"Jonah Hill"

Jonah Hill (born Jonah Hill Feldstein; December 20, 1983) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian, best known for his roles in Superbad (2007), Knocked Up (2007), Funny People (2009), Get Him to the Greek (2010), Moneyball (2011), and 21 Jump Street (2012). He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees (2004), alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin Hoffman. He also co-created and starred in the animated comedy Allen Gregory on FOX. Hill was first nominated for a Teen Choice Award for his role in Accepted (2006) as Sherman Schrader, and for his role in Moneyball he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Hill was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Sharon Lyn (née Chalkin), a costume designer and fashion stylist, and Richard Feldstein, a tour accountant for Guns N' Roses. Hill was raised Jewish. His parents were originally from Long Island, New York, and the family vacationed in the Catskills. He attended The Center for Early Education, Brentwood School and then Crossroads School, in Santa Monica. After graduating from high school, Hill left California to attend The New School, where he studied music and sport.


While in college, Hill began writing his own plays and performing them in the Black and White bar in the East Village neighborhood of New York City. His plays developed a small following and helped him realize that his true desire was to act in films. Hill was befriended by Dustin Hoffman's children, Rebecca and Jake, who introduced Hill to their father. The elder Hoffman asked him to audition for a role in I Heart Huckabees, in which Hill made his film debut.

Hill then made a brief appearance in Judd Apatow's directorial debut The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which eventually led to him starring in a larger supporting role in the Apatow-directed Knocked Up, an uncredited role of Dewey Cox's grown-up brother Nate Cox in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, and leading roles in the Apatow-produced Superbad and Get Him to the Greek.

On television, Hill played the "RA Guy" on the first season of the Oxygen Network sitcom Campus Ladies. He also guest-starred in an episode of Clark and Michael.

He was scheduled to host Saturday Night Live on November 17, 2007, which would have featured musical guest Kid Rock, but the episode was canceled due to the Writers Guild of America strike which lasted from November 5, 2007, to February 12, 2008. Instead, he hosted the March 15, 2008, show, which featured musical guest Mariah Carey (who was a replacement for the originally scheduled musical guest Janet Jackson).

He guest-starred in an episode of Reno 911 which aired on April 1, 2009.

Hill was in negotiations for a part in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as a sidekick to Shia LaBeouf's character, but this didn't go through. He next starred in Judd Apatow's third directorial feature, Funny People, which also starred Adam Sandler, Eric Bana and Seth Rogen. He also was an associate producer of the 2009 Sacha Baron Cohen mockumentary Brüno.

He guest starred on an episode of The Simpsons called "Pranks and Greens", portraying an immature man named Andy Hamilton who was hailed the best prankster in Springfield Elementary School history.

In July 2011, Hill appeared at ESPN's ESPY awards sporting a much slimmer physique. He claimed to have lost 40 pounds. In November 2011, Hill, along with Sam Worthington and Dwight Howard, starred in commercials for the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, making his first appearance with his new look. Hill was scheduled to guest star on the November 21, 2011 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, but he skipped the event and a reason for Hill's no-show was not made clear.

Hill received a Golden Globe nomination, his first nomination, for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for his performance in the 2011 sports film Moneyball, in which he portrayed his first dramatic role as Peter Brandt. In late January 2012, Hill received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in Moneyball.

Hill co-starred with Channing Tatum in the film 21 Jump Street in 2012. In August 2011, it was confirmed that Hill would star in Neighborhood Watch. Later in 2011, it was announced that Jonah Hill was in talks to star in Quentin Tarantino's new movie Django Unchained. However, Hill had to decline a possible role due to his prior commitment to Neighborhood Watch, lamenting that to act in a Tarantino movie was "the perfect next step" in his career.

Hill has wanted to be a writer since he was young, dreaming of someday joining the writing teams of The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live and The Larry Sanders Show. At one point, Hill was writing a screenplay with close friend and I Heart Huckabees co-star Jason Schwartzman. At another, he was writing Pure Imagination, a comedy for Sony about a man who develops an imaginary friend after a traumatic experience. Filming was expected to begin in 2008, but it has been in development since then. Hill directed his first music video, for singer Sara Bareilles's "Gonna Get Over You".

source : http://en.wikipedia.org