If you’re an avid fan of the CBS series Criminal Minds, you’ll be quite familiar with the face of Thomas Gibson. He played the lead role as Aaron Hotchner, a former state attorney and one of BAU’s most experienced agents, who finds it difficult to balance the demands of his job with his family life. Let’s take a look at his life, his career, and the infamous circumstances under which he parted ways with Criminal Minds.
Thomas Gibson Bio
Thomas Gibson was born on July 3, 1962, in a Roman Catholic family in Charleston, South Carolina. His father, Charles, was a lawyer and politician who served in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina, while his mother, Beth, was a social worker.
Young Thomas attended Little Theater School and later Bishop England High School. From 1979 to 1981 he attended the College of Charleston. Later he applied for a scholarship at the Juilliard School, New York, and was accepted. There Thomas studied for a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, which he received in 1985.
Before his professional training in the performing arts, Thomas had always had a flair for drama as a child. As a nine-year-old, he had performed in children’s theater and also had a performance in Seize the Street: the skateboard musical, which was produced by the production company Charleston Stage.
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His first foray into television came in 1987 in the right-wing drama Leg Work by CBS. He appeared in another CBS production As the World Turns. 1992 was the year Gibson appeared on the big screen in Ron Howard’s Far and Away, where he played the role of Stephen Chase.
Over the years, his career took off, with numerous impressive performances. Among the films in which he has appeared are Denys Arcand’s Love and Human Remains, Barcelona, Men of War, Sleep with Me, Eyes Wide Shut, Next Step.
He has been nominated three times for the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding achievements by an ensemble in a drama series. He also has two Golden Globe nominations for the best performance by an actor in a TV series – comedy/musical. In 2010, he won Entertainment Weekly’s online Entertainment Weekly underrated entertainer of the year survey for his performance in Criminal Minds.
Why Was Thomas Gibson Fired From Criminal Minds?
On August 12, 2016, ABC Studios announced that Thomas Gibson was fired after he had already appeared in two episodes of the twelfth season of the American police procedural crime television series Criminal Minds. This happened after he had a mini brawl on set with co-executive producer and writer Virgil Williams.
This came as no surprise to the majority of the cast and crew, as Gibson was considered a difficult character who had difficulty controlling his fiery temperament. The argument that led to his dismissal from the series was the third time he ran into trouble on the set of Criminal Minds.
The first time, in December 2010, he pushed director’s assistant Ian Woolf during a nighttime shoot on location and was subsequently asked by his bosses to take eight hours of anger management classes.
In January 2013, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after the police had difficulty preventing him from driving through a part of L.A. closed off for a marathon. When he was pulled over, Gibson refused to take a breathalyzer test after it became apparent that he smelled of alcohol. After the incident, his driver’s license was revoked for a period of time and he had to rely on employees who could rely on criminal minds to drive him to the set.
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His dismissal from production was considered the culmination of the above-mentioned events and the fact that sources from the cast reported that he felt that most of the cast were incompetent and inferior to him.
After he was removed from production, Gibson’s character Aaron Hotchner (a former BAU unit chief and senior supervising special agent) was portrayed in subsequent episodes as being on a special assignment. Thomas Gibson had worked in criminal circles for 12 years.
Thomas Gibson Net Worth
Thomas Gibson has had a stellar career in every respect. In addition to acting, he successfully directed several episodes of the medical drama series Chicago Hope and the ABC sitcom Dharma & Greg. Thomas Gibson’s net worth is estimated at $18 million.
What is He Doing Now?
As for his professional career, his most recent role was Colonel Branson – the head of a secret and covert branch of the NSA in Shadow Wolves, a film McKay Daines made for television.
He recently completed the divorce from Cristina Parker after more than two decades of marriage. He currently lives in San Antonio.
