Frederick Christopher Klein (born March 14, 1979) is an American actor. In film, Klein is best known for his lead role as Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in the ''American Pie'' film series (1999–2001; 2012). Other lead roles include '' Here on Earth'' (2000), '' Say It Isn't So'' (2001), ''Rollerball'' (2002), '' Day Zero'' (2007), '' Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li'' (2009), and '' Authors Anonymous'' (2014). His notable supporting roles include ''

Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

'' (1999), ''

We Were Soldiers ''We Were Soldiers'' is a 2002 American war film written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson. Based on the book '' We Were Soldiers Once… and Young'' (1992) by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. ...

'' (2002), ''

The United States of Leland ''The United States of Leland'' is a 2003 American drama film written and directed by Matthew Ryan Hoge, starring Ryan Gosling, Don Cheadle, Chris Klein, and Jena Malone. The film follows the eponymous Leland, a teenager who seemingly randomly ...

'' (2003), ''

Just Friends ''Just Friends'' is a 2005 Christmas romantic black comedy film directed by Roger Kumble, written by Adam 'Tex' Davis and starring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein and Christopher Marquette. The plot focuses on a formerly ...

'' (2005), and '' American Dreamz'' (2006). In television, Klein has had main roles as Marty Tanner on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom '' Welcome to The Captain'' (2008) and Orlin Dwyer / Cicada on the CW superhero series ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'' (2018–2019). From 2020-2024, he had a main role as Bill Townsend on the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Sweet Magnolias''. Klein had a recurring role as Drew on the FX sitcom '' Wilfred'' (2011–2014).

Early life

Klein was born in

Hinsdale, Illinois Hinsdale is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County. It is one of the wealthiest communities in Illinois. Hinsdale is a western suburb of Chicago with a population of 17,395 ...

, and moved to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, at age 13, and later attended Millard West High School. In his senior year, Klein was offered his first professional acting job by director

Alexander Payne Constantine Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is noted for his satire, satirical depictions of contemporary American society. Payne has received List of awards and nominations rec ...

, who was scouting Omaha, his hometown, as a potential filming location for the film ''

''. He attended Texas Christian University (TCU) in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Career

After auditioning for ''

'', Payne chose Klein and they began filming. The film was released in April 1999, to positive reviews. Soon after, Klein found steady work in the film industry while briefly attending TCU, where he studied

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and was a member of the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly referred to as Lambda Chi, is a fraternities and sororities, collegiate fraternity in North America. With over 300,000 initiates as of 2024, it is the third-largest social fraternity in the world by number of initia ...

fraternity. He was next seen in '' American Pie'', acting as Christopher Russell Ostreicher, which opened on July 9, 1999, and was a box office success. The following year Klein starred in '' Here on Earth'' alongside LeeLee Sobieski and

Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. He began his career on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's drama series ''Cracker (American TV series), Cracker'' (1997–1998), after which he became known as a teen idol thro ...

(2000). Klein reprised his role in ''

American Pie 2 ''American Pie 2'' is a 2001 American sex comedy film directed by James B. Rogers and written by Adam Herz and David H. Steinberg from a story by Herz. A sequel to the 1999 comedy film '' American Pie'', it is the second film in the ''Ameri ...

'' (2001) and '' American Reunion'' (2012), but was not in ''

American Wedding ''American Wedding'' (known as ''American Pie 3: The Wedding'' or ''American Pie: The Wedding'', in some countries) is a 2003 American sex comedy film written by Adam Herz and directed by Jesse Dylan. It is the sequel to '' American Pie'' (19 ...

'' reportedly due to scheduling conflicts. In 2002, Klein had a role in the

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

Vietnam War film ''

''. Klein starred in the 2002, remake of the film '' Rollerball'', but the film was a massive critical and financial failure. Klein has also appeared in several teen movies, including ''

'' (2005) and '' American Dreamz'' (2006). In 2014, Klein was cast as an American pilot in the Damien Lay film ''The Uberkanone''. He co-starred in the 2014,

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

''Authors Anonymous'' with

Kaley Cuoco Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. She starred as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom '' 8 Simple Rules'' (2002–2005), Penny on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), and as the title ch ...

. In 2018, Klein was cast as

Cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

, the main villain of the fifth season of superhero television series ''

''.

Personal life

In January 2000, Klein and actress

Katie Holmes Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003). Holmes made her film debut with a supporting role in Ang Lee's '' The Ice Sto ...

began dating. The couple became engaged around Christmas of 2003. The couple called off the engagement and ended their relationship in March 2005. Klein met Laina Rose Thyfault, a travel agent, in 2011 at a mutual friend's wedding. They got engaged in December 2014, after three years of dating and married eight months later on August 9, 2015, in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. In March 2016, Klein announced in a tweet that he and his wife were expecting their first child together. Their son was born in 2016. The couple also has a daughter, born in 2018. Klein was arrested for

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

on February 5, 2005, in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

and again in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on June 16, 2010. On June 21, 2010, it was announced that Klein had checked into the

Cirque Lodge Cirque Lodge is a for-profit luxury drug rehab center located in Sundance, Utah founded in 1999. Cirque Lodge specializes in treating drug and alcohol addiction in adults and youth as well as offering family workshops, individualized therapy prog ...

to begin a 30-day

alcohol addiction Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

program. Klein's publicist explained that, "after recent events, Chris was forced to take a clear look at a problem he has been trying to deal with himself for years. He understands now that he cannot beat this addiction alone."

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Chris 1979 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American people of German descent American people of Irish descent Male actors from Illinois Male actors from Omaha, Nebraska People from Hinsdale, Illinois Texas Christian University alumni People from Brookfield, Illinois