Liev Schreiber Movies
Displaying the kind of off-kilter charm that makes him a natural for leading roles in independent films and character parts in mainstream features, Liev Schreiber has made a name for himself on both circuits. Born October 4, 1967, in San Francisco, Schreiber was raised on New York's Lower East Side. A graduate of Hampshire College in Massachusetts, he initially wanted to become a writer, but later decided to try his hand at acting, training at both London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Yale School of Drama.Schreiber's first acting job was on Broadway, where he appeared in In the Summer House. More theater work followed and in 1994, the actor made his film debut in the Steve Martin comedy Mixed Nuts. The film was an unequivocal flop, although Schreiber's role as a rather muscular transvestite proved to be one of the picture's few memorable features.
His next project, the 1995 indie Denise Calls Up, fared a little better; despite almost non-existent box-office ratings, it was rewarded with critical approval. Following more minor film work, he landed the role of a British bouncer in the successful indie flick Party Girl (1995), which also starred nascent indie queen Parker Posey. Schreiber got an introduction to a more mainstream audience thanks to his role as killer Cotton Weary in Wes Craven's mega-hit Scream, a role he reprised in the film's sequel, Scream 2 (1997). The same year, Schreiber had leading roles in two more independent films, The Daytrippers (which again paired him with Posey) and Walking and Talking, as well as a secondary role in the bloated Mel Gibson thriller Ransom.
Deftly straddling the divide between Sundance and the studio, Schreiber went on to make three major mainstream pictures in 1998: Phantoms, with Rose McGowan and Ben Affleck; Twilight with Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman, and Gene Hackman; and Sphere with Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Stone, and Dustin Hoffman. The following year, Schreiber returned to more familiar territory with his role in Tony Goldwyn's small but successful drama A Walk on the Moon. As the man Diane Lane cuckolds for Viggo Mortensen, Schreiber mined endless possibilities from what could have been a narrow role, giving his character the sort of charming, good-intentioned inadequacy that became one of the actor's trademarks.
In 2000, Schreiber returned to the role of Cotton Weary a third time to close out the Scream franchise. It was around this time that he also began doing a considerable amount of voice-over work, mainly for PBS's NOVA series. As the decade progressed, Schreiber continued to be a presence in bigger mainstream projects, such as the 2002 adaptation of Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears. Two years later, he could be seen in another high-profile, politically tinged thriller, this time opposite Denzel Washington in director Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate.
In 2005 he made his directorial and screenwriting debut with Everything Is Illuminated, and appeared in the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe-winning HBO movie Lackawanna Blues, a life-affirming film about a selfless black woman (played by S. Epatha Merkerson) in 1950s segregated New York who provides a home and a guiding hand to the youths who come to live at her boarding house. His 2006 project would be quite a departure from this sweet, poignant tale, as Schreiber took the role of Robert Thorne in John Moore's remake of the 1976 horror classic The Omen. Heavily publicized for its "666" release date (June 6th, 2006), the film pleased horror fans, as did Schreiber's performance as husband to Julia Stiles and father to the infamous Damien, a little boy who seems to harbor an evil that at best makes him disturbingly cold and at worst, places him at the crux of the devil's own plan for hell on Earth.
Schreiber next went into production on The Painted Veil, an adaptation of the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Playing the playboy whom Naomi Watts cuckolds her husband with, the actor immersed himself in the part for the drama.
