Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''

Reality Bites ''Reality Bites'' is a 1994 American romantic comedy-drama film written by Helen Childress and directed by Ben Stiller, in his directorial debut. It stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Stiller, with supporting roles by Janeane Garofalo and St ...

'' (1994), ''

That Thing You Do! ''That Thing You Do!'' is a 1996 American comedy film co-starring, written, and directed by Tom Hanks, in his feature writing and directorial debut. It tells the story of the rise and fall of a fictional 1960s one-hit wonder pop band, and st ...

'' (1996), ''

Stuart Little ''Stuart Little'' is a 1945 American children's novel by E. B. White. It was White's first children's book, and it is now widely recognized as a classic in children's literature. ''Stuart Little'' was illustrated by the subsequently award-winnin ...

'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

'' (2005), '' Chicken Little'' (2005), the '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' series (2010–2012), ''

Dallas Buyers Club ''Dallas Buyers Club'' is a 2013 American biographical drama film written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. The film tells the story of Ron Woodroof ( Matthew McConaughey), an AIDS patient diagnosed in ...

'' (2013), ''

The Good Dinosaur ''The Good Dinosaur'' is a 2015 American computer-animated adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Sohn (in his feature directorial debut) and ...

'' (2015), and '' War for the Planet of the Apes'' (2017). On television, Zahn appeared as Davis McAlary on HBO's '' Treme'' (2010–2013), and as Mark Mossbacher in the first season of the HBO satire comedy miniseries '' The White Lotus'' (2021), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. He won the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male The Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male was one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It was first presented in 1987, with Morgan Freeman being the first recipient, for his role as Fast Black in '' Street Smart''. It was last pres ...

for his performance in the film ''

Happy, Texas Happy is a town in Randall and Swisher Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 678 at the 2010 census. The Randall County portion of Happy is part of the Amarillo, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Toponymy Happy derives i ...

'' (1999).

Early life

Zahn was born in

Marshall, Minnesota Marshall is a city in Lyon County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,680 at the 2010 census. Marshall is a regional center in southwest Minnesota, and the county seat of Lyon County. It is the headquarters of the Schwan Food ...

, the son of Carleton Edward Zahn, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister, and Zelda Clair Zahn, a bookstore clerk and later a

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

administrator.Braun, Liz (February 26, 2001)
"Steve Zahn has a smart funny humour,"
''

Jam! Jam! was a Canadian website which covers entertainment news. It was part of the Canoe.com online portal, formerly owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division, and now owned by Postmedia Network. Jam! was the only media outlet ...

''. Retrieved September 15, 2017. His father is of German and Swedish descent, and his mother is of German ancestry. Zahn spent part of his childhood in

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minne ...

, attending Kennedy Elementary School, and moved to the suburbs of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

for high school, where he acted in school plays and became a two-time Minnesota state speech champion.Simon, Alex (July 3, 2015)
"Great Conversations: Steve Zahn,"
''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' Retrieved April 9, 2022.Covert, Colin (August 18, 2009)
"Local boy Steve Zahn grows up,"
''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'' (Minneapolis). Retrieved September 15, 2017. He graduated from

Robbinsdale Cooper High School Robbinsdale Cooper High School is a 4-year public high school in New Hope, Minnesota, a northwest suburb of Minneapolis, United States. Cooper, as it is informally known, became an IB World School in July 1998, and now offers the IB Middle Years ...

in 1986, planning eventually to join the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn Faces Red Carpet for Premiere of Management

Zahn attended

Gustavus Adolphus College Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavus gets its name ...

for one semester but dropped out after seeing the original West End production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

''. "I remember sitting through the second act thinking, I'm as good as that guy standing on the barricade," Zahn recalled. "I wanted to be part of the circus."Riesman, Abraham (July 13, 2017)
"Steve Zahn. Seriously."
''Vulture''. Retrieved September 15, 2017. Zahn later enrolled in the Institute for Advanced Theater Training at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, earning a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...

Career

In 1991, Zahn made his professional stage debut in a Minnesota production of

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's ''

Biloxi Blues ''Biloxi Blues'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. It portrays the conflict of Sergeant Merwin J. Toomey and Arnold Epstein, one of many privates enlisted in the military stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi, seen through the eyes of E ...

'' after falsely claiming to be a member of Actors' Equity. His fellow actors suggested that Zahn study acting, inspiring him to enroll in American Repertory Theater's two-year training program.Copley, Rich (June 23, 2016)
"Steve Zahn talks craft and Kentucky at UK's Singletary Center,"
''

Lexington Herald-Leader The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second larg ...

