American singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson has been in numerous films, television films, television series and video games. He started acting in the 1970s, appearing in the films The Last Movie (1971), Cisco Pike (1972), Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) and Vigilante Force (1976), before starring in the 1976 film A Star Is Born as John Norman Howard, which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He went on to co-star in Stagecoach (1986) and star in films such as Semi-Tough (1977), Convoy (1978), Heaven's Gate (1980), Flashpoint (1984), Big Top Pee-wee (1988), and Welcome Home (1989).
In the 1990s, Kristofferson played Gabriel in the 1993 film Knights with Lance Henriksen and as Charlie Wade in the 1996 film Lone Star with Matthew McConaughey. He was then cast as Abraham Whistler in the 1998 vampire superhero action film Blade, a role he later reprised in Blade II (2002) and (2004). During that time, he also portrayed Karubi (Daena's father) in Planet of the Apes (2001), and Older Billy Coleman in Where the Red Fern Grows (2003). In 2005, he appeared in The Jacket with Adrien Brody, a year later he was in Fast Food Nation with Patricia Arquette and lent his voice as the narrator to the 2007 film I'm Not There. He joined the ensemble cast in the 2009 romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You alongside Jennifer Aniston. He played Reed Haskett in the 2011 film Dolphin Tale and again in the sequel, Dolphin Tale 2 (2014).
Kristofferson's television work includes the television films Freedom Road (1979), and Blood & Orchids (1986); the miniseries Amerika (1987) and Lives of the Saints (2004); the television series Dead Man's Gun (1997–1999); and playing U.S. President Andrew Jackson in the historical miniseries Texas Rising (2015).
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Last Movie | The Minstrel Wrangler | ||
| 1972 | Cisco Pike[1] | Cisco Pike | ||
| 1973 | The Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus | Vocalist | ||
| Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid | Billy the Kid | |||
| Blume in Love | Elmo Cole | |||
| 1974 | Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia | The Biker | ||
| Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore | David | |||
| 1976 | The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea | Jim Cameron | ||
| Vigilante Force | Aaron Arnold | |||
| A Star Is Born | John Norman Howard | |||
| 1977 | Semi-Tough | Marvin "Shake" Tiller | ||
| 1978 | Convoy | Martin "Rubber Duck" Penwald | ||
| 1980 | Heaven's Gate | James Averill | ||
| 1981 | Rollover | Hubbell Smith | ||
| 1982 | The Last Horror Film | Himself | Uncredited | |
| 1984 | Flashpoint | Bobby Logan | ||
| Songwriter[2] | "Blackie" Buck | |||
| 1985 | Trouble in Mind | John "Hawk" Hawkins | ||
| 1988 | Big Top Pee-wee | Mace Montana | ||
| 1989 | Millennium | Bill Smith | ||
| Welcome Home | Jake | |||
| 1990 | Sandino | Tom Holte | ||
| 1991 | Night of the Cyclone | Stanley "Stan" | ||
| 1992 | Original Intent | Jack Saunders | ||
| 1993 | No Place to Hide | Joe Garvey | ||
| Paper Hearts | Tom | |||
| Knights | Gabriel The Cyborg | |||
| 1995 | Pharaoh's Army | Confederate Preacher | ||
| 1996 | Lone Star | Charlie Wade | ||
| 1997 | Fire Down Below | Orin Hanner Sr. | ||
| 1998 | Girls' Night | Cody | ||
| Blade | Abraham Whistler | |||
| Dance with Me | John Burnett | |||
| A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries | Bill Willis | |||
| Doc | Voice, direct-to-video | |||
| 1999 | Payback | Bronson | ||
| Rudolph Meyer | ||||
| Limbo | Jack "Smilin' Jack" Johannson | |||
| The Joyriders[3] | Eddie | |||
| 2000 | Comanche | Sergeant Sam Winchester | ||
| 2001 | Planet of the Apes | Karubi | ||
| Chelsea Walls | Bud | |||
| Wooly Boys | Shuck | |||
| 2002 | D-Tox | Dr. John "Doc" Mitchell | ||
