Breckin Meyer[1] (born May 7, 1974) is an American actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for his roles in films such as Clueless (1995), The Craft (1996), Road Trip (2000), Rat Race (2001), and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). He played Jon Arbuckle in the live-action Garfield movies. He also voiced teen Joseph Gribble in King of the Hill (2000–2010) and starred as Jared Franklin in Franklin & Bash (2011–2014). His work on the stop-motion animated sketch show Robot Chicken has earned him two Annie Awards and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Breckin Meyer | |
|---|---|
 Meyer in 2011 | |
| Born | May 7, 1974 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editMeyer was born on May 7, 1974, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Dorothy Ann (née Vial), a travel agent and former microbiologist, and Christopher William Meyer, a management consultant.[2] He has lived in California, Texas, West Virginia, and New Jersey. He has an older brother, Frank, and a younger brother, Adam. Meyer attended elementary school with Drew Barrymore (and was apparently her first kiss)[3][4] and also attended Beverly Hills High School.[5] Through his elementary school, he came into contact with Barrymore's agent, who signed Meyer. As a little boy, he was mostly seen in television advertisements, and also appeared as a child participant in the game show Child's Play.[6] He also claims to have slept in a closed coffin for several years in high school.[7]
Career
editMeyer played several roles as a druggie, starting with his debut in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), in which he was dispatched in a video game. His breakthrough screen role was in the teen hit Clueless (1995) as the skateboarding stoner. Meyer offered similar characterizations in The Craft and John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. (both 1996). He played the best friend of an Olympic hopeful in the biopic Prefontaine (1997) and a high-school student yearning to leave his hometown in Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 (1998).
In 54 (also 1998), a look at life in the famous '70s nightspot Studio 54, the actor was cast as a busboy married to the coat check girl (Salma Hayek) and pursued by a bartender (Ryan Phillippe). Meyer is close friends with Phillippe, with whom he and Seth Green share a production company.
Meyer would subsequently appear in films including Go (1999) and The Insider (1999) before graduating to a full-fledged leading role in the DreamWorks hit Road Trip (2000), in which he again played a character traveling cross country, a college student hoping desperately to retrieve a videotape of himself having sex with another girl, which was accidentally mailed to his long-distance girlfriend.
He re-teamed with Amy Smart in yet another racing cross country film, this time as part of the multi-plot ensemble of Rat Race (2001), a sort-of homage to the all-star screwball chase films of the 1960s, such as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Meyer put in a supporting turn as Meg Ryan's character's brother in the whimsical fantasy-comedy Kate & Leopold (2001). Meyer also took on the role of Jon Arbuckle, the hapless owner of the famed comic strip cat in the film adaptation of Garfield (2004).
Meyer also starred in Blue State (2007) with Anna Paquin in which he plays a passionately liberal guy on the campaign trail for John Kerry in the 2004 elections. He drunkenly pledges to move to Canada if Bush wins the election, and on his journey meets a mysterious young woman, played by Paquin. He co-starred with Matthew McConaughey in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). Meyer starred opposite Emily Kinney and Giselle Eisenberg in the independent dark comedy The Enormity of Life (2021) about a suicidal man struggling with life and love.
Meyer regularly does writing and voice work on Robot Chicken, and was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on the Robot Chicken: Star Wars specials. He also voiced the adolescent Joseph Gribble on the animated series King of the Hill and starred on the Adult Swim series Titan Maximum.
Meyer is also a musician, playing drums in the punk band The Street Walkin' Cheetahs as well as with artists including The Nightwatchman, Ben Harper, Cypress Hill, Slash and Perry Farrell at L.A.'s Hotel Café.
Meyer is the former drummer for Tom Morello's side project The Nightwatchman's back-up band The Freedom Fighter Orchestra. He toured with Morello on The Nightwatchman's 2008 Justice Tour. He appears in Street Sweeper Social Club's video for "100 Little Curses"[8] and "Promenade".
Personal life
editMeyer married screenwriter and film director Deborah Kaplan on October 14, 2001, and has two daughters with her. They divorced in 2014.[9]
As of 2024, he is currently dating Kelly Rizzo, the widow of Bob Saget.[10]
His brother, Frank Meyer, is a staffer and producer of Fresh Ink Online at G4tv.com.[11]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Camp Cucamonga | Cody | |
| 1991 | Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare | Spencer Lewis | |
| 1995 | Clueless | Travis Birkenstock | |
| Payback | Jim's Son | ||
| 1996 | The Craft | Mitt | |
| Escape from L.A. | Surfer | ||
| 1997 | Prefontaine | Pat Tyson | |
| Touch | Greg Czarnicki | ||
| 1998 | Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 | Keller Coleman | |
| Can't Hardly Wait | Walter | Uncredited | |
| 54 | Greg Randazzo | ||
| 1999 | Go | Tiny | |
| The Insider | Sharon's Son | ||
| Tail Lights Fade | Cole | ||
| 2000 | Road Trip | Josh Parker | |
| 2001 | Josie and the Pussycats | Marco | |
| Rat Race | Nick Schaffer | ||
| Kate & Leopold | Charlie McKay | ||
| 2002 | Pinocchio | Pinocchio | Voice, English dub |
| 2004 | Garfield: The Movie | Jon Arbuckle | |
| Blast | Jamal | ||
| 2005 | Herbie: Fully Loaded | Ray Peyton | |
| Rebound | Tim Fink | ||
| 2006 | Caffeine | Dylan | |
| Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties | Jon Arbuckle | ||
