Christopher Walton Cooper, born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Mary Ann Walton, a homemaker, and Charles Sherwood Cooper, a cattleman and internist who served in the US Air Force, was raised in Texas. He received his education at the University of Missouri school of drama.
Cooper made his Broadway debut in "Of the Fields Lately" in 1980, and his off-Broadway appearances included "The Ballad of Soapy Smith" and "A Different Moon", both in 1983. His film debut came in John Sayles' "Matewan" in 1987, which received positive reviews but was not commercially successful.
He has since appeared in a range of films, including "Guilty by Suspicion" in 1991, "Money Train" in 1995, and "A Time to Kill" in 1996. On television, Cooper has had roles in the mini-series "Lonesome Dove" in 1989 and "Return to Lonesome Dove" in 1993, as well as various television movies.
In 1996, he starred in his third John Sayles film, "Lone Star", playing the role of Sheriff Sam Deeds, whose lawman father becomes a suspect in a murder investigation after his death.
Cooper married actress, producer, and scriptwriter Marianne Leone on July 8, 1983, and they have one son, Jesse, who passed away on January 3, 2005, at the age of 17, due to natural causes related to cerebral palsy. Jesse's story inspired his mother to write the script for the film "Conquistadora", which tells the true story of Mary Somoza, a mother who fought for the best education possible for her twins with cerebral palsy.
