards."