For those who know Meat Loaf only as the powerful singer of rock anthems like "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", it may come as a surprise that he was a serious, stage-trained actor long before he was a musical star. The Texas-born thespian landed a role on Broadway in "Hair" soon after arriving in NYC in the late 1960s and even acted in Shakespeare's "As You Like It" (in Central Park for Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival), among other non-musical plays. But it was his voice, a bombastic mixture of rock and opera, that earned him his best opportunities. The 1973 stage production "More Than You Deserve" brought Meat Loaf in contact with its composer Jim Steinman who was ecstatic to find the perfect singer for his brand of pop, a combination of Richard Wagner and Little Richard. Together they would collaborate on Meat Loaf's debut album, "Bat Out of Hell" (1977), which became the third-best-selling album in history. Meat Loaf also acted on stage in "The Rocky Horror Show", leading to his feature debut in the 1975 cult classic movie version of the musical, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
His acting career languished as he enjoyed the rock star life and subsequently that fame limited the types of roles for which he was considered. Although he starred as Alan Rudolph's "Roadie" (1980), a film with its own cult following, most of Meat Loaf's movies were forgettable affairs. He had small parts in two high-profile pictures in 1992, "Wayne's World" and "Leap of Faith", but his career was still just limping along until the explosion of 1998. That year saw him as the wild-eyed Bible-quoting bad guy of "Black Dog" (starring Patrick Swayze), as Dennis Quaid's best friend in Quaid's directing debut, the made-for-cable "Everything Rises" (TNT), and as Gillian Anderson's husband in the slums of Cincinnati for director Peter Chelsom's highly-acclaimed "The Mighty". He subsequently portrayed a small town 60s sheriff coming to terms with his own prejudice in "Crazy in Alabama", helmed by Antonio Banderas, and donned a fat suit to play a 400 pound ex-bouncer in "The Fight Club" (both 1999), co-starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. A trimmed-down Meat Loaf was suddenly one of the hottest character actors in the business.
In 2002, Meat Loaf portrayed the character Lizard in the drug comedy feature "Formula 51", starring Samuel L. Jackson.
- Also Credited As:
Marvin Lee Aday, Marvin Lee Ady, Meat Loaf Aday, Michael 'Meat Loaf' Lee Aday, Michael Aday, Michael Lee Aday
- Born:
September 27, 1948 in Dallas, Texas
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Job Titles:
Actor, Singer, Songwriter
Family
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Daughter: Amanda Aday. born c. 1980
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Daughter: Pearl Aday. born c. 1976; sang back-up for her father; married Kevin O'Regan on July 4, 1998
Milestones
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1967 Dropped out of college to pursue career in show business
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1975 Feature debut as motorcycle-riding Eddie in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"
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1977 Debut album, "Bat Out of Hell", became third-best-selling album of all time; Steinman wrote several of the songs on the album for a stage musical "Neverland" which set "Peter Pan" in the future
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1980 Starred as the titular "Roadie" trying to meet Alice Cooper; film directed by Alan Rudolph
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1992 Acted in "Wayne's World" and "Leap of Faith"
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1995 Released "Bat Out of Hell II; Back Into Hell"
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1995 Starred in Disney Channel movie "To Catch a Yeti"
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1998 Acted the part of Red (Dennis Quaid's best friend) in Quaid's directing debut, the made-for-cable "Everything That Rises" (TNT)
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1998 Played Gillian Anderson's husband in Peter Chelsom's "The Mighty"
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1998 Served up generous portions of ham as the wild-eyed Bible-quoting bad guy of "Black Dog", starring Patrick Swayze
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1999 Portrayed small town 1960s sheriff who must confront his own prejudices in "Crazy in Alabama", helmed by Antonio Banderas
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1999 Wore a fat suit to portray 400 pound former bouncer in "The Fight Club", starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton
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2002 Cast as Lizard in the comedy "Formula 51"
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2005 Starred as a a small time gangster, opposite Michelle Williams in "A Hole in One"
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2006 Cast as Jack Black's father in the film "Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny"; he also provided the vocals on the film's soundtrack
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2006 Cast in the big-screen version of the popular video game "BloodRayne"
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Acted on stage in "The Rainbow", "The Rocky Horror Show", "As You Like It" (for Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival), "More Than You Deserve" (where he met songwriter Jim Steinman who would collaborate with him on his classic debut album), "Kleinhoff Demonstrates Tonight" and "Vietnam Project"
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Formed band Meat Loaf Soul/Popcorn Blizzard
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Made Broadway debut in "Hair"
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Moved to NYC in the late 1960s
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Performed in Los Angeles production of "Hair"
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Sang in his church choir as a child in Texas
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Walked away from music at one point during the 1980s