Demetri Martin (born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer and humorist. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian, contributor on ''The Daily Show'' and for his Comedy Central show ''Important Things with Demetri Martin''.

Early life

Demetri Martin was born to a Greek American family in New York City, New York, and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. He is the son of Lillian, a nutritionist, and Dean C. Martin, now deceased, a Greek Orthodox priest. Martin graduated from Yale University in 1995. Although he was accepted into Harvard Law School, he went to New York University School of Law after he received a full scholarship.

Career

In 2001, Martin caught his first big break in stand-up comedy when he appeared on Comedy Central's stand-up showcase ''Premium Blend''. At the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe he won the Perrier award with his show ''If I...''. The show was turned into a British television special in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, Martin wrote for ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. In 2004, Martin had his own ''Comedy Central Presents'' stand-up special. His special was divided into three parts. In the first, he performed in traditional stand-up comedy fashion. In the second segment, he used humorous drawings as visual aids, which would serve either as the punchline or a background. During the third segment, he played a guitar and put on a pseudo-play where he would strum his guitar while alternating between playing harmonica and talking; some of his comedian friends dressed as fairies and dragons acted according to the story he was telling, detailing the magical land where his jokes came from. Martin's mother and grandmother also appeared.

Since late 2005, he has been credited as a contributor on ''The Daily Show'', on which he has appeared as the named "Senior Youth Correspondent" and on which he hosts a segment called "Trendspotting". He has used this segment to talk about so-called hip trends among youth such as hookahs, wine, guerilla marketing and Xbox 360. A piece about social networking featured his profile on MySpace. On March 22, 2007, Demetri made another appearance on ''The Daily Show'', talking about the Viacom lawsuit against Google and YouTube.

He has recorded a comedy CD/DVD titled ''These Are Jokes'', which was released on September 26, 2006. This album also features ''Saturday Night Live'' member Will Forte and stand-up comedian Leo Allen.

Martin returned to ''The Daily Show'' on March 22, 2006, as the new Youth Correspondent, calling his segment "Professional Important News with Demetri Martin". In 2007, he starred in a Fountains of Wayne music video for "Someone to Love" as Seth Shapiro, a character in the song. He also starred in the video for the new Travis single "Selfish Jean", in which he wears multiple t-shirts with lyrics written on them.

On September 2, 2007, Martin appeared on the season finale of the HBO series ''Flight of the Conchords''. He appeared as a keytar player named Demetri.

He also had a part in the movie ''The Rocker'' (2008) starring Rainn Wilson. Martin played the part of the videographer when the band in the movie was making their first music video.

In 2009, he hosted and starred in his own television show called Important Things With Demetri Martin on Comedy Central. Later in June, it was announced his show had been renewed for a second season. The second season premiered, again on Comedy Central, on February 4, 2010. Martin has stated that ''Important Things'' will not return for a third season.

Prior to completing work on his second season, Martin starred in the comedy-drama film ''Taking Woodstock'' (2009), directed by Ang Lee, which premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In the film Martin plays Elliot Tiber, a closeted gay artist who has given up his ambitions in the city to move upstate and help his old-world Jewish family run their Catskill Mountains motel. The film is based on the book written by Tiber.

On April 25, 2011, Martin released his first book, titled ''This Is a Book by Demetri Martin''.

Martin was slated to portray Paul DePodesta as Oakland Athletics assistant GM to Billy Beane in the 2011 movie Moneyball (film), however was dropped and Jonah Hill took his place in the movie.

Future plans

Martin sold his movie concept ''Will'' to DreamWorks; he is expected to play a key supporting role. He will play the lead in the film ''Moon People'', a pitch that he sold to Columbia Pictures.

Martin also signed a blind script deal with CBS in October 2010 to produce, write, and star in his own television series.

After CBS was shown the pilot for the series, they decided not to air it.

On August 11, 2011, Fox ordered a presentation of a new animated show they might air.

''If I''

''If I'' is a Perrier Comedy Award-winning comedy one-man show written and performed by Demetri Martin at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It was also aired on British television as a special. The show is an autobiographical examination of Martin's life, as seen through various definitions of the word "if."

The title of the special comes from a lengthy palindromic poem that Martin wrote; the words "if I" are at the center of the poem.