Meanwhile, a return to the stage in the lauded revival of Glengarry Glen Ross not only earned Schreiber a Tony award, and in 2005 he made his debut as a film director and screenwriter with the indie Everything Is Illuminated. Always up for new challenges, he played the role of the comic-book supervillain Sabertooth in the 2009 summer blockbuster X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In addition to his acting, Schreiber also has a lucrative career narrating documentaries and commercials. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- 2008
When the remains of over 400 mutilated bodies were unearthed in Mexico, historians were at a complete loss at how to explain such a grim discovery. In this documentary, filmmakers question everything we ever thought we knew about this ancient civilization by offering a compelling new take on the violent relationships between the central Aztecs and the Conquistadors. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber
- 2008
It marks an odd and intriguing footnote to the Second World War: liberation-linked discoveries aside, the world attained much of its knowledge about what happened in Auschwitz from two concentration camp prisoners, Alfred Wetzler and Rudolph Vrba, who escaped from that hellhole and determined to reveal the breadth and depth of the brutality they had witnessed to Allied nations and officials. After commandeering a miraculous escape from the said death penitentiary, Vrba and Wetzler prepared a 32-page document known as the Vrba-Wetzler Report and promptly delivered it to Allied officials - thereby saving the lives of countless potential victims. In the process, however, Hungarian ruler Miklós Horthy deliberately withheld this information from his countrymen for a lengthy period. To no one's surprise, this stirred up massive degrees of controversy and dissent. The documentary Secrets of the Dead: Escape from Auschwitz details this remarkable series of events via interviews, archival footage and commentary. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber
- 2008
This documentary explores what scientists now believe caused the destruction of Minoan civilization almost five thousand years ago. Experts believed a tsunami destroyed the cities built by people that many believe to be the first Europeans to use a written language. Some believe these events may have provided the impetus for the creation of the myth of Atlantis. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber
- 2008
- Add NOVA: The Bible's Buried Secrets to Queue Add NOVA: The Bible's Buried Secrets to top of Queue
Golden Globe nominated actor Leiv Schreiber narrates this feature-length documentary taking viewers on a remarkable scientific journey that began 3000 years ago, and presents findings that stand as the culmination of over 100 years of excavation and centuries of biblical scholarship. By delving deep into the origins of the Old Testament, archeologists attempt to find answers to such timeless questions as where the ancient Israelites came from, who wrote The Bible, and why the world that was once polytheistic began a gradual movement towards monotheism. As the biblical texts continue to resonate through history, The Bible's Buried Secrets takes viewers to the intersection of scholarship, science, and scripture in order to explore the questions that Christians and theologians have been asking for centuries. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber, Stockard Channing, (more)
Academy Award-nominated director Oren Jacoby helmed this documentary adaptation of former Catholic priest James Carroll's nonfiction book of the same name. An anti-war activist, Carroll delves into Christianity's history to learn how a faith founded on peace could come to be used as a tool for war-mongers. Jacoby follows Carroll as he explores the phenomenon from its origins in ancient times up through the modern-day U.S. military. Constantine's Sword screened at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- 2008
Emmy award-winning filmmaker David Grubin explores the struggle of a tiny minority to integrate itself into the American mainstream while remaining true to their roots in this documentary that begins as 17th Century Jews arrive in New Amsterdam, and traces their journey as they contend with racism and suspicion in a fledgling republic. Ever since the first Jews arrived in America, their efforts to embrace the new culture while simultaneously maintaining tradition has often found them frequently branded as outsiders. When the first Jews landed on American shores in 1654, New Amsterdam governor Peter Stuyvesant attempted to reject them to no avail. Overruled by his superiors in the Netherlands - who claimed that Jews could contribute to the growth of the newly founded colony as well as anyone else - Stuyvesant relented, and a new era was underway. Over the course of the next few centuries, the Jews would play prominent roles in such important phases of United States history as the Civil War and westward expansion. From politics to entertainment, the Jews would continue to display their unique talent for innovation and adaptation in a wide variety of arenas. Yet despite the fact that the separation of church and state would open up a wide world of opportunities for them, the American Jew continued to endure anti-Semitism at the behest of such powerful figures as automotive magnate Henry Ford. Through it all, however, their spirits remained eternally hopeful, and forever unbroken. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber
- 2008
