STEVE ZAHN (Runt of the Litter) hams it up as the occasionally breathless voice of a 900-pound porker who is insecure, skittish, and loves to sing.
A native of Marshall, Minnesota, Zahn was first introduced to improvisational theater in high school. After completing his freshman year at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, he crashed the audition of a local production of “Biloxi Blues,” winning the leading role in the play. Following his debut, he trained for two years at the prestigious American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, before moving to New York and being cast in Tommy Tune’s national tour of “Bye Bye Birdie.”
Following “Birdie,” Zahn was cast opposite Ethan Hawke in “Sophistry” at Playwright’s Horizon, where he caught the eye of director Ben Stiller, who cast him in what would be the actor’s first notable film role, “Reality Bites.” Following his performance in “Crimson Tide” in 1995, Tom Hanks cast Zahn in Hanks’ directorial debut “That Thing You Do!” and Zahn’s performance as lead guitarist for a struggling band rising to fame on the heels of a hit single became his breakthrough film role.
Zahn continued to gain notoriety throughout the nineties, thanks to performances in “subUrbia,” reprising the role of Buff that he created in the off-Broadway production of Eric Bogosian’s play; the HBO miniseries “From the Earth to the Moon”; “Out of Sight,” stealing scene after scene as perpetually baked ex-con Glenn Michaels in the critically-acclaimed exercise in cool from director Steven Soderbergh; “Safe Men”; “You’ve Got Mail”; and “Happy, Texas,” which earned him a Grand Jury Special Actor Award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor.
Since 2000, he has played Rosencrantz in Michael Almereyda’s adaptation of “Hamlet,” which re-teamed him with co-star Ethan Hawke, and starred in “Saving Silverman”; “Riding in Cars With Boys,” for which he earned rave notices for his performance as a drug-addicted father; “National Security,” playing partner to rogue cop Martin Lawrence; “Daddy Day Care” and “Shattered Glass,” both in 2003; “Employee of the Month”; and the 2005 comedy thriller “Sahara.” In 2006, he will appear in “Rescue Dawn” and “Bandidas,” in which he stars opposite Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz.
“Chicken Little” is Zahn’s latest outing as the voice of an animated character, following his performances as Monty the Mouth in “Stuart Little” and “Stuart Little 2” and Archie the Bear in “Dr. Dolittle 2.”
Zahn is married to actress Robyn Peterman and resides on a farm in the Midwest.
Movie Database
In Theaters
(88 votes)
(3 votes)
(42 votes)
(10 votes)
(43 votes)