Steve Zahn Movies
Making an art out of portraying dysfunctional losers and likable freaks, Steve Zahn worked for years before getting his due as one of the most engaging and unconventionally gifted actors in Hollywood. Hailing from Marshall, MN, where he was born in 1968, Zahn was first introduced to improvisational acting in high school. Following a year at Gustavus-Adolphus College, he was accepted at the prestigious American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, where he trained for two years. After completing his tenure there, Zahn settled in Hoboken, NJ, and tried to support himself with acting in New York, working a variety of odd jobs on the side. He found work in various theater productions, including a 13-month road tour of Bye, Bye Birdie, which provided both steady employment and an introduction to his wife, who was a dancer in the musical.Zahn's break came when he was cast in Sophistry, a play that also starred Ethan Hawke. His performance was seen by Ben Stiller, who offered him a role in his upcoming film, Reality Bites. Zahn took the part of Sammy, Winona Ryder's amiable, slightly conflicted gay friend. The film, which was released in 1994, was actually Zahn's second feature, the first being the 1993 drama Rain Without Thunder. Reality Bites met with relative success and helped to jump-start not only Zahn's career, but those of Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo, as well. Zahn proceeded to take a significant role in Eric Bogosian's play SubUrbia and his work in the production led to his casting in the 1995 submarine thriller Crimson Tide, starring Denzel Washington. The following year, he won a leading role in Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do! and subsequently re-created his SubUrbia role for the play's film adaptation, which also featured Giovanni Ribisi and Parker Posey.
In 1998, Hollywood began to take notice of the actor, as he was featured in four different films. Three of them, You've Got Mail, Out of Sight, and The Object of My Affection, proved to be box-office successes; the other one, Safe Men, was released into general obscurity. The following year, Zahn made an appearance in the romantic comedy Forces of Nature, co-starring Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock, and had a leading role in Happy, Texas, which was released at Sundance. For his performance as a con artist forced to play gay, Zahn won a special acting award at the festival, a much-deserved token of appreciation for an actor as underrated as he is original.
In the years that followed, Zahn elevated his portrayal of lovable losers to a virtual art form. Though he would head up an impressive cast in the 2000 feature Chain of Fools, the film would be inexplicably relegated to cinematic limbo and audiences would next catch an unexpected glimpse of the rising star in director Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (2000). If the following year's Saving Silverman found Zahn back to his usual antics, abysmal reviews and poor audience reaction quickly sunk the romantic comedy and audiences would catch their next glimpse of him in John Dahl's edge-of-your-seat thriller Joy Ride (also 2001). His portrayal of Drew Barrymore's character's well-intending but hopeless husband in the 2001 comedy drama Riding in Cars with Boys showed a dramatic side many audiences had yet to experience from Zahn, and after a brief break from the screen Zahn returned in 2003 with a pair of high profile comedies. After joining comedian/actor Martin Lawrence as one half of a pair of hapless security guards in the 2003 comedy National Security, Zahn attempted to bring up baby opposite actor/comedian Eddie Murphy in the family friendly comedy Daddy Day Care. A series of supporting performances in Shattered Glass, Speak and Employee of the Month (all 2004) were quick to follow, ensuring that audiences who couldn't get their fill of Zahn's unique and endearing quirkiness wouldn't be left out in the lurch for long.
Behind the camera, Zahn has provided vocal work for such family films as Stuart Little (as well as its 2002 sequel), Doctor Dolittle 2 and Chicken Little (2005).
