Tom Berenger has a very “boy-next-door” quality about him. Since 1976 he has been “somebody to watch,” and been watched he has; but it hasn’t overpowered him. With typical tongue in cheek humor he said and laughed, “I get tired of hearing myself talk about myself. I suppose it would help to have a big ego.”
Berenger’s passion is history; he has an astute knowledge and recollection of historical facts and figures. As astounding as his recitations of historical details are, Berenger says “My sister, Susan, who lives in Austin, TX has a phenomenal memory! She remembers more of our childhood than I do. She’s my best friend, we’re really close. When we were growing up, Dad took us on vacation for two weeks every summer. We would get in the car and drive, he wanted us to see our country and learn history, so my love of history began when I was six or seven. We had a map of the country and we would draw lines on it to show where we’d been. We went to national parks, presidential homes, battlefields, and unique places like the Everglades. When we were there, we would get the pamphlets and books about the place. Random House published a series called Landmark Books, which were history books for ages about 9 to 13, I’d always get those books for Christmas. I loved to read; I still do.”
Berenger muses, “So many historical figures were Renaissance men.” What, in Berenger’s mind, comprises a Renaissance man? “They were inventors, they knew history and math; they were men of letters, and most of them spoke another language, usually French.” When asked, “What has happened to Renaissance men?” Berenger replies, “Everything is so specialized now that it’s hard to focus. They didn’t have television so they had to read, in order to communicate they had to write letters, therefore conversation was more intelligent. Now, information is too easy to get.” Who does he consider as Renaissance men? “Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, author David Halberstam. There are probably some more out there, we just don’t recognize them yet.” Some more out there? Hmmm. Tom Berenger has invented many facets of the characters he has played, he knows history, he studied journalism in college so that qualifies him as a man of letters, and he speaks another language, two in fact, Italian and Spanish. So it would seem that he, too, qualifies as a Renaissance man.
Photography by John Wollwerth