| Blade II | Abraham Whistler | |||
| 2003 | Where the Red Fern Grows | Older Billy Coleman | ||
| 2004 | Silver City | Wes Benteen | ||
| Forever Is a Long, Long Time | Hank Williams | Short film, direct-to-video | ||
| Abraham Whistler | ||||
| 2005 | The Jacket | Dr. Thomas Becker | ||
| The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico | Himself | |||
| The Wendell Baker Story | L. R. Nasher | |||
| Dreamer | "Pop" Crane | |||
| 2006 | The Narrator | Voice | ||
| Disappearances | William "Quebec Bill" Bonhomme Sr. | |||
| Fast Food Nation | Rudy Martin | |||
| Room 10 | Howard Davis | Short film | ||
| Payback: Straight Up | Bronson | Direct-to-video | ||
| Requiem for Billy the Kid[4] [5] | Billy the Kid | |||
| 2007 | Crossing the Heart | Ray | Short film | |
| I'm Not There | The Narrator | Voice | ||
| 2008 | Jump Out Boys | Raymond | ||
| Snow Buddies | Talon | Voice, direct-to-video | ||
| 2009 | John Rich | John | Short film, direct-to-video | |
| He's Just Not That Into You | Ken Murphy | |||
| Powder Blue | Randall | |||
| For Sale by Owner | Ferlin Smith | |||
| 2010 | Bloodworth | E. F. Bloodworth | ||
| The Last Rites of Ransom Pride | Shepherd Graves | |||
| Old Yohan | ||||
| 2011 | Dolphin Tale[6] | Reed Haskett | ||
| The Greening of Whitney Brown | Dustin "Dusty" Brown | |||
| 2012 | Joyful Noise | Bernard Sparrow | ||
| Deadfall[7] | Chester "Chet" Mills | |||
| The Motel Life[8] | Earl Hurley | |||
| 2013 | Angels Sing | The Colonel | ||
| Midnight Stallion | Jack Shepard | |||
| 2014 | San Patricios | Boss Flood | ||
| Dolphin Tale 2 | Reed Haskett | |||
| 7 Minutes[9] | "Mr. B" | |||
| The Winding Stream: The Carters, the Cashes and the Course of Country Music[10] | Himself | Documentary | ||
| 2016 | Traded[11] | Billy | ||
| The Red Maple Leaf | John Francis Marshall | |||
| 2017 | Hickok | George Knox | ||
| The Star | Old Donkey | Voice | ||
| Abilene[12] | George Knox | |||
| 2018 | Blaze | Edwin Fuller | Final role |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: "Kris Kristofferson / Rita Coolidge" |
| 1978 | The Muppet Show | Guest | Episode 1 Season 3: "Kris Kristofferson / Rita Coolidge" |
| 1979 | Freedom Road | Abner Lait | Television film |
| 1984 | The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck | Ben Cole | |
| 1986 | The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James | ||
| Blood & Orchids | Captain Curtis "Curt" Maddox | ||
| Stagecoach | Ringo / "Ringo Kid" / Bill Williams | ||
| 1987 | Amerika | Devin Milford | Miniseries (6 episodes) |
| 1988 | The Tracker | Noble Adams | Television film |
| 1990 | Pair of Aces | "Rip" Metcalf | |
| 1991 | Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind | ||
| 1992 | Miracle in the Wilderness | Jericho Adams | |
| Christmas in Connecticut | Jefferson Jones | ||
| 1993 | Trouble Shooters: Trapped Beneath the Earth | Stan Mather | |
| 1994 | Sodbusters | Destiny | |
| The Larry Sanders Show | Himself | Episode: "Arthur's Crises" | |
| 1995 | Television film | ||
| Tad | |||
| 1995 | Inflammable | Captain Jack Guthrie | |
| Brothers' Destiny | Davis | ||
| 1996 | Blue Rodeo | Owen Whister | |
| 1997–1999 | Dead Man's Gun | The Narrator | TV series (41 episodes) |
| 1998 | Two for Texas[13] | Hugh Allison | Television film |
| 1999 | The Long Kill | Jesse Ray Torrance | |
| NetForce | Steve Day | ||
| 2000 | Perfect Murder, Perfect Town | ||
| 2003 | The Break | "Izzy" Patterson | |
| 2004 | Lives of the Saints | Matthew Bok | Miniseries |
| 2005 | 14 Hours | Chuck Whortle | Television film |
| 2009 | Handy Manny | Pops | Voice, episode: "Motorcycle Adventure" |
| 2015 | Down Dog | Jimmy Wood | Television film |
| Texas Rising | Miniseries (4 episodes) |
| Year | Game | Voice role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Gun | Ned White | ||
| 2010 | Chief Hanlon |