In 2006, Zahn again tried his hand at more dramatic work with a role in the Werner Herzog POW film Rescue Dawn, but soon he was going back to his comedic roots with 2008's Sunshine Cleaning and Strange Wilderness. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
William Shakespeare's classic tale is brought to the screen for the third time in ten years in this modernized interpretation. Writer/director Michael Almereyda updates the story to the present day, where Hamlet (Ethan Hawke) is a struggling filmmaker whose personal and familial trials are set against the machinations of a huge production firm called the Denmark Corporation. Joining Hamlet as he seeks revenge for the death of his father and the wedding of his mother to an enemy are Kyle MacLachlan as Claudius, Julia Stiles as Ophelia, Bill Murray as Polonius, Sam Shepard as the ghost of Hamlet's father, Diane Venora as Gertrude, Steve Zahn as Rosencrantz, and Dechen Thurman as Guildenstern. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, (more)
So what do you do when your best friend is a brain-fried stoner named Freak who still lives with his parents -- and his life is making more progress than your own? That's the dilemma facing Dave (Josh Hamilton), who decided several years ago to get out of Syracuse, New York and make a new life for himself in Arizona. However, Arizona didn't work out well for him, so he ended up back in upstate New York, and things haven't gotten any easier for him. He doesn't like his job at a men's clothing store, his car keeps breaking down, he can't figure out what to do or where to go, his old girlfriend (Arabella Field) wants him to come back to Arizona, while one of his co-workers, a high-school girl named Nichole (Heather McComb), is a bit more interested in him than he'd like. Then there's his best friend Freak (Steve Zahn), owner of Syracuse's busiest bong and fond of philosophical statements like "I can't think of a single movie that couldn't be improved by a lesbian sex scene," who is starting to show disturbing signs of growing up and developing a sense of responsibility. Freak Talks About Sex was well received in its screening at the 1999 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hamilton, Steve Zahn, (more)
Ben (Ben Affleck) has two days to get from New York to Savannah, Georgia for his wedding to Bridget Cahill (Maura Tierney). Everything is running smoothly until his plane skids off the runway. Ben inadvertently saves the life of his seatmate, Sarah (Sandra Bullock), who becomes his companion for the longest two days of his life. As fate begins to repeat itself through a series of disasters involving a rental car, a train, and a bus (not to mention a hurricane), Ben has to wonder if someone's trying to give him a message. Inevitably, he also finds himself falling in love with Sarah. Meanwhile, Bridget wonders where, exactly, Ben is, and her old boyfriend Steve (David Strickland) attempts to take advantage of the situation. Not that Bridget's dad (Ronny Cox) really minds, since Steve is much more successful than Ben. En route, Ben and Sarah collide with Ben's best man, Alan (Steve Zahn) and his girlfriend, the maid of honor (Meredith Scott Lynn), which further adds to the series of cosmic tests that Ben must try to answer. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck, (more)
E.B. White's classic children's story is brought to the screen in this fantasy, which combines computer-animated characters with a cast of live actors. Mrs. Little (Geena Davis), Mr. Little (Hugh Laurie), and their son George (Jonathan Lipnicki) live in a brownstone near New York's Central Park. The Littles have decided to adopt a younger brother for George, and while they're meeting the children at an orphanage, they are greeted by a mouse named Stuart (voice of Michael J. Fox), who can talk, walk upright, wear clothes, and do nearly anything a human child can do. The Littles are so taken with Stuart that they decide to adopt him, and soon the rest of the family is just as charmed by Stuart -- with the possible exception of Snowbell (voice of Nathan Lane), their house cat. The cast of humans includes Jennifer Tilly, Bruno Kirby, and Dabney Coleman; animal voices are contributed by Chazz Palminteri and Steve Zahn, Jim Doughan, and David Alan Grier. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, (more)
Happy, Texas is a fish-out-of-water comedy about two con men who escape from prison, then pose as gay lovers to hide out in a small Texas town. Mistaken for consultants to the Little Miss Fresh Squeezed Beauty Pageant, Harry (Jeremy Northam) and Wayne (Steve Zahn) go along with the ruse so they can stake out the local bank, owned by Josephine "Joe" McClintock (Ally Walker). The story kicks into high gear as Harry starts falling in love with Joe but cannot let on about his feelings. Also complicating matters is that gay Sheriff Dent (William H. Macy) has the hots for Harry, and Harry must pretend he's interested to keep the cops off his back. Meanwhile, Wayne is getting in touch with his feminine side as he tries his best to teach dance steps and flaming baton twirling to the little girls; he's also lusting after the girls' teacher, Ms. Schaefer (Ileana Douglas). Everything leads up to the big beauty pageant, where the cops are finally on Harry and Wayne's tail. First-time director Mark Illsley received wide media attention for this commercial piece, which sold to Miramax after a very public and intense bidding war. Steve Zahn's performance won him a special acting award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where the film premiered in dramatic competition . ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn, (more)
