Steve Zahn Biography
Summary
"Steven James Zahn" (born November 13, 1967) is an American comedian and actor of both film and stage.
Biography
Early life
Zahn was born in Marshall, Minnesota, the son of Zelda Clair (née Gades), who works for the YMCA, and Carleton Edward Zahn, a Lutheran pastor. After attending Robbinsdale Cooper High School, Gustavus Adolphus College and Harvard University, his first acting role was in "Biloxi Blues"; a Minnesota production; 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'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) and "Daddy Day Care" (2003). 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".
Personal life
Zahn is an avid fly fisherman, and he owns a farm in Lexington 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 James Zahn (born 3 April 2000 in New York) and a daughter, Audrey. In 2004 the family moved from New Jersey to a small horse farm near Lexington, Kentucky, his wife's hometown.
Filmography
"Comanche Moon" (2007) - Augustus 'Gus' McCrae
"Rescue Dawn" (2007) - Duane
"Bandidas" (2006) - Quentin Cooke
"Chicken Little" (2005) - Runt
"Sahara" (2005) - Al Giordino
"Employee of the Month" (2004) - Jack
"Speak" (2004) - Mr. Freeman
"Shattered Glass" (2003) - Adam Penenberg
"Daddy Day Care" (2003) - Marvin
"National Security" (2003) - Hank Rafferty
"Joy Ride" (2001) - Fuller Thomas
"Chelsea Walls" (2001) - Ross
"Riding in Cars with Boys" (2001) - Ray Hasek
"Dr. Dolittle 2" (2001) (voice) - Archie
"Saving Silverman" (2001) - Wayne Lefessier
"Hamlet" (2000) - Rosencrantz
"Stuart Little" (1999) (voice) - Monty the Mouth
"Happy, Texas" (1999) - Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr., aka David
"Freak Talks About Sex" (1999) - 'Freak'
"Safe Men" (1998) - Eddie
"Out of Sight" (1998) - Glenn Michaels
"You've Got Mail" (1998) - George Pappas
"From the Earth to the Moon" (1998) TV miniseries - Astronaut Elliott See
"That Thing You Do!" (1996) - Lenny Haise
"subUrbia" (1996) - Buff
"Crimson Tide" (1995) - William Barnes
"Reality Bites" (1994) - Sammy Grayn
External links
(Dude! It's The Steve Zahn Fan Forum!)
(CM's Steve Zahn Picture Gallery)
(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))
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Steve Zahn.
