Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonah Hill Feldstein |
| Years active | 2004-present |
Jonah Hill (born December 20, 1983[1]) is an American actor and screenwriter. Hill has had a successful career as an actor in comedic films, appearing in supporting roles in the films Accepted, Grandma's Boy, Knocked Up and Evan Almighty. He is best known for his starring role as Seth in Superbad.
Biography
Early life
Hill was born Jonah Hill Feldstein[1] in Los Angeles, California. His father is an accountant. Hill is Jewish[2] and grew up in Los Angeles, attending Brentwood School and then Crossroads School in Santa Monica. After graduating from high school, Hill left California and to attend school at New School University, where he studied acting.
Jonah's brother Jordan is the manager for the bands Maroon 5, Staind, Big City Rock, Collective Soul, and others.
Acting career
In college, Jonah Hill began writing his own plays and performing them in the bar Black and White in the East Village.[3] His plays developed a small following and helped him realize that his true desire was to act in film. Hill befriended Dustin Hoffman's children, Rebecca and Jake, who introduced him to their father. The elder Hoffman asked him to audition for a role in I Heart Huckabees, in which Hill made his film debut. Afterwards, he got a manager, who introduced him to writer-director-producer Judd Apatow. His manager introduced him to Allison Jones, Apatow's casting director, and Hill auditioned for, and was cast in, a small part in The 40 Year Old Virgin.[4]
Hill joined the cast of the Oxygen network comedy series Campus Ladies. His breakout role was as Sherman Schrader in the college comedy Accepted, in which he starred alongside Justin Long. Hill and Long met on the set of the film, and they became good friends. [5] Hill and Long have appeared together in the films Strange Wilderness and One Part Sugar, and an episode of Campus Ladies. Hill left the cast of Campus Ladies after its first season to focus on his film career. Apatow again cast Hill in a supporting role in the hit 2007 comedy Knocked Up. Also in 2007, Hill had a supporting role in the comedy Evan Almighty and a starring role in another Apatow film, Superbad. Hill will work a fourth and fifth time with Apatow in 2007's Walk Hard and in 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Screenwriting career
He had wanted to be a writer since he was young, dreaming of someday joining the writing teams of The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, and The Larry Sanders Show.[3] Hill is currently writing two screenplays, which will both be produced by Apatow. One of the films, The Middle Child, would star Hill as a young man who returns from college to find that his parents gave a child up for adoption before he was born. The role of Jonah's older brother was written with frequent collaborator Seth Rogen in mind.
Hill is also writing Pure Imagination, a comedy for Sony about a man who develops an imaginary friend after a traumatic experience. Filming is expected to begin in 2008 and the film will be directed by Harold Ramis.[6] At one point, he was also writing a screenplay with close friend and Huckabees co-star Jason Schwartzman.[3]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | I Heart Huckabees | Bret Hooten | |
| 2005 | The 40 Year Old Virgin | eBay Customer | |
| Pancho's Pizza | Short film | ||
| 2006 | Grandma's Boy | Barry | |
| Click | Ben at 17 Years Old | ||
| Accepted | Sherman Schrader | ||
| 10 Items or Less | The Kid | ||
| 2007 | Knocked Up | Jonah | |
| Evan Almighty | Eugene Tenanbaum | ||
| Rocket Science | Lionel | ||
| Superbad | Seth | ||
| Walk Hard | Dewey's brother | ||
| 2008 | Strange Wilderness | Cooker | Completed, voice only |
| Horton Hears a Who! | Post-production, voice only | ||
| Forgetting Sarah Marshall | Post-production | ||
| One Part Sugar | Eddie | Completed | |
| 2009 | Pure Imagination | In-development, also writer | |
| The Middle Child | In-development, also writer and producer |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | NYPD Blue | Clerk | Guest star, episode: "You're Buggin' Me" |
| 2006 | Campus Ladies | Guy Ferguson | Series regular (Season One) |
| 2007 | Human Giant | Weenie King Customer | Guest star, episode: "Hello, Susan" |
| Clark and Michael | Derek | Guest star, Internet series, episode: "Episode 8" |
References
- ^ a b c ""Superbad" Star A Real Pisser". The Smoking Gun. 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Solomon, Deborah (2007-08-12). "Superdude". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c "One on One with... Jonah Hill", Hobo Trashcan, August 2006. Retrieved on June 29, 2007.
- ^ "IGN Interview: Jonah Hill, Page 2", IGN, 2007-05-31. Retrieved on June 29, 2007.
- ^ AIM Interview with Justin Long and Jonah Hill for Accepted", AOL Movies, 2006. Retrieved on June 29, 2007.
- ^ Carroll, Larry. "‘Superbad’ Star Re-Teams With Apatow For ‘Imagination’", MTV News, 2007-07-09. Retrieved on July 11, 2007.
External links
- "One on one with Jonah Hill", HoboTrashcan.com.
- The Superbad boys: exclusive video interview with stv.tv/movies
- Jonah Hill at IMDb
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