Bob Balaban

Acting

Bob Balaban

Born 1945-08-16 · Chicago, Illinois, USA

Robert Elmer Balaban, Born: August 16, 1945, Chicago, Illinois, U.S (Height: 5' 5" [1.65 m]). is an American actor, author, comedian, director, and producer. He is best known for his appearances in the Christopher Guest mockumentary comedies Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006), as well as his roles in the films Midnight Cowboy (1969), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Altered States (1980), 2010 (1984), Deconstructing Harry (1997), and Capote (2005). Balaban has also directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films. He is also an author of children's novels. Balaban began his career in the 1960s, appearing in small roles in films and television shows. He made his breakthrough role in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, playing a young hustler who befriends an aging rodeo cowboy. In the 1970s, Balaban appeared in a number of popular films, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Altered States (1980), and 2010 (1984). He also continued to work in television, appearing in recurring roles on the shows Lou Grant and Designing Women. In the 1990s, Balaban began a long and fruitful collaboration with filmmaker Christopher Guest. He appeared in all of Guest's mockumentary comedies, including Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). Balaban's performances in these films were widely praised, and he earned a reputation as one of the most reliable comedic actors in Hollywood. In addition to his work in film and television, Balaban has also directed three feature films: The Last Shot (1999), Bernie (2011), and A Little Help (2010). He is also a successful author of children's novels, and he has won several awards for his writing. Balaban is a respected and versatile actor who has enjoyed a long and successful career in the entertainment industry. He is known for his sharp wit, his impeccable comedic timing, and his ability to create memorable characters. He is a true Renaissance man, and he is sure to continue to entertain audiences for many years to come. Balaban has been nominated for numerous awards throughout his career. He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, for his work on the television shows Lou Grant and Designing Women. He has also been nominated for two Tony Awards, for his performances in the Broadway plays The Norman Conquests and The Plough and the Stars. Balaban is a recipient of the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Balaban is married to Lynn Grossman, and they have two children together. He is a resident of New York City.

Acting credits

The Grand Budapest Hotel poster
8.0

The Grand Budapest Hotel tells of a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars and his friendship with a young employee who becomes his trusted protégé. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting, the battle for an enormous family fortune and the slow and then sudden upheavals that transformed Europe during the first half of the 20th century.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

2014

Isle of Dogs poster
7.8

In the future, an outbreak of canine flu leads the mayor of a Japanese city to banish all dogs to an island used as a garbage dump. The outcasts must soon embark on an epic journey when a 12-year-old boy arrives on the island to find his beloved pet.

Isle of Dogs

2018

Gosford Park poster
6.8

In 1930s England, a group of pretentious rich and famous gather together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.

Gosford Park

2001

Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
7.4

After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1977

Asteroid City poster
6.5

In an American desert town circa 1955, the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.

Asteroid City

2023

The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun poster
7.0

The staff of an American magazine based in France puts out its last issue, with stories featuring an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef.

The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun

2021

Moonrise Kingdom poster
7.7

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.

Moonrise Kingdom

2012

The Tuxedo poster
5.7

Cabbie-turned-chauffeur Jimmy Tong learns there is really only one rule when you work for playboy millionaire Clark Devlin : Never touch Devlin's prized tuxedo. But when Devlin is temporarily put out of commission in an explosive accident, Jimmy puts on the tux and soon discovers that this extraordinary suit may be more black belt than black tie. Paired with a partner as inexperienced as he is, Jimmy becomes an unwitting secret agent.

The Tuxedo

2002

Spielberg poster
7.5

A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg

2017

2010 poster
6.7

While planet Earth poises on the brink of nuclear self-destruction, a team of Russian and American scientists aboard the Leonov hurtles to a rendezvous with the still-orbiting Discovery spacecraft and its sole known survivor, the homicidal computer HAL.

