Greg Kinnear

Greg Kinnear (birthname: Gregory Buck Kinnear) is one of the most reliable and well-liked Hollywood actors in a wide range of mainstream movies, beginning his long movie career (after successful show biz start as a TV talk host) playing a talk-show host in the Mike Binder-directed superhero parody, Blankman (1994), starring Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, Robin Givens, Jon Polito, and Jason Alexander, grossing a poor $8 million for Columbia Pictures. Kinnear was cast (to his great surprise) in his true acting role by director Sydney Pollack for his remake of Sabrina (1995), starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, Nancy Marchand, and John Wood, and released by Paramount Pictures to $87 million global grosses.

Kinnear was cast by another major Hollywood director, Garry Marshall, for his first starring role in the comedy, Dear God (1996), co-starring Laurie Metcalf, Maria Pitillo, Tim Conway, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jon Seda, and Hector Elizondo, but losing money for Paramount with a low $7.1 million return against a $22 million budget. Kinnear confirmed his star status with rom-coms like A Smile Like Yours (1997), with Lauren Holly, Joan Cusack, Jay Thomas, Jill Hennessy, and Christopher McDonald, under co-writer Keith Samples’s direction, but proving to be another money-loser for Paramount.

Greg Kinnear earned an Oscar nomination for best-supporting actor with best actor/actress Oscar-winners Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt in Kinnear’s most lauded performance to date in filmmaker James L. Brooks’s romantic comedy-drama, As Good as it Gets (1997), with Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, and Shirley Knight, grossing a hefty $314 million global return for TriStar Pictures/Gracie Films/Sony Pictures Releasing. Kinnear teamed up with another comedy master, co-writer/director Nora Ephron, for the acclaimed rom-com hit (grossing $251 million for Warner Bros.), You’ve Got Mail (1998), co-starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and with Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, Dave Chappelle, and Steve Zahn.

Kinnear co-starred in one of his few superhero movies, Mystery Men (1999), directed by Kinka Usher and co-starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Claire Forlani, Janeane Garofalo, Eddie Izzard, William H. Macy, Lena Olin, Paul Reubens, Geoffrey Rush, Wes Studi, and Tom Waits, but which bombed at the box office for Universal Pictures with a $33.5 million global return. Kinnear was cast by legendary filmmaker Mike Nichols for the comedy, What Planet Are You From? (2000), with Garry Shandling (who produced with Nichols), Annette Bening, Ben Kingsley, Linda Fiorentino, and John Goodman, but drawing poor box office with a $14 million gross.

Greg Kinnear joined up with another major director, Neil LaBute, alongside co-stars Renée Zellweger, Morgan Freeman, and Chris Rock in the black comedy, Nurse Betty (2000), with Aaron Eckhart, Crispin Glover, and Pruitt Taylor Vince, and was released by USA Films/Summit Entertainment after a Cannes film festival premiere, where it won the best screenplay, Palme. Kinnear was cast in a co-starring role by director/writer/producer Amy Heckerling in the comedy, Loser (2000), starring Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, Dan Aykroyd, Andrea Martin, and Alan Cumming, and grossing $18.4 million for Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing.

Kinnear co-starred with Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, and Hilary Swank under Sam Raimi’s direction in the paranormal thriller, The Gift (2000), written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, and grossing a strong $44.6 million global gross for Lakeshore Entertainment/Paramount Classics. Kinnear returned to familiar rom-com territory under  Tony Goldwyn’s direction for Someone Like You (2001), starring Ashley Judd, Hugh Jackman, Marisa Tomei, and Ellen Barkin, earning $38.6 million for 20^th Century Fox.

Greg Kinnear took on heavier drama under writer Randall Wallace’s direction for Vietnam war-themed We Were Soldiers (2002), starring Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Sam Elliott, Chris Klein, Keri Russell, and Barry Pepper, and which grossed $115.4 million for the US/German/French co-production and distributors Paramount and Concorde Filmverleih. Kinnear collaborated with another major American filmmaker—Paul Schrader—for his intense portrayal of actor Bob Crane in the extremely dark drama, Auto Focus (2002), based on Robert Graysmith’s 1993 book, The Murder of Bob Crane, co-starring Willem Dafoe, Rita Wilson, Maria Bello, and Ron Liebman, and grossing a mild $2.7 million for Sony Pictures Classics.

Kinnear joined forces with another Hollywood comedy powerhouse with brother filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly for Stuck on You (2003), in which he co-starred with Matt Damon, and which featured Eva Mendes, Seymour Cassel, and Cher, grossing an underwhelming $66 million (on a $55 million budget) for 20^th Century Fox. Kinnear matched up with co-star Rebecca Romijn-Stamos opposite co-star Robert De Niro for the Nick Hamm-directed thriller, Godsend (2004), bringing in $30 million in global returns for Lionsgate.

