Holmes Osborne

Holmes Osborne (born November 7, 1947) is an American character actor who has worked in film and television, including notable roles in That Thing You Do! (1996), Donnie Darko (2001) and Southland Tales (2007). Career Prior to pursuing an acting career, Osborne had jobs as a car salesman and as an English teacher. In 1966 when still a student at the University of Kansas, he began making training videos and short motivational clips that would typically be shown as business events and seminars. By 1996, he had created over 500 of these videos. He did act in live theater but gave it up around 1983 as the wages were insufficient to support his family, with one of his last theater roles being in the musical Blanco! in summer 1983. In 1996, Osborne played the protagonist's father in the Tom Hanks-directed musical comedy-drama movie That Thing You Do! and had a recurring role in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, broadcast in 1998. Shortly afterwards the following year, he played the role of Gordon LaRiviere in Affliction, filmed during early 1997. Osborne secured the role after submitting an audition tape and did not meet the director until he arrived on set. In 1999, Osborne was featured in the film Election as the father of two sibling main characters. Later that year he guest starred, along with Lance Henriksen (reprising his role as Frank Black), in an episode of The X-Files as a necromancer for the Millennium Group.