Widely regarded as the greatest boxer of his generation -- perhaps the greatest in the history of the sport -- Muhammad Ali lost his license to box in 1967 when he refused to be conscripted into the military, citing religious objections as a Muslim. Ali was out of the boxing game for three years until the State of Georgia allowed him to fight Jerry Quarry (who quit after three rounds due to cuts) in October 1970 and after Ali defeated Oscar Bonavena two months later, the stage was set for Ali to reclaim the world heavyweight title. However, on March 1, 1971, Ali faced Joe Frazier for the first time at New York's Madison Square Garden, and Frazier handed Ali his first professional defeat; if Frazier lacked some of Ali's finesse, his strength and stamina were unmatched, and Frazier's victory came as a surprise to many fight fans. Ali hardly took the defeat graciously; in the hoopla over the "Fight of the Century," he'd called Frazier "ugly," a "gorilla", "ignorant" and an "Uncle Tom," and when the two fighters staged a rematch at Madison Square Garden in January 1974, the stakes seemed as much personal as professional. Ali defeated Frazier in their second match, which lead to "The Thrilla in Manila," a widely hyped final rematch in which Ali and Frazier fought one another for the last time in October 1975. Frazier's trainer refused to allow his fighter to return to the ring after fourteen intense and brutal rounds, but Ali collapsed while claiming his victory and told a reporter the final rounds were "the closest thing to dying I know of." While the Ali-Frazier fights have often been examined from Ali's point of view, filmmaker John Dower gives Joe Frazier a chance to tell his side of the story on The Thriller in Manila, a documentary that explores of the greatest rivalries in the history of professional sport, and how the friendship between the two men became a bitter feud by the time they entered in the ring in the Philippines. The Thriller in Manila received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paterson Joseph
Inspired by a true story, director Edward Zwick's epic World War II drama Defiance tells the tale of three Jewish Eastern European brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell) who narrowly escape certain death at the hands of the Nazis, subsequently vowing to avenge the deaths of their loves ones by launching a desperate battle against the forces that seek to exterminate their entire race. The year is 1941, and the setting is Nazi-occupied Belarus. The Final Solution is in full effect, and the Jews of Eastern Europe are being slaughtered wholesale. Tuvia (Craig), Zus (Schreiber), and Asael (Bell) have miraculously managed to escape into the dense surrounding forest. Having played in these woods since childhood, the brothers have a distinct advantage over their adversaries, and soon decide that simply surviving is not enough. In order to make a difference, they must take action, but in order to take action they will need support. As whispers of their bravery take wind, others like them appear determined to lay their lives on the line for the cause of freedom. Tuvia has become the de facto leader of the group, but he's still somewhat reluctant to take on such a heavy responsibility and his brother Zus expresses concern that his idealistic plan will ultimately bring about the group's downfall. With winter setting in, everyone works to create a functioning community that will help them endure the frigid months that lie ahead, and Asael reluctantly finds himself caught in the crossfire of his older siblings' rivalry. Is it possible to keep faith alive in a time when the world seems devoid of humanity and survival becomes a way of life? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, (more)
- 2007
- Add Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry to Queue Add Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry to top of Queue
For over a century, The Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes have been doing battle on the college gridiron. This documentary traces the rich history of this storied rivalry, underlining the importance it plays to both schools, and profiles some the games' legendary figures including Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber
The filmmakers from NOVA set out on a quest to find the world's earliest flower in a special documentary that explores the plant form that has long been at the epicenter of human existence. Flowers show how we feel about others, fill our gardens with beauty, and help to provide us with food and medicine -- yet scientists have yet to discover a definitive answer to the question of how they evolved. When a fossil that had previously bloomed during the age of the dinosaur surfaced in China's Hengduan Mountains, the controversy that followed baffled and intrigued scientists on every continent. It would appear that this area, commonly referred to as the "Mother of All Gardens," was the birthplace of every form of flower from the clematis to the primrose. With this release, curious nature lovers can follow filmmakers as they explore the mysteries of the most spectacular flowers on the planet. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber
UCLA Dynasty documents the twelve year span from 1964 through 1975 where the UCLA Bruins under the steady hand of coach John Wooden won ten NCAA men's basketball titles, considered by many experts to be the greatest dynasty in American team sports. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
Fifty years after the Soviet Union made history by launching Sputnik into space, the reverberations of that historical event are still echoing around the world. Produced to coincide with the 50th anniversary of this defining moment in human history, this documentary from filmmaker David Hoffman draws on lost footage and informative interviews to detail the remarkable story surrounding the launch of Sputnik, as well as the incredible events that unfolded in America the following year. While American enthusiasm over this technological breakthrough was at first palpable, that excitement quickly turned to dread as politicians and the media pointed out that the same rocket used to propel Sputnik into space could have just as easily been outfitted with a nuclear warhead and used to launch a devastating war against the United States. The following year, tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States reached an all-time high, effectively propelling the Cold War into overdrive. With bomb shelters being built, nuclear testing lighting up the atmosphere every three days, and then-senator Lyndon B. Johnson comparing the launch of Sputnik to another Pearl Harbor, it's no wonder that folks began to get so fatalistic. In this film, Hoffman explores the tenuous first steps into the modern age, the positive and negative effects of those steps on international relations, and the staunch determination of Americans to always be the first and the best. