Biography
Date of Birth
5 December 1983, New York City, New York, USA
Birth Name
Jesse Adam Eisenberg
Height
5' 7ΒΌ" (1.71 m)
Mini Biography
Curly haired and with a fast-talking voice, Jesse Eisenberg is a movie actor, known for his Academy Award nominated role as Mark Zuckerberg in the 2010 film The Social Network. He has also starred in the films The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland, The Education of Charlie Banks, 30 Minutes or Less, Now You See Me and Zombieland. Additionally, he played Lex Luthor in the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Jesse Adam Eisenberg was born on October 5, 1983 in Queens, New York, and was raised in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey. His mother, Amy (Fishman), is a professional dressed-up clown who performed at children's birthday parties for a living in their hometown of East Brunswick for 20 years. His father, Barry Eisenberg, ran a hospital before moving on to become a college professor. Jesse has two sisters, Kerri and Hallie Eisenberg, who was a popular child star. His family is Jewish (his ancestors came to the U.S. from Poland, Russia, and Ukraine).
He attended East Brunswick High School, but he didn't really enjoy school. From age 10, he performed in children's theater. Jesse had his first professional role in an off-Broadway play, "The Gathering". Before fame, he made his first television appearance role that came in 1999 when he was 16 with a show on Fox's Get Real (1999), but the show was canceled in 2000. In his senior year of high school, he had landed his first film leading role in the 2002 film Roger Dodger (2002). He won an award for "Most Promising New Actor" at the San Diego film festival.
Jesse attended the New School University, New York, where he was a liberal arts major, with a focus on Democracy and Cultural Pluralism. He also studied at The New School in New York City's Greenwich Village. He applied and was accepted to New York University but declined enrollment to complete a film role. He has been playing the drums since he was age 8.
His breakthrough role came in Zombieland (2009). In 2010, he was nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Globes and Academy Awards for his role of Facebook's creator, Mark Zuckerberg, in the film, The Social Network (2010). He also voiced Blu, a rare blue macaw, in the film Rio (2011), and its sequel Rio 2 (2014). He starred alongside Aziz Ansari in the 2011 comedy 30 Minutes Or Less, and played himself in the 2013 comedy film He's Way More Famous Than You (2013).
Trivia
Older brother of Hallie Eisenberg.
Has been playing the drums since he was age 8.
His mother is a professional clown who performed at children's birthday parties in their hometown of East Brunswick, N.J. for 20 years.
His family is Ashkenazi Jewish (his ancestors came to the U.S. from Poland, Russia, and Ukraine).
Studied at The New School in New York City's Greenwich Village. He applied and was accepted to New York University but declined enrollment to complete a film role.
Received his very first kiss from Jennifer Beals in Roger Dodger (2002).
Played brother to real-life sister Hallie Eisenberg in Holy Rollers (2010).
Very good friends with Andrew Garfield.
Good friends with Justin Bartha.
Favorite film is Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).
Creator of OneUpMe.com - a wordplay website. He also owns Yugoslavio.com.
Despite his iconic portrayal of Facebook co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, in The Social Network (2010), Jesse himself does not have a Facebook account.
His character in Zombieland (2009), at one point, expresses relief at not having to update his status on Facebook. Jesse did not know what a Facebook status was until a crew member explained it. The following year, Jesse played Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg.
Has played two real-life Harvard graduate students - Benjamin Strauss in The Hunting Party (2007) and Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network (2010).
Working on Free Samples (2012) with Jess Weixler and Madison Leisle [January 2011]
He is the third Oscar nominated actor to play "Lex Luthor" after Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey. He is the only one of the three not to have an Academy Award.
He is five months younger than Henry Cavill, making him the first actor to play Lex Luthor who is younger than the actor playing Superman.
He is first cousin with Jamey Eisenberg, famous Fantasy Sports Writer.
Good friends with his "Holy Rollers" co-star Justin Bartha, and attended Bartha's marriage to Lia Smith.
Wrote a book of short stories titled "Bream Gives Me Hiccups & Other Stories", and cited the work of Simon Rich (a good friend of his) and B.J. Novak (whose best-selling short story collection was "One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories" as creative inspirations.
Has a role in Cursed (2005) alongside Michael Rosenbaum who portrayed Lex Luthor in Smallville (2001).
Is the second person born in the 1980s to have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The first was Ryan Gosling (two nominations) (born in 1980), and the next three are Eddie Redmayne (one win, one nomination) (born in 1982), Andrew Garfield (one nomination) (born in 1983), and Daniel Kaluuya (one nomination) (born in 1989).
Trademarks:
Curly hair
Fast-talking voice
Often plays shy, anti-social characters
Often plays neurotic characters
Quotes
This [The Social Network (2010)] was not the sort of script you improvise on. With Aaron Sorkin, it's immediately clear what the rhythm of the scene is. It's similar to reading Shakespeare. In fact, it's a lot like great theater. I looked at some of the lengthier scenes as if I was doing a play. You find the story arc of the scene, discover different moments, build upon them to make it as rich as possible. reconciled his intense control with his disengagement. He might appear detached and bored, but he's always working to control the entire room.
[My favorite website] is Geosense.net. It's a geography game. They actually kicked me off for writing "Sri Lanka" on their message boards. I guess it's a curse word on there?
[on his future projects]: I'm hoping to do several [sequels to] Rio (2011) - Rios 2 through 10. You know, this movie is so wonderful, and we were wondering where the story might go, because this is the same company that did Ice Age (2002), and we suspected it may have some odd sequels.
[Interview with Stephen Whitty, August, 2011] I have a lot of personal anxieties. And I've realized that playing a character stuck in a life-or-death situation like this allows me to release those anxieties in a very healthful, cathartic way.
I was mugged one night in New York and slammed into a concrete pillar, and I did an interview where I said I completely understand why they attacked me. It was a poor, black neighborhood. Someone sent me an article saying: 'You ignorant idiot. It's more offensive to defend these people. It's more racist to defend them.' He's right, and that is the impetus for the first scene.
There's something strange about theater. My characters consistently demonize elitism, but of course it's taking place in a theater where only so many people can see it. I've been in silly popcorn movies - the kind of thing that as an actor you might feel embarrassed about - but those movies reach many more people. In a play you're basically performing for rich people.
[on playing Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network (2010)] I didn't know anything about him prior to the movie. I looked at that character like you would look at any fictional character. I didn't write it so it was not my opinion on the events. I liked him. Every character I play, even if they are seen as unlikeable by an audience, is likeable to me in the same way. We're all the heroes of our own story, so to speak. In that way I find every character I play totally defendable. Even if they are disliked by an audience, I still feel sympathetic to them.
[on working with Woody Allen on To Rome with Love (2012)] He was very casual, very low key. He was open to contributions from his actors. He's like the greatest writer and he allowed us to improvise. I've read everything he has written so I feel like he has influenced me. Anybody who is writing humour has been influenced by him.
I always think that acting in the plays I've written is like the second most terrifying thing in the world, and the first most terrifying thing in the world is sitting at home and not doing it. As nerve-wracking as it is, I would feel worse not doing it.
[2007, on his career path] I've been lucky, but I feel like it's temporary luck.
[on viewers' reception on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)] I felt very personal about it. The writer, Chris Terrio, is a very serious writer, and he's a very emotional person. He thought a lot about my character, and I thought a lot about my character too. I talked with my acting coach about the character a lot, about his backstory with his father and his emotional life-and then people hate me.
