|
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
|