GREG KINNEAR first gained prominence as the animated, wisecracking host of E! Entertainment Television’s “Talk Soup,” for which he won an Emmy. Also the executive producer of the show, Kinnear gained not only rave reviews, but also a cult-like following.
Kinnear’s feature film debut in the Sydney Pollack-directed remake, Sabrina, in which he co-starred with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond, prompted the trade organization of movie theater owners to name him NATO ShoWest’s “Star of Tomorrow.” His heartfelt performance as Jack Nicholson’s unfortunate neighbor, Simon, in James L. Brooks’ As Good As It Gets won him an Academy Award nomination. With this honor, plus the Best Supporting Actor award from the National Board of Review, and Best Supporting Actor nominations from The Golden Globes and The Screen Actors Guild as well, Kinnear continued to establish himself as a respected member of Hollywood’s acting community.
Kinnear was most recently seen in the Farrelly brother’s film Stuck on You, starring opposite Matt Damon. Kinnear could also be seen in the critically acclaimed Sony Pictures Classics biopic Auto Focus for director Paul Schrader, an absorbing glimpse into the colorful life and mysterious death of “Hogan’s Heroes” actor Bob Crane. Kinnear stars as Crane with Willem Dafoe, Maria Bello and Rita Wilson co-starring. Just before Auto Focus, Kinnear appeared in the Paramount Pictures/Icon Productions feature We Were Soldiers opposite Mel Gibson for writer-director Randall Wallace. The feature focuses on the battle of la Drang, which lasted more than a month during the Vietnam War. Kinnear’s last television feature was in the critically acclaimed Norman Jewison HBO movie, “Dinner with Friends,” alongside Toni Collette, Dennis Quaid and Andie MacDowell. An adaptation of the Pulitzer-Prize winning play by Donald Margulies, the movie traces the bittersweet relationship between two married couples and how a separation affects them all.
After his Oscar® nomination for As Good As It Gets, Kinnear co-starred in Nora Ephron’s romantic hit comedy You’ve Got Mail opposite Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and opposite Gary Shandling and Annette Bening in Mike Nichols’ What Planet are You From.
The last few years have been busy ones for Kinnear in the feature film world. He starred in the romantic comedy Someone Like You with Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman; in Sam Raimi’s supernatural thriller The Gift opposite Cate Blanchett and Katie Holmes; and in director Neil LaBute’s black comedy, Nurse Betty, opposite Renée Zellweger, Morgan Freeman, and Chris Rock. He also appeared in the cameo role of “Captain Amazing’’ in Mystery Men.
Coincident with the popularity of “Talk Soup,” Kinnear provided hilarious commentary on clips from such programs as “Sally Jesse Raphael,” “Jerry Springer,” and “Montel.” After capturing the attention of NBC executives searching for a replacement for Bob Costas, in 1994, Kinnear became host and executive producer of his own NBC late night talk show, “Later with Greg Kinnear.”
As a result of his father’s position in the State Department, Greg Kinnear grew up all over the world, his formative years spent both in the U.S. and abroad, in such disparate locales as Washington, D.C., Indiana, Lebanon and Athens.
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