It was paramount when casting the role of
Robert Kearns for
Flash of Genius that audiences would believe this is a well-intentioned man who cherishes his family, but loses himself in an unimaginable lawsuit. We want to like him; we want to believe in and root for him even during the times he becomes unlikable.
Enter actor
Greg Kinnear.
Refreshing and inspiring are the words Kinnear uses to describe his draw to the story. The richness of character and the integrity of what Kearns was fighting for—not the money, but his dignity and what was right. That kind of purity is rare.
Director Abrahams solid track record as a producer inspired the confidence in the performer it would take to film the part. Kinnear continues: Marcs deeply passionate about this story on both personal and cinematic levels, and he stuck to it and fought for it and found the truth of it.
To prepare for the role, Kinnear researched the Kearns family story and began to assemble a portrait of the complex inventor and his family. He immersed himself in articles about the case and studied the familys home movies and an appearance by the inventor on
David Lettermans late night show that captured the essence of the engineer.
The performer was keen to not simply paint Kearns as an infallible hero, but a father and a husband who made some very difficult decisions on behalf of his family, some of which devastated them. This was a story worth telling, a fight ultimately worth fighting, he notes. Even if you were watching him go through this, there are moments where you want to stand up and say, Bob, snap out of it! But he goes through this battle, and you ultimately respect him for it.
GREG KINNEAR (
Bob Kearns) continues to build upon his already impressive resume with roles in the most diverse of projects. The busy
Academy Award® nominee recently starred in the comedy hit
Baby Mama, alongside
Tina Fey, and will soon be seen in the comedy
Ghost Town, with
Ricky Gervais, and
Universal Pictures Green Zone, with
Matt Damon.
Kinnear gave memorable performances in the indie hit
Little Miss Sunshine and the romantic comedy
Feast of Love, then segued from beauty pageant and romance to the gridiron and starred opposite
Mark Wahlberg in Disneys
Invincible, and then on to
Richard Linklaters
Fast Food Nation. Kinnear starred in the dark comedy
The Matador, with
Pierce Brosnan and in
Bad News Bears, opposite
Billy Bob Thornton; lent his voice as
Ratchet in the highly successful animated film
Robots; and starred in
Auto Focus,
the critically acclaimed biopic of actor and comedian
Bob Crane. Kinnear starred opposite
Mel Gibson in the feature
We Were Soldiers, focusing on the
Vietnam War battle of La Drang
Valley, and lit up the small screen as well in the emotion-driven
Norman Jewison HBO movie
Dinner With Friends, alongside
Toni Collette,
Dennis Quaid and
Andie MacDowell.
Kinnears other credits include the romantic comedy
Someone Like You, with
Ashley Judd and
Hugh Jackman; the
Farrelly brothers comedy
Stuck On You, in which he co-starred with Matt Damon; Sam Raimis supernatural thriller
The Gift, alongside
Cate Blanchett and
Katie Holmes; and director Neil LaButes black comedy
Nurse Betty, opposite
Renée Zellweger,
Morgan Freeman and
Chris Rock. Kinnear starred alongside
Jack Nicholson as his unfortunate neighbor
Simon in
James L. Brooks Academy Award®-nominated film
As Good As It Gets. His performance garnered him an
Academy Award® nomination. Kinnear made his feature film debut in the
Sydney Pollack-directed remake
Sabrina, co-starred in
Nora Ephrons hit romantic comedy Youve Got Mail and
Mike Nichols What Planet Are You From? and appeared in a cameo role as
Captain Amazing in
Mystery Men. Kinnear first gained prominence as the animated, wisecracking host of
E! Entertainment Televisions
Talk Soup in
1991, for which he garnered an
Emmy Award and rave reviews and established a cult-like following. In
1994, after three successful seasons with Talk Soup, Kinnear left the show permanently and became the host and executive producer of his own
NBC late-night talk show,
Later With Greg Kinnear.
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- published: 25 Sep 2008
- views: 23007