7/20/2007:
Charles Randolph Korsmo was born in Fargo on this date in 1978 to John Korsmo and Deborah Ruf. After his parents divorced in 1989, “Charlie” was raised in Minneapolis by his mother.
A bright child, Korsmo was reading on a high-school level at age four and studying college-level math by age eight. After a trip to Universal Studios in California, he wanted to try acting. A dislike for school was partly the driving force that propelled him into show business, but he apparently also had the talent for acting.
After auditioning for local TV commercials, Korsmo was spotted by the casting director for “Men Don’t Leave” and earned a role in that movie. He went on to enjoy a few years in film, acting in comedies and dramas from 1989-1991. In addition to “Men Don’t Leave,” he found roles in “Dick Tracy” and “Heat Wave” in 1990 and “What About Bob?” in 1991. He was also in “Hook” and “The Doctor” that year.
Korsmo was nominated for his work in “Dick Tracy,” winning the Young Artist Awards’ Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture and the Saturn Award for “Dick Tracy.”
He was also nominated by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films\as Best Performance by a Younger Actor in “Dick Tracy.”
He won the Young Artist Awards’ Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture and was also nominated as Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Motion Picture for his role in “Hook.”
After hosting a 1992 segment of the PBS documentary, “The Creative Spirit,” Korsmo retired from the film world. He decided to resume a “normal life.” In 1996, he was attending and excelling academically at Breck, a Minneapolis prep school, while occasionally participating in class plays.
After a seven-year hiatus from film, he made a brief 1998 return in “Can’t Hardly Wait,” playing none other than a science-loving nerd.
Korsmo graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 2000 and, in 2001, accepted a job with the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. He also worked on a missile defense project and assisted the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Korsmo soon went back to college and earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Yale Law School in 2006. In the courtroom, he will be able to make use of the acting talents he learned wile on the movie set.
by Cathy A. Langemo, WritePlus Inc.