This page uses content from the Steve Zahn biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Steven James Zahn (born November 13, 1967) is an American comedian and actor of both film and stage.

Biography

Early life

Zahn is originally from Marshall, Minnesota and is the son of Carleton Edward Zahn, a Lutheran pastor, and Zelda Clair Gades. 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 and TV shows. 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's 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) in which he starred opposite Martin Lawrence, 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 boyfriend. 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

Off the screen, Zahn is an avid fly fisherman, and he owns a farm in western New Jersey. 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 in 2000. In 2004 the family moved from New Jersey to a small horse farm near Lexington, Kentucky, his wife's hometown.

Filmography

• 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
• 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"
• 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 Gray

External link

• BBC film critic BBC review of 'Riding in cars with boys', suggests Academy Award nomination for Zahn.

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