A case of mistaken identity forces a pair of lounge singers to pose as safecrackers in this farce. Sam (Sam Rockwell) and Eddie (Steve Zahn) are hapless musicians; Frank (Mark Ruffalo) and Mitchell (Josh Pais) are expert safecrackers. But when local Jewish gangster Big Fat Bernie Gayle (Michael Lerner) dispatches his henchman, Veal Chop (Paul Giamatti), to trick the safecrackers into service, the hapless Veal Chop can't tell the difference. In the end, Sam and Eddie are forced to go along with Veal Chop's mistake and perform three separate robberies for the imposing Big Fat Bernie. During their very first mission -- to rob the safe of local fence Good Stuff Leo (Harvey Fierstein) -- they're apprehended by Hannah (Christina Kirk), Leo's affable, deadpan daughter. Hannah lets the guys go, but sparks fly between her and Sam. It just so happens, however, that real safecracker Frank is her ex-boyfriend, and that she's sworn off dating criminals for life. The coincidences, double crosses, and unlikely romance culminate in the bar mitzvah of Bernie's son, Little Big Fat Bernie (Michael Schmidt), whose present is the Stanley Cup -- the actual hockey trophy -- which was stolen from Good Stuff Leo by the reluctant Sam and Eddie. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, Safe Men marked the writing and directing debut of future Meet the Parents and Zoolander scribe John Hamburg. The film also gave a pre-stardom Mark Ruffalo one of his first featured roles. Sam Rockwell and Josh Pais previously appeared together in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, (more)
Steven Soderbergh directed this crime caper adapted from the novel by Elmore Leonard. When ex-con Jack Foley (George Clooney) robs a bank, his car goes dead, and Foley lands in a Florida prison. His escape from prison doesn't go as planned, since it's witnessed by deputy federal marshal Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez). Foley's pal Buddy Bragg (Ving Rhames) intervenes, with the result that Sisco winds up in the trunk of the getaway car with Foley, and the two realize they're attracted to each other, despite being on opposite sides of the law. However, that doesn't stop Sisco from her mission to capture Foley, who has spent much of his life in prison. Flashbacks introduce Foley's fellow prisoners, including dim dude Glenn Michaels (Steve Zahn), violent Maurice "Snoopy" Miller (Don Cheadle), and insider trader and billionaire Richard Ripley (Albert Brooks), who talks too much about his wealth. This later leads to a break-in at Ripley's posh Detroit estate by Miller, his brother-in-law Kenneth (Isaiah Washington), and menacing White Boy Rob (Keith Loneker). While seeking a hidden safe, the group threatens Ripley's housekeeper Midge (Nancy Allen). Foley and Bragg are in on this operation, but they wind up outwitting the others, and Sisco is close on their trail. The film features uncredited cameos by Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson, and was shot in locations in Florida, Louisiana, and Michigan. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, (more)
Sleepless in Seattle director Nora Ephron originally made a name for herself as the writer of romantic comedies such as Heartburn and When Harry Met Sally. She continues the genre with You've Got Mail, marking her second collaboration with actors Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The story brings romance and courtship into the electronic age of the World Wide Web via e-mail and chat rooms. Joe Fox (Hanks) and Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) live and work blocks from each other on New York City's Upper West Side. Their lives are practically intertwined. They both shop at the same place, frequent the same coffee shop, and even own competing bookstores on the same street. They also both have significant others of their own. Joe has the overly hyper book editor Patricia Eden (Parker Posey), while Kathleen lives with the scholarly newspaper columnist Frank Navasky (Greg Kinnear). Then they meet in a chat room. Though they keep their identities secret (they're known only by screen names "NY152" and "Shopgirl"), they tell each other everything about their lives, including their private feelings, which slowly turn into affection for each other. When Joe decides to open a new branch of his "Foxbooks" chain that risks putting Kathleen's "Shop Around the Corner" out of business, the tension between them escalates. Surely her boutique business will be lost to the conglomerate with a built-in newsstand and coffee bar. When Joe sees Kathleen waiting for him in the restaurant where they agreed to meet up, he puts two and two together, but cannot face her, given their agreement not to reveal each others' names and professions. How can he reveal himself to her now, knowing that he is the cause of her misery? Hopefully, love will conquer all. ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