''. Retrieved on September 15, 2017. At A.R.T., he worked with the venerated stage director

Andrei Șerban Andrei Șerban (born June 21, 1943) is a Romanian- American theater director. A major name in twentieth-century theater, he is renowned for his innovative and iconoclastic interpretations and stagings. In 1992 he became Professor of Theater at th ...

. In 1991, Zahn formed the Malaparte theater company with a group of actor friends, including

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

and Robert Sean Leonard. From 1991 to 1992, he played Hugo Peabody in a national tour of ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...

'' starring Tommy Tune, and subsequently appeared in two Off-Broadway plays, ''Sophistry'' and Eric Bogosian's '' Suburbia''. After his breakout film role in 1994's ''

'', Zahn quickly gained a reputation for playing amiable stoners, slackers, and sidekicks in films such as ''

'' (1996), ''

You've Got Mail ''You've Got Mail'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play '' Parfumerie'' by Miklós László (which had earlier been adapted in 1940 as ''The S ...

'' (1998), and ''

Out of Sight ''Out of Sight'' is a 1998 American crime comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Frank, adapted from Elmore Leonard's 1996 novel of the same name. The first of several collaborations between Soderbergh and actor Georg ...

'' (1998).Rabin, Nathan (July 3, 2007)
"Interview: Steve Zahn,"
'' The A.V. Club''. Retrieved April 9, 2022. In the 1990s, Zahn was often approached by fans who assumed that he was an archetypal

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s ...

slacker, which was not the case. He has said, "I'm the guy who gets up at six without an alarm clock. I was always that guy." In 1999, Zahn landed his first starring role in the critically acclaimed indie film ''

'', for which he won a Special Jury Award at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

.Ojumu, Akin (November 13, 1999)
"Steve Zahn's habitual scene-stealing,"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''. (London) Retrieved September 15, 2017. In the wake of ''Happy, Texas'', Zahn began playing darker, more nuanced characters. He received Oscar buzz for his role as Drew Barrymore's deadbeat ex in '' Riding in Cars with Boys'' (2001), and played the investigative journalist

Adam Penenberg Adam L. Penenberg (born July 27, 1962) is an American journalist and educator. He is the editor of PandoDaily and previously wrote for ''Forbes'', ''Fast Company'', ''The New York Times'', ''Wired News'', and ''Playboy''. Penenberg is also an as ...

in '' Shattered Glass'' (2003). A longtime

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...

fan, Zahn campaigned for the role of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

prisoner of war Duane W. Martin in Herzog's 2007 film ''

Rescue Dawn ''Rescue Dawn'' is a 2006 American epic war drama film written and directed by Werner Herzog, based on an adapted screenplay written from his 1997 documentary film '' Little Dieter Needs to Fly''. The film stars Christian Bale and is based on th ...

''; to prepare for the role, he lost 40 pounds by eating mostly raw food. Zahn has also worked regularly in television, playing the role of Davis McClary on 36 episodes of HBO's '' Treme''. In 2017, Zahn played Bad Ape in '' War for the Planet of the Apes''. He researched the role by watching

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative t ...

videos on YouTube, and later said that the

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...

process and lengthy

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals ** Digital camera, which captures and stores digital ...

takes made Bad Ape "the most challenging acting job I've ever had".

Personal life

Zahn met author and theater artist Robyn Peterman, the daughter of clothier J. Peterman, while they were performing in a national tour of ''Bye Bye Birdie'' in 1991. The couple married in 1994 and have two children. In the 1990s, they bought a cabin in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and then a farm in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, near the

Delaware Water Gap Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap ...

. They next moved to a 360-acre horse farm outside

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

, where Zahn gardens and raises horses, goats, and sheep. He and his wife also run a local community theater, in which Zahn occasionally performs. He also has a lake cabin near Pine City, Minnesota, where he enjoys tubing and fishing with his two children. He is a Lutheran. Zahn is a lifelong military history buff and has said that one of his biggest regrets was having turned down a role in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers''."Steve Zahn,"
interviewed by Doug Boyd (May 29, 2013). Colonel Arthur L. Kelly American Veterans Oral History Collection, University of Kentucky Libraries. Retrieved September 15, 2017. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary Ph.D. in Fine Arts from

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern ...

. A

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

sports fan, Zahn is often seen at games and events.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahn, Steve 1967 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American Lutherans American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of German descent American people of Swedish descent Gustavus Adolphus College alumni Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male winners Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni Living people Male actors from Minnesota Northern Kentucky University alumni People from Georgetown, Kentucky People from Marshall, Minnesota