Age: 72
Birthplace: West Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States
Jeffrey Lynn "Jeff" Goldblum (/ˈɡoʊldbluːm/; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor. His career began in the mid-1970s, and he has appeared in major box-office successes including The Fly (1986), Jurassic Park (1993), Independence Day (1996) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). He starred as Detective Zach Nichols for the eighth and ninth seasons of the USA Network's crime drama series Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001-2011).
Goldblum was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Homestead, Pennsylvania. His mother, Shirley (née Temeles), was a radio broadcaster who later ran a kitchen equipment and appliances sales firm, and his father, Harold L. Goldblum, was a medical doctor. He has a sister, Pamela, and an older brother, Lee. Another older brother, Rick, died at age 23. His family is Jewish, and had emigrated from Russia and Austria to the U.S. During his childhood, Goldblum belonged to an Orthodox synagogue and had a bar mitzvah.
Goldblum's parents were interested in show business. Goldblum moved to New York City at 17 to become an actor. Goldblum worked on the stage and studied acting at the renowned Neighborhood Playhouse under the guidance of acting coach Sanford Meisner. He made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning musical Two Gentlemen of Verona. He is also an accomplished jazz pianist and declared that if he did not act, he would have become a professional musician. He made his film debut as a thug in the 1974 Charles Bronson film Death Wish. He briefly appeared as a protester in the TV movie Columbo: A Case of Immunity (1975).
In 1974, Goldblum appeared in Death Wish as Freak # 1. Later in his career, as Lacey Party Guest in Annie Hall (1977), Goldblum is seen saying into the telephone at a Hollywood party, "This is Mr. Davis. I forgot my mantra." Goldblum has had leading roles in films such as The Fly (1986), The Lost World (1997), Earth Girls Are Easy, The Tall Guy, Vibes (1988) and Into the Night (1985). Goldblum's strong supporting roles include those in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Big Chill (1983), and Jurassic Park (1993), Independence Day (1996), as well as the Wes Anderson films The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and the cult films The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984) and Igby Goes Down (2002).
For several years, Goldblum was the voice for most U.S. Apple commercials, including advertisements for the iMac and iBook. He also voices some U.S. Toyota commercials as well as Procter & Gamble's facial cream line. He has recently appeared on Irish TV in commercials for the National Lottery.
Goldblum taught acting at Playhouse West in North Hollywood with Robert Carnegie. It was with several actors from this acting company that he improvised and directed the live action short film Little Surprises, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1996.
Goldblum got the role of Adam in Adam Resurrected, a film adaptation of the Yoram Kaniuk novel about a former German entertainer who becomes the ringleader to a group of Holocaust survivors in an asylum after World War II.
In September 2006, it was announced that Goldblum was one of the founding members of a new theater company in New York called The Fire Dept.
His guest appearance was on Sesame Street in 1990 as Bob's long-lost brother Minneapolis (parody of Indiana Jones) where Big Bird's friend Snuffleupagus had "the golden cabbage of Snuffertiti" hidden in his cave. He has also appeared on Tom Goes to the Mayor, The Colbert Report, and Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!.
In 2014, Goldblum's jazz band did a weekly show at the Carlyle Hotel.
Goldblum replaced Chris Noth as a senior detective on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In the series, Goldblum plays the role of Detective Zach Nichols. In August 2010, media outlets reported that Goldblum had decided not to return to Criminal Intent due to persistent concerns about the program's future.
In 2014, Goldblum appeared in an episode of Last Week Tonight parodying his role in Law & Order.
Goldblum confirmed in Spring 2015 that he would be reprising his role of David Levinson in Independence Day: Resurgence, the sequel to Roland Emmerich's 1996 alien invasion/disaster film, Independence Day.
In November 2015 he joined the ensemble cast of Shane Carruth's third film, The Modern Ocean alongside Anne Hathaway, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Radcliffe, Chloe Grace Moretz, Tom Holland, Asa Butterfield and Abraham Attah. In May 2016, Goldblum was cast as The Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok.
