Greg Kinnear & his dubbing voice Bernd Vollbrecht
Occupation: Actor & producer
Date of birth: 17 June 1963
Place of birth: Logansport | Indiana
Nationality: USA
Height: 178 cm
Partner: Helen Labdon
Miscellaneous:
Gregory Buck ‘Greg’ Kinnear was born in Indiana. His father worked as a diplomat, which is why Kinnear spent part of his childhood abroad – in Beirut, Athens and Rome, among other places. These early changes of location shaped his view of people and cultures and fostered the openness that later characterised many of his roles. After finishing school, Kinnear enrolled at the University of Arizona and studied broadcast journalism. His training in front of and behind the camera gave him an early sense of timing, language and audience impact. Even before his acting debut, he gained experience as a presenter.
In addition to film and television, he occasionally engages in charitable work without capitalising on it publicly.
Breakthrough:
Kinnear first gained recognition in the early 1990s as the presenter of the entertainment show ‘Talk Soup’. He made the transition to cinema in 1995 with the romantic comedy ‘Sabrina’. However, his real breakthrough came in 1997 with James L. Brooks' ‘As Good as It Gets’: playing the lovable, sensitive neighbour of a misanthropic writer, Kinnear defied typecasting and received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Development:
In the years that followed, Kinnear demonstrated remarkable versatility. He moved between comedy and drama, between mainstream and independent cinema. In ‘You've Got Mail’ he showed romantic lightness, in ‘Pay It Forward’ emotional warmth, and in ‘Auto Focus’ (2002) he deliberately risked damaging his image with a dark character study. Later, Kinnear took on more television roles, for example in the series Rake and House of Cards, and increasingly worked as a producer.
Accolades:
13 awards & 20 nominations
Kinnear was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for As Good as It Gets – his most prominent individual award to date. He received a Screen Actors Guild Award for ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ together with the ensemble cast. In addition, he has received nominations for Golden Globes and critics' awards, underscoring his consistent quality. Even without a long list of solo trophies, Kinnear is considered a reliable character actor whose career is marked by clever role choices and consistent craftsmanship.
Filmography
We have listed some of his best and most famous films and series here:
2025: Off the Grid
2023: You (TV series, 3 episodes)
2022: Black Bird (miniseries, 6 episodes)
2021: Crisis
2019: Frankie
2018: House of Cards (TV series, 7 episodes)
2017: Same Kind of Different as Me
2016: Little Men
2014: Heaven Is for Real
2012: Stuck in Love
2011: I Don't Know How She Does It
2011: The Kennedys (miniseries, 8 episodes)
2010: The Last Song
2010: Green Zone
2008: Flash of Genius
2008: Ghost Town
2008: Baby Mama
2007: Feast of Love
2006: Unknown
2006: Little Miss Sunshine
2006: Fast Food Nation
2006: Invincible
2005: Bad News Bears
2005: Robots
2005: The Matador
2004: Godsend
2003: Stuck On You
2002: We Were Soldiers
2002: Auto Focus
2001: Someone Like You...
1998: You've Got M@il
1997: As Good as It Gets
1997: A Smile Like Yours
1995: Sabrina
1988: What Price Victory