Justin Theroux

Justin Theroux

Theroux at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
Born August 10, 1971
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation Actor, director, screenwriter
Years active 1995–present

Justin Paul Theroux (born August 10, 1971)[1] is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work with film director David Lynch, appearing in Mulholland Drive (2001) and Inland Empire (2006). He is also known as a screenwriter for films such as Tropic Thunder, Iron Man 2, and Rock of Ages. Since 2014, he has starred in the HBO series The Leftovers.

Family

Theroux's mother, Phyllis (née Grissim), is a journalist and author who worked for The Washington Post, and his father, Eugene Theroux, is a corporate lawyer.[2][3] Theroux is the nephew of the travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux, novelist and poet Alexander Theroux, author Peter Theroux, and novelist and educator Joseph Theroux; he is the cousin of British journalists and documentary filmmakers Louis and Marcel Theroux. His father is of half French Canadian and half Italian descent. His brother JP is a lawyer at Baker & McKenzie in Washington D.C.[4][5] Through his mother, Theroux is a great-great-grandson of financier, banker and railroad magnate H.B. Hollins,[6][7] and of music critic and author Gustav Kobbé.[8][9][10]

Early life

Theroux was born in Washington, D.C. and attended Lafayette Elementary School for K-6. He then went to Annunciation School for 7th grade, The Field School for 8th grade, before he transferred to Buxton School where he began his acting training. He graduated from Bennington College in 1993 with a B.A. in visual arts and drama.[11]

Career

Theroux made his film debut in 1996 in Mary Harron's I Shot Andy Warhol. Since then, he has performed both on Broadway, starring in Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme; in numerous off-Broadway productions; and in comedy films such as Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Baxter, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Broken Hearts Club, and Zoolander.

The stars and director of the film Mulholland Drive at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Left to right: actor Naomi Watts, director David Lynch, and actors Laura Harring and Justin Theroux

He has also performed in more serious films such as American Psycho. He appeared in the film versions of the cult television shows Strangers With Candy and Michael Mann's Miami Vice. He starred in David Lynch's films Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire.

In 2003, he was featured in a music video for the British band Muse for their song "Hysteria". Theroux also has appeared on television, having starred in The District and appeared on episodes of shows such as Alias, Ally McBeal, Sex and the City (in which he guest starred in two episodes as different characters), and Six Feet Under (in which he played a recurring character in the third and fourth seasons).

In 2006, he directed his first film, Dedication, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. A fan of the band Deerhoof, Theroux chose them to score Dedication.[12] Theroux also had roles in two other films at the festival, Broken English and The Ten, in which he played Jesus Christ alongside Gretchen Mol. Theroux co-wrote the Ben Stiller-directed Oscar-nominated film Tropic Thunder, and also appeared in the behind-the-scenes mockumentary Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness.[13]

In 2008, Theroux played John Hancock in the HBO miniseries John Adams. In 2009, Theroux made up part of the voice cast for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. He also played Justin in Parks and Recreation. Theroux wrote the screenplay for the 2010 film Iron Man 2. Following Theroux's work on Tropic Thunder, actor Robert Downey, Jr. recommended Theroux as a screenwriter to the film's director, Jon Favreau.

In 2010, Theroux was announced to write and direct a proposed sequel to the 2001 film Zoolander.[14]

Theroux returned to acting in the film Your Highness (2011), as Leezar, an evil wizard who kidnaps a princess. He starred in the 2012 comedy Wanderlust, playing the leader of a hippie commune.

In August 2012, Deadline Hollywood reported that Theroux would be directing and rewriting the script for the comedy film Swear to God, [15] about a hedge fund manager who thinks he has seen God. The film has been in development since June 29, 2011, with Steve Carell and Will Ferrell cast as the leads.[16]

In June 2013, Cinemablend reported Theroux would be the lead character in HBO's TV pilot The Leftovers.[17] In September 2013 Deadline Hollywood reported that HBO greenlighted the series for 10 episodes.[18] The series, which premiered June 29, 2014, is based on a book of the same name by Tom Perrotta which follows a group of people left behind in the suburban community of Mapleton after mysterious disappearances, world-wide.[19]

