Eric Schaeffer (born January 22, 1962) is an American actor, writer, and director.

Early life and education

Schaeffer was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York, and later graduated with a degree in drama and dance from Bard College. After graduating, he drove a New York City taxi for nine years, during which time he wrote two stage plays, a novel, twenty screenplays and various other works.

Career

Schaeffer rose to fame with fellow actor/writer/director Donal Lardner Ward on the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

''My Life's in Turnaround'' (1993), which was made in fifteen days for only $200,000. Schaeffer and Ward parlayed the film's success into '' Too Something'' (1995–1996), a short-lived

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that was briefly renamed ''New York Daze''. He signed on as a client of Creative Artists Agency and made a deal to direct the 1996 romantic comedy '' If Lucy Fell'' for a budget of $3.5 million for Columbia TriStar. Schaeffer starred opposite model Amanda de Cadenet in the 1997 romantic drama '' Fall'', about a cab driver who begins a passionate affair with a model he first met in his cab. In 2000, he released the comedy '' Wirey Spindell'', a semi-autobiographical tale. This was followed by the 2001 romantic comedy '' Never Again'', starring Jill Clayburgh and Jeffrey Tambor, and '' Mind the Gap'' in 2004. In recent years Schaeffer has been writing an autobiographical blog, ''I Can't Believe I'm Still Single'', about his relationships and ongoing search for love. Schaeffer has turned the blog into a book, ''I Can't Believe I'm Still Single – Sane, Slightly Neurotic (But in a Sane Way) Filmmaker into Good Yoga, Bad Reality TV, Too Much Chocolate, and a Little Kinky Sex Seeks Smart, Emotionally Evolved ... Oh Hell, At This Point Anyone Who'll Let Me Watch Football''. In 2008, Schaeffer debuted a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series on Showtime, also called ''I Can't Believe I'm Still Single''. In 2009, Schaeffer and Jill Franklyn created the half-hour

dramedy Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

series ''

Gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

'' for Starz. The series, which was about people who survived suicide attempts – originally titled ''Failure to Fly'' – starred Schaeffer along with Krysten Ritter, Ivan Sergei,

Ving Rhames Irving Rameses Rhames ( ; born May 12, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying IMF Agent Luther Stickell in the Mission: Impossible (film series), ''Mission: Impossible'' film series (1996–2025) and crime boss Marsellus Wal ...

and Rachel Hunter. It began airing in April 2010 and on June 30, 2010, the show was cancelled.Nypress.com
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Filmography and television work

Actor, director and screenwriter

Actor (only)

Books

* Schaeffer, Eric (2007). ''I Can't Believe I'm Still Single – Sane, Slightly Neurotic (But in a Sane Way) Filmmaker into Good Yoga, Bad Reality TV, Too Much Chocolate, and a Little Kinky Sex Seeks Smart, Emotionally Evolved ... Oh Hell, At This Point Anyone Who'll Let Me Watch Football''. New York City: Thunder's Mouth Press. .

References

External links

*
Bankrate.com interview

UGO interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaeffer, Eric 1962 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New York City American bloggers American male film actors Film directors from New York City American male screenwriters American male television actors Bard College alumni Screenwriters from New York (state) American male bloggers 21st-century American screenwriters