Kevin Kline Actor - Born October 24, 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Birth Name Kevin Delaney Kline

Height 6' 1½" (1.87 m)

Mini Bio (1) Kevin Kline was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Margaret and Robert Joseph Kline, who owned several stores. His father was of German Jewish descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry. After attending Indiana University in Bloomington, Kline studied at the Juilliard School in New York. In 1972, Kline joined the Acting Company in New York which was run by John Houseman. With this company, Kline performed Shakespeare across the country. On the stage, Kline has won two Tony Awards for his work in the musicals "On the Twentieth Century" (1978) and "The Pirates of Penzance" (1981). After working on the Television soap Search for Tomorrow (1951), Kline went to Hollywood where his first film was Sophie's Choice (1982). He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. His work in the ensemble cast of The Big Chill (1983) would again be highly successful, so that when Lawrence Kasdan wrote Silverado (1985), Kline would again be part of the cast. With his role as Otto "Don't call me Stupid!" West in the film A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Kline would win the Oscar for Supporting Actor. Kline could play classic roles such as Hamlet in Great Performances: Hamlet (1990); or a swashbuckling actor like Douglas Fairbanks in Chaplin (1992); or a comedic role in Soapdish (1991). In all the films that he has worked in, it is hard to find a performance that is not well done. In 1989, Kline married actress Phoebe Cates.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana

Spouse (1) Phoebe Cates (5 March 1989 - present) 2 children M1. Owen Joseph Kline (14 October 1991) F2. Greta Simone Kline (21 March 1994)

Kevin Kline met future wife Phoebe Cates when she auditioned for the role of Chloe in The Big Chill (1983)

Trade Mark (1) Usually has a mustache in comedies and is clean-shaven in dramas

Has played presidents and their doubles twice to date: he played Dave and President Bill Mitchell in Dave (1993), and Artemus Gordon and President Ulysses S. Grant in Wild Wild West (1999).

Has appeared with wife Phoebe Cates and their two children, Owen Kline and Greta Kline, as a family of four in The Anniversary Party (2001).

Attended and graduated from the Saint Louis Priory School in St. Louis, Missouri (1965).

Received his Bachelor's degree in Speech and Theatre from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana (1970).

Has three siblings: Chris Kline, Alex Kline and Kate Kline May.

Turned down the role of Bruce Wayne in Batman (1989), which went to Michael Keaton.

In 1975, he met with director Steven Spielberg about playing Matt Hooper in Jaws (1975) (played by Richard Dreyfuss). Kevin said that he knew someone who was an oceanographer and thought he could play one. Spielberg then told him "I don't want someone who knows someone who is an oceanographer, I want someone who is an oceanographer." Richard Dreyfuss then got the role.

Though this appears that his feature debut was in Sophie's Choice (1982), Kline had actually completed The Pirates of Penzance (1983) before going on to co-star with Meryl Streep, but the release of 'Pirates' was sufficiently delayed, enabling 'Sophie' to receive an earlier release.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California December 3, 2004.

Won two Tony Awards: in 1978 as Best Actor (Featured Role - Musical) for playing Bruce Granit in "On the Twentieth Century", and in 1981 as Best Actor (Musical) for playing The Pirate King in "The Pirates of Penzance", a performance he recreated in the film version of the same title, The Pirates of Penzance (1983). He was also nominated in 2004 as Best Actor (Play) for portraying Sir John Falstaff in Shakespeare's "Henry IV".

Met future wife Phoebe Cates when she auditioned for the role of Chloe in The Big Chill (1983), which eventually went to Meg Tilly.

Won an Obie Award in 1980/1981 for his role as The Pirate King in "The Pirates of Penzance".

Son-in-law of Joseph Cates.

The theater at his alma mater, St. Louis Priory School, is named in his honor.

He was awarded a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame at 6630 Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri on May 17, 1998.

Inspired the Kevin Kline Mustache Principle, according to movie critic Roger Ebert: Kline always has facial hair in comedies, but is clean-shaven in dramatic roles. There are several exceptions to the rule, most notably In & Out (1997), Silverado (1985) and Wild Wild West (1999) (although in the latter, he did wear a beard and mustache to play President Ulysses S. Grant).