Comedic style

Martin is known for being an unconventional stand-up comic. He uses one-liners and drawings on a "large pad", as well as accompanying his jokes with music on either guitar, harmonica, piano, keyboard, glockenspiel, toy bells, ukulele, or tambourine, sometimes all at once. He has cited comedian Steven Wright as an important influence (both use deadpan one-liners in their acts) and he is also a fan of Bill Cosby.

Personal life

According to a July 2011 interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Demetri had a short-lived marriage to a girl he knew from high school. They began dating after high school and got married when he was in NYU Law School and she was attending NYU Medical School. He was aged 25 and in the end of his marriage when his stand-up career began.

He is extremely allergic to nuts and peanuts.

Martin moved to Santa Monica, California in 2009.

Discography

''Invite Them Up'' (2005)

''These Are Jokes'' (2006)

''Demetri Martin. Person.'' (2007)

Filmography and television work

''If I'' ''12:21'' ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' "''Someone to Love (Fountains of Wayne song) ''Flight of the Conchords (TV series) ''The Rocker (film) ''Paper Heart'' ''Post Grad'' ''Taking Woodstock'' ''Important Things with Demetri Martin'' ''Take Me Home Tonight (film) ''Contagion (film) ''Conan_(TV_series)

Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2002	''Analyze That''	Personal Assistant
2003	|	Himself	British television special, also writer
2004	|	Himself	short film, also writer
2004	|	Himself	1 episode, series writer
2007	Someone to Love''" ||	Seth Shapiro	''Fountains of Wayne'' music video
2007	Flight of the Conchords'' ||	Demetri	Season 1, Episode 12
2008	The Rocker'' ||	Kip (a music video producer)
2009	|	Himself
2009	|	Ad Exec
2009	|	Elliot Tiber
2009–2010	|	Himself / Various	writer, series creator, executive producer, and composer
2011	Take Me Home Tonight'' ||	Carlos
2011	Contagion'' ||	Dr. David Eisenberg
2011	Conan'' ||	Himself	guest

Written works

''This Is a Book'', April 2011, .

Awards and nominations

AwardPerrier Comedy AwardEmmy Awards Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Writers Guild of America Award Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Barry Award (for comedy)

Year	|	For	Category	Result	Other notes
2003	|	''If I''		Won	At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2004	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Nominated	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2005	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series	Won	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2006	Barry Award ||	''Dr. Earnest Parrot Presents Demetri Martin''		Won	Award for best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

References

External links

Interview from November, 2006, in Onion AV Club

Interview from October 2006, in The DePaulia

Article, in ''The Scotsman''

Article, in ''Gelf Magazine''

Interview by Brian M. Palmer

MP3 Audio Interview on ''The Sound of Young America'' public radio show and podcast

Interview Believer Mag

New Jersey Monthly Magazine

Fresh Air, NPR.org

Category:1973 births Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Actors from New York City Category:American comedians Category:American comedy musicians Category:American comedy writers Category:American film actors Category:American humorists Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television writers Category:Living people Category:New York University alumni Category:Writers from New Jersey Category:Writers from New York City Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:Yale University alumni Category:The Daily Show correspondents and contributors

cs:Demetri Martin da:Demetri Martin de:Demetri Martin fr:Demetri Martin gl:Demetri Martin it:Demetri Martin ru:Мартин, Деметри simple:Demitri Martin fi:Demetri Martin sv:Demetri Martin

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Liev Schreiber
birth name	Isaac Liev Schreiber
birth date	October 04, 1967
birth place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor, producer, director, screenwriter
years active	1991–present
partner	Naomi Watts (2005–present; 2 children) }}

Isaac Liev Schreiber ( not ; born October 4, 1967), commonly known as Liev Schreiber, is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s, having initially appeared in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films, including the ''Scream'' trilogy of horror films, ''The Sum of All Fears'', ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', and ''Salt''. Schreiber is also a respected stage actor, having performed in several Broadway productions. In 2005, Schreiber won a Tony Award as Best Featured Actor for his performance in the play ''Glengarry Glen Ross.'' That year, Schreiber also made his debut as a film director and writer with ''Everything Is Illuminated,'' based on the novel of the same name.

Schreiber is in a relationship with Naomi Watts, with whom he has two children.

