Jamie Kennedy
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James Harvey Kennedy (born May 25, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. In film, Kennedy played Randy Meeks in the ''Scream'' film series (1996–2000), which saw him as a supporting character in the first and third installments and a lead ensemble member in the second installment. He has also had lead roles in '' Malibu's Most Wanted'' (2003), '' Son of the Mask'' (2005), '' Kickin' It Old Skool'' (2007), '' Finding Bliss'' (2009), '' Trick'' (2019), and '' Roe v. Wade'' (2020). He has had supporting roles in films such as ''
Romeo + Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet or Romeo & Juliet may also refer to: Ballets * ''Romeo and Juliet'', a ballet score by Constant Lambert * Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Prokofiev), a ...
'' (1996), '' Enemy of the State'' (1998), '' Bowfinger'' (1999), '' Three Kings'' (1999), '' Boiler Room'' (2000), '' Max Keeble's Big Move'' (2001), and '' Good Deeds'' (2012). In television, Kennedy hosted the WB sketch comedy series '' The Jamie Kennedy Experiment'' (2002–2004) and played the roles of Professor Eli James on the CBS series ''
Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate w ...
'' (2008–2010) and Dr. Callahan on the NBC medical comedy-drama series '' Heartbeat'' (2016). He has had recurring voice roles on the Fox sitcom '' The Cleveland Show'' (2009–2013), the
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
series '' Fanboy & Chum Chum'' (2009–2014), and the
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
sitcom '' Legends of Chamberlain Heights'' (2016–2017).


Early life

Kennedy was born on May 25, 1970, in Upper Darby Township, a suburb of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Kennedy was raised
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. He attended and graduated from Monsignor Bonner High School in 1988. After high school, Kennedy began his career as a
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
extra.


Career

When Kennedy first arrived 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, ...
, he became a professional
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
extra. After a few years of struggling, Kennedy was unable to find an agent and worked as a host at Red Lobster. He auditioned for over 80 commercials and could not book one. He then took a job as a
telemarketer Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products, subscriptions or services, either over the phone or throu ...
and learned that he had a talent for selling things. Kennedy then thought that if he could sell anything, "why not sell myself?", becoming his own agent. Kennedy created a false persona, screen agent "Marty Power", to attract the attention of real agents and managers over the phone, who would later book his performances. He came to prominence in the late 1990s for playing Randy Meeks in the ''Scream'' film series. His lead role as Tim Avery in '' Son of the Mask'' earned him a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actor. He would later voice his experiences with the film on his YouTube channel years after the film's release. The film would also go on to inspire Kennedy to host the 2007 documentary ''
Heckler A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout discouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of d ...
'' after feeling hurt by the film's poor reception in which some reviewers attacked him personally. Kennedy formed a production company called Wannabe Producers, alongside Josh through which he has produced the shows '' The Jamie Kennedy Experiment'', '' Blowin' Up'', '' The Starlet'', and '' Living with Fran'' created by David Garrett. Following '' Malibu's Most Wanted'', in which he both wrote and starred, Kennedy co-wrote the
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
show '' Blowin' Up'' (2006) featuring his friend, Stu Stone. Kennedy lent his voice to the videogame '' ESPN NFL 2K5'' as a celebrity adversary with his own football team, the Upper Darby
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s. He is also unlockable as a free agent tight end in season mode. His stint as
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
's emcee at
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2007, however, drew much criticism not only for his ignorance of the industry, but also for appearing to perform drunk as he insulted the audience. In a video uploaded to YouTube on June 14, 2021, Kennedy claimed that Activision had scrapped his script at the last minute and he was ad-libbing his jokes while suffering from burnout. While working on his film ''Malibu's Most Wanted'', Kennedy wrote an autobiography titled, ''Wannabe: A Hollywood Experiment''. The book chronicles his life in Hollywood as he attempts to become a star. It gives background on his life and family and quickly dives into his adventures. It tells of such things as Kennedy's living conditions in the Hollywood slums, his dilapidated car, and his kidney issues. A performer of
stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...
, he is also known for his sketch performances on his television reality show, '' The Jamie Kennedy Experiment'', which became the
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's highest-ranking new show in 2002, but which was cancelled in April 2004 due to falling viewership. In 2006, Jizzy Entertainment released '' Unwashed: The Stand-Up Special.'' In 2008, Kennedy released the documentary ''
Heckler A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout discouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of d ...
,'' about the plight of stand-up comics versus their often-aggressive audiences. In 2007 and 2017, he made two appearances in ''
Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...
'' as a cannibal satanist serial killer. From 2008 to 2010, Kennedy played psychology professor Eli James in the CBS drama ''
Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate w ...
''. From 2009 to 2013, he was in the TV series, '' The Cleveland Show'', playing Roberta Tubbs' boyfriend. He also stars in
Nicktoons Nicktoons is the brand name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Paramount Global) in their copyright bylines. Since ...
' '' Fanboy & Chum Chum'' as Kyle, an insecure boy wizard who loathes the fun-loving Fanboy and Chum Chum, but who secretly yearns for their friendship. In April 2010, sources reported that Kennedy would very likely return to the ''Scream'' franchise to star in the fourth installment; however, according to ''Scream'' screenwriter Kevin Williamson, plans were never made for him to rejoin the franchise, attributing the misinformation to a fabrication by Kennedy. On December 31, 2012, Kennedy hosted and produced '' First Night 2013 with Jamie Kennedy'', a
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television special widely considered one of the worst shows of all time. His film '' Lost & Found in Armenia'', in which he plays an American tourist who ends up in an Armenian village, accused of being a Turkish spy, later opened to select theatres on June 7, 2013. His film '' Buddy Hutchins'', in which Kennedy plays a down-on-his-luck recovering alcoholic, was released in 2015. In 2015, he portrayed Frump in the Colton Tran adventure mystery film ''Gloom'' and Beach Patrolman Alex in Allegra Pictures' horror film ''The Sand''. In 2015, he also starred as Travis Welker in '' Tremors 5: Bloodlines'' and as Rob in ''Rivers 9''. Kennedy played
NARAL Pro-Choice America Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, politics, political action, and advocacy efforts to op ...
founder Larry Lader in the 2020 film ''Roe v. Wade'', which stars a predominantly
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
. In an interview with ''
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'', which noted the film depicts Lader as "a shady figure pulling strings from behind the scenes who treats abortions as a money-making operation," Kennedy said he personally supports
abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...
and appeared in the film to perform in a dramatic role that he is not normally offered, and that, "it’s also not fair for people to think that because I’m in a project with them that I’m like that, or that I believe in this stuff."


Personal life

Kennedy dated his ''Ghost Whisperer'' co-star
Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress, producer and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel serie ...
from March 2009 to March 2010.


Filmography


Film


Television


Discography

*'' Blowin' Up'' (2006)


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Jamie 1970 births Living people 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American rappers 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American rappers Alumni of the British American Drama Academy American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors East Coast hip-hop musicians Male actors from Pennsylvania People from Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania Rappers from Philadelphia Comedians from Pennsylvania