Gregory Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana to Edward Kinnear, a career diplomat with the US State Department and Suzanne Kinnear, a homemaker. He has two older brothers, James and Steve. Kinnear’s family moved frequently living in exotic locales like Greece and Lebanon. While a student in Athens, Kinnear first foray into television was as a talk show host on his radio show School Daze With Greg Kinnear. Who knew that this small-time radio talk show host would go on to accomplish so much in the entertainment business. He would be a talk show host yet again on the E! Network's Talk Soup, but after breaking into the movie industry, with his share of flops and hits, in 1997, Kinnear was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in the James L. Brooks dramedy As Good As It Gets. He’s done numerous romantic comedies starring with leading ladies like Sarah Jessica Parker and Meg Ryan, among others. In honor of his 51st birthday, here is a Top 10 list of Greg Kinnear movies.
10. Dear God: – This 1996 Garry Marshall-directed comedy had Kinnear starring opposite Roseanne’s Laurie Metcalf, Maria Pitillo, Tim Conway, Hector Elizondo and Donal Logue. Kinnear played con artist Tom Turner, who is busted while running a con to pay off his gambling debt to a loan shark. The judge sentences him to find a full-time job by the end of the year and keep it, or be sent to jail. He finds a job sorting mail in the “dead letter” office. He soon finds letters addressed to G-d and out of curiosity, reads one from a single mother. Soon, he and his quirky co-workers begin answering these letters and helping these people in need. Though it received negative reviews from critics, the movie’s message was uplifting and showcased the kindness of strangers and Kinnear’s character’s personality transformation was inspiring.
9. A Smile Like Yours: – This 1997 romantic comedy had Kinnear co-starring with Lauren Holly. Kinnear and Holly played a couple trying to conceive a child and the hilarious as well as heart-warming situations they go through in their attempts. Also starring Joan Cusack, Jay Thomas, Law & Order’s Jill Hennessy and Christopher McDonald, it was panned by critics, but showed the trials and tribulations, in an amusing fashion, that a couple can endure when trying to start a family.
8. The Matador: – This 2005 dark crime dramedy had Kinnear co-starring with Pierce Brosnan, Hope Davis and Dylan Baker. Kinnear played businessman Danny Wright, who in a chance encounter while trying to land a career-saving contract in Mexico, meets unstable assassin Julian Noble (Brosnan.) They form an unlikely friendship as Noble drags Wright into deadly situations, but doesn’t follow through with killing anyone. Kinnear and Brosnan’s on-screen chemistry is spot-on as Brosnan’s character succeeds in scaring Kinnear’s character with his off-the-wall, unpredictable behavior and audiences were on the edge of their seats to see how it would all end.
7. I Don't Know How She Does It: – This 2011 comedy was based on Allison Pearson's novel of the same name. Kinnear co-starred with Sarah Jessica Parker, Kelsey Grammer, Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks, SNL alums Seth Meyers and Jane Curtin, Olivia Munn, Busy Philipps and again with Pierce Brosnan. Kinnear played Richard Reddy, the husband of finance executive Kate (Parker.) The movie shows how Kate attempts to juggle a successful career while maintaining her marriage and caring for her two young children. While it received mainly negative reviews, Kinnear’s performance as a harried husband, who tries to get time with his breadwinner wife was a realistic portrayal of how couples attempt to have it all, but in the end, need to compromise.
6. Sabrina: - This 1995 remake of Billy Wilder’s 1954 film of the same name had Kinnear co-starring opposite Julia Ormond, Harrison Ford, Lauren Holly, Richard Crenna, Angie Dickinson, John Wood and Dana Ivey. Kinnear played David Larrabee, who the family’s chauffeur’s daughter, Sabrina Fairchild (Ormond,) is desperately in love with though he barely knows she exists. After returning from Paris and re-inventing herself, David falls for Sabrina, but his brother Linus (Ford) tries to thwart the romance, but ends up falling for her himself. It received mixed reviews from critics, but I thought Kinnear’s performance as the “lesser Larrabee” who ended up surprising everyone was sweet and believable.