Early life

Schreiber was born Isaac Liev Schreiber in San Francisco, California, the son of Heather (née Milgram) and Tell Schreiber, a stage actor and director. His mother already had three sons when he was born, while his father was 22 years old, and seven years her junior. Schreiber's father, who is of Austrian, Swiss, Irish, and Scottish descent, was from a wealthy "WASP" society family from Bucks County, Pennsylvania; he graduated from Hampshire College and was a wrestling and football star. Schreiber's mother, who now lives on an ashram in Virginia, was born into a Brooklyn working-class household of Jewish Communists, descended from immigrants from Poland, Ukraine, and Germany. With a firm knowledge of classical music and Russian literature, she has been described by Schreiber as “this far-out Socialist Labor Party hippie bohemian freak who hung out with William Burroughs.” When Heather was twelve, her own mother, Liev's grandmother, was lobotomized. His mother has said that she named him after her favorite Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, while his father has stated that Schreiber was named after the doctor who saved his mother's life. His family nickname, adopted when Schreiber was a baby, is "Huggy."

When Schreiber was one year old, his family moved to a commune in Canada, which ended badly. His father embraced free love with relish, Schreiber says, and incited his mother to “do some crazy shit.” According to Tell, at the beginning of their marriage, in San Francisco, Heather had a bad experience on LSD. Over the next four years, she was repeatedly admitted to hospitals and underwent therapy. After Tell threatened to admit her to a mental institution, she left. As Tell pursued his wife, Liev and his mother were trailed by private detectives in various states; when he was three, his father kidnapped him from an upstate New York commune where Heather had decamped. By the time Liev was four, he was living with her on the fourth floor of a dilapidated walkup at First Avenue and First Street in New York City (his half brothers from her first marriage were with their father in a duplex on Central Park West), and he was the object of a fierce custody battle, which bankrupted his beloved maternal grandfather, Alex Milgram. (Milgram was the significant male in Schreiber’s youth. He played the cello and owned Renoir etchings, and made his living by delivering meat to restaurants.) When Schreiber was five, his parents divorced; his mother won custody, and the two moved to a cold-water flat on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City, where he was raised. They frequently had no electricity, hot water, or even beds.

His mother was "a highly cultured eccentric" who supported them by splitting her time between driving a cab and creating papier-mâché puppets." On Schreiber's 16th birthday, his mother bought him a motorcycle, "to promote fearlessness." The critic John Lahr wrote in a 1999 ''New Yorker'' profile that, "To a large extent, Schreiber's professional shape-shifting and his uncanny instinct for isolating the frightened, frail, goofy parts of his characters are a result of being forced to adapt to his mother's eccentricities. It's both his grief and his gift." He endured her mood swings and bohemian proclivities (she made him take Hindu names, wear yoga shirts, and he was forced, briefly, to go to an Ashram school in Connecticut when he was 12). Schreiber's mother also forbade Schreiber from seeing color movies. As a result, his favorite actor was Charlie Chaplin. In the late 70s and early 80s Schreiber, known then as Shiva Das, lived at the Satchidananda Ashram, Yogaville East, in Pomfret, Connecticut. He also abided by his mother's vegetarian diet. In retrospect, Schreiber said in a 2008 interview, he appreciates his mother's influences, saying, "Since I've had Sasha, I've completely identified with everything my mother went through raising me...And I think her choices were inspired."

Education

Subsequently, Schreiber attended Friends Seminary at the same time as future actress Amanda Peet.

Schreiber went on to Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts where he began his acting training at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, via the Five Colleges consortium. He graduated with a master's degree from the Yale School of Drama in 1992, where he starred in Charles Evered's ''The Size of the World,'' directed by Walton Jones. At Yale, Liev studied with Earle R. Gister. He also attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He originally wanted to be a screenwriter, but was steered toward acting instead.

Career

Early films

Schreiber had several supporting roles in various independent films until his big break, as the accused murderer Cotton Weary in the ''Scream'' trilogy of horror films. Though the success of the ''Scream'' trilogy would lead Schreiber to roles in several big-budget studio pictures, ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote in 2007 that "Schreiber is [still] best known for such indie gems as ''Walking and Talking,'' ''The Daytrippers,'' and ''Big Night.''

