Biography
This article concerns the actor born in 1968; for the one best known starting in 1958, see Edward Byrnes. For other people named Burns, see Burns (disambiguation).
Edward Burns (born 29 January 1968 as Edward J. Burns, Jr.) is an American actor, producer, writer and director.
He was born in Woodside, Queens, New York City, one of 3 children of Irish Catholic descent, and raised on Long Island, where he briefly attended Catholic Chaminade High School before transferring to a public high school. His brother, Brian, followed suit. His father was a policeman and his mother was a federal employee, now both are retired. Burns got his start in the film industry while working as a "go-fer" at Entertainment Tonight. While there, he financed, produced and directed his first film, The Brothers McMullen, in his spare time. Once he completed the film, he got a copy to Robert Redford during an appearance he made at ET. Apart from The Brothers McMullen, Burns is known for his acting work on movies such as Sidewalks of New York, Saving Private Ryan, Confidence (aka CONfidence and Life or Something Like It.
His younger brother, Brian Burns, is a TV producer, and he and Edward Burns own their own production company called "Irish Twins."
Edward Burns has a degree in English from Hunter College and is married to model Christy Turlington; their daughter Grace was born on October 25, 2003 in New York and their son in February 2006.
