Hebrew Hammer

Background:

First made an impression as the cynical Private Mellish in Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning war drama Saving Private Ryan (1998), Adam Goldberg continued to attract more audiences when he played Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash's (played by Russell Crowe) physics colleagues in another critically-acclaimed film, Ron Howard's biopic A Beautiful Mind (2001). Typically portraying the quintessential “young New York Jew,” Goldberg went to star as the title role of an orthodox Jewish superhero who saves Hanukkah from Santa Claus's evil son in the Sundance Film Festival-premiered “Jewsploitation” movie, The Hebrew Hammer (2003). His recent film appearances include Man About Town, Stay Alive, Keeping Up with the Steins, and Tony Scott’s newly-released sci-fi crime thriller, Déjà Vu, in which he played the brainiac physicist Denny. He also had roles in the upcoming films Zodiac and Two Days.

Behind the camera, Goldberg wrote and directed the critically success independent neo-noir Scotch and Milk (1998), in which he also starred. Goldberg is also active on television. He had a recurring role as Matthew Perry's (Chandler) obnoxious new roommate in several 1995 episodes of "Friends," co-starred as David Conrad's roommate on the ABC critically-acclaimed, but brief-lived soap "Relativity" in 1996, and co-starred on the short-lived Fox fall drama "The $treet" (2000). He also starred as Russell Shultz, a lawyer who suffered from explosive disorder, on Fox's primetime dramedy "Head Cases," the first show of the 2005-2006 season to be dropped, just two weeks into its run. Additionally, he played a recurring role as Jimmy (2005-2006), the biological father of Joey's nephew Michael (played by Paulo Costanzo), on Matt LeBlanc’s sitcom “Joey” (NBC).

More personally, the 6' 1" tall actor-director has been romantically linked to actresses Clea Lewis (born July 19, 1965), Daisy Hall (dating in 1998), Natasha Lyonne (born April 4, 1979; reportedly dating as of October 2000) and Julie Delpy (born December 21, 1969). In January 2003, he began dating actress Christina Ricci (born February 12, 1980), but they split in January 2006. As of August 2006, the twosome has reportedly rekindled romance.


Adam Charles

Childhood and Family:

In Santa Monica, California, Adam Charles Goldberg was born on October 25, 1970. The son of a Jewish father and a Catholic mother of Irish, French and German descent, Adam was raised in the Jewish faith.

Adam attended Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York. He also enrolled at Tracy Roberts Institute, Los Angeles, California and The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, West Hollywood, California.

After many years in New York, the California-born currently lives in the Big Apple.


Déjà Vu

Career:

Born and raised in Hollywood, Adam Goldberg began performing at a young age. At the age of 14, he studied professionally with Tracy Roberts, and enrolled at Los Angeles' Lee Strasberg Institute in the next year. In the early 1990s, the aspiring actor landed on TV. He appeared in CBS’ sitcoms "Designing Women," "Murphy Brown" and the now defunct Fox Kids animated series "Eek! The Cat" as well as the TV-movie biographical drama based on the home-run legend's life, Babe Ruth.

In 1992, Goldberg made his film debut as the younger brother in Billy Crystal’s drama comedy Mr. Saturday Night. The next year, he gained notice while playing the neurotic high school junior Mike Newhouse in writer-director Richard Linklater's high school drama comedy set in 1976 in a Texas suburb, Dazed and Confused (1993), alongside future stars Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck and Milla Jovovich. He was also a regular on the CBS short-lived sitcom "Double Rush" in 1995.

Afterward, Goldberg continued to act in supporting roles in a number of varied films. He played Christopher Walken’s slave and henchman in writer-director Gregory Widen's horror-thriller The Prophecy (1995; also starring Virginia Madsen and Viggo Mortensen), appeared in writer-director John Singleton's drama that examines the personal, political and racial dilemmas among a group of college freshmen, Higher Learning (1995; starring Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Jennifer Connelly and Laurence Fishburne) and provided his distinctive voice to a tough mutt in David R. Ellis' 1996 sequel to the 1993 family film, Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco. Meanwhile, TV viewers could catch him guest starring in an episode of NBC medical drama “ER” and ABC long-running cop drama "NYPD Blue," as well as playing a recurring role as Matthew Perry's (Chandler) obnoxious new roommate in several 1995 episodes of NBC huge hit sitcom "Friends." He also co-starred as David Conrad's roommate on the ABC critically-acclaimed, but brief-lived soap that follows a twenty-something couple (Kimberly Williams and Conrad), "Relativity," in 1996.