After ''Scream,'' Schreiber was cast as the young Orson Welles in the HBO original movie ''RKO 281,'' for which he was nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. He then played supporting roles in several studio films, including the 2000 movie of ''Hamlet'' with Ethan Hawke, ''The Hurricane'' with Denzel Washington, and ''The Sum of All Fears'' with Ben Affleck. The 2004 remake of ''The Manchurian Candidate'', with Washington and Meryl Streep, was another major film for the actor, stirring some controversy as it opened during a heated presidential election cycle. Schreiber also played Robert Thorn with Julia Stiles in the 2006 film ''The Omen'', a remake of the 1976 horror classic ''The Omen'' (1976). Shreiber's character is an American ambassador who learns to his horror that his son is actually the literal Antichrist. He played the time-traveling ex-boyfriend of Meg Ryan in ''Kate and Leopold'', with Hugh Jackman's century-old character, Leopold, having followed Liev into current times, playing the ultimate love interest of Meg Ryan's Kate.

Shakespeare

Along with his screen work, Schreiber is a well-respected classical actor; in a 1998 review of the Shakespeare play ''Cymbeline,'' ''The New York Times'' called his performance "revelatory" and ended the article with the plea, "More Shakespeare, Mr. Schreiber." A year later, Schreiber played the title role in ''Hamlet'' in a December 1999 revival at The Public Theater, to similar raves. In 2000, he played Laertes in ''Hamlet'', a modern adaptation of the play. His performance in the title role of ''Henry V'' in a 2003 Central Park production of that play caused Lahr to expound upon his aptitude at playing Shakespeare. "He has a swiftness of mind," Lahr wrote, "which convinces the audience that language is being coined in the moment. His speech, unlike that of the merely adequate supporting cast, feels lived rather than learned."

In June to July 2006, he played the title role in ''Macbeth'' opposite Jennifer Ehle at the Delacorte Theater.

Narration and voiceover work

Schreiber has narrated a number of documentaries, many of them aired as part of PBS series such as ''American Experience,'' ''Nova,'' and ''Secrets of the Dead.'' He is also the voice behind the television commercials for Infiniti.

In 1994, he narrated ''Two Billion Hearts'', the official film of 1994 World Cup.

Schreiber is also the voice of HBO's ''Sports of the 20th Century'' documentaries. Similarly, Schreiber is also the narrator of HBO Boxing's ''Countdown'' and ''24/7'' documentary series. Schreiber served as the voice of Skeletor in the 2002 incarnation of Masters of the Universe. Schreiber narrated ''Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals'' in 2009, and ''Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals'' and ''Broad Street Bullies'' in 2010, on HBO. Schreiber provided the narration for "Making of Pumping Iron" documentary that is included in a special anniversary edition of the movie ''Pumping Iron''. He also narrated the History Channel specials ''Ape to Man'' and ''America: The Story of Us''.

Schreiber reprised his role as narrator for HBO's ''24/7: Road to the Winter Classic'' NHL documentary, which followed the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals as they headed on a crash course with one another toward their game outdoors at Heinz Field, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 1, 2011. The game, which Washington won 3-1, was the NHL's 4th annual Winter Classic, where two hockey teams play outdoors on New Year's Day. It was Pittsburgh's second appearance in the event.

Directing and 2000s work

Schreiber told ''The New Yorker'' in 1999 that "I don't know that I want to be an actor for the rest of my life." For a time in the late nineties, he hoped to produce and direct an adaptation of ''The Merchant of Venice'' starring Dustin Hoffman. In that time, Schreiber started writing a screenplay about his relationship with his Ukrainian grandfather, a project he abandoned when, according to ''The New York Times,'' "he read Jonathan Safran Foer's hit novel, ''Everything Is Illuminated,'' and decided Mr. Foer had done it better." Schreiber's film adaptation of the short story from which the novel originated, which he both wrote and directed, was released in 2005. The film, which starred Elijah Wood, received lukewarm-to-positive reviews, with Roger Ebert calling it "a film that grows in reflection."

In 2002, he starred in Neil LaBute's play ''The Mercy Seat'' along with Sigourney Weaver on Off-Broadway that was critically and commercially very successful. In the spring of 2005, Schreiber essayed the role of Richard Roma in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''Glengarry Glen Ross.'' As Roma, Schreiber won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play.