2010

1984

The Monuments Men poster
6.1

Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men is an action drama focusing on seven over-the-hill, out-of-shape museum directors, artists, architects, curators, and art historians who went to the front lines of WWII to rescue the world’s artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their rightful owners. With the art hidden behind enemy lines, how could these guys hope to succeed?

The Monuments Men

2014

Midnight Cowboy poster
7.5

Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.

Midnight Cowboy

1969

No Reservations poster
6.7

Master chef Kate Armstrong runs her life and her kitchen with intimidating intensity. However, a recipe for disaster may be in the works when she becomes the guardian of her young niece while crossing forks with the brash sous-chef who just joined her staff. Though romance blooms in the face of rivalry, Kate needs to look outside the kitchen to find true happiness.

No Reservations

2007

Capote poster
7.0

A biopic of writer Truman Capote and his assignment for The New Yorker to write the non-fiction book "In Cold Blood".

Capote

2005

Jakob the Liar poster
6.7

In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out after curfew. While waiting for the German Kommondant, Jakob overhears a German radio broadcast about Russian troop movements. Returned to the ghetto, the shopkeeper shares his information with a friend and then rumors fly that there is a secret radio within the ghetto.

Jakob the Liar

1999

Altered States poster
6.7

A research scientist explores the boundaries and frontiers of human consciousness. Using sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic mixtures from Native American shamans, he explores these altered states of cognizance and finds that memory, time, and reality itself are states of mind.

Altered States

1980

Deconstructing Harry poster
7.2

Writer Harry Block draws inspiration from people he knows, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to become alienated from him as a result.

Deconstructing Harry

1997

Best in Show poster
6.9

The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting and the heady scent of competition is in the air as hundreds of eager contestants from across America prepare to take part in what is undoubtedly one of the greatest events of their lives -- the Mayflower Dog Show. The canine contestants and their owners are as wondrously diverse as the great country that has bred them.

Best in Show

2000

Catch-22 poster
6.7

A WWII military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane in order to be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.

Catch-22

1970

For Love or Money poster
6.2

New York concierge Doug Ireland wants to go into business for himself and refurbish a hotel on Roosevelt Island, N.Y., but he needs an investor. With a few weeks left before his option on the site runs out, Doug agrees to help wealthy Christian Hanover conceal his affair with salesgirl Andy Hart from his wife. Despite his own attraction to Andy, Doug tries to stay focused on getting Christian to invest $3 million in his project.

For Love or Money

1993

80 for Brady poster
6.2

Four lifelong friends set out on an unforgettable journey to see their hero Tom Brady play in Super Bowl LI and witness one of the greatest comebacks in sports history, discovering that it's never too late to live life to the fullest. Inspired by a true story.

80 for Brady

2023

The Majestic poster
6.8

Set in 1951, a blacklisted Hollywood writer gets into a car accident, loses his memory and settles down in a small town where he is mistaken for a long-lost son.

The Majestic

2001

Greedy poster
6.2

Meet the McTeagues. They've come to stake a claim in their wealthy uncle's will… only he's not dead yet!

Greedy

1994

Fading Gigolo poster
5.8

Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his "manager", the duo quickly finds themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money.

Fading Gigolo

2013

Behind the camera

Gosford Park poster
6.8

In 1930s England, a group of pretentious rich and famous gather together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.

Gosford Park

2001

My Boyfriend's Back poster
5.7

Missy McCloud is the most beautiful girl in school and Johnny Dingle has been in love with her for years. One night, as Johnny tries to stop an armed robbery and save Missy from danger, he's killed, but resurrected as a zombie not long after. Now, with the help of his mentor, self-proclaimed Zombie Expert Maggie, Johnny must control his flesh-eating urges while trying to win the heart of Missy.

My Boyfriend's Back

1993

Bernard and Doris poster
6.1

Tobacco heiress Doris Duke develops an unlikely friendship with her butler, Bernard Lafferty.

Bernard and Doris

2006

Subway Stories poster
5.6

An anthology of 10 stories depicting real-life incidents of subway riders in New York City, which range from compassion and love to violence and loss.

