Justin Long

Justin Long
Long at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Justin Jacob Long[1] June 2, 1978 (1978-06-02) (age 32) Fairfield, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999–present

Justin Jacob Long (born June 2, 1978) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Waiting..., Accepted, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a Mac" advertising campaign.

Early life

Long was born in Fairfield, Connecticut. His father, R. James Long, was a philosophy and Latin professor at Fairfield University, and his mother, Wendy Lesniak,^[2] is an actress who has mostly appeared on stage. Long had a conservative Roman Catholic upbringing.^[3] His grandmother is Sicilian.^[4] His older brother, Damian, is a local stage actor as well as a teacher and theater director at Weston High School. His younger brother, Christian, appears in his brother's film Accepted as the school mascot. Long attended Fairfield College Preparatory School, a Jesuit school, and Vassar College, where he was a member of the sketch comedy group Laughingstock and starred in several plays, including Butterflies Are Free. He left college early to pursue his career. Before leaving, Long worked at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, as an acting instructor/counselor for a children's theater group.

Career

Long benefitted early in his career from his friendship with MGM casting agent Devon O'Brien, who gave him his first job in a Pepsi commercial alongside Clint Eastwood.

(left-right) Jonah Hill, Long and Blake Lively promoting Accepted at Comic-Con in 2006

Long's film credits include Jeepers Creepers, Waiting..., Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, The Break-Up, Crossroads, Galaxy Quest, Dreamland, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Live Free Or Die Hard. He was also a regular on the NBC TV series Ed (2000–2004), playing socially awkward Warren Cheswick. He voiced the character of Alvin in 2007's Alvin and the Chipmunks and played the main character in the 2006 comedy film Accepted.

He made a guest appearance in the 2006 documentary, Wild West Comedy Show. In 2007, he co-starred with Bruce Willis as a "white-hat hacker" in Live Free or Die Hard^[5] and had a role in the film, The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang.

Long is known for his depiction of a Mac in Apple's “Get a Mac” campaign. The campaign features commercials in which Long as a Mac and John Hodgman as a PC engage in playful banter about "the strengths of the Mac platform and weaknesses of the PC platform."^[6]

Long also had a small role in the 2008 comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno, where he plays Brandon St. Randy, a gay porn star. In 2009, he starred in He's Just Not That into You along with co-star Ginnifer Goodwin and After.Life opposite Liam Neeson and Christina Ricci.

Long has recently been cast as a one-armed Civil War veteran in Robert Redford's The Conspirator.^[7]

Long also read the audiobook version of Judy Blume's Then Again, Maybe I Won't.

From July 7-18, 2010, Long recently appeared in a production of Samuel J. and K. at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.^[8]

On August 16, 2010, Long co-hosted WWE Monday Night RAW with Going the Distance co-stars Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.^[9]

Filmography

References

External links

• Justin Long at the Internet Movie Database
• Mac Ads
• RadarOnline Article about Apple not bringing Long back, and bringing him back after all
• Interview with Justin Long at SuicideGirls.com
• Video interview with Justin Long at the premiere of The Break-Up
• "Robin's Big Date" on Transbuddha.com