Terms of Endearment - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Terms of Endearment"
Terms of Endearment (1983)
Timing: 2:12 (132 min)
Terms of Endearment - TMDB rating
7.097/10
725
Terms of Endearment - Kinopoisk rating
7.361/10
16937
Terms of Endearment - IMDB rating
7.4/10
70000

Actors and characters

Photo Shirley MacLaine #46952Photo Shirley MacLaine #46953Photo Shirley MacLaine #46954Photo Shirley MacLaine #46955

Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine
Character Aurora Greenway
Photo Debra Winger #53200Photo Debra Winger #53201Photo Debra Winger #53202Photo Debra Winger #53203

Debra Winger

Debra Winger
Character Emma Greenway Horton
Photo Jack Nicholson #43418Photo Jack Nicholson #43419Photo Jack Nicholson #43420Photo Jack Nicholson #43421

Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson
Character Garrett Breedlove
Photo Danny DeVito #4001Photo Danny DeVito #4002Photo Danny DeVito #4003Photo Danny DeVito #4004

Danny DeVito

Danny DeVito
Character Vernon Dahlart
Photo Jeff Daniels #20537Photo Jeff Daniels #20538Photo Jeff Daniels #20539Photo Jeff Daniels #20540

Jeff Daniels

Jeff Daniels
Character Flap Horton
Photo John Lithgow #8585Photo John Lithgow #8586Photo John Lithgow #8587Photo John Lithgow #8588

John Lithgow

John Lithgow
Character Sam Burns
Photo Lisa Hart Carroll #207254Photo Lisa Hart Carroll #207255Photo Lisa Hart Carroll #207256
Lisa Hart Carroll
Character Patsy Clark
Betty King
Character Rosie Dunlop
Photo Huckleberry Fox #333933Photo Huckleberry Fox #333934

Huckleberry Fox

Huckleberry Fox
Character Teddy Horton
Troy Bishop
Character Tommy Horton
Shane Serwin
Character Younger Tommy Horton
Megan Morris
Character Melanie Horton
Tara Yeakey
Character Baby Melanie
Norman Bennett
Character Edward Johnson
Jennifer Josey
Character Young Emma
Kate Charleson
Character Janice
Tom Wees
Character Dr. Budge
Paul Menzel
Character Dr. Maise
Photo F. William Parker #107476
F. William Parker
Character Doctor
Amanda Watkins
Character Meg
Buddy Gilbert
Character Dr. Ratcher
Photo David Wohl #35559

David Wohl

David Wohl
Character Phil
Shelley K. Nielsen
Character Nurse
Bette Croissant
Character Nurse
Charles Beall
Character Rudyard's Employer
Lelise Folse
Character Doris
Sharisse Baker-Bernard
Character Lee Anne
Judy Dickerson
Character Checkout Girl
Devon O'Brien
Character Lizbeth
Dana Vance
Character Victoria
Alexandra O'Karma
Character Jane
Photo Nancy Mette #92837
Nancy Mette
Character Woman at Party
Holly Holmberg Brooks
Character T.J.
Lear Levin
Character Jack Stern
Photo Albert Brooks #1905Photo Albert Brooks #1906Photo Albert Brooks #1907Photo Albert Brooks #1908

Albert Brooks

Albert Brooks
Character Rudyard Greenway (voice)
Lanier Whilden
Character Patsy's Mother
Helen Stauffer
Character Flap's Secretary
Barbara Balik
Character Woman
Michelle Watkins
Character Woman
John C. Conger
Character Moving Man
Sandra Newkirk
Character Mrs. Johnson
Elaine McGown
Character Herself
Photo Mary Kay Place #24598Photo Mary Kay Place #24599Photo Mary Kay Place #24600

Mary Kay Place

Mary Kay Place
Character Doris (voice)

What's left behind the scenes

  • The role of Emma was originally written for actress Sissy Spacek.
  • Shirley MacLaine turned down an offer to play Dr. Lesh in Tobe Hooper's horror film 'Poltergeist' (1982) in order to star in 'Terms of Endearment'. Her performance as Aurora earned the actress an 'Oscar' award for 'Best Actress'. Beatrice Strait played Dr. Lesh in 'Poltergeist'.
  • Towards the end of filming, the director and one of the screenwriters, James L. Brooks, were congratulated on the upcoming completion of the first film and given a comic book 'Life in Hell' by Matt Groening. Brooks was so impressed with the comics that he asked Groening to create short animated films for 'The Tracey Ullman Show' (1987-1990), which subsequently gave rise to the animated series 'The Simpsons' (1989).
  • During filming, Debra Winger was characterized by somewhat erratic behavior, as she was at the time recovering from a serious cocaine addiction. At one point, she and Shirley MacLaine nearly came to blows.
  • According to Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson also behaved quite strangely during filming, and once showed up on set almost naked. Many of the scenes they performed were pure improvisation.
  • John Lithgow ended up in the film's cast because he was replacing another actor. All of his scenes were filmed in three days during a break from filming with Herbert Ross (1927-2001) on the drama 'Bound for Glory' (1984).
  • The character of Garrett Breedlove does not exist in the original novel; he was specifically introduced into the script in the hope that Burt Reynolds (1936-2018) would agree to the role. Reynolds read the script, liked it, but was already committed to filming Hal Needham's (1931-2013) comedy-drama 'Stroker Ace' (1983). Paul Newman (1925-2008) and Harrison Ford also turned down the role of Breedlove, before Jack Nicholson accepted it. In preparation for the role, Nicholson specifically traveled to Houston, where he spoke with astronauts.
  • Initially, Jennifer Jones (1919-2009) owned the rights to the novel, and she wanted to play the role of Aurora herself. Sissy Spacek was initially considered for the role played by Debra Winger. Jones and her millionaire husband Norton Simon (1907-1993) bought the screenplay from James L. Brooks, but he decided it would be better not to tailor the character of Aurora to a specific actress, and convinced Paramount Pictures to acquire the rights from Jones and Simon. When receiving the 'Oscar' for this film, Brooks specifically thanked Jennifer Jones Simon.
  • This is not stated explicitly, but the main part of the plot unfolds in the 1970s. Approximately midway through the film, a 1979 calendar can be seen on the wall. During this period, NASA had absolutely no need for Garrett's services. The last mission of the Apollo program ended in 1975, and the next crewed spaceflight was the first Space Shuttle flight in 1981.
  • Shirley MacLaine turned down the offer to play Dr. Lesh in Tobe Hooper's horror film *Poltergeist* (1982) to star in *Terms of Endearment*. Playing the role of Aurora earned the actress an Academy Award for Best Actress. Dr. Lesh in *Poltergeist* was played by Beatrice Strait.
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