Curated playlist

Jewish American male actors

Woody AllenWoody Allen failed a film production course at New York University, then went on to direct Annie Hall.
Adam SandlerAdam Sandler once made a Western comedy that critics almost universally panned. On the 6th of January 2016, Netflix announced that the film, The Ridiculous 6, had been watched more times in thirty days than any other movie in the service's…
Kirk DouglasKirk Douglas insisted on giving blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo an on-screen credit for Spartacus.
Ben StillerBen Stiller's films have grossed more than $2.6 billion in Canada and the United States, an average of $79 million per film. Behind that figure stands Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller, an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known…
Mel BrooksMel Brooks was 14 years old when he climbed onto a diving board at the Butler Lodge, a second-rate hotel in the Borscht Belt. He worked there as a pool-side tummler, an entertainer hired to keep the guests amused. On this day he wore a…
Paul SimonPaul Simon, the American singer-songwriter and guitarist, nearly gave one of his best-known songs the wrong name. While writing music for the film The Graduate, he toyed with calling a new song "Mrs. Roosevelt." Art Garfunkel passed the…
Jake GyllenhaalJake Gyllenhaal, the American actor born on the 19th of December 1980, came close to playing two of the best-known superheroes in film. In 2003 he auditioned for Batman Begins and nearly won the part, which went to Christian Bale. A year…
Stan LeeStan Lee used a pen name because comic books embarrassed him. He wanted his real name saved for a novel he never wrote.
Robert Downey Jr.Robert Downey Jr. was too big an insurance risk to hire until Mel Gibson paid his insurance bond.
Sammy Davis Jr.Sammy Davis Jr. once answered a simple golf question with a line that became his signature. Playing a round with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. Davis replied, "Handicap?" and then went on: "Talk about handicap. I'm a…
Paul NewmanAt the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona, Paul Newman was 70 years and eight days old, and his team won its class. That made him the oldest driver to date on a winning team in a major sanctioned race. Newman was best known as a film star, and he…
Noah WyleNoah Wyle won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for playing an emergency room doctor in The Pitt, three decades after his first Emmy nomination in 1995. The American actor was born in Hollywood in 1971. In the…
James FrancoFor five weeks, James Franco spent twelve hours a day in a gully built as a film set, and he left it only to use the lavatory. Between takes he read books, including academic textbooks, just to keep busy. The American actor and filmmaker…
Jon BernthalJon Bernthal was studying acting in Russia when he also won a place as a catcher for a Russian professional baseball team. Few American actors can say the same. That pairing of stage training and a ballfield, far from home, sets the tone…
Jack BlackJack Black is an American actor, comedian, singer and musician, and in 2025 he attached his name to the shortest song ever to reach the Billboard Hot 100. "Steve's Lava Chicken", from A Minecraft Movie, lasts just 34 seconds. It edged out…
Gene SimmonsGene Simmons was born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel, on the 25th of August 1949. He grew up to become the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss, where he plays a stage character called the Demon. Rock stardom has a reputation…
Lorne MichaelsLorne Michaels once offered The Beatles $3,000 to reunite on live TV. It came in Saturday Night Live's first season.
Rob ReinerRob Reiner, the American filmmaker, actor and political activist, once joked about how firmly a sitcom nickname had attached itself to him. "I could win the Nobel Prize and they'd write 'Meathead wins the Nobel Prize.'" The remark came…
Bruce VilanchWhen Jack Palance did one-armed push-ups at the 1992 Oscars, Bruce Vilanch wrote new jokes on the spot.
Max ReinhardtMax Reinhardt once won an acting school's building in a poker game. The director later taught Shirley Temple there.
Jon FavreauJon Favreau named his company after the golem of Jewish folklore. It can protect or destroy, like technology.
Adam LevineAdam Levine was twelve years old when he played his first professional gig at The Troubadour. He was so nervous that he played with his back to the audience. Today he is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and only continuous member of the…
Timothée ChalametDirector Paul King cast Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka without an audition. King had watched Chalamet's high school performances on YouTube and decided that they proved his singing and dancing. Chalamet is an American and French actor…
Jeff GoldblumIn July 2018, a statue of Jeff Goldblum stood 25 feet tall beside London's Tower Bridge. It was a temporary installation, built to mark 25 years since the release of Jurassic Park. Goldblum, born Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum on the 22nd of…
Shia LaBeoufShia LaBeouf, the American actor and filmmaker born in 1986, walked the red carpet at the Berlin Film Festival on the 9th of February 2014 in a tuxedo with a brown paper bag over his head. Across the bag were written the words "I am not…