In 2006, Schreiber was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In fall of that year, Schreiber directed and starred in the "2006 Join the Fight" AIDS PSA campaign for Cable Positive and Kismet Films (others involved with the campaign included actress Naomi Watts, fashion designer Calvin Klein, and playwright Tony Kushner).

Schreiber played Charlie Townsend in the 2006 film ''The Painted Veil,'' starring opposite Watts and Edward Norton. In the same year, Schreiber also appeared in ''The Omen,'' which was a remake of the 1976 film of the same name. For television, the actor portrayed a character who temporarily replaces Gil Grissom, played by William Petersen, in the CBS show ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,'' during the 2006–2007 season. He played Michael Keppler, a seasoned CSI with a strong reputation in various police departments across the nation, before joining the veteran Las Vegas team. Schreiber joined the cast on January 18, 2007 and shot a four-episode arc.

Schreiber appeared in the Broadway revival of Eric Bogosian's ''Talk Radio.'' The show began previews at the Longacre Theatre on February 15, 2007 in preparation for its March opening. On May 11, 2007, He won the Drama League Award for distinguished performance for his portrayal of shock jock "Barry Champlain" in ''Talk Radio,'' and has received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for the role. ''The New York Times''' Ben Brantley called his performance "the most lacerating portrait of a human meltdown this side of a Francis Bacon painting."

Schreiber played the womanizing Lotario Thurgot in Mike Newell's screen adaptation of ''Love in the Time of Cholera,'' released in 2007. In a January 2007 interview, Schreiber mentioned that he was working on a screenplay.

Late in 2008, Schreiber portrayed Jewish resistance fighter, Zus Bielski in the film ''Defiance'', alongside Daniel Craig. In February 2008, 20th Century Fox announced Schreiber would play the mutant supervillain, Sabretooth in the Marvel Comics film ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine,'' released on May 1, 2009. In March 2010, it was announced that he is interested in returning for ''Scream 4'', portraying Cotton Weary a fourth time (the film was made without his involvement).

In 2010, he returned to Broadway in ''A View from the Bridge'' for which he received a Tony nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Play.

Personal life

Schreiber has a half sister and four half brothers, one of whom, Pablo, is also an actor. The other half-brothers are Max, Charles, and Will. He has a Jack Russell terrier named Chicken (born in the spring of 2000). He is a good friend of Dustin Hoffman. He enjoys basketball, fencing, cycling, and has played football in the past. He has previously dated Kristin Davis, and Kate Driver, sister of Minnie Driver.

Rumors around his relationship with British-Australian actress Naomi Watts (with whom he appeared in ''The Painted Veil'') have long flown over whether the couple are in fact married. Schreiber has tricked the media once before in 2007 by calling Naomi his wife. This caused the rumors about a secret ceremony to again come up; however, there has been no proof given other than Liev's word in the video which was shot in early June 2009. Naomi was quoted near the end of January 2010 saying that Liev had in fact given her a ring (which she was not wearing at the time) but that neither of them wanted to rush into marriage.

Their first son Alexander Pete was born on July 25, 2007. They call him Sasha, a Russian nickname variation of the name Alexander. On December 13, 2008, Watts gave birth to the couple's second son, Samuel Kai. Watts stated in April 2010 that the pair would have a third child if they could guarantee a baby girl.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1994	''Mixed Nuts''	Chris
	''Denise Calls Up''	Jerry Heckerman
	Salesman
	Nigel
''Buffalo Girls''	Ogden
	''The Daytrippers''	Carl Petrovic	Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor
''Walking and Talking''	Andrew
''Big Night''	Leo
	Cotton Weary
	Clark Barnes
	''His and Hers''	Glenn
''Scream 2''	Cotton Weary
		Deputy Stuart 'Stu' Wargle
	Ted Fielding
	Jeff Willis
''Desert Blue''	Mickey Moonday	Voice
	Fred Linderhoff
	''A Walk on the Moon''	Marty Kantrowitz	Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor
''Jakob the Liar''	Mischa
	Sam Chaiton
''Spring Forward''	Paul
''RKO 281''	Orson Welles
		Laertes
''Scream 3''	Cotton Weary
2001	''Kate & Leopold''	Stuart Besser
2002
	''Hitler: The Rise of Evil''	Ernst Hanfstaengl
''Spinning Boris''	Joe Shumate
2004		Congressman Raymond Prentiss Shaw	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
	''Lackawanna Blues''	Ulysses Ford	television movie
	Robert Thorn
	Charles Townsend
	''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''	Michael Keppler	(television program
''[[The Ten''	Ray Johnson
	Lotario Thurgot
	''Independent Lens''	William Kunstler
	Zus Bielski
	''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''		MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (Shared with Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds)Nominated — People's Choice Award>People's Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen Team (Shared with Hugh Jackman et al.)Nominated — Teen Choice Award	Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie VillainNominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Rumble (Shared with Hugh Jackman)
''Taking Woodstock''	Vilma
	Ned
	''Repo Men''	Frank
	Ted Winter
		Jack