Has played dual roles in three of his films: Dave (1993), Wild Wild West (1999) and Fierce Creatures (1997). In each film, one of his characters has to impersonate the other one.

Is one of the few actors in history to receive the Academy Award for a comedic acting role (A Fish Called Wanda (1988)).

Is the first American actor to receive the Sir John Gielgud Golden Quill Award and was recently honored with the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004, he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

The Kevin Kline Awards were first presented on March 20, 2006 in honor of the actor, a St. Louis native and Priory School graduate. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in Professional Theatre in the Greater St. Louis Area. They honor theatre artists and productions in over 20 categories.

His father owned a toy and record store in Clayton, Missouri, called "The Record Bar".

Studied acting with Michael Howard in New York City.

Has appeared with John Cleese in Silverado (1985), A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Fierce Creatures (1997). He would later appear in The Pink Panther (2006), but was replaced in the sequel by none other than Cleese. His castmate in that film is Steve Martin, with whom he previously appeared in Grand Canyon (1991). Kline went on to appear on stage as Cyrano de Bergerac, while Martin played a modern Cyrano-like character in Roxanne (1987).

Speaks French fluently.

His father was from an Ashkenazi Jewish family from Germany, and his mother was from an Irish Catholic family. Kevin was raised in his mother's faith.

Became a father for the first time at age 43 when his wife Phoebe Cates gave birth to their son Owen Joseph Kline, aka Owen Kline, on October 14, 1991.

Became a father for the second time at age 46 when his wife Phoebe Cates gave birth to their daughter Greta Simone Kline, aka Greta Kline, on March 21, 1994.

He majored in music for two years at Indiana University but switched to drama. He joined the first class of John Houseman's new drama division at Lincoln Center's Julliard School and became a founding member of Houseman's The Acting Company.

Has portrayed two famous movie swashbuckler stars: Douglas Fairbanks in the film Chaplin (1992) and Errol Flynn in the film The Last of Robin Hood (2013). Both stars had appeared on-screen as Robin Hood (Fairbanks in Robin Hood (1922) and Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)).

He was considered for the role of Dan Gallagher in Fatal Attraction (1987), which went to Michael Douglas.

Is one of the few actors alongside Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. to audition for Alan Parrish for the early development of Jumanji (1995).

Has collaborated with director Lawrence Kasdan [to date, September 2015] in cinema movies on six occasions. The films are Silverado (1985), Grand Canyon (1991), French Kiss (1995), The Big Chill (1983), Darling Companion (2012) and I Love You to Death (1990).

As of 2018, has appeared in one movie nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Big Chill (1983). A few of his movies often get nominated for acting Oscars and/or for other categories including Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, etc.

Is one of the few actors to win an Oscar without winning other countless awards with an exception of a BAFTA nomination.

It is these children we must admire... Their honesty and bravery are models for us all. Their stories and their role here today - advocating for their cure, their own future - must be heard. - In reference to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Children's Congress 2001.

I think every American actor wants to be a movie star. But I never wanted to do stupid movies, I wanted to do films. I vowed I would never do a commercial, or a soap opera - both of which I did as soon as I left the Acting Company and was starving.

I've never felt completely satisfied with what I've done. I tend to see things too critically. I'm trying to get over that. I've got the Jewish guilt and the Irish shame and it's a hell of a job distinguishing which is which.

[on improving his chess game for a role] I can now predict four or five moves ahead. I can see that I'm going to lose much sooner.

[on Sophie's Choice (1982)] There was a tremendous ensemble feeling. There was never any sense that anything but what was best for a scene was at stake. We were all treated equally, with a tremendous amount of caring.

[1983 interview] When I'm doing a film, I prefer the stage; when I'm working on stage, I prefer film. That doesn't sound neurotic, does it? Seriously, I like them both. They're both different. I've heard of a lot of actors who do both, who have done both for years, say that the stage is more fulfilling. Film is still new enough to me that, right now, I find film more fulfilling. In films, you don't have the audience and the communication and the contact that you do on stage. You have to wait six months or a year before you commune with an audience in a film, and you're not even there when it happens... When you work in a film, you're working in a vacuum... that also has advantages. It's a different sensation which is not altogether unpleasant.

Salary (1) Ricki and the Flash (2015) $350,000