In 1998, Goldberg received wider attention when famed filmmaker Steven Spielberg cast him to play a Jewish soldier alongside Tom Hanks in his Academy Award-winning war drama, Saving Private Ryan (also starring Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns and Barry Pepper). He then moved behind the cameras, writing and directing the critically success independent neo-noir Scotch and Milk, in which he also starred as a brooding self-styled swinger struggles to recover from his emotional break up with a woman. He also returned to TV series as co-star of the short-lived Fox fall drama set in the world of corporate stock trading, "The $treet" (2000), alongside Christian Campbell, Jennifer Connelly and Giancarlo Esposito.

Following Saving Private Ryan and Scotch and Milk, Goldberg became increasingly in-demand as a character actor. He played the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash's (played by Russell Crowe) physics colleagues in Ron Howard's Academy Award-winning biopic, A Beautiful Mind (2001; also starring Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer and Paul Bettany), which is loosely based on Sylvia Nasar's book with the same name. He then had a supporting role in Julie Davis' gay-themed romantic comedy All Over the Guy (2001), appeared as one of the leads, alongside Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio, in D.J. Caruso's warmly-received crime noir The Salton Sea (2002).

In 2003, Goldberg reunited with Matthew McConaughhey, playing his betting buddy, in Donald Petrie's film version of Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long's romantic comedy book, How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days (also starring Kate Hudson). That same year, he played the title role of an orthodox Jewish superhero saves Hanukkah from Santa Claus's evil son in writer-director Jonathan Kesselman's “Jewsploitation” movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, The Hebrew Hammer.

On the small screen, Goldberg starred as Russell Shultz, a lawyer who suffered from explosive disorder, on Fox's primetime dramedy "Head Cases." Premiered on September 14, 2005, the show was cancelled after two episodes on September 22. Afterward, he played a recurring role as Jimmy (2005-2006), the biological father of Joey's nephew Michael (played by Paulo Costanzo), on Matt LeBlanc’s sitcom “Joey” (NBC).

Moviegoers recently saw Goldberg in Mike Binder's drama/comedy Man About Town (starring Ben Affleck, Rebecca Romijn and Bai Ling), William Brent Bell's horror film Stay Alive (with Jon Foster, Samaire Armstrong and Frankie Muniz) and Scott Marshall's comedy film Keeping Up with the Steins (starring Garry Marshall, Jeremy Piven, Jami Gertz and Daryl Hannah). More recently, he co-starred with Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer in Tony Scott's newly-released sci-fi crime thriller, Déjà Vu, playing the brainiac physicist Denny.

On working with two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, Goldberg explained: Well, he felt somewhat threatened by me, I think. I don’t want people to laugh at this every time I tell them that, but you know he’d obviously seen the work. That’s what happens. People start to get a little … but eventually, through some breathing exercises which I talked him through, he relaxed, and I thought he gave a nice little performance. No, I mean he’s obviously an incredibly strong actor, I have no personal relationship with the guy, but he’s incredibly easy to act with. Anyone who’s there and in the moment, and actually listening to what you’re saying, and responding to what you’re saying, and doesn’t do the same thing twice – which is much like I work. I’ll rarely do the same thing twice. He’ll rarely do the same thing twice, and that keeps you in that moment, and that’s how I really like to work the most. It’s always difficult to do something with somebody where you could do one take with a clown wig on your head, and then they have no reaction to it, but he’ll always react to what’s going on. He’ll always give you something new.”

Goldberg just completed his upcoming film, David Fincher's crime drama thriller, Zodiac. The film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, is based on Robert Graysmith's two books about the real life of notorious Zodiac Killer. He will also co-star alongside Julie Delpy, playing a couple trying to rekindle their relationship with a visit to Paris, in the romantic comedy Two Days, written and helmed by Delpy.


Awards:

• Online Film Critics Society: Best Ensemble Cast Performance, Saving Private Ryan, 1999, award shared