References

External links

Interview with ''Details''

Interview with ''Men's Vogue''

Interview with ''W'' magazine

Category:1967 births Category:Actors from New York Category:AIDS activists Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American Jews Category:American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Polish descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American people of Swiss descent Category:American people of Ukrainian descent Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Ashkenazi Jews Category:Hampshire College alumni Category:Jewish actors Category:Living people Category:People from Manhattan Category:People from New York City Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:Shakespearean actors Category:Squatters Category:Tony Award winners Category:Yale School of Drama alumni

da:Liev Schreiber de:Liev Schreiber es:Liev Schreiber eu:Liev Schreiber fr:Liev Schreiber id:Liev Schreiber it:Liev Schreiber he:ליב שרייבר nl:Liev Schreiber ja:リーヴ・シュレイバー no:Liev Schreiber pl:Liev Schreiber pt:Liev Schreiber ru:Шрайбер, Лев sr:Лијев Шрајбер fi:Liev Schreiber sv:Liev Schreiber tr:Liev Schreiber uk:Лев Шрайбер

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
birth name	Emile Davenport Hirsch
birth date	March 13, 1985
birth place	Topanga, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor
years active	1993–present }}

Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American television and film actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television films and series, and became known as a film actor after roles in ''Lords of Dogtown'', ''The Emperor's Club'', ''The Girl Next Door'', ''Alpha Dog'', and ''Into the Wild''. In 2008, Hirsch starred in ''Speed Racer'' and ''Milk''. He recently participated in ''Summit on the Summit'', an expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of the need for clean water in the world.

Early life

Hirsch was born in Topanga, California, the son of Margaret (née Davenport), a visual artist and teacher who designed pop-up books, and David Hirsch, an entrepreneur, manager, and producer. His older sister Jenny introduced him to acting when they were enrolled at the Will Geer Theatricum, a summer drama camp in Topanga. Hirsch was raised in Los Angeles, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lived with his mother for several years after his parents divorced. He attended Topanga Canyon Elementary School, Paul Revere Middle School and the Academy of Music at Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. Hirsch was a varsity baseball player who set a California state record in his time at Paul Revere Middle School for the most stolen bases in a season, with 156. "I was pretty good," Hirsch said. Hirsch left Hamilton High School halfway through his senior year in order to pursue his career, later graduating from Beach High School, an independent private high school in Northern California.

Career

Hirsch began acting at the age of eight in rural Woodstock, Illinois, appearing in minor roles on television shows and made-for-television films, including ''Kindred: the Embraced''; ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'' and ''NYPD Blue''. Following his appearance on ''NYPD Blue'', casting directors began singling him out as a serious young actor, leading to a two-episode guest-starring role on ''ER''. He made his feature film debut with Jodie Foster's 2002 drama, ''The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys'', where he starred opposite Kieran Culkin in the story of two Catholic school boys. His next feature film role was in the prep school drama, ''The Emperor's Club'', with Kevin Kline, which was released later in 2002. Hirsch's reviews were favorable, and both films received generally positive reviews, but performed only moderately at the box office. Hirsch was subsequently cast opposite Elisha Cuthbert in the 2004 teen comedy, ''The Girl Next Door'', and as a result gained excellent mainstream reviews and wider recognition among teenage audiences. ''The Mudge Boy'', an independent film in which he had starred before making ''The Girl Next Door'', was given a limited release in the summer of 2004. Hirsch next appeared with Jeff Daniels and Sigourney Weaver in ''Imaginary Heroes'', a drama about a dysfunctional family, which received a limited release in February 2005.

