List of teachers portrayed in films
Appearance
The following real-life inspirational/motivational instructors/mentors have been portrayed in popular films:
- W. H. Balgarnie,inspiration for Mr Chipping, inJames Hilton'sGoodbye, Mr. Chipsand the three movie adaptations (1939,1969,2002) of the novella
- Sylvia Barrett, new teacher at a New York City high school, portrayed bySandy DennisinUp the Down Staircase(1967). Based on the novel of the same name byBel Kaufman,who taught for 30 years in New York City schools.
- Stacey Bess,in the 2010 filmBeyond the Blackboard
- Herman Booneand Bill Yoast, high school football coaches portrayed in the 2000 filmRemember the Titans
- Bill Bowerman,track and field coach portrayed in the 1998 filmWithout Limits
- E. R. Braithwaite,Britishsecondary schoolteacher andvisiting professoratManchester Community Collegeportrayed in the 1967 filmTo Sir, with Love
- Herb Brooks,hockey coach portrayed in the 1981TV filmMiracle on Iceand the 2004 filmMiracle
- Paul "Bear" Bryant,American football coach portrayed in the 2002 television movieThe Junction Boysand the 1984 theatrical featureThe Bear.Bryant is also a minor character inForrest Gump,in which he coaches the title character during his college years.
- William Carlock in the 2010 biographical filmTemple Grandin
- Ken Carter,education activist and former high school basketball coach portrayed bySamuel L. Jackson,in the 2005 filmCoach Carter
- Noel Chestnut, track team coach and prison guard portrayed in the 2008 filmRacing for Time
- Joe Louis Clark,high school principal credited with the turnaround of a troubled and dangerous New Jersey high school. Joe Clark was portrayed byMorgan Freemanin the 1990 filmLean on Me
- Ron Clark,portrayed in the 2006 filmThe Ron Clark Story
- Brad Cohen,teacher withTourette Syndrome,portrayed in the 2008 Hallmark filmFront of the Class
- Marva Collins,American educator who in 1975 started Westside Preparatory School in the impoverishedGarfield Parkneighborhood ofChicago,portrayed in the 1981 docudrama TV movieThe Marva Collins Story
- Pat Conroy,teacher and later writer portrayed in 1974 filmConrackand 2006 TV movieThe Water Is Wide
- Sarah Grace Cooke, on whom the character Miss Moffatt was closely modeled in the1945 filmand the1979 made-for-TV movieThe Corn Is Green
- Richard Dadier, English teacher portrayed byGlenn FordinBlackboard Jungle(1955), a film based on Evan Hunter's experience among unruly students at the Bronx Technical High School
- William "Red" Dawson,assistant coach ofMarshall UniversityThundering Herd footballportrayed in the 2006 film,We Are Marshall
- Bill Dellinger,assistant track and field coach portrayed in the 1997 filmPrefontaine
- Pierre Dulaine,dancer and dance educator portrayed in thedocumentary filmsMad Hot BallroomandDancing in Jaffaand in the fictionalized filmTake the Lead
- Jim Ellis,swimming coach portrayed in the 2007 filmPride
- Jaime Escalante,high school math teacher portrayed in the 1988 filmStand and Deliver
- Gary Gaines,football coach portrayed in the 2004 filmFriday Night Lights
- Marilyn Gambrell,parole officer-turned high school teacher portrayed in the 2005 Lifetime movieFighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story
- Larry Gelwix,coach of the Highland Rugby team, featured in the 2008 movieForever Strong
- Erin Gruwell,high school teacher portrayed in the filmFreedom Writers
- Roberta Guaspari,music teacher and violinist portrayed in the 1995documentary filmSmall Wondersand 1999 filmMusic of the Heart
- Don Haskins,American collegiate basketball coach portrayed in the 2006 filmGlory Road
- Ip Man,kung fu grandmaster and teacher, portrayed in the action filmsIp Manfilm series
- LouAnne Johnson,teacher and retired United States Marine, portrayed in the filmDangerous Minds
- Harold Jones,T.L. Hanna High School,football coach portrayed in the 2003 filmRadio
- Jack Lengyel,coach ofMarshall UniversityThundering Herd footballportrayed in the 2006 filmWe Are Marshall
- Anna Leonowens,teacher and tutor to the children ofMongkut,King of Siam, portrayed in the 1946 filmAnna and the King of Siam,a1956 filmand a1999 filmboth entitledThe King and I,and the 1999 filmAnna and the King
- Mary Kay Letourneau,high school teacher, portrayed in the made-for-TV-movieAll-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story.
- Christa McAuliffe,Social Studies teacher from New Hampshire who was killed aboard theSpace Shuttle Challenger disasterin 1986. Portrayed byKaren Allenin the 1990 TV movieChallenger.
- George McKenna,educator, teacher, administrator, and superintendent, portrayed byDenzel Washingtonin the 1986TV filmThe George McKenna Story
- Jim Morris,high school science teacher and baseball coach who became a major league baseball player after his students encouraged him to try out, portrayed in the 2002 filmThe Rookie
- John Forbes Nash Jr.,mathematics professor atMITandPrincetonportrayed in the 2001 filmA Beautiful Mind
- Mickey O'Keefe, boxing coach and police sergeant portraying himself in the 2010 filmThe Fighter
- Bruce Pandolfini,chessmasterwho instructed young prodigyJoshua Waitzkin,portrayed in the 1993 filmSearching for Bobby Fischer
- Sean Porter,Kilpatrick Mustangs'coach and corrections officer portrayed in the 2006 filmGridiron Gang
- Freida J. Riley,teacher who inspired a love for science and mathematics in her ruralWest Virginiahigh school students, particularly futureNASAengineerHomer Hickam,in the 1999 filmOctober Sky
- Knute Rockne,football coach portrayed in the 1940 filmKnute Rockne, All American
- Ben Schwartzwalder,football coach portrayed in the 2008 filmThe Express: The Ernie Davis Story
- Catana Starks,former Tennessee State Tigers swim coach, who became the first woman ever to coach a college men's golf team in the 2014 filmFrom the Rough
- Iris Stevenson,award-winning choir instructor portrayed in the 1993 filmSister Act 2: Back in the Habit
- Anne Sullivan,teacher and mentor toHelen Keller,a blind and deaf girl, portrayed in the 1962 filmThe Miracle Workerand remakes in1979and2000
- Melvin B. Tolson,debating coach and teacher who was featured in 2007 film,The Great Debaters
- Jim Valvano,basketball coach portrayed in the 1996 television movieNever Give Up: The Jimmy V Story
- Dick Vermeil,football coach portrayed in the 2006 filmInvincibleand the 2021 filmAmerican Underdog
- Jim White,high school cross country coach at McFarland High School portrayed by Kevin Costner in the 2015 filmMcFarland, USA
- Marvin Wood, basketball coach portrayed in the 1986 filmHoosiersas Norman Dale
- Zhang Guimei,educator, portrayed in the 2023 filmBeyond the Clouds.