- published: 18 Sep 2010
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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 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.
Hirsch was born in Topanga, California. His mother, Margaret Esther (née Davenport), is a visual artist and teacher who designed pop-up books, and his father, David M. Hirsch, is 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.[citation needed] "I was pretty good," Hirsch said.[citation needed] Hirsch left Hamilton High School halfway through his senior year in order to pursue his career, later graduating from Beach High School,[citation needed] an independent private high school in Northern California.