Jeff Goldblum

Jeffrey Lynn "Jeff" Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an American actor. His career began in the mid-1970s and since then he has appeared in major box-office successes including Jurassic Park (two films), Independence Day, and The Fly. From 2009 to mid-2010 he starred as Detective Zach Nichols on the USA Network's crime drama series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Early life
Goldblum was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Homestead, Pennsylvania, the son of Shirley S. (née Temeles), a radio broadcaster who later ran a kitchen equipment and appliances sales firm, and Harold L. Goldblum, a medical doctor. He has a sister, Pamela and an older brother, Lee. Another older brother, Rick, died at age 23. His family is Jewish and belonged to an Orthodox synagogue; Goldblum's paternal grandfather, Josef Povartzik (who changed his surname to Goldblum), emigrated from Minsk, Russian Empire in 1911, and his maternal grandfather, Samuel Louis Temeles, from Złoczów, Austria–Hungary, in 1910.

Goldblum's parents were interested in show business. Goldblum moved to New York City at 17 to become an actor. Goldblum worked on the stage and studied acting at the renowned Neighborhood Playhouse under the guidance of acting coach Sanford Meisner. He made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning musical Two Gentlemen of Verona. He is also an accomplished jazz pianist and declared that if he did not act, he would have become a professional musician. He made his film debut as a thug in the 1974 Charles Bronson film Death Wish. He briefly appeared as a protester in the TV movie Columbo A Case of Immunity (1975).

Career
In 1974, Goldblum appeared in Death Wish as Freak # 1. Later in his career, as "Lacey Party Guest" in Annie Hall (1977), Goldblum is seen saying into the telephone at a Hollywood party, "I forgot my mantra." Goldblum has had leading roles in films such as The Fly, Independence Day, The Lost World (1997), Earth Girls Are Easy, The Tall Guy, and Vibes (1988). Goldblum's strong supporting roles include those in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Big Chill (1983), Into the Night (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), and he also had strong supporting roles in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and the cult films The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984) and Igby Goes Down (2002).

For several years, Goldblum was the voice for most U.S. Apple commercials, including advertisements for the iMac and iBook. He also voices some U.S. Toyota commercials as well as Procter & Gamble's facial cream line. He has recently appeared on Irish TV in commercials for the National Lottery.

Goldblum taught acting at Playhouse West in North Hollywood with Robert Carnegie. It was with several actors from this acting company that he improvised and directed the live action short film Little Surprises, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1996.

Goldblum got the role of Adam in the upcoming film Adam Resurrected, a film adaptation of the Yoram Kaniuk novel. Jeff is a German entertainer who becomes the ringleader to a group of Holocaust survivors in an asylum after World War II.

In September 2006, it was announced that Goldblum was one of the founding members of a new theater company in New York called The Fire Dept. According to press materials, "The Fire Dept is made up of established and emerging writers, directors, actors and designers who have come together to create and produce work that cannot be replicated inside a television box or on a movie screen...The work of The Fire Dept combines the rigor and structure of great narrative storytelling with the vitality of formal experimentation to immerse audiences in a total experience that leaves them awake, alive and transformed." The company will devote energy into developing new live theater works as well as interpreting old favorites.

His guest appearance was on Sesame Street in 1990 as Bob's long-lost brother Minneapolis (parody of Indiana Jones) where Big Bird's friend Snuffleupagus had "the golden cabbage of Snuffertiti" hidden in his cave. He has also appeared on Tom Goes to the Mayor, The Colbert Report, and Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!.

Goldblum replaced Chris Noth as a Senior Detective on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In the series, Goldblum plays the role of Detective Zach Nichols. In August 2010, media outlets reported that Goldblum had decided not to return to Criminal Intent due to persistent concerns about the program's future.

Personal life
Goldblum has been married twice, to Patricia Gaul from 1980 to 1986, then to Geena Davis, his co-star in three films (including the comedy Earth Girls Are Easy and the science fiction/horror film The Fly) from November 1, 1987 to October 1990. He claims to have maintained a good friendship with Davis, saying she is a wonderful person and a phenomenal actress.

Broadway

 * The Pillowman (2005)
 * Two Gentlemen of Verona
 * The Play What I Wrote
 * The Moony Shapiro Songbook
 * The Exonerated
 * City Sugar
 * El Grande de Coca Cola

London and Broadway

 * The Prisoner of Second Avenue

London and Recklinghausen (Germany)

 * Speed-the-Plow

Television

 * Columbo: A Case of Immunity (1975)
 * Starsky and Hutch - Murder on Stage 17 (1977)
 * The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1980)
 * Tenspeed and Brown Shoe (1980)
 * Rehearsal for Murder (1982)
 * Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984)
 * Who's The Boss? (1985)
 * The Ray Bradbury Theater - The Town Where No One Got Off (1986)
 * Life Story (BBC) (US Title: The Race for the Double Helix) (1987)
 * Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990)
 * Framed (1990)
 * Lush Life (1993)
 * The Simpsons - A Fish Called Selma (1996)
 * The Story of Bean (1997)
 * Playmate Pajama Party (1999)
 * From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic (1999)
 * AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars (1999)
 * When Dinosaurs Ruled (2000)
 * Festival in Cannes (2001)
 * King of the Hill - Guest voice as Dr. Vayzosa (2002)
 * Friends - Guest as Leonard Hayes (2002)
 * Tom Goes to the Mayor (2004)
 * Will and Grace (2005)
 * Raines (2007)
 * Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2007)
 * Law & Order: Criminal Intent (since 2009)
 * Top Gear (2010, as star in a reasonably priced car)

Awards

 * 1983: Star of Tomorrow Award. Presented by the National Association of Theatre Owners.
 * 1987: Saturn Award for Best Actor in The Fly
 * 1996: Academy Award nomination for Live Action Short Film
 * 2005: Emmy Award nomination for a guest appearance on Will & Grace