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Kevin
Pollak
has been performing stand-up comedy
since the age of
ten, and starred
in a musical at
eleven. He
became a touring
professional
stand-up at age
twenty and since
1987, when Kevin
got his first
part in a real
movie, he has
co-starred in
fourteen films.
His performance
in "A Few Good
Men" with Tom
Cruise and Jack
Nicholson,
proved that he
can play the
straight man, so
much so that he
has no less than
several major
motion pictures
scheduled for
release over the
next year.
"I'm
frequently asked
which I prefer…I
prefer not to be
asked!" Kevin
further
explains, "As a
stand-up, I get
to share my
twisted view of
life with a room
full of
strangers whose
love and
validation I
truthfully, yet
pathetically,
crave. Also as
an actor I get
to fulfill a
childhood dream
of watching my
face on a thirty
foot screen.
Sure, everybody
else is watching
Tom Cruise, but,
hey, a fella can
dream can't he?"
As for dreams
being
fulfilled…after
Kevin easily
made the
transition from
class clown to
touring pro in
the clubs, he
quickly rose to
the top of the
stand-up scene
in his home town
of San
Francisco. Then,
in 1982, Kevin
took second
place in the San
Francisco
International
Stand-Up
Competition. In
1983, he moved
to Los Angeles.
"It was one year
to the day,"
Kevin recalls
…at the same
time recalling
that Robin
Williams had
taken second
place just two
years prior, "It
was time to see
if I could bat
with the big
boys."
As a
stand-up, Kevin
has starred in
two of his own
HBO stand-up
Comedy specials,
most recently
"Kevin Pollak,
Stop With The
Kicking,"
directed by
David Steinburg
and currently
available on
videocassette
through New
Line. Kevin has
been a regular
guest on "The
Tonight Show"
since 1988, "The
Late Show With
David
Letterman," "Arsenio
Hall," "Larry
King Live,"
hell, Kevin has
even been on
"Regis and
Kathie Lee!!"
Throughout the
last ten years,
Kevin has
remained
faithful to his
stand-up comedy
roots. However,
it is Kevin's
film career that
has set him
apart from his
peers in the
stand-up comedy
world.
In a short
period of time
Kevin has worked
with some
extraordinary
talent. Rob
Reiner calls it,
"earn while you
learn," and the
wealth of
education he's
been privy to is
impressive, says
Kevin. Ron
Howard directed
Kevin in
"Willow," while
George Lucas
produced the
fantasy film.
With the release
of "Willow"
Kevin was asked
to do "The
Tonight Show,"
and Johnny
Carson enjoyed
chatting with
Kevin so much
that he was
asked to come
back four or
five times a
year.
Kevin's first
career altering
film role was in
Barry Levinson's
"Avalon." The
response from
the film
community was
immediate.
Kevin's
response? "I was
suddenly
considered a
legitimate
actor, who
knew?" Soon
after Kevin was
co-starring with
Steve Martin in
"L.A. Story" and
Denzel
Washington in
"Ricochet." The
big break came
with Rob
Reiner's "A Few
Good Men." Here
Kevin came to
the plate with
the bases loaded
with none other
than Kevin
Bacon, Kiefer
Sutherland, Demi
Moore, Tom
Cruise, and Jack
Nicholson! Kevin
remembers, "I'll
never forget the
day Rob asked me
to do the film.
It was like
being called up
to the majors!!"
When asked,
Rob Reiner
remembers, "It
was a tough
situation
really, Kevin
came to the
plate with the
bases loaded,
and he drove one
deep into the
gap…all runners
scored!"
Since hitting
the long ball in
"A Few Good
Men," Kevin has
worked non-stop.
He starred in
"Indian Summer"
with Alan Arkin,
Elizabeth
Perkins, Diane
Lane, Bill
Paxton, Matt
Craven, Kimberly
Williams, Julie
Warner, Vincent
Spano and Sam
Raimi.
Other film
roles include
"Wayne' World 2"
with Dana Carvey
and Mike Meyers,
and the
box-office hit
"Grumpy Old Men"
with Walter
Matthau, Jack
Lemmon,
Ann-Margaret and
Daryl Hannah,
whom he gets to
romance. Kevin
also recently
starred in
"Clean Slate"
again with Dana
Carvey, Valeria
Golino, and
James Earl
Jones. and
Sharon Stone in
"Casino."
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