Adam Goldberg Biography
Summary
"Adam Charles Goldberg" (born October 25, 1970) is an American actor, director, and producer. He typically plays the quintessential 'young New York Jew' in many movies and TV programs of the 1990s and 2000s; including the title role of the self-parodying 'Jewsploitation' movie "The Hebrew Hammer".
Biography
Early life
Goldberg was born in Santa Monica, California and was raised near Hollywood, the son of Donna (née Goebel) and Earl Goldberg. His father is Jewish and his mother is a Roman Catholic of Irish, French, and German descent. He was raised in the Jewish faith and attended Hebrew school, although he refused to have a bar mitzvah, stating that it would have been disrespectful to Judaism, as it would not have been a sincere gesture on his part. After seeing a school drama class Shakespeare production, Goldberg became fascinated with show business and began studying acting at various workshops in his early teens. He was active in campus theatrical productions during his years attending Sarah Lawrence College.
Career
Goldberg's first major screen role occurred in 1992's Billy Crystal film "Mr. Saturday Night". His career-making role was arguably that of the tough, wise-cracking infantryman Mellish in Steven Spielberg's 1998 blockbuster "Saving Private Ryan". While having capably played lead characters, as in the short-lived 2005 FOX series "Head Cases" and "Hebrew Hammer", Goldberg has mostly been cast in strong supporting roles. Memorable roles include "Jerry", the miserable undead servant to Christopher Walken's Gabriel character in the supernatural thriller, "The Prophecy" and the borderline-psychotic "Eddie" on the sitcom, "Friends". Goldberg has also worked alongside preeminent voice artists like Dan Castellaneta and Charlie Adler, lending his voice to "Babe: Pig in the City" and cartoons like the Fox cult favorite,
"Eek! The Cat". Goldberg often portrays
'stereotypically Jewish' characters (most notably in "Dazed and Confused", "The Hebrew Hammer" and in the series "Entourage").
Goldberg appeared extensively in the Flaming Lips documentary, Fearless Freaks, and will have a supporting role in the upcoming film "Christmas on Mars", a film written and directed by Coyne. Goldberg plays the 'Mars Psychiatrist'. He also appears in episodes of "Entourage", playing the son of a wealthy movie producer.
Goldberg wrote, produced, directed and edited the features
"Scotch and Milk" and "I Love Your Work", as well as various television projects, notably including the philosophical travelogue, "Running with the Bulls" for IFC. A talented guitarist and songwriter, Goldberg composed and arranged the music to "I Love Your Work" and "Running with the Bulls" and provided a song for the "Hebrew Hammer" soundtrack. He is known to travel with a cheap acoustic guitar, as can be seen in "...Bulls". Having released rock and jazz albums, including the critically-lauded "Changes" with respected Latin jazz percussionist Phil Maturano, Adam Goldberg, the actor, has proven himself a serious and dedicated musician (not to be confused with the Boston based singer/songwriter of the same name).
Personal life
Goldberg was in a relationship with actress Christina Ricci until early 2006. Ricci told W magazine in mid 2006 they were back together, saying '...I love him and I feel like we were meant for each other.' Two new Goldberg film projects ("Zodiac" and " Two Days in Paris") are being prepared for early 2007 releases. He has been discussing with director Jonathan Kesselman the possibility of producing a "Hebrew Hammer" sequel tentatively known as "Hebrew Hammer 2: Hammer vs. Hitler".
Filmography
"Medium" (TV series, 2007)
"Entourage" (TV series, 2007)
"Nancy Drew" (2007)
"Zodiac" (2007)
"Christmas on Mars" (2007)
"2 Days in Paris" (2007)
"Déjà Vu" (2006)
"Stay Alive" (2006)
"My Name Is Earl" (Episode 15 - 'Something to Live For') (TV series, February 2, 2006) as Philo
"Joey" (8 Episodes) (TV series, 2005-2006) as Jimmy
"Man About Town" (2005)
"Fearless Freaks" (2005)
"Frankenstein" (2004)
"How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (2003) as Tony
"The Hebrew Hammer" (2003) as Mordechai Jefferson Carver
"I Love Your Work" (2003)
"The Salton Sea" (2002) as Kujo
"A Beautiful Mind" (2001) as Sol
"According to Spencer" (2001) as Feldy
"Fast Sofa" (2001) as Jack Weis
"All Over the Guy" (2001) as Brett Miles Sanford
"Waking Life" (voice) (2001) as One of Four Men
"Sunset Strip" (2000) as Marty Shapiro
"EDtv" (1999) as John
"Babe: Pig in the City" (voice) (1998) as Flealick
"Saving Private Ryan" (1998) as Pvt. Stanley Mellish
"Some Girl" (1998) as Freud
"Scotch and Milk" (1998) as Jim
"Relativity" (1996-1997) as Doug Kroll
"Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco" (voice) (1996) as Pete
"The Prophecy" (1996) as Jerry
"Higher Learning" (1995) as David Isaacs
"Dazed and Confused" (1993) as Mike Newhouse
"Son in Law" (1993) as Indian
"Mr. Saturday Night" (1992) as Eugene Gimbel
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Adam Goldberg.
