Steven James "Steve" Zahn (pronounced /ˈzɑːn/; born November 13, 1967) is an American comedian and actor of both film and stage.
Early life[]
Zahn was born in Marshall, Minnesota, the son of Zelda, who worked for the YMCA, and Carlton Zahn, a retired Lutheran pastor.[1][2] He is of German descent. Zahn spent part of his childhood in Mankato, Minnesota, attending Kennedy Elementary School. After attending Robbinsdale Cooper High School, Gustavus Adolphus College and the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, his first professional acting role was in Biloxi Blues, a Minnesota production at the Old Log Theater; but his first big break came in 1994, when he was noticed by Ben Stiller, who cast him in his picture, Reality Bites.
Career[]
Zahn with Jennifer Aniston at the premiere of the movie Management in which they both starred.
Zahn's early roles were split between movies, touring companies of Broadway shows, and TV shows. In 1992-1993, he toured as Hugo with the Barry Weissler production of Bye Bye Birdie with Tommy Tune, Ann Reinking, and Marc Kudisch. He played Phoebe Buffay's husband Duncan in a 1995 episode of Friends. Zahn appeared in several films in the mid-1990s, including Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do! These films garnered him enough respect that he was offered the starring role in the critically acclaimed indie film Happy, Texas (1999). Some of Zahn's most popular movies have been his most recent ones, including National Security (2003), Daddy Day Care (2003) and Sahara (2005). Zahn received his strongest critical acclaim for his performance in Riding in Cars with Boys, in which he co-starred with Drew Barrymore as her dim-witted, drug addicted husband. Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper and the BBC stated that the performance was deserving of an Oscar nomination. He also voiced Runt of the Litter in Chicken Little. He recently gave dramatic performances in Rescue Dawn and the television mini-series Comanche Moon.
Typically typecast into comic relief sidekick roles, Zahn was asked if he minded, his reply was that it was a "pleasure" and a "privilege", saying, "... to be typecast and make money and make people happy and people dig what you do, what a great thing, man."[3]
Personal life[]
Zahn is an avid fly fisherman, and he owns a farm in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Zahn is married to Robyn Peterman, an actress and the daughter of John Peterman, whom Zahn met on a touring production of Bye Bye Birdie. The two have a son, Henry Zahn (born 3 April 2000 in New York), and a daughter, Audrey Robyn. In 2004, the family moved from New Jersey to a small horse farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, near Lexington, Kentucky, his wife's hometown.
He is very close friends with Tom Everett Scott, his costar in That Thing You Do, and was the best man at Scott's wedding. He is a practicing Lutheran. [4]
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Rain Without Thunder | Jeremy Tanner | Gary Bennett | |
| 1994 | Reality Bites | Sammy Gray | Ben Stiller | |
| 1995 | Crimson Tide | William Barnes | Tony Scott | |
| 1996 | Race the Sun | Hans Kooiman | Charles T. Kanganis | |
| SubUrbia | Buff | Richard Linklater | ||
| That Thing You Do! | Lenny Haise | Tom Hanks | ||
| 1998 | The Object of My Affection | Frank Hanson | Nicholas Hytner | |
| Out of Sight | Glenn Michaels | Steven Soderbergh | ||
| Safe Men | Eddie | John Hamburg | ||
| You've Got Mail | George Pappas | Nora Ephron | ||
| 1999 | Forces of Nature | Alan | Bronwen Hughes | Nominated — Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor - Comedy/Romance |
| Freak Talks About Sex | Freak | Paul Todisco | ||