| Ted's MBA | Ted Meyers | Also known as Corporate Affairs | |
| 2007 | Blue State | John Logue | |
| 2008 | Stag Night | Tony | |
| 2009 | Ghosts of Girlfriends Past | Paul Mead | |
| 2010 | The Maiden Heist | Starving Artist | |
| 2013 | 3 Geezers! | Breckin | |
| I Know That Voice | Himself | Documentary[12][13] | |
| 2019 | Changeland | Dan | |
| 2020 | California No | Famous Actor | |
| Unpregnant | Mark | ||
| 2021 | Happily | Richard | |
| The Enormity of Life | Casey | Release date: April 6, 2021 |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Child's Play | Himself | Child contestant |
| 1986 | Potato Head Kids | Spud | Voice, 23 episodes |
| 1988 | The Wonder Years | Gary Cosey | Episode: "The Heart of Darkness" |
| 1989 | Chicken Soup | Glen | Episode: "The Dinner" |
| 1990 | L.A. Law | Brian Campbell | Episode: "Whatever Happened to Hannah?" |
| 1992–1993 | The Jackie Thomas Show | Chas Walker | 18 episodes |
| 1993 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Eddie | Episode: "Crosses on the Lawn" |
| 1995 | Betrayed: The Story of Three Women | Eric Nelson | TV movie |
| 1995–1996 | The Home Court | Mike Solomon | 20 episodes |
| 1996 | Clueless | Harrison | Episode: "Do We with Bad Haircuts Not Feel?" |
| Party of Five | Alec Brody | Episode: "Gimme Shelter" | |
| 2000–2010 | King of the Hill | Joseph Gribble | Voice, 62 episodes |
| 2001–2002 | Inside Schwartz | Adam Schwartz | 13 episodes |
| 2002 | Kim Possible | Josh Mankey | Voice, episode: "Crush" |
| 2003 | Coupling | Jeff Clancy | Episode: "Original Pilot" |
| 2003–2004 | Married to the Kellys | Tom Wagner | 22 episodes |
| 2005–present | Robot Chicken | Various voices | Also writer and producer |
| 2007 | Robot Chicken: Star Wars | Boba Fett, Admiral Ackbar | Voice, television special |
| 2008 | House | Brandon | Episode: "Adverse Events" |
| Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II | Boba Fett, Admiral Ackbar | Voice, television special | |
| Heroes | Frack | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | Party Down | Michael | Episode: "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen" |
| Titan Maximum | Commander Palmer | Voice, 9 episodes | |
| 2010 | Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III | Boba Fett, Admiral Ackbar | Voice, television special |
| 2011 | Mad | Various Voices | Episode: "The Social Netjerk/Smallville: Turn Off the Clark" |
| 2011–2014 | Franklin & Bash | Jared Franklin | 40 episodes |
| 2012–2014 | Men at Work | — | Creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2012 | Robot Chicken DC Comics Special | Superman, Mirror Master | Voice, television special |
| 2014 | Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise | Superman, Bizarro | |
| 2015 | Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III: Magical Friendship | Superman, Plastic Man | |
| 2015–2017 | SuperMansion | Courtney / Ringler, Various Voices | 11 episodes |
| 2016 | Second Chance | Wally Luskin | Episode: "That Time in the Car" |
| Family Guy | S&M Guy | Voice, episode: "A Lot Going on Upstairs" | |
| 2018 | Designated Survivor | Trey Kirkman | 6 episodes[14] |
| 2019 | The Fix | Charlie West | 10 episodes |
| 2020 | American Dad! | Himself | Episode: "A Starboy Is Born" |
| Crossing Swords | Glenn | Voice, 4 episodes | |
| 2021 | Good Girls | Vance | 6 episodes |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Titanfall 2 | Dr. Jefferson Boyle |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Young Artist Awards | Best Animation Voice Over Group (shared with the cast) | Potato Head Kids | Nominated |
| 2000 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Amy Smart) | Road Trip | Nominated |
| 2002 | Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Actor (shared with Roberto Benigni) | Pinocchio | Nominated |
| 2003 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Actor (shared with Roberto Benigni) | Won | |
| 2008 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Animated Program | Robot Chicken: Star Wars | Nominated |
| 2009 | Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II | Nominated | ||
| Annie Awards | Best Writing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form | Won | ||
| 2011 | Best Writing in a Television Production | Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III | Won | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Animated Program | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Outstanding Short Form Animated Program | Robot Chicken | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ According to the State of Minnesota. Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002. Searchable at ancestry.com
- ^ Breckin Meyer Biography (1974–)
- ^ according to an extra on the 50 First Dates DVD
- ^ Drew Barrymore on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Jan 23, 2019), January 23, 2019, retrieved January 24, 2019
- ^ Breckin Meyer Biography – Yahoo! Movies Archived March 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Breckin Meyer is a Child's Play STAR!, September 28, 2019, retrieved October 2, 2019
- ^ according to an interview on Conan, retrieved September 24, 2014
- ^ "New video from Street Sweeper Social Club for "100 Little Curses"". TheyWillRockYou.com. June 18, 2009. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
- ^ "Breckin and Keaton Meyer: Tennis for Two!". Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
- ^ "Kelly Rizzo Goes Instagram Official with Breckin Meyer at F1 Miami Grand Prix: 'Kind, Sweet, Silly'".
- ^ "G4's Frank Meyer Interviews His Brother Breckin Meyer".
- ^ I Know That Voice. 2013.
- ^ Blazenhoff, Rusty (October 3, 2013). "I Know That Voice, A Documentary About the World of Voice Acting". Laughing Squid.
- ^ Petski, Denise (November 20, 2017). "'Designated Survivor': Breckin Meyer Set To Recur In Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
External links
edit
- Breckin Meyer at IMDb
- Breckin Meyer at the TCM Movie Database