Subway Stories

1997

Georgia O'Keeffe poster
4.8

Biopic of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz.

Georgia O'Keeffe

2009

Parents poster
5.9

Michael is a young boy living in a typical 1950s suburbanite home... except for his bizarre and horrific nightmares, and continued unease around his parents. Young Michael begins to suspect his parents are cooking more than just hamburgers on the grill outside, but has trouble explaining his fears to his new-found friend Sheila, or the school's social worker.

Parents

1989

Tales from the Darkside poster
5.9

A compilation of episodes from the classic '80s horror anthology TV series "Tales From The Darkside" for the VHS market.

Tales from the Darkside

1990

George Romero's Golden Tales 2 poster
NR

Compilation of five horror stories from Tales from the Darkside (1983) that takes the viewer into the dark world of vampires, cursed objects and sinister humor. Despite the title, only the final story is by Stephen King.

George Romero's Golden Tales 2

1995

Stephen King's Golden Tales poster
4.0

A collection of horror stories taking the viewer into the dark world of Stephen King, featuring vampires, strange objects and sinister humor. The five 20-minutes tales were all taken from the Tales from the Darkside TV series and strung together as a video feature.

Stephen King's Golden Tales

1993

Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread poster
6.5

Penn Jillette and Teller are called upon to display their unique brand of humor to save civilization from strange extraterrestrial beings who have invaded Earth and who, disgruntled and bored with the mundane nature of human life, threaten to blow up the planet unless someone gives them a good reason not to.

Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread

1987

The Exonerated poster
7.3

Six people tell their stories on a single subject - how they got wrongfully convicted to death penalty, but later got exonerated.

The Exonerated

2006

The Last Good Time poster
5.5

A reclusive aging widower struggling with tax problems has a complete change in his views of life as he has a chance encounter with a young woman who moves in with him briefly.

The Last Good Time

1994

The Last Good Time poster
5.5

A reclusive aging widower struggling with tax problems has a complete change in his views of life as he has a chance encounter with a young woman who moves in with him briefly.

The Last Good Time

1994

The Last Good Time poster
5.5

A reclusive aging widower struggling with tax problems has a complete change in his views of life as he has a chance encounter with a young woman who moves in with him briefly.

The Last Good Time

1994

No artwork available
NR

A best man gives an increasingly uncomfortable toast at his friends' wedding reception.

The Wedding Toast

1999

No artwork available
NR

A best man gives an increasingly uncomfortable toast at his friends' wedding reception.

The Wedding Toast

1999

The Brass Ring poster
7.0

A mother afflicted with depression comes into conflict with own mother and children when she refuses to seek professional health care.

The Brass Ring

1983

We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss poster
7.0

Everyone’s talking about it, but who can explain it? Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions and Morgan Spurlock’s Cinelan have partnered to produce WE THE ECONOMY 20 Short Films You Can’t Afford to Miss. Each film is helmed by an acclaimed filmmaker, each with their own creative vision. The series aims to drive awareness and establish a better understanding of the U.S. economy. Told through animation, comedy, musical, non-fiction, and scripted films, WE THE ECONOMY seeks to demystify a complicated topic while empowering the public to take control of their own economic futures.

We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss

2014

George Romero's Golden Tales 3 poster
3.0

No synopsis available yet.

George Romero's Golden Tales 3

1995

Trick or Treat poster
NR

Town miser Gideon Hackles spends Halloween hiding IOU's in his house, which he then rigs as haunted and invites local kids to search for the IOU's so he can scare them. This year, he gets his comeuppance.

Trick or Treat

1983

Brooklyn, Minnesota poster
8.0

Follows Maisie and her father Kurt who have to leave their Brooklyn bubble to go back to Kurt's childhood home in Minnesota, where Maisie upsets long-standing family traditions, falls in love, and makes her family face their issues.

Brooklyn, Minnesota

2024