He was featured in a Currys Christmas advert campaign in 2015, November. Goldblum does the commercials for Apartments.com.
From 1980 to 1986, Goldblum was married to Patricia Gaul, with whom he starred in Silverado (1985), and from 1987-1990, he was married to Geena Davis, his co-star in three films: Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), The Fly (1986), and Earth Girls Are Easy (1988).
In summer 2014, he became engaged to Olympic gymnast Emilie Livingston; the couple married on November 8, 2014. On January 9 2015, Goldblum announced on the Late Show with David Letterman that the couple was expecting a son. Their son, Charlie Ocean, was born on July 4, 2015.
Goldblum follows "Eastern religions".
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Death Wish | Freak #1 | |
1974 | California Split | Lloyd Harris | |
1975 | Nashville | Tricycle Man | |
1976 | Special Delivery | Snake | |
1976 | St. Ives | Hood #3 | |
1976 | Next Stop, Greenwich Village | Clyde Baxter | |
1977 | Annie Hall | Lacey Party Guest | |
1977 | Between the Lines | Max Arloft | |
1977 | The Sentinel | Jack | |
1978 | Thank God It's Friday | Tony Di Marco | |
1978 | Invasion of the Body Snatchers | Jack Bellicec | |
1978 | Remember My Name | Mr. Nudd | |
1981 | Threshold | Aldo Gehring | Nominated—Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor |
1983 | The Right Stuff | Recruiter | |
1983 | The Big Chill | Michael Gold | |
1984 | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | New Jersey | |
1984 | Terror in the Aisles | Jack Bellicec | |
1985 | Transylvania 6-5000 | Jack Harrison | |
1985 | Silverado | "Slick" Calvin Stanhope | |
1985 | Into the Night | Ed Okin | |
1986 | The Fly | Seth Brundle | Saturn Award for Best Actor Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor |
1987 | Beyond Therapy | Bruce | |
1988 | Vibes | Nick Deezy | |
1988 | Earth Girls Are Easy | Mac | |
1989 | The Tall Guy | Dexter King | |
1989 | The Fly II | Seth Brundle | Uncredited |
1990 | Framed | Wiley | |
1990 | El Sueño del Mono Loco | Dan Gillis | |
1990 | Mister Frost | Mr. Frost | |
1991 | The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish | Pianist | |
1992 | Shooting Elizabeth | Howard Pigeon | |
1992 | The Player | Himself | |
1992 | Fathers & Sons | Max | |
1992 | Deep Cover | David Jason | Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor |
1993 | Jurassic Park | Dr. Ian Malcolm | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
1995 | Hideaway | Hatch Harrison | |
1995 | Nine Months | Sean Fletcher | |
1995 | Powder | Donald Ripley | |
1996 | Independence Day | David Levinson | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor |
1996 | Little Surprises | Director; short film Nominated—Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film |
|
1996 | The Great White Hype | Mitchell Kane | |
1996 | Mad Dog Time | Mickey Holliday | |
1997 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Dr. Ian Malcolm | Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Sci-Fi |
1998 | The Prince of Egypt | Aaron | Voice role |
1998 | Welcome to Hollywood | Himself | |
1998 | Holy Man | Ricky Hayman | |
2000 | Auggie Rose | John Nolan | |
2000 | Chain of Fools | Avnet | |
2000 | One of the Hollywood Ten | Herbert Biberman | |
2001 | Cats & Dogs | Professor Brody | |
2001 | Beyond Suspicion | John Nolan | |
2001 | Perfume | Jamie | Also executive producer |
2002 | Run Ronnie Run! | Himself | Uncredited |
2002 | Igby Goes Down | D.H. Banes | |
2003 | Dallas 362 | Bob | |
2003 | Spinning Boris | George Gorton | |
2004 | Incident at Loch Ness | Party Guest | |
2004 | The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou | Allistair Hennessey | Nominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Ensemble |
2006 | Mini's First Time | Mike Rudell | |
2006 | Fay Grim | Agent Fulbright | |
