Breckin Meyer | |
|---|---|
 Meyer at the 2011San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | (1974-05-07)May 7, 1974 (age 51) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Breckin Meyer[1] (born May 7, 1974) is an American actor and podcaster. He is best known for his work on theAdult Swim animated sketch seriesRobot Chicken, which has earned him twoAnnie Awards and fivePrimetime Emmy Award nominations.
Meyer gained traction with main roles on theABC sitcomThe Jackie Thomas Show (1992–1993) and theNBC sitcomThe Home Court (1995–1996), alongside supporting roles in the filmsFreddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991),Clueless (1995), andThe Craft (1996). He had his breakout with the lead role in the sex comedy filmRoad Trip (2000). Meyer followed this with starring roles in the filmsRat Race (2001),Kate & Leopold (2001), andPinocchio (2002). He received further recognition for his role asJon Arbuckle inGarfield: The Movie (2004) andGarfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006). Meyer has also had starring roles in the filmsHerbie: Fully Loaded (2005),Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009),Changeland (2019), andUnpregnant (2020).
Meyer had lead roles as Tom Wagner on the ABC sitcomMarried to the Kellys (2003–2004) and Jared Franklin on theTNT legal comedy-drama seriesFranklin & Bash (2011–2014), as well as a main role on the ABC seriesThe Fix (2019). He created theTBS sitcomMen at Work (2012–2014). Meyer had a main voice role as pubescent Joseph Gribble on theFox animated sitcomKing of the Hill (2000–2010).
Breckin Meyer was born on May 7, 1974, inMinneapolis, Minnesota, to Dorothy Ann (née Vial), a travel agent and formermicrobiologist, and Christopher William Meyer, a management consultant.[2] He has lived inCalifornia,Texas,West Virginia, andNew Jersey. He has an older brother, Frank, and a younger brother, Adam. Meyer attended elementary school withDrew Barrymore (and was apparently her first kiss)[3][4] and also attendedBeverly 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 showChild's Play.[6] He also claims to have slept in a closedcoffin for several years in high school.[7]
Meyer played several roles as a druggie, starting with his debut inFreddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), in which he was dispatched in a video game. His breakthrough screen role was in the teen hitClueless (1995) as the skateboarding stoner. Meyer offered similar characterizations inThe Craft and John Carpenter'sEscape from L.A. (both 1996). He played the best friend of an Olympic hopeful in the biopicPrefontaine (1997) and a high-school student yearning to leave his hometown inDancer, Texas Pop. 81 (1998).
In54 (also 1998), a look at life in the famous '70s nightspotStudio 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 andSeth Green share a production company.
Meyer would subsequently appear in films includingGo (1999) andThe Insider (1999) before graduating to a full-fledged leading role in theDreamWorks hitRoad 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 withAmy Smart in yet another racing cross country film, this time as part of the multi-plot ensemble ofRat Race (2001), a sort-of homage to the all-star screwball chase films of the 1960s, such asIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Meyer put in a supporting turn asMeg Ryan's character's brother in the whimsical fantasy-comedyKate & Leopold (2001). Meyer also took on the role ofJon Arbuckle, the hapless owner of the famed comic strip cat in the film adaptation ofGarfield (2004).
Meyer also starred inBlue State (2007) withAnna Paquin in which he plays a passionately liberal guy on the campaign trail forJohn 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 withMatthew McConaughey inGhosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). Meyer starred oppositeEmily Kinney and Giselle Eisenberg in the independent dark comedyThe Enormity of Life (2021) about a suicidal man struggling with life and love.
Meyer regularly does writing and voice work onRobot Chicken, and was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on theRobot Chicken: Star Wars specials. He also voiced the adolescent Joseph Gribble on the animated seriesKing of the Hill and starred on theAdult Swim seriesTitan Maximum.
Meyer is also a musician, playing drums in the punk band The Street Walkin' Cheetahs as well as with artists includingThe Nightwatchman,Ben Harper,Cypress Hill,Slash andPerry Farrell at L.A.'sHotel Café.
Meyer was the drummer forthe Nightwatchman's (Tom Morello) backing band, called The Freedom Fighter Orchestra. Meyer toured with the Nightwatchman's 2008 Justice Tour. He appears inStreet Sweeper Social Club's video for "100 Little Curses"[8] and "Promenade".
Meyer married screenwriter and film directorDeborah Kaplan on October 14, 2001, and has two daughters with her. They divorced in 2014.[9]
As of 2024, he is dating Kelly Rizzo, the widow ofBob Saget.[10]
His brother, Frank Meyer, was a staffer and producer of Fresh Ink Online atG4tv.com.[11]
| 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 Jr. | |
| Rebound | Tim Fink | ||
| 2006 | Caffeine | Dylan | |
| Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties | Jon Arbuckle | ||
| Ted's MBA | Ted Meyers | Also known asCorporate 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 |
| 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 | Prince Zuko,Green Arrow, Sean Parker | 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 |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Titanfall 2 | Dr. Jefferson Boyle |
| 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 withAmy Smart) | Road Trip | Nominated |
| 2002 | Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Actor(shared withRoberto Benigni) | Pinocchio | Nominated |
| 2003 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Actor(shared withRoberto 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 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
