Jason Biggs
| Jason Biggs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Jason Matthew Biggs May 12, 1978[1] Pompton Plains, NJ, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse(s) | Jenny Mollen (m. 2008) |
| Children | 1 |
Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor best known for his role as Jim Levenstein in the American Pie series of teen comedy films. He is known for providing the voice of Leonardo in Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series, a role he held until he was replaced near the end of the show's second season, and he also portrayed Larry Bloom in Orange Is the New Black.
He initially gained recognition from the soap opera As the World Turns for the role of Pete Wendell for which he was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series in 1995.
Early life
Biggs was born in the Pompton Plains section of Pequannock Township, New Jersey. His mother, Angela (née Zocco), is a nurse, and his father, Gary Louis Biggs, is a shipping company manager.[2][3][4] Biggs' father is of English and Italian descent and Biggs' mother is of Sicilian descent. His last name is derived from his English ancestry.[3] He was raised Roman Catholic.[5]
He grew up in Hasbrouck Heights and attended Hasbrouck Heights High School,[6][7] where he achieved success in tennis.[8] Biggs attended Montclair State University for three weeks before dropping out.
Career
Biggs began acting at the age of five. In 1991, he made his television debut in the short lived FOX series Drexell's Class. In 1988, he received his Screen Actors Guild card for appearing in a TV commercial for Pathmark. He later recalled in a 2015 interview in TV Guide, "I remember I had to eat a doughnut in one of the shots. Over and over again. Awesome."[9]
When Biggs was 12, he starred in a one-off HBO special, The Fotis Sevastakis Story, but due to licensing arguments, it was never aired. That same year, Biggs debuted on Broadway in Conversations with My Father with Judd Hirsch.[10] He then starred in the daytime soap opera, As the World Turns, for which he was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Younger Actor.
Biggs attended New York University briefly from 1996–1997, but soon afterwards, he returned to pursue acting. And so he would be seen again in another short lived television series, 1997's Camp Stories. He then starred in American Pie, which went on to become an international hit that has spawned three sequels (also starring Biggs) and four spinoffs (that did not star Biggs). After that, Biggs accepted starring roles in movies such as Loser in 2000, and others. In 2001, Biggs starred in the comedy Saving Silverman. He appeared in the 2002 Broadway production of The Graduate as Benjamin Braddock alongside Kathleen Turner and Alicia Silverstone. In 2003, Biggs appeared as Jerry Falk in the Woody Allen romantic comedy Anything Else. In the 2004–2005 season Biggs portrayed an Orthodox Jew in Daniel Goldfarb's comedy, Modern Orthodox, staged at Dodger Stages theater in New York City. In 2006, Biggs was seen in the MTV reality show Blowin' Up with Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone which led to his participation in a hip-hop recording with Bay Area rapper E-40. Biggs returned to the stage in the fall of 2008 in Howard Korder's Boys' Life at New York City's Second Stage Theatre.
Biggs has appeared in several other films, including Texas Rangers and Over Her Dead Body. In 2010, Biggs made his literary debut by contributing "Scratch-and-Sniff," a poem about growing up in New Jersey, to the anthology What's Your Exit? A Literary Detour through New Jersey (Word Riot Press, 2010), alongside writers such as Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Perrotta, Robert Pinsky, Gerald Stern, and J. Robert Lennon. In 2012, he contributed to the anthology, Oy! Only Six? Why Not More: Six-Word Memoirs on Jewish Life. His contribution, "This is a Roman nose, OK?", was both ironic and prescient: Biggs is not Jewish and the editor of the anthology is Larry Smith, creator of Six-Word Memoirs, who a year later would be the basis for Bigg's Orange Is the New Black character Larry Bloom. He departed the series in February 2015 after two seasons.[11]
Biggs reprised his role as Jim Levenstein in American Reunion, which was released on April 6, 2012. In the summer of 2012, Biggs took a job voicing Leonardo on Nickelodeon in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He left the series during its second season and was temporarily replaced by Dominic Catrambone.[12] Seth Green permanently took over the role from Biggs beginning in season 3.[13] Biggs also plays the cowbell in the supergroup Yukon Kornelius.[14]
In was announced in September 2014 that Biggs would star on Broadway in The Heidi Chronicles.[15] The play opened on March 19.