2006 | Pittsburgh | Himself | Also producer |
2006 | Man of the Year | Stewart | |
2009 | Adam Resurrected | Adam Stein | |
2010 | The Switch | Leonard | |
2010 | Morning Glory | Jerry Barnes | |
2012 | Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie | Chef Goldblum | |
2012 | Zambezia | Ajax | Voice role |
2013 | Le Week-End | Morgan | Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor |
2014 | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Deputy Vilmos Kovacs | |
2014 | Unity | Narrator | Documentary |
2015 | Mortdecai | Milton Krampf | |
2016 | Independence Day: Resurgence | David Levinson | Pre-production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | Columbo | Protector | Episode: "A Case of Immunity" |
1976 | The Blue Knight | Daggett | Episode: "Upward Mobility" |
1977 | Starsky & Hutch | Harry Markham | Episode: "Murder on Stage 17" |
1980 | The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | Ichabod Crane | Television movie |
1980 | Tenspeed and Brown Shoe | Lionel Whitney | 14 episodes |
1982 | Rehearsal for Murder | Leo Gibbs | Movie |
1982 | Laverne & Shirley | Jeffrey | Episode: "Watch the Fur Fly" |
1984 | Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter | Ernie Kovacs | Movie |
1984 | American Playhouse | Unknown | Episode: "Popular Neurotics" |
1985 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Buck Wolf | Episode: "The Three Little Pigs" |
1986 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Cogswell | Episode: "The Town Where No One Got Off" |
1987 | Life Story | James Watson | Movie |
1990 | Sesame Street | Minneapolis | Episode: "21.72" |
1990 | Framed | Wiley | Movie |
1990-91 | Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Verminous Skumm (voice) | 5 episodes |
1993 | Lush Life | Al Gorky | Movie |
1993-97 | Saturday Night Live | Host | 2 episodes |
1995 | The Larry Sanders Show | Jeff Goldblum | Episode: "Nothing Personal" |
1996 | The Simpsons | MacArthur Parker (voice) | Episode: "A Fish Called Selma" |
1998 | Mr. Show with Bob and David | Civil War Narrator (voice) | Episode: "Like Chickens... Delicious Chickens" |
2002 | King of the Hill | Dr. Vayzosa (voice) | Episode: "The Substitute Spanish Prisoner" |
2003 | Friends | Leonard Hayes | Episode: "The One with the Mugging" |
2003 | War Stories | Ben Dansmore | Movie |
2003-05 | Crank Yankers | Professor Fermstein (voice) | 2 episodes |
2004 | Tom Goes to the Mayor | Bill Joel (voice) | Episode: "Toodle Day" |
2005 | Will & Grace | Scott Wooley | 3 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series |
2007 | Raines | Michael Raines | 7 episodes |
2007 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Himself | 2 episodes |
2009-10 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Detective Zach Nichols | 24 episodes |
2010 | Top Gear | Himself | Series 15, Episode 6 |
2011 | NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Gunnar Geirhart | Episode: "Full Hauser" |
2011-12 | The League | Rupert Ruxin | 2 episodes |
2011 | Allen Gregory | Perry Van Moon (voice) | Episode: "Van Moon Rising" |
2012 | Susan 313 | Benny Burnet | Pilot |
2012-15 | Portlandia | Various roles | 5 episodes |
2012 | Glee | Hiram Berry | 2 episodes |
2015 | Inside Amy Schumer | Jury Foreman | Episode: "12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer" |
2016 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Dr. Dave | Episode: "Kimmy Meets a Celebrity!" |
Year | Title | Voice role |
---|---|---|
1996 | Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland | Count Dracula |
1997 | Independence Day | David Levinson |
1997 | Chaos Island: The Lost World | Dr. Ian Malcolm |
2015 | Lego Jurassic World | Dr. Ian Malcolm (Archive audio) |
2015 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Nero |
Charities
Jeff Goldblum supports the following charitable causes: Children, Education.