Jamie Kennedy
James Harvey Kennedy was born on May 25, 1970 and goes by the nickname of “Jamie”. The youngest among six children in an Irish Catholic family, Jamie was born in Pennsylvania in the suburban Philly town of Upper Darby Township. After completing high school he decided to study acting while attending college. He love impersonating and found his voice skills enabled him to mimic successfully. When Jamie was picked to be an extra in the 1989 movie, Dead Poet’s Society, he caught the acting bug. He soon moved westward to southern California and started his career out by being an extra in Hollywood.
Jamie was involved with comic relief in the late 1990’s and gain a reputation playing wise-akers in such films as Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 3. Jamie Kennedy took classes at American British Drama Academy then found some stand up comedy work at assorted improvisation clubs around the L.A. area.
His career began as many have in Hollywood, with an assortment of odd jobs such as gum scraper in a K Mart store, to bus boy in a restaurant.
A role opened up for him in a 1996 version of Shakespeare’s famous play “Romeo + Juliet” (note the + sign). This movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes got Jamie noticed (playing the fuchsia headed thug by the name of Sampson). A big break for him came that same year when he was cast as Randy Meeks, a weirdo clerk in a video store in the slasher hit movie “Scream”. As Randy he became a Quentin Tarantino like fanatic of the film genre, who finds nearly all of his high school classmates are dying off strangely, and with in the same week.
Jamie Kennedy next portrayed an office boy in the popular independent 1997 comedy, “Clockwatchers”. His role was minimal because it was all about the gals who were buried alive in their corporate hum drum world. The popularity of “Scream” spawned a pair of sequels, “Scream 2” (1997) followed by “Scream 3” (2000). With his career gaining momentum he appeared in “Bongwater” and “Coax”, both coming out in 1997. His first actual acting role was in “Road to Flin Flon” a movie made in the early 1990’s but not released until the year 2000.
A brief role as a street hustler in the hit movie “As Good As It Gets” (1997) put Kennedy in the company of the likes of Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Cuba Gooding, Jr., very good company for a young actor to be in. Next he had a starring role in the 1998 movie “Starstruck”, written and directed by John Enbom. By now Jamie Kennedy was becoming known in the industry as a rising star. He soon spread his wings into producing and writing his own material and appearing as himself on television in “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment”, from 2002 until 2004. A popular stand up comedian, Jamie Kennedy performed weekly on this show for several successful years. The show turned out to be Warner Bros. Network’s top ranked new program for 2002. This show was followed by “Unwashed – The Stand Up Special” in 2006, put out by Jizzy entertainment. In 2008 Jamie Kennedy produced a documentary describing the fate of a typical stand up comedian and the overly aggressive audiences they sometimes face. This documentary, “The Heckler” served to show the ups and downs of an average stand up comedian, as well as depicting just how critical the world we live in really is. A hilariously hard hitting show finds Kennedy interviewing many successful comics and celebrities, asking intriguing questions of each. He shows his viewers the difference between those in the spotlight, and those of us who are kept on the dark side.
Among the other movies he had roles in were “Malibu’s Most Wanted” (a movie Kennedy wrote and starred in), “Son of the Mask”, and “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”. His claim to fame seems to be his comedic ability and timing.
A production company, Wannabe Producers, was formed by Kennedy and Josh Etting that brought out “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment”, The Starlet, and Living with Fran. His success on the rise, Jamie Kennedy next joined with friend Stu Stone to write the 2006 MTV hit show, “Blowin’ Up”.
Currently Jamie Kennedy acts in the popular CBS drama program, Ghost Whisperer and has had the role of Eli James, a psychology professor since 2008. His co-star on the TV series is Jennifer Love Hewitt, who is also his real life love interest.
Awards won by Jamie Kennedy include the Blockbuster Entertainment Award in 1998 for Best Supporting in a Horror movie for Scream 2, the 2004 ShowEast award for Comedy Star of Tomorrow, In 2003 he earned a Teen Choice Award for his portrayal in Malibu’s Most Wanted, and Favorite TV Personality of 2002, also a Teen Choice Award. Included in his collection of awards is a 2005 “Razzie” for his role in Son of the Mask (worst Actor).
Currently Kennedy is actively supporting California tourism, Jamie Kennedy has appeared along side Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in commercials supporting that cause.