| Happy, Texas | Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr., aka David | Mark Illsey | Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Special Dramatic Jury Prize for Best Comedic Performance Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical | |
| Stuart Little | Monty the Mouth | Rob Minkoff | voice | |
| 2000 | Chain of Fools | Thomas Kresk | Pontus Löwenhielm Patrick von Krusenstjerna |
|
| Hamlet | Rosencrantz | Michael Almereyda | ||
| 2001 | Chelsea Walls | Ross | Ethan Hawke | |
| Dr. Dolittle 2 | Archie | Steve Carr | voice | |
| Joy Ride | Fuller Thomas | John Dahl | ||
| Riding in Cars with Boys | Ray Hasek | Penny Marshall | ||
| Saving Silverman | Wayne | Dennis Dugan | ||
| 2002 | Stuart Little 2 | Monty the Mouth | Rob Minkoff | voice |
| 2003 | Daddy Day Care | Marvin | Steve Carr | |
| National Security | Hank Rafferty | Dennis Dugan | ||
| Shattered Glass | Adam Penenberg | Billy Ray | ||
| 2004 | Employee of the Month | Jack | Mitch Rouse | |
| Speak | Mr. Freeman | Jessica Sharzer | ||
| 2005 | Chicken Little | Runt of the Litter | Mark Dindal | voice |
| Sahara | Al Giordino | Breck Eisner | ||
| 2006 | Bandidas | Quentin Cooke | Joachim Ronning Espen Sandberg |
|
| 2007 | Rescue Dawn | Duane | Werner Herzog | Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male |
| 2008 | The Great Buck Howard | Kenny | Sean McGinly | |
| Management | Mike Flux | Stephen Belber | ||
| Strange Wilderness | Peter Gaulke | Fred Wolf | ||
| Sunshine Cleaning | Mac | Christine Jeffs | ||
| Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby | Sandy Pig | Howard E. Baker Arish Fyzee |
voice direct-to-DVD | |
| 2009 | Night Train | Pete Dobbs | Brian King | |
| A Perfect Getaway | Cliff Anderson | David Twohy | ||
| 2010 | Calvin Marshall | Coach Little | Gary Lundgren | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Frank Heffley | Thor Freudenthal | ||
| The Knights of Badassdom | Joe Lynch | pre-production | ||
| Salesmen | Marvin | Raul Inglis | ||
| 2011 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules | Frank Heffley | David Bowers | pre-production |
TV[]
| Year | Program | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | All My Children | Spence | Episode #5303 uncredited |
| 1993 | South Beach | Lane Bailey | Episode "Pirates of the Caribbean |
| 1995 | Friends | Duncan | "The One with Phoebe's Husband" |
| Mike & Spike | Nick Pickles (voice) | Episode:"Person To Clothes" | |
| Picture Windows | Crook | Episode "Armed Response" | |
| 1997 | Liberty! The American Revolution | American Sergeant | 4 episodes |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Astronaut Elliot See | TV miniseries episode "Can We Do This?" |
| 2008 | Comanche Moon | Augustus "Gus" McCrae | 3 episodes |
| Phineas and Ferb | Swampy | Voice episode "Dude, We're Gettin' the Band Back Together!" | |
| 2009 | Monk | Jack Monk, Jr. | Episode "Mr. Monk's Other Brother" |
| WWII in HD | Nolen Marbrey | Voice of | |
| 2010 | Treme | Davis McAlary | Regular, 10 episodes |
Miscellaneous[]
- 'The Other Ted' (1995) - Allison Anders/Quentin Tarantino
References[]
- ↑ Steve Zahn has a smart funny humour - Artists - Zahn, Steve(2001/02/26) By LIZ BRAUN, CANOE - JAM! Movies
- ↑ Hewitt, Chris (1997-03-12). "FROM ROCKER TO SLACKER, THE VARIOUS ROLES OF MINNESOTA NATIVE STEVE ZAHN ARE SIGNS OF A RAPIDLY BUDDING TALENT". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001872/bio
- ↑ http://hope-elca.com/famous/
External links[]
| File:Commons-logo.svg | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steve Zahn. |
- Template:Title without disambig at the Internet Movie Database
- BBC film critic BBC review of 'Riding in Cars with Boys', suggests Academy Award nomination for Zahn
- Video interview with Steve Zahn on Rescue Dawn
- Steve Zahn Interview (Rescue Dawn)
- Onion A.V. Club Interview
- Steve Zahn at FEARnet
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