Trivia

To memorize lines, he says he dictates them into a tape recorder in a monotone, so he won't get used to any inflection before he's had a chance to consider which speech pattern would be appropriate for the character.

Has based his portrayal in Héroes fuera de órbita (1999) on Bill Paxton's performance in James Cameron's classic Alien 2: El regreso (1986). In particular, his hysterical fear of being killed, and his mental collapse upon seeing a motion detector that shows their enemy closing in on them.

In a long-term relationship with Leslie Bibb since 2007.

Filmed his scenes for Soldado anónimo (2005) in one day. His scenes were later deleted.

Improvised most of his lines in Made (2001).

Attended high school in San Francisco with Margaret Cho and Aisha Tyler.

Told Carson Daly in a talk-show appearance that he dropped out of Hasta el límite (1997) because he didn't want to get cold filming the nighttime SCUBA scenes.

Is one of 13 actors to win the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance. The others in chronological order are: Geoffrey Rush for Claroscuro (1996), Jamie Foxx for Ray (2004), Philip Seymour Hoffman for Truman Capote (2005), Forest Whitaker for El último rey de Escocia (2006), Javier Bardem for Sin lugar para los débiles (2007), Daniel Day-Lewis for Petróleo sangriento (2007) and Lincoln (2012), Heath Ledger for Batman: El caballero de la noche (2008), Christoph Waltz for Bastardos sin gloria (2009), Christopher Plummer for Beginners, así se siente el amor (2010), J.K. Simmons for Whiplash. Música y obsesión (2014), Leonardo DiCaprio for Revenant. El renacido (2015), and Gary Oldman for Las horas más oscuras (2017).

Close friends with actor Justin Long and Jonathan Togo.

His maternal grandmother, Betty J. (Moore) Davis (1917-2007), was a drama teacher. She had acted in plays, lived in The Gestalt Fool theatre commune in San Francisco, and was an adjunct lecturer of Speech Communication at LaGuardia Community.

Friends with Laurel Holloman. Cousin of Aaron Rockwell.

Worked as a bicycle delivery boy for a Mexican restaurant specializing in burritos.

He has appeared in five films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Milagros inesperados (1999), Frost/Nixon - La entrevista del escándalo (2008), Tres anuncios por un crimen (2017), El vicepresidente: más allá del poder (2018) and Jojo Rabbit (2019).

Had a minor appearance in Klowns asesinos (1988) but his role was removed from the final cut. The scene was the one of the "lover's lane" of sorts, when the Terenzi brothers drive up in their ice cream truck.

Friends with (but not related to) director Alexandre Rockwell and has appeared in four of his films: In the Soup (1992), Louis & Frank (1998), Somebody to Love (1994) and 13 Moons (2002).

Nominated for a 2019 Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as George W. Bush in El vicepresidente: más allá del poder (2018) but lost to Mahershala Ali for Green Book. Una amistad sin fronteras (2018).

Has English, German, Irish, and distant Dutch ancestry.

Is an only child of actor Pete Rockwell and Penny Hess.

Was one of the two choices that Duncan Jones had for the part of Sam Bell in his directorial debut En la Luna (2009). His original choice was Paddy Considine and Rockwell was his second. Considine turned down the role and Rockwell was ultimately cast. Rockwell is a big fan of Considine and in particular of his work with director Shane Meadows in A Room for Romeo Brass (1999) and Dead Man's Shoes (2004).

Nominated for the 2019 Golden Globe Award in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture category for his role as George W. Bush in El vicepresidente: más allá del poder (2018), but lost to Mahershala Ali for Green Book. Una amistad sin fronteras (2018).

Boyfriend of Leslie Bibb. Ex-boyfriend of Sarita Choudhury.

Parents separated when he was five years old.

Born at 4:07 AM (PST).