In December 2014, The Hollywood Reporter announced Biggs was cast to star in the comedy Drive, She Said. The story centers on an insecure expectant father (Biggs) who, unable to find work in his field, unwittingly accepts a job chauffeuring prostitutes (Janet Montgomery, Ashley Tisdale, Bria Murphy) around Los Angeles. Jenny Mollen, who is Biggs' wife in real life, appears as Biggs’ wife onscreen.[16]
Personal life
Biggs has stated in interviews that he is sometimes cast as an explicitly or implicitly Jewish character, as he was in American Pie (other examples include his roles in Saving Silverman, Anything Else, and Orange is the New Black), though he is not Jewish himself.[5][17]
In January 2008, he became engaged to his My Best Friend's Girl co-star, actress Jenny Mollen; they married on April 23, 2008.[18] They have a son who was born in 2014.[19]
Biggs made headlines after writing vulgar jokes about Ann Romney and Janna Ryan on his Twitter account during the 2012 Republican National Convention.[20] In March 2014, Biggs caused controversy when joking about the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.[21] Four months later, Biggs again generated controversy when he joked about Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.[22] He also drew criticism in May 2014 when he mocked the death of The Bachelorette contestant Eric Hill.[23][24]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | Drexell's Class | Willie Trancas | Series regular; 14 episodes |
| 1994–95 | As the World Turns | Pete Wendall | Nominated – Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series (1995) Nominated – Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Male Newcomer (1995) |
| 1997 | Total Security | Robbie Rosenfeld | 7 episodes |
| 2002 | Off Centre | Rick Steve | Episode: "The Good, the Bad and the Lazy" |
| 2004 | Frasier | Dr. Hauck | Episode: "Goodnight, Seattle: Part 2" |
| 2005 | Will & Grace | Baby Glenn | Episode: "The Hole Truth" |
| 2006 | Blowin' Up | Himself | Episode: "The Break-Up" |
| 2009 | Happiness Isn't Everything | Jason Hamburger | CBS pilot, also producer |
| 2011 | Mad Love | Ben Parr | Main cast & producer; 13 episodes |
| 2012–14 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Leonardo Rat Man Freak |
Main cast, voice (Seasons 1–2) Episode: "Of Rats and Men"; Voice |
| 2012, 2013 | The Good Wife | Dylan Stack | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | 8 Out of 10 Cats | Himself | Guest appearance, 1 episode |
| 2013–14 | Orange Is the New Black | Larry Bloom | Main cast, 21 episodes Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series (2014) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2015) |
| 2014 | Hollywood Game Night | Himself | Episode: "Game Night: Behind Bars" |
| 2014 | Deadbeat | Reed Kelly | 1 episode |
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Graduate | Benjamin Braddock | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre | |
| 2015 | The Heidi Chronicles | Scoop Rosenbaum | Music Box Theatre |
| Year | Title | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Teenage Dirtbag | Wheatus | Title character |
References
- ↑ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly (1207). Time Inc. May 18, 2012. p. 29.
- ↑ "Jason Biggs Biography (1978–)". Film Reference. Retrieved January 24, 2015
- 1 2 Kevin Pollak interview: KPCS Jason Biggs #145. kevinpollakschatshow. YouTube. (32 minute mark)
- ↑ "Assunta "Susan" (Furno) BIGGS". NorthJersey.com. July 11, 2010
- 1 2 Pfefferman, Naomi (August 9, 2001). "A Nice Not-Jewish Boy". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.
- ↑ McKinley, Jesse. "THEATER; Bye, Bye 'American Pie'; Mrs. Robinson Is Calling", The New York Times, March 31, 2002. Accessed March 3, 2008. "Unlike that character, Mr. Biggs was proving to be a pretty normal teenager, playing high school tennis and holding a series of menial jobs (flower delivery boy, sandwich maker, kitchen staff at a hospital). In 1996, he graduated from Hasbrouck Heights High School and started at New York University, where he enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences."
- ↑ "Jason Biggs is Hot". TeenHollywood.com, October 13, 2000
- ↑ Della Cava, Marco R. (July 25, 2000). "Acting dreams no longer 'Pie' in the sky Huggable Jason Biggs is on a roll after losing his cinematic virginity". USA Today.
- ↑ Moynihan, Rob (January 19, 2015). "How I Got My SAG-AFTRA Card", TV Guide. p. 8
- ↑ Biggs, Jason (August 1, 2012). "Jason Biggs on Judd Hirsch in 'Conversations With My Father'". Backstage.
- ↑ "Jason Biggs not returning for Orange Is the New Black season 3". Entertainment Weekly. February 22, 2015.
- ↑ "Jason Biggs replaced by Seth Green as voice of Leonardo on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series". Metro.co.uk. 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
Rumours have been circulating in recent weeks as to Biggs’ future in the hit animated franchise, with Dominic Catrambone voicing the character in recent episodes.
- ↑ "Nickelodeon Renews 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' for Season 4 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. June 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Picture Show: Yukon Kornelius w/ Al Schnier, Sebastian Bach, Dee Snider, Jason Biggs, Warren DeMartini & More @ FestEVOL 2013". Hidden Track. March 22, 2013.
- ↑ Michael Gioia. "Elisabeth Moss, Bryce Pinkham, Jason Biggs Set for Broadway Revival of Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles".
- ↑ Kit, Borys (December 5, 2014). "Jason Biggs, Ashley Tisdale Starring in Indie Comedy 'Drive, She Said' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Clown prince". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
- ↑ "Jason Biggs: Bio". BuddyTV. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ↑ Parker, Heidi (18 February 2014). "Woah, baby! Jason Biggs shares video from INSIDE labour ward as wife gives birth to boy Sid". DailyMail. London. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ Couch, Aaron (September 5, 2012). "Nickelodeon Apologizes for Jason Biggs' 'Vulgar' RNC Tweets". The Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ Selby, Jenn (March 11, 2014). "Jason Biggs criticised for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 joke made days after aircraft carrying 239 reported missing". The Independent
- ↑ Sieczkowski, Cavan (July 17, 2014). "Jason Biggs Tweets Malaysia Airlines Joke After Crash". The Huffington Post.
- ↑ Marcus, Stephanie (May 20, 2014). "Jason Biggs Mocks Dead 'Bachelorette' Contestant Eric Hill". The Huffington Post
- ↑ Malec, Brett (May 20, 2014). "Jason Biggs Mocks Dead Bachelorette Contestant Eric Hill: See His Controversial Tweets". E! Online
External links
- Jason Biggs on Twitter
- Jason Biggs at the Internet Movie Database
- Jason Biggs at AllMovie