Greg Kinnear next co-starred with Pierce Brosnan in the well-reviewed black comedy by writer-director Richard Shepard, The Matador (2005), with Hope Davis and Philip Baker Hall, and released by Miramar Films after a fine festival run in Sundance, Toronto, and Chicago. Kinnear voiced the co-starring character of Phineas T. Rachet in the well-received Blue Sky Studios/20^th Century Fox Animation movie,  Robots (2005), with the colorful cast of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks, Amanda Bynes, Drew Carey, Robin Williams, Jim Broadbent, Jennifer Coolidge, Drew Carey, Stanley Tucci, Dianne Wiest, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Giamatti, Paula Abdul, Al Rooker, James Earl Jones, Monica Bellucci, and Vincent Cassel, and which grossed a robust $262.5 million.

Kinnear then co-starred in the first of two consecutive movies with leading American indie filmmaker Richard Linklater, first with the remake of the 1976 Bad News Bears (2005), co-starring Billy Bob Thornton and Marcia Gay Harden, and earning $34.3 million for Paramount Pictures. Kinnear reunited with director/co-writer Linklater for the striking, non-fiction-based chronicle, Fast Food Nation (2006), adapted from co-screenwriter Eric Schlosser’s book, with the diverse ensemble of Patricia Arquette, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Ashley Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ana Claudia Talancon, Wilmer Valderrama, Bobby Cannavale, and Paul Dano, and released to strong reviews in the US by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Greg Kinnear was a co-lead in one of the most successful American indie movies of the early 21^st century, the Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris co-directed road comedy, Little Miss Sunshine (2006), co-starring Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, and earning a knockout $101 million global gross (against an $8 million budget) after premiering at the Sundance film festival and eventually scoring two Oscar wins (best original screenplay for Michael Arndt and best supporting actor for Arkin). Kinnear portrayed Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil in the Disney sports drama, Invincible (2006), co-starring Mark Wahlberg, Elizabeth Banks, and Michael Rispoli, and grossing $58.5 million worldwide.

Kinnear joined fellow cast mates Jim Caviezel, Joe Pantoliano, Barry Pepper, Jeremy Sisto, and Peter Stormare in the intense thriller, Unknown (2006), directed by Simon Brand and released to modest box office by IFC First Take and The Weinstein Company. Kinnear was cast by renowned filmmaker Robert Benton for the drama, Feast of Love (2007), co-starring Morgan Freeman, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke, Selma Blair, Jane Alexander, and Fred Ward, and which was released by MGM to $5.7 million global returns.

Greg Kinnear jumped back to comedy mode with co-stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for debuting writer-director Michael McCullers’ Baby Mama (2008), with Sigourney Weaver, Holland Taylor, and Maura Tierney, grossing a good $64.4 million for Universal Pictures. Kinnear then co-starred in director/co-writer David Koepp’s fantasy comedy, Ghost Town (2008), co-starring Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni, Billy Campbell, Kristen Wiig, and grossing $27 million for DreamWorks Pictures/Paramount Distribution.

Kinnear led a cast including Lauren Graham, Dermot Mulroney, and Alan Alda, in the true man-against-corporation drama, Flash of Genius (2008), directed by Marc Abraham and based on John Seabrook’s New Yorker article, which lost money for Spyglass Entertainment/Universal Pictures with a poor $4.8 million against $20 million cost. Kinnear joined acclaimed British filmmaker Paul Greengrass for the fine Iraq War drama, Green Zone (2010), starring Matt Damon, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla, and Jason Isaacs, grossing $95 million for Working Title Films/Universal Pictures/StudioCanal.

Greg Kinnear was cast in one of his few supporting roles for the romantic drama, The Last Song (2010), based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel and directed by Julie Anne Robinson, starring Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, and Kelly Preston, grossing a healthy $89 million global take for Touchstone Pictures/Disney. Kinnear was cast in the lead by acclaimed co-writer/director Jill Sprecher for her dark comedy, Thin Ice (2011), with Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup, Lea Thompson, Bob Balaban, and David Harbour, and was released by ATO Pictures following a Sundance film festival premiere, which Kinnear also enjoyed at Sundance with another comedy, director/co-writer George Ratliff’s religious satire for IFC Films, Salvation Boulevard (2011), co-starring Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Marisa Tomei, Jim Gaffigan.