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Touched by the plight of an aspiring Iraqi filmmaker whose dreams of working in Hollywood seemed to fall with Baghdad, American filmmaker Liev Schreiber invites the ambitious wannabe director to intern on Everything Is Illuminated, to unexpected results. In 2004, just one year after the United States launched a devastating attack on Baghdad, MTV ran a story about a 25-year-old Iraqi film student named Muthana Mohmed, who remained determined not to let the strife that consumed his country consume his dreams as well. At the time, American actor Schreiber was preparing to make his directorial debut with the film Everything Is Illuminated. After seeing the documentary on television, Schreiber was consumed by guilt for having so many amazing opportunities in the film industry and determined to give Mohmed the chance of a lifetime by inviting him to join the production of Everything Is Illuminated in the Czech Republic. Common wisdom dictates that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions," however, and as Mohmed attempted to balance the complications of living away from home for the first time with the cultural issues that arise while working with an all-American film crew, the situation quickly began to deteriorate. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Muthana Mohmed, Nina Davenport, (more)
Based on Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez's novel of the same name, director Mike Newell's Love in the Time of Cholera details a passionate love triangle that unfolds in turn-of-the-century South America. Oscar-winning Pianist scribe Ronald Harwood adapts the story of two young lovers who bide their time for years while anxiously awaiting the day they can finally be together. Through marriages, affairs, careers, and deaths, the couple never loses hope that destiny will unite them in the end. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, (more)
- 2007
- Add Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure to Queue Add Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure to top of Queue
Produced in association with National Geographic, Sean Phillips' Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure utilizes state-of-the-art three dimensional photography in order to tell the tale of Dolly, a prehistoric sea creature who negotiates the waters at a time when a sea divides North America into two parts. The film alternates between these fictional recreations, and modern scientists exploring these areas in the present day. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber
The Kid Stays in the Picture director Brett Morgen turns his unique eye toward the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in this 2006 documentary. Using a star-studded voice cast along with a blend of archival footage and animation, Morgen tells the story of the eight demonstrators who were arrested and tried for conspiracy in the wake of the violent anti-war protests. Featuring the voices of Nick Nolte and Mark Ruffalo among others, Chicago 10 premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
Much of the group responsible for MTV's The State -- including director/actor David Wain and performers Ken Marino, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Joe Lo Truglio -- reunite for this outrageous, irreverent, and raunchy sketch comedy, which skewers the Ten Commandments. In the framing sequences, comedian Paul Rudd (who collaborated with much of the cast on Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter) stands on a black stage with giant Biblical tablets projected behind him and promises to deliver ten mini-stories, each loosely based on one of the commandments, from "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me" through "Thou Shalt Not Covet." For all of the storyteller's efforts, however, he is constantly, comically distracted by interferences, particularly those emanating from intrusions by his multiple girlfriends. The stories are nonetheless told one by one in short-film form, beginning with a sketch in which Stephen (Adam Brody) goes skydiving with his intended, Kelly (Winona Ryder), but forgets to wear his parachute and gets stuck in the mud, waist-deep, which draws gawkers, media, and in time, worshipers. Several of the subsequent stories consist of raunchy, jet-black riffs on sexual perversion, including one about a virginal librarian (Gretchen Mol) entangled in a sultry and messy affair with a Mexican, and another memorable bit about a nutty surgeon who plays a prank by burying a pair of scissors in a patient's stomach and is then sent to prison -- where he experiences brutal sexual abuse at the hands of other men. As an added bonus, the picture packs in a fully animated sequence, narrated by several crack-smokers, entitled "The Lying Rhino." ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Rudd, Famke Janssen, (more)
For millions of marathon runners worldwide, Patriots Day looms steadily and prominently on the horizon; such is the pivotal day when untold numbers journey to Boston, Massachusetts to participate in the legendary, 26.2 mile Boston Marathon. As produced by WGBH - Boston public television and directed by Daniel McCabe, the documentary NOVA: The Marathon Challenge cross-cuts between the lives of 13 Boston Marathon trainees as they psych themselves up for the "big run" during the 2007 event; the program undertakes an unusual approach, however, by specifically honing in on the underdogs - participants who are less than fit (and who lead sedentary lifestyles), but who nevertheless determine to whip their bodies into top shape for the said event despite the many obstacles and challenges that stand in their way. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber, Julia Cort, (more)
