thomas hayden church

NEW YORK, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, September 16th the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced the winners for the 2007 Emmy Awards, with American Movie Channel (AMC) receiving 3 for its first-ever original movie event, Broken Trail. Awards included Outstanding Mini-series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-series or Movie for Robert Duvall and Outstanding Supporting Actor for a Mini-series or a Movie for Thomas Haden Church.

The following is a statement from AMC General Manager and Executive Vice President Charlie Collier:

"The recognition Broken Trail received on Sunday night from the industry is an affirmation that the original scripted programming AMC is introducing to our audience is of the highest quality. We congratulate Robert Duvall, Thomas Haden Church and the remaining cast and crew on their well deserved Emmy wins and for setting the bar so high.

"As the most watched scripted program in all of cable television in 2006, Broken Trail resonated with critics and viewers across the country and helped set a valuable standard for AMC's original programming in the years to come.

"These nominations set a foundation of aspiration of all our original projects and give us added momentum and excitement with what we are trying to uniquely create at AMC. We thank the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences members for the acknowledgement."

The sweeping epic set in the American West at the close of the 1800s, premiered on AMC on June 25 and 26, 2006 and helped launch the network's commitment to original programming. Broken Trail is a powerful two-part drama set in the American Old West of the late 1800s. The four-hour original movie is an authentic and harrowing tale that follows a veteran cowboy (Robert Duvall) and his nephew (Thomas Haden Church) as they drive a herd of horses from Oregon to Wyoming, their trail crossing with five enslaved Chinese girls. A fateful act of decency plunges their lives into peril and forever changes their destinies. Broken Trail follows the complicated paths of each traveler's life, of love forged on a difficult path and hardships inflicted on innocents lost in America.

About AMC

AMC is a multi-platform network that celebrates classic movies and high- quality scripted series. Among the elite services reaching over 91,000,000 homes, AMC defines what it means to be a classic movie network today, creating a distinctive viewing experience that celebrates all that is enduringly cool, personal and powerfully relevant about movies. AMC's comprehensive library of popular movies strike a meaningful chord with its audience, and its critically-acclaimed slate of originals all have a cinematic quality that allow them to complement and be complemented by some of the best movies of all time. A division of Rainbow Media Entertainment Services, AMC's sister divisions include WE tv and the IFC Companies. AMC is THE FUTURE OF CLASSIC.

About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC

Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation . Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform programming for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world's most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, Rainbow Sports Networks managed FSN Bay Area and FSN New England, Lifeskool, sportskool, and VOOM HD Networks. The company also manages Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales division, and Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company.

About Sony Pictures Television

Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry's leading content providers. SPT produces and distributes top-rated, award-winning programming in every genre, including series, movies and family entertainment for network and cable television; first-run syndicated series; off-network syndicated programs; and theatrical releases. SPT is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company [edit] Early life
Church, the third of six children,[2] was born in El Paso, Texas[1] to an Army officer/health care worker father and a homemaker mother.[1] He was raised in Laredo, Texas and graduated from Harlingen High School, Harlingen, Texas in 1979, going on to attend the University of North Texas.


[edit] Career
Church started in the entertainment business as a radio personality. A part in an independent film convinced him to move to California to pursue an acting career. He also played the part of dim-witted airport mechanic Lowell Mather for six seasons (1990�1995) on the NBC sitcom Wings. He worked in television for two more seasons with a lead role on Ned and Stacey opposite Debra Messing. He has had supporting roles in films such as George of the Jungle and The Specials. Church often plays villains or comic relief in films, most evident by turns in Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight and Over the Hedge to name a few.

After having small roles in films such as Monkeybone and 3000 Miles to Graceland, Church made his directorial debut Rolling Kansas in 2003. Church later took a break from films and relocated back to his native Texas. He has also done voiceover work in commercials, such as for Merrill Lynch and Icehouse Beer.

In 2003 Payne, a close friend of Church who had promised him a part in his next film, cast the actor in Sideways as Jack, the selfish best friend to Paul Giamatti's character, looking to have one last fling before getting married. Sideways earned acclaim for Church, for which he won an IFP Independent Spirit Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Church has since appeared in films such as Idiocracy, did voice-overs for films such as Over the Hedge and starred in one of AMC's highest rated television productions, Broken Trail, with Robert Duvall, in 2006, for which he won an Emmy. In 2007, Church appeared as the villain Sandman in Spider-Man 3, the third installment of the franchise, released in May of 2007.

In 2005, Church was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[3]

On September 16, 2007, Church won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his role of Tom Harte on AMC's Broken Trail.


[edit] Personal life
Church resides on his large ranch in Kerrville, Texas, where film director Alexander Payne personally visited Church to offer him the role of "Jack" in Sideways. He is a full-time rancher. He is married to Mia Zottoli[4] and has a daughter named Cody.