Tom Hulce

Tom Hulce (born on December 6, 1953) is a former famous movie actor, and producer. He is best known for doing the voice of Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (film). Hulce reprise's his role as the character in the sequel. He is also known for playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1984 hit film Amadeus, and for playing a disability older brother name Dominick 'Nicky" Luciano in the 1988 hit film Dominick & Eugene. He won the Best Actor Award for his performance as Dominick. Hulce's last character role turned out to be Quasimodo after his retirement from films. Hulce retired from acting in the mid 1990s, in order to focus upon stage directing and producing.

Films

Amadeus – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Dominick & Eugene – Nicky
Parenthood –
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (film) – Quasimodo
The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 – Quasimodo

Video Games

Disney's The Hunchback Of Notre Dame Animated Storybook – Quasimodo

Quotes

(About voicing Quasimodo) "The fact that they can put a look in front of a drawing's eyes is...is a thrilling thing and...and so actually their doing...their doing the acting!".

Knownable roles in film history

Quasimodo in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and it's sequel.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus
Dominick "Nicky" Luciano in Dominick and Eugene

Trivia

Originaly wanted to be a singer when he was younger. But as he got older, his voice change so he decided to become an actor instead.
When asked once why he chose acting Tom replied, "Because someone told me I couldn't". It is determination like this that has helped him achieve his respected position in the acting community to this day. Tom set goals early on. Graduating from school at 19 years old, he gave himself a decade to succeed as an actor. Working in Ann Arbor as usher and ticket seller with a small theatrical company was a start. It was around this time he saw the first play and actor that made him realize that acting was "cool". Christopher Walken was in a play in Stratford, Ontario. The performance made quite an impression on Tom.
While doing a Broadway play in New York City during his college era, Tom was chosen to understudy the role being performed by Peter Firth in the Broadway play "Equus". He had originally been hired to play one of the horses but it was decided that his time was better spent learning the understudy role and so he never donned the attire of the horse. But Tom had pangs of guilt where this role was concerned. On one hand he wanted the role ... badly. On the other hand he wondered what would happen if Peter left the role; could he fill those shoes? When the time came, nine months after being hired, Tom found out that it was up to him to play the role as his own. He wasn't expected to be another Peter Firth... he had been hired to play the role his way. Because it was his first time having a major Broadway role, and playing the main role. "... it actually went quite well", Tom recalled. "I realized I was a different actor and that I would tackle the part in my own way". And tackle it he did! Equus has a few "firsts" for Tom. During the run of "Equus", Tom turned down a big television offer, to the delight of the director and cast. At that time in Tom's life the stage was all there was, and he was going to do it right!
Despite Tom appearing in the Echo Park film with Susan Dey. That film was the only movie that had a hard time to get released. However it remains as one of Tom's best performances, and one that he is quite proud of.
He received the Best Actor award at the Seattle Festival for his performance as Nicky in Dominick & Eugene.
To help him stay in character, Tom left Dominick's tooth in even when not filming. Also it's a film Tom feels a lot of pride for, and not only that he spent time studying people in a Pittsburgh neighborhood and met a lot of handicapped people in an occupational training center so he could master the innocence, and determination that the lead role required.
For the Inner Circle film, Tom went to Russia while playing the role of Ivan Sanshin, where Tom was fortunate to meet and spend time with Alexander Ganshin, upon whose life the film was based.
His performance while playing Peter Patrone, in The Heidi Chronicles, earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special.
1996 was a whole new experience for Tom. Disney was looking for someone special to portray their gentle Quasimodo in their newest full feature animation motion picture, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Tom had never done voiceover work for a full film. For example to sing before a microphone was one thing, but to do song and voice for someone that he couldn't watch while performing was a whole new experience for him. He recalled that when he first auditioned he thought it strange that the producers and director stood looking at the floor while he sang...until he noticed they were looking at sketches of Quasimodo and were trying to "feel" if he sounded like their bell ringer.
Tom also did Quasimodo's voice in the hunchback of notre dame animated storybook. Which ironically was reveal to be a computer video game. However Tom did do the voice of Quasimodo for the actual sound effect storybook.
During an interview for the making of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tom say that despite him voicing the gentle hunchback. He sees his character doing the acting, and loves how the Disney company put their drawing work in front of a person's eyes.

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