A child that will steer humankind down the road to hellfire has been born, and as his evil flourishes in a world full of hate, the ominous Biblical prophecies slowly begin falling into place in director John Moore's remake of Richard Donner's 1976 horror classic. Robert (Liev Schreiber) and Katherine Thorn (Julia Stiles) were as loving parents as any young boy could ask for, but as fate would have it, their new son Damien is far from the typical child. Now, as the mysterious boy's growth begins to share frightening parallels with the Biblical passages detailing the rise of the Antichrist, and the lives of all who seek to reveal his true nature are cut gruesomely short, Robert and Katherine are forced to face the horrifying prospect that their child has been sent from Satan to hasten the fall of modern civilization, and that there is little they can do to curb his prophesied path of ultimate destruction. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, (more)
A couple with a broken relationship learns some valuable lessons about love, life, and sacrifice in this romantic drama based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It's 1925, and Dr. Walter Fane (Edward Norton) is a physician and bacteriologist who has become smitten with Kitty (Naomi Watts), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy and socially prominent family. Walter proposes marriage to Kitty and she accepts; however, while he clearly loves her, Kitty is more interested in her reputation than Walter's feelings, as she's recently turned 25, an age by which most of her peers have already wed. Kitty and Walter move to Shanghai, where he sets up a practice and she takes a lover, the British Vice Consul Charles Townsend (Liev Schreiber). When Walter learns of his wife's infidelity, he becomes furious, and impulsively volunteers to travel to China to work in a village stricken with a major cholera epidemic. While Walter's actions are meant to punish Kitty rather than reflect his own benevolence, the daily trials of living in a community in crisis have a striking impact on the couple, giving them a new and deeper perspective on their relationship. The Painted Veil is the third screen adaptation of Maugham's best-selling novel of the same name; a 1934 version starred Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall, while Eleanor Parker and Bill Travers played the leads in a 1957 remake titled The Seventh Sin. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, (more)
Hosted by Dana Reeve, the documentary The New Medicine shows how such techniques as meditation and relaxation can offer benefits that many doctors have not considered. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
A young man takes a strange and unexpectedly funny journey in search of a family heroine he's never known in this screen adaptation of the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. Jonathan (Elijah Wood) is a lifelong collector of any and all objects pertaining to his family, and he has become obsessed with a woman he's never met. The woman saved the life of his grandfather during World War II, when the Ukrainian town where he was born was destroyed by Nazi troops. Wanting to know more about the woman, Jonathan flies to the Ukraine, where with the help of a hip-hop obsessed, gold-toothed tour guide and translator named Alex (Eugene Hütz), Alex's grandfather (a chauffeur who has claimed to be blind since his wife's death, played by Boris Leskin), and a dog named Sammy Davis Junior Junior, Jonathan searches for the meaning of the present that lies buried in the past, unexpectedly shedding the same such light on the lives of those around him. Everything Is Illuminated was the first directorial assignment for acclaimed actor Liev Schreiber. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, (more)
- 2005
- Add NOVA: Saving the National Treasures to Queue Add NOVA: Saving the National Treasures to top of Queue
Saving the National Treasures documents the care and restoration of quintessential American totems as the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. This episode of the award-winning NOVA series shows how modern science and technology have been used in order to save precious cornerstones of American history. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
A young boy grows up among a makeshift family of oddballs and dreamers in this adaptation of Ruben Santiago-Hudson's acclaimed one-man show. Ruben Junior (Marcus Carl Franklin) is a young boy who was born in the late '40s into a family that started crumbling not long after he was born. Ruben Junior's parents were from Lackawanna, a city in Upstate New York, and were living in a rooming house run by Nanny Crosby (S. Epatha Merkerson), whose place was a hub for the local African-American community. When Ruben Junior's parents split up, he and his mother return to Lackawanna and Nanny's rooming house; with mother overworked physically and in sad shape emotionally, Nanny takes Ruben Junior under her wing, and offers him the sort of nurturing she gives all her boarders. Nanny's house is full of people struggling for a fresh start in life, ranging from former convicts to recovering drug addicts, and she opens both her doors and her heart to them as they strive to make themselves better people. Ruben Junior finds a loving home amidst the colorful eccentrics in Nanny's circle of friends, but as America changes over the course of the 1950s and '60s, so does the neighborhood where Nanny and her tenants live -- and not for the better. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, Lackawanna Blues features a stellar supporting cast, including Delroy Lindo, Louis Gossett Jr., Rosie Perez, Jimmy Smits, Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def, and Ernie Hudson. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- S. Epatha Merkerson, Julie Benz, (more)
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