He is a member of the
Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which has also featured
John Malkovich,
Gary Sinise and
Laurie Metcalf. He has won a Theatre World Award and
Joseph Jefferson Award for his performance in
Lyle Kessler's play
Orphans (he later reappeared in the role for the
1987 film). In 1989, he originated the dual roles of The Balladeer and
Lee Harvey Oswald in the staged reading of
Stephen Sondheim's
Assassins. In 1993, Anderson created the role of Joe Gillis in the original London production of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
Sunset Boulevard opposite
Patti LuPone who originated the role of Norma Desmond. LuPone was not given the role in the musical in New York, and the situation became a "very nasty, public affair. 'I was caught in the middle of all that,' Anderson said. LuPone went public with her rage; her co-star quietly took himself out of the loop... 'I fired everybody and jumped on my motorcycle.' " Anderson won the 1999
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play and was nominated for a
Tony Award for his role in the revival of
Death of a Salesman. He appeared on
Broadway in the
Manhattan Theatre Club production of
Come Back, Little Sheba as Doc from January 24, 2008, to March 16, 2008. Anderson starred as Andy Dufresne in the stage version of the film
The Shawshank Redemption which premiered at the
Gaiety Theatre, Dublin in May 2009. The play transferred to the
West End at the
Wyndham's Theatre in London, from September 4, 2009, to November 29, 2009. He appeared in
A Guide for the Perplexed at the
Victory Gardens Theater in
Chicago in July–August 2010. == Personal life ==