Later, in 2005, Hirsch starred with Heath Ledger in ''Lords of Dogtown'', a cult favorite by director Catherine Hardwicke; the film, about a number of well-known skaters of the 1970s and their role in the birth of a higher-profile skateboard culture, was released on June 3, 2005. Hirsch played Jay Adams (who some say was the original “Z-Boy”), and was praised by critics for his performance. He subsequently appeared in ''Alpha Dog'', a dark drama starring Justin Timberlake, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Willis, and Sharon Stone in which Hirsch played a character based on real-life drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood; the film was shot in 2004 and released on January 12, 2007. Hirsch consulted with Hollywood's real life father before playing the role, and has said that he felt "pretty afraid in my bones most of the time" while filming because of the film's raw characters and dialogue.

Hirsch next played adventurer Christopher McCandless in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed adventure-drama ''Into the Wild'', released on September 21, 2007. He lost 40 pounds for the role and was noted in reviews as a potential Academy Award nominee for the film, also receiving a Screen Actors Guild nomination for best actor. Hirsch had the lead role in ''Speed Racer'', which was released on May 9, 2008. Hirsch plays gay rights activist Cleve Jones in Gus Van Sant's 2008 Harvey Milk bio-pic ''Milk'' starring Sean Penn in the title role as slain San Francisco politician, Harvey Milk.

He co-starred in ''Taking Woodstock'', based on a screenplay of Elliot Tiber's memoir ''Taking Woodstock'', adapted by James Schamus. The film was directed by Academy Award Winning Director Ang Lee. His co-stars are Demetri Martin, Liev Schreiber, Imelda Staunton, Eugene Levy and Henry Goodman. ''Taking Woodstock'' was shot in upstate New York and was released in August 2009.

In April 2010, Chris Gorak cast him for his upcoming science fiction film, ''The Darkest Hour''; the film is a Doomsday film similar to ''28 Days Later''. In April 2011, he was cast in Oliver Stone's film ''Savages''.

Personal life and press

Hirsch resides in Venice, California, and enjoys writing poetry and screenplays, along with skateboarding. He has won five awards, including the Critics’ Choice Award for breakthrough performance and best actor for his role in ''Into the Wild'', as well as 11 other nominations. He has appeared on many magazine covers, including ''Nylon Guys'', ''Teen Vogue'', Movieline, ''Another Man'', and ''L’Uomo Vogue (Italy)''.

Emile Hirsch appeared in ''Esquire'' in November 2007, being called one of the "Actors of the Year", along with Denzel Washington, Cate Blanchett, Javier Bardem, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Robert Downey, Jr., for his role in Sean Penn's ''Into the Wild''. ''Esquire'' said, "[Hirsch] creates a vivid, unforgettable character you at once admire and pity."

Hirsch appeared on the cover of ''Men’s Journal'' in January 2009. He wrote a "Congo Diary" in December 2008 that was published in the following issue along with a photo spread. He ventured into Africa along with four young activists, and kept a journal of his five-day trip. Reflecting on his trip, Hirsch said, “Now I look back at some of the earlier parts of this travelogue and almost chuckle at my naïveté. Maybe we can all come together to change the world.”

Filmography

+ Film and television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1997	''3rd Rock from the Sun''	Punk	Season 3: Episode 5: Scaredy Dick
1998	''Gargantua''	Brandon Ellway
1999		Bryce	Season 3: Episode 19: End Game
2001		Lony Brevard
2002	''''	Francis Doyle
2002	''''	Sedgewick Bell
2003	''''	Duncan Mudge	limited release
2004	''''	Matthew Kiddman	Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Elisha Cuthbert)
2004	''Imaginary Heroes''	Tim Travis	limited release
2005	''Lords of Dogtown''	Jay Adams
2006	''Alpha Dog''
2007		Christopher McCandless	Mill Valley Film Festival>Mill Valley Film Festival Award for Best ActorNational Board of Review of Motion Pictures	National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Male Performance Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Rising StarNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Gotham Award for Breakthrough ArtistNominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureNominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Drama
2008	''''	Tony	limited release
2008		Speed Racer
2008		Cleve Jones	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best CastNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2009	''Taking Woodstock''	Billy
2011		Lukie	Post-production
2011
2012		Spin	Filming

References

External links

New York Observer Profile (2007)

Actor of the Year

Men's Journal 2009

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:American child actors Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Actors from California Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area

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