Personal life

Theroux was in a long term relationship with stylist Heidi Bivens until 2011.[20] Theroux began dating actress Jennifer Aniston in 2011, after working together on the film Wanderlust.[21] They became engaged in August 2012.[21]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Body Count Daniel
1996 I Shot Andy Warhol Mark
1997 Dream House Mark Brooks
1997 Below Utopia Daniel Beckett
1997 Romy and Michele's High School Reunion Clarence the Cowboy
1998 Frogs for Snakes Flav Santana
1998 Dead Broke James
1999 Sirens Officer David Bontempo Television film
2000 American Psycho Timothy Bryce
2000 The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy Marshall
2001 Mulholland Dr. Adam Kesher
2001 The Sleepy Time Gal Rebecca's Boyfriend
2001 Zoolander Evil DJ
2003 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Seamus O'Grady
2003 Duplex Coop
2003 Happy End Jack
2005 Strangers with Candy Carlo Honklin
2005 The Baxter Bradley Lake
2006 The Legend of Lucy Keyes Guy Cooley
2006 Return to Rajapur Jeremy Reardon
2006 Miami Vice Detective Larry Zito
2006 Inland Empire Devon Berk/Billy Side
2007 Broken English Nick Gable
2007 The Ten Jesus H. Christ
2007 Dedication Lawyer on phone Director and executive producer
2008 Tropic Thunder DJ at Party scene Writer and executive producer
2010 Iron Man 2 Writer
2010 Megamind Megamind's Father (voice) Executive producer and creative consultant
2011 Your Highness Leezar
2012 Wanderlust Seth
2012 Rock of Ages Writer
2016 Zoolander 2 Writer

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Central Park West Gary Andrews Episode: "Stephanie and the Wolves"
1998 Spin City Pete Episode: "Local Hero"
1998 New York Undercover Frankie Stone 3 episodes
1998 Ally McBeal Raymond Brown Episode: "Just Looking"
1998–1999 Sex and the City Jared / Vaughn Wysel 2 episodes
2000–2001 The District Nick Pierce 27 episodes
2003 Alias Simon Walker 2 episodes
2003–2004 Six Feet Under Joe 8 episodes
2005 Confessions of a Dog Pilot
2008 John Adams John Hancock 2 episodes
2010 Parks and Recreation Justin Anderson 4 episodes
2011 Documental Jan Jurgen Pilot
Director and writer
2014–present The Leftovers Kevin Garvey 10 episodes

References

  1. ↑ "Justin Theroux Biography". Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  2. ↑ Arnold, Gary (October 12, 2001). "Smoke and Mirrors". The Washington Post (via Davidlynch.de). Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ Hines, Barbara Boehmcharlie Reillyalexander Therouxarthur (September 14, 1980). "Letters – Lowells and Sitwells Questions of Gender The Wrong Theroux Cats" (TITLE ABSTRACT ONLY). The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  4. ↑ Marchand, Philip (November 21, 1998). "Odd Authors? It Takes One to Know One" (ABSTRACT). Toronto Star (via ProQuest Archiver). Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  5. ↑ Staff (n.d.). "Biography". Paultheroux.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  6. ↑ Staff (n.d.). "HollinsGrissim" (TITLE ABSTRACT ONLY). The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  7. ↑ Staff (2011). Contemporary Authors New Revision Series – A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, & Other Fields. Gale Group (via Google Books). ISBN 978-1-414-46106-9. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  8. ↑ Staff (November 5, 1937). "Mrs.Hollins Web in Reno – Daughter of Mrs. Gustav Kobbe Is Bride of Henry Morgan" (ABSTRACT). The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  9. ↑ Staff (October 23, 1909). "Hewlett – Schoonmacher Wedding" (ABSTRACT (CLICK "PREVIEW" FOR FULL ARTICLE IN PDF FORMAT; ADOBE READER REQUIRED)). The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  10. ↑ Staff (November 19, 1909). "Marriage Announcement 1 – No Title" (ABSTRACT (CLICK "PREVIEW" FOR FULL ARTICLE IN PDF FORMAT; ADOBE READER REQUIRED)). The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  11. ↑ Chaney, Jen (May 5, 2010). "Talking with Justin Theroux, Writer of 'Iron Man 2'". Celebritology 2.0 (blog of The Washington Post). Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  12. ↑ Staff (August 21, 2007). "Excl: Justin Theroux Has Dedication". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  13. ↑ Database (undated). "Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Justin Theroux to Co-Write and Direct 'Zoolander 2'". Collider.com. February 24, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  15. ↑ Fleming, Mike (August 9, 2012). [url=http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/justin-theroux-to-hellm-swear-to-god-with-will-ferrell-and-steve-carell/ "Justin Theroux To Helm ‘Swear To God’ With Will Ferrell And Steve Carell"]. Deadline Hollywood. PMC Digital Media. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Swear to God". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  17. ↑ West, Kelly (June 4, 2013). "Damon Lindelof's HBO Pilot The Leftovers Casts Justin Theroux". cinemablend.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  18. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (September 16, 2013). "Damon Lindelof’s ‘The Leftovers’ Gets Series Order At HBO". Deadline Hollywood. PMC Digital Media. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  19. ↑ "The Leftovers Episode List". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Five Things to Know About Justin Theroux's Ex-Girlfriend, Heidi Bivens".
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Jordan, Julie (August 12, 2012). "Jennifer Aniston Is Engaged to Justin Theroux!". People. Time Inc. Retrieved August 12, 2012.

External links