Greg Kinnear continued his comedy run by co-starring with Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Christina Hendricks, Kelsey Grammer, Seth Meyers, and Olivia Mann in the Douglas McGrath-directed comedy, I Don’t Know How She Does It (2011), earning a poor $31.4 million gross against a $24 million budget. Kinnear starred in director-writer Josh Boone’s rom-com debut, Stuck in Love (2012), co-starring Jennifer Connelly, Lily Collins, Nat Wolff, Logan Lerman, and Kristen Bell, and premiering at the Toronto Film Festival before a limited Millennium Entertainment release.

Kinnear co-starred with Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano, Lily Collins, and Nathan Lane in the Craig Zisk-directed comedy-drama, The English Teacher (2013), receiving a limited release by Cinedigm Entertainment/Tribeca Film after premiering at the Tribeca film festival. Kinnear was then cast by director/co-writer/producer Adam McKay in the highly anticipated sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), starring Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate, and grossing a solid $173.6 million for Paramount Pictures.

Greg Kinnear starred in co-writer/director Randall Wallace’s Christian drama, Heaven is for Real (2014), with Kelly Reilly, Margo Martindale, and Thomas Haden Church, delivering hefty returns for Sony Releasing/TriStar Pictures with a $102 million gross. Kinnear then worked with another major American indie filmmaker, Ira Sachs, for the fine drama, Little Men (2016), co-starring Paulina Garcia, Jennifer Ehle, Theo Taplitz, Michael Barbieri, Talia Balsam, Alfred Molina, and Clare Foley, premiering at the Sundance film festival in the US and the Berlin film festival in Europe, grossing over $2 million for distributor Magnolia Pictures.

Kinnear co-starred in the well-reviewed Brigsby Bear (2017), the brainchild of middle school pals Kyle Mooney (star, co-writer), Dave McCary (director), and Kevin Costello (co-writer), with Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone, released by Sony Pictures Classics after a Sundance film festival premiere. Kinnear then led the ensemble of Renée Zellweger, Djimon Hounsou, and Jon Voight in director/co-writer Michael Carney’s Christian drama, Same Kind of Different as Me (2017), grossing a weak $6.4 million (against $6.5 million costs) for distributor Pure Fix Entertainment.

Greg Kinnear starred opposite Aldis Hodge in the Tom Shadyac-directed biopic, Brian Banks (2018), with Morgan Freeman, released by Bleecker Street after premiering at the Los Angeles film festival. Kinnear reunited with filmmaker Ira Sachs for the US/France/Portugal co-production, Frankie (2019), co-starring the impressive international cast of Isabelle Huppert, Brendan Gleeson, Marisa Tomei, Jérémie Renier, and Pascal Greggory, and premiering at the Cannes film festival.

Kinnear joined the ensemble of Amy Ryan, Nick Robinson, Margaret Qualley, Connor Jessup, Blythe Danner, and Brian Cox under Rowan Athale’s direction in the thriller, Strange but True (2019), premiering at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Kinnear made his directorial debut with the Canadian-produced comedy-drama, Phil (2019), starring Kinnear, Emily Mortimer, Jay Duplass, Robert Forster, Taylor Schilling, Kurt Fuller, Luke Wilson, and Bradley Whitford, and released by Quiver Distribution.

Greg Kinnear portrayed Bob Hope in Misbehaviour (2020), the Philippa Lowthorpe-directed British comedy-drama for producers Pathé, BBC Films, BFI, Ingenious Media, and Left Bank Pictures, and starring Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jessie Buckley, Lesley Manville, and Rhys Ifans, returning a $2 million gross for distributor 20^th Century Fox. Kinnear shifted to the thriller genre by co-starring with Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Rodriguez, Luke Evans, and Lily-Rose Depp in the US-Canada-Belgium co-production, Crisis (2021), directed, written, and co-produced by Nicholas Jarecki, earning over $1 million in grosses for distributors Quiver Distribution and Elevation Pictures.

Kinnear joined co-star Terry Chen for the biopic drama, Sight (2024), co-written and directed by Andrew Hyatt, with Danni Wang, Raymond Ma, Bennet Wang, Wai Ching Ho, and Fionnula Flanagan, and released wide by Angel Studios. Kinnear then co-starred with Isla Fisher in the Christian Ditter-directed comedy, The Present (2024), produced by CatchLightStudios and AGC Studios and distributed by Gravitas Ventures.

Greg Kinnear teamed up in another sports movie with Luke Wilson in the Ty Roberts-directed You Gotta Believe (date to be announced), with a supporting cast including Molly Parker and Sarah Gadon. Kinnear returned to thrillers by co-starring with Josh Duhamel in the 12-million-Euro-budgeted Italian-made thriller, Off the Grid (date to be announced), directed by Johnny Martin.