Born in New York City; educated at the University of Omaha, NE. He joined the Omaha Playhouse and appeared in their production of Harvey. Then he went to New York and became an apprentice at the Cecilwood Theatre. A year later he was on Broadway in Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole. Next he went to Hollywood to test for the role of John Kennedy in PT 109. Progressed from playing boy-next-door roles to rebel biker types (THE WILD ANGELS, 1966, EASY RIDER, 1969) in the 1960s; subsequently appeared in mostly inferior productions; however, his acting career found new life in the mid-1990s with LOVE AND A .45 (1994), ESCAPE FROM L.A. (1996), ULEE'S GOLD (1997, for which he received an Oscar® nomination) THE LIMEY (1999), THE LARAMIE PROJECT (2002), THE DEVIL IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS (2004), EL COBRADOR: IN GOD WE TRUST (2006), and GHOST RIDER and WILD HOGS (both 2007). He directed the terse, finely acted western THE HIRED HAND (1971), as well as IDAHO TRANSFER (1973) and WANDA NEVADA (1979). Son of Henry, brother of Jane and father of actress Bridget (b. 1964) and cameraman Justin (b. 1966); uncle of actor Troy Garity (b. 1973).  Nominated for Writing (Best Story and Screenplay based on material not previously published or produced) 1969: EASY RIDER (w. Dennis Hopper & Terry Southern)  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1997: ULEE'S GOLD 2 nominations