Nicholas Hytner (The Crucible) directed this Wendy Wasserstein screenplay, adapted from Stephen McCauley's novel, about the romantic mismatch of a gay man and a young pregnant woman. When literary agent Sidney Miller (Alan Alda) and his wife Constance (Allison Janney) have a dinner party, Constance's social-worker stepsister Nina Borowski (Jennifer Aniston) attends without her lawyer boyfriend Vince McBride (John Pankow). Also present are gay schoolteacher George Hanson (Paul Rudd) and his lover, Dr. Robert Joley (Tim Daly). George learns from Nina that he's being dumped by Robert, a scene ensues, and Nina then invites George to stay in the spare room of her Brooklyn apartment. Nina still has sex with boyfriend Vince, but during late-night talks, she begins to bond with her gay roommate. Nina and George take dance lessons at the local senior citizen's community center, and Gershwin's "You Were Meant for Me" sets the tone for romance as the two become soul mates. Unfortunately, shortly after their love blooms, Nina learns she's pregnant by Vince, who is no longer the object of her affections. Instead of telling the unwanted Vince right away, Nina asks George to join her in raising the child. George stays on, but in the months that follow, he also begins to see men again. Robert takes him along to a Connecticut conference where drama critic Rodney Fraser (Nigel Hawthorne) has Paul James (Amo Gulinello) in tow. George and Paul have an instant attraction, and this prompts everyone involved to reassess their emotional commitments. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, (more)
Subways provide the common setting for this modern anthology comprised of distinct vignettes made by ten of Hollywood's top directors and featuring some of Tinseltown's most popular actors. The episodes are based on real stories submitted by scores of subway regulars. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosie Perez, Mercedes Ruehl, (more)
Director Richard Linklater and writer/actor Eric Bogosian collaborated on this adaptation of Bogosian's play about a handful of people edging into their 20's who seem like the poor relations of the genial eccentrics in Linklater's Slacker. While the Texas bohemians in Slacker has their myriad obsessions to keep them occupied (even if they didn't do much about them), SubUrbia's protagonists have few if any clear goals and hang out not as a means of killing time, but as a way of life. Jeff (Giovanni Ribisi) talks about going back to college some day while he lives in a tent in his parents' garage. His girlfriend Sooze (Amie Carey) imagines herself a performance artist; most of her "work" is displayed in he parking lot of a convenience store, though she often talks about moving to New York. Tim (Nicky Katt) was bounced from the Air Force and spends his evenings soaking up alcohol and bitterness. Buff (Steve Zahn) is obsessed with pizza and is content with his reputation as the wacky guy who will do anything. And Bee-Bee (Dina Spybey) is Sooze's best friend, just out of rehab, with her willpower hanging by a thread. It's a big night in front of the convenience store; Pony (Jayce Bartok), who used to play guitar at school dances, has become a rock star, and promises to stop by after his show at the local hockey arena (none of his friends have the money to see him play). Meanwhile, the American work ethic is represented by Nazeer (Ajay Naidu), an immigrant from Pakistan who runs the store where the kids hang out; he's sick to death of them, and lives for the day when he gets his engineering degree and never has to see their faces again. Bogosian has said this play (and in particular the character of Jeff) was freely drawn from his own post-teenage years. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jayce Bartok, Amie Carey, (more)
Tom Hanks made his directorial debut in this bright comedy set in the mid-1960's about a rock group and their brief fling with fame. Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) works as a salesman at his father's appliance store and plays the drums in his spare time, fancying himself a jazz musician. One day, a buddy of Guy's tells him a local rock band, The One-Ders (it's pronounced "wonders"), are in need of a drummer -- they have Battle of the Bands coming up and their usual timekeeper has broken his arm. Guy agrees to sit in, but when it's time to play their best original, a love ballad called "That Thing You Do," Guy lays in a sharp, driving beat that turns the tune into an uptempo pop-rocker. Lead singer Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech) isn't happy at first, but guitarist Lenny (Steve Zahn) and the nameless Bass Player (Ethan Embry) think the song sounds better that way -- and they notice the girls