5. Little Miss Sunshine: – This 2006 dramedy was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two. Kinnear co-starred with Abigail Breslin, Alan Arkin, Paul Dano, The Sixth Sense’s Toni Collette, Steve Carell and Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston. Kinnear played Richard Hoover, who is trying to make a career as a motivational speaker and life coach in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His seven-year-old daughter Olive (Breslin) ends up qualifying for the “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty contest in California so he, his wife, Sheryl (Collette,) her gay brother, Frank (Carell,) Sheryl’s son Dwayne from a previous marriage (Dano) and Richard’s foul-mouthed father, Edwin (Arkin,) embark on an 800-mile road trip to get to the competition. Hysterical antics along with sweet occurrences fill this tale of a family coming together and learning about each other on a life-changing road trip.
4. You've Got Mail: – This 1998 romantic comedy directed by the late Nora Ephron had Kinnear starring opposite Hollywood heavyweights Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. It was written by Nora and Delia Ephron based on the 1937 play Parfumerie by Miklós László. An adaptation of Parfumerie was previously made as The Shop Around the Corner, a 1940 film by Ernst Lubitsch. Kinnear played Frank Navasky, a newspaper writer for the New York Observer and live-in boyfriend of children’s bookstore owner Kathleen Kelly (Ryan.) Kelly begins talking via the Internet to “NY152” screen name on her AOL account as “Shopgirl.” “NY152” turns out to be Joe Fox (Hanks,) whose family runs Fox Books, a chain of "mega" bookstores similar to Barnes & Noble, that threatens the livelihood of Kelly’s small bookshop. Neither Kelly or Fox knows the others real identity but fall for each other online. Kinnear’s portrayal of the writer who is obsessed with his old typewriter and ends up in a mutual breakup with Kelly, was endearing. He was a character who rooted for the underdog, had strong convictions, but just didn’t gel with Ryan’s character’s fun-loving zeal.
3. Mystery Men: – This 1999 fantasy comedy was loosely based on Burden's Flaming Carrot Comics published by Dark Horse Comics and had Kinnear playing opposite a bevy of comedic geniuses. Kinnear played Captain Amazing, the superhero of fictional Champion City, but he also had a secret identity/alter ego as billionaire Lance Hunt. Co-starring with William H. Macy, Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Geoffrey Rush, Janeane Garofalo, Kel Mitchell, Paul Reubens, Wes Studi, Claire Forlani, Eddie Izzard and Lena Olin, Kinnear’s character unsuccessfully attempts to defeat supervillian Casanova Frankenstein (Rush,) who has built a weapon that he plans to use to decimate the city. A group of wannabe superheroes then take it upon themselves to save the city and unconventional hijinks result! Though it was a small role, Kinnear showcased his flair for offbeat comedy.
2. Someone Like You... : – This 1999 Tony Goldwyn-directed romantic comedy was based on Laura Zigman's novel Animal Husbandry. Co-starring with Ashley Judd, Hugh Jackman, Marisa Tomei and Ellen Barkin, Kinnear played Ray Brown, the new producer of the Diane Roberts (Barkin) show, a local talk show. Jane Goodale (Judd) falls for the seemingly perfect Brown, who ends up breaking her heart, which leads her to form the “New Cow theory,” which details men’s inability to commit and need to “spread their seed by finding less familiar females” Kinnear playing a deceitful guy was a departure from his usual good guy roles and he played it well against Jackman’s scoundrel with a heart-of-gold, who ends up with Judd’s Goodale in the end.
1. As Good as It Gets: - This 1997 romantic comedy directed by James L. Brooks earned Kinnear an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Co-starring with Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Cuba Gooding Jr., Shirley Knight, Yeardley Smith and Skeet Ulrich, Kinnear played Simon Bishop, a gay artist living in New York and next door neighbor to the ornery, obsessive compulsive best-selling novelist Melvin Udall (Nicholson.) Simon is attacked in his home by model for one of his paintings and Udall ends up caring for his adorable dog, Verdell, while Simon is hospitalized. Meanwhile, Melvin has a crush on Carol Connelly (Hunt,) a waitress at the restaurant he frequents. After being released from the hospital, Simon loses his apartment and must get to Baltimore to reluctantly ask his parents for money even though his father disowned him upon realizing Simon’s sexual orientation at a young age. Carol, Simon and Melvin drive down to Baltimore and all three experience a life-altering trip where each learns about themselves, each other and what friendship and love really means. Kinnear’s performance as the homosexual artist, who one minute has no hope, but finds it deep down in his soul thanks to his art and Hunt’s and Nicholson’s characters was moving! He deserved the Academy Award, which went to Robin Williams for his role in Good Will Hunting.
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