Greg Kinnear
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| Greg Kinnear | |||||||||||||||
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 Greg Kinnear in May 2006 |
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| Born | Gregory Kinnear June 17, 1963 Logansport, Indiana |
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| Spouse(s) | Helen Labdon (1999-present) 2 Children | ||||||||||||||
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Gregory "Greg" Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and former television personality, who first rose to stardom as the first host of E!'s Talk Soup.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of Suzanne, a homemaker, and Edward Kinnear, a career diplomat who worked for the U.S. State Department.[1][2] He has two brothers — one named James, Vice President-Investments at Wachovia Securities in Arizona (born in 1957), and one named Steve. As a child, Greg and his family moved around a lot, from places as far as Beirut, Lebanon to Athens, Greece, and was therefore part of a group sometimes referred to as Foreign Service Brats. While a student at the American Community Schools in Athens, Greg first ventured into the role of talk show host with his radio show "School Daze With Greg Kinnear". Returning to the States for a college education, he attended the University of Arizona, where he graduated in 1985 with a degree in broadcast journalism.
[edit] Early career
From Arizona, Kinnear headed out to Los Angeles, where he landed his first job as a marketing assistant with Empire Entertainment. Following this job he auditioned to be an MTV VJ, but failed and became a host and on-location reporter for Movietime, the precursor to E! Entertainment Television. In addition, he had bit parts on such television shows as L.A. Law and Life Goes On.
[edit] Talk shows
Later, he would host a short-lived game show, College Mad House, which was spun-off from the kids' show, Fun House. After that, he would later become the creator, co-executive producer, and host of Best of the Worst which aired from 1990 to 1991. In 1991 he received his breakthrough when he became the first host of Talk Soup until 1995, when he left the show for the NBC late-night talk show, Later with Greg Kinnear (1994).
[edit] Film roles
It was also in 1994 that Kinnear had his first big screen role, as a talk show host yet again in the Damon Wayans comedy Blankman. In 1995 he won the part of the David Larrabee in Sydney Pollack's remake of Billy Wilder's 1954 classic Sabrina. He then received the lead role in the 1996 comedy Dear God. In 1997, Greg was cast in James L. Brooks' blockbuster comedy-drama As Good as It Gets, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His next film, the romantic comedy A Smile Like Yours, had him starring opposite Lauren Holly as part of a couple trying to have a baby. The film met with lukewarm reviews and a low box office, but his next film, You've Got Mail, struck gold. He played Meg Ryan's significant other, a newspaper columnist wholly unlike what was to be his next character, that of Captain Amazing in the 1999 summer action film Mystery Men. His next films were Nurse Betty, Loser, and Someone Like You.
In 2002, Kinnear starred in the movie Auto Focus about the life and murder of actor Bob Crane. In 2006, Kinnear co-starred with Steve Carell in the Oscar-winning comedy-drama Little Miss Sunshine, and with Mark Wahlberg in Invincible, based on the true story of a bartender who tries out for the Philadelphia Eagles football team. He also appeared in Fast Food Nation, playing a fast food executive who discovers secrets about his company.
[edit] Personal life
Kinnear married Helen Labdon in 1999. In 2001, Labdon was seven months pregnant when she suffered a miscarriage with their first child. The couple gave birth to a daughter in 2003, and another daughter in 2006.
[edit] Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
| 1994 | Blankman | Talk Show Host | |
| 1995 | Sabrina | David Larrabee | |
| 1996 | Dear God | Tom Turner | |
| Beavis and Butt-Head Do America | ATF Agent Bork | Uncredited Voice Role | |
| 1997 | A Smile Like Yours | Danny Robertson | |
| As Good as It Gets | Simon Bishop | ||
| 1998 | You've Got Mail | Frank Navasky | |
| 1999 | Mystery Men | Captain Amazing/Lance Hunt | |
| 2000 | What Planet Are You From? | Perry Gordon | |
| Nurse Betty | Dr. David Ravell/George McCord | ||
| Loser | Professor Edward Alcott | ||
| The Gift | Wayne Collins | ||
| 2001 | Someone Like You | Ray Brown | |
| 2002 | We Were Soldiers | Maj. Bruce "Snake" Crandall | |
| Auto Focus | Bob Crane | ||
| 2003 | Stuck on You | Walt Tenor | |
| 2004 | Godsend | Paul Duncan | |
| 2005 | The Matador | Danny Wright | |
| Robots | Phineas T. Ratchet | Voice Role | |
| Bad News Bears | Roy Bullock | ||
| 2006 | Fast Food Nation | Don Anderson | |
| Little Miss Sunshine | Richard Hoover | ||
| Invincible | Dick Vermeil | ||
| Unknown | Broken Nose | ||
| 2007 | Feast of Love | Bradley Smith | |
| 2008 | Baby Mama | Rob Ackerman | |
| Ghost Town | Frank Herlihy | awaiting release | |
| Flash of Genius | Bob Kearns | awaiting release | |
| 2009 | Green Zone | Clark Poundstone | post-production |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | What Price Victory | ABC TV-Movie | |
| 1989 | Life Goes On | Corey | Episode: Break a Leg, Mom |
| 1990 | Murder in Mississippi | News Reporter | NBC TV-Movie |
| Mancuso, FBI | Photographer | Episode: Adamant Eve | |
| 1991 | Dillinger | Arizona Legislator | ABC TV-Movie |
| L.A. Law | Reporter | Episode: Spleen It to Me, Lucy | |
| 1991–1995 | Talk Soup | Host | |
| 1993 | Based on an Untrue Story | Orlando Chang Stein | FOX TV-Movie |
| 2000 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Prince Gavin | Voice Role Episode: The Frog Princess |
| 2001 | Dinner With Friends | Tom | HBO TV-Movie |
| 2003 | Friends | Benjamin Hobart | Episode: The One with Ross' Grant |
[edit] Awards & Nominations
- 1998: Nominated, "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" - As Good as It Gets
Blockbuster Entertainment Award
- 1999: Won, "Favorite Supporting Actor in a Comedy/Romance" - You've Got Mail
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- 1996: Won, Most Promising Actor - Sabrina
- 1995: Won, "Outstanding Special Class Program" - "Talk Soup" (shared w/producers)
- 1996: Won, "Male Discovery of the Year"
- 1998: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture" - As Good as It Gets
- 2006: Nominated, "Best Ensemble Cast" - Little Miss Sunshine (shared w/castmembers)
National Board of Review Awards
- 1997: Won, "Best Supporting Actor" - As Good as It Gets
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
- 2006: Won, "Best Ensemble Cast" - Little Miss Sunshine (shared w/castmembers)
- 1998: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy/Musical Motion Picture" - As Good as It Gets
- 1998: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role" - As Good as It Gets
- 2007: Won, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture" - Little Miss Sunshine (shared w/castmembers)
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
- 1998: Won, "Best Supporting Actor" - As Good as It Gets
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by none |
Host of Talk Soup 1991-1995 |
Succeeded by John Henson |