like it just fine. Soon people are actually requesting the song at their shows, and the One-Ders scrape together some money to press a single of "That Thing You Do" to sell between sets. A DJ puts the song on the radio, and opportunity knocks in the form of Mr. White (Tom Hanks), who works for the very major Play-Tone Records label. Play-Tone buys the rights to "That Thing You Do" and puts the band on the road as their song makes it way to the top of the national charts. But what can The Wonders (as Play-Tone have re-named them) do for an encore? And what should Guy do about his infatuation with Jimmy's girlfriend, Faye (Liv Tyler)? Real-life 60's obsessed rocker Chris Isaak has a small part as a recording engineer, and fans of real 60's garage bands will appreciate the wealth of small, accurately observed details (for example, halfway through the film, when a few "That Thing You Do" royalty checks have presumably kicked in, the band's inexpensive Danelectro guitars disappear and the Wonders are suddenly playing on brand new Fender gear -- the height of rock style in 1965). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, (more)
Loosely based on a true account, this family drama centers on a group of aimless Hawaiian teens who with the support of two inspirational teachers turn their lives around by building a solar powered car and racing it across the Australian outback during the World Solar Challenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, James Belushi, (more)
Two leaders with different philosophies about battle and leadership wage war with each other in this tense military thriller. Capt. Frank Ramsey (Gene Hackman) is the commanding officer of a nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. Alabama. Ramsey is a distinguished veteran near the end of his career, and he leads his men with an iron hand; as he puts it, "We're here to preserve democracy, not to practice it." Ramsey is assigned a new second-in-command, Lt. Cmmdr. Ron Hunter (Denzel Washington); Hunter is much younger than Ramsey, Harvard educated, and believes the goal of the military in the nuclear age is to prevent war, not fight it. While at sea, word reaches the Alabama that a splinter group of Russian forces have seized missile silos, and the ship is put on red alert. The Alabama has orders to fire, but as it is receiving a new incoming order the radio malfunctions. It's Ramsey's contention that an order is an order and they are to move forward with the attack, while Hunter feels if there is any question at all about their mission, they should wait until they can receive further instruction, with Hunter going so far as to threaten mutiny against Ramsey if the missile strike is carried out. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Towne both contributed to the screenplay without credit. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1995
Is Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) so desperate for a husband that she's willing to marry a gay Canadian ice skater? Not exactly: It seems that Phoebe's new hubby, a guy named Duncan (Steve Zahn), needs an American wife so that he can get a green card and stay in the country. In another affair of the heart, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) comes to the "rescue" of Ross (David Schwimmer) in his efforts to show Julie (Lauren Tom) the breadth and depth of his love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This film was one of the more mainstream offerings in the array of films that emphasized the overly hyped "Generation X" phenomenon, a list that ranges from Slacker to Singles and includes a host of other films. Winona Ryder stars as Lelaina, a recent college graduate. Out on her own and independent from her supportive, but out-of-touch parents, Lelaina faces the realities of careers and relationships. She can't stand her internship under a local television personality (John Mahoney), and she's forced to choose between Michael (Ben Stiller), a well-intentioned music-video network executive, and Troy (Ethan Hawke), a brooding, sensitive slacker. Meanwhile, she must also protect the artistic integrity of "Reality Bites," a video documentary that depicts the everyday lives of her friends (Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, and Steve Zahn). This 1994 release also marks the feature directorial debut of Ben Stiller. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, (more)
- 1993
- PG13
Rain Without Thunder is a "pro-choice" tract, expertly packaged in the form of speculative fiction. In a futuristic society, abortion is a crime punishable by a harsh prison term, and all female sexual activity is electronically monitored. When young Ali Thomas chooses not to bring her unborn child to term, she is thrown into jail. And since her mother (Betty Buckley) had driven Thomas to the abortionist, she too is arrested--charged with kidnapping the fetus! The filmmakers wear their ideology on both sleeves, but one cannot deny that Rain Without Thunder drives its point home forcefully. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carolyn McCormick, Ali Thomas, (more)
