Breckin Meyer
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
A ubiquitous "offbeat" supporting player in teen comedies like "Clueless" (1995) and "Roadtrip" (2000) and a frequent collaborator with best friend Seth Green, Breckin Meyer outgrew his "slacker sidekick" persona and eventually found lasting success on television. Meyer starred in several short-lived sitcoms but fared better with his recurring voice role on "King of the Hill" (Fox, 1997-2009) and his many comic characterizations on the Green's "Robot Chicken" (Cartoon Network, 2005), for which he was also nominated for an Emmy Award for his writing. While the quick wit occasionally appeared on the big screen in comedies like Disney's "Herbie: Fully Loaded" (2005), the former go-to teen burnout was wise to leave that persona behind and instead channel his offbeat sensibility into a respected career as a writer and actor.
Meyer was born on May 7, 1974, in Minneapolis, MN. His family moved to Los Angeles when Meyer was two, and it was there that schoolmate (and early crush) Drew Barrymore piqued his interest in the idea of show business. He began with TV commercials leading into voiceover work, with Meyer branching out into guest appearances on TV sitcoms beginning with "The Wonder Years" (ABC, 1988-1993) in 1988. Meyer had a recurring role as the nephew of Lynn Redgrave on the short-lived sitcom "Chicken Soup" (ABC, 1989), a recurring role on "The Jackie Thomas Show" (ABC, 1992-93) and a regular role as the wannabe rock musician son of Pamela Reed's judge on the NBC sitcom "Home Court" (1995-96).
In the first of several character roles as a "burnout," Meyer made his film debut in "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" (1991), in which he was memorably dispatched in a video game. His breakthrough screen role was in the classic teen comedy "Clueless" (1995), where he played a skateboarding stoner (an homage to Sean Penn in 1982's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") and object of affection of the unhip new girl (Brittany Murphy) at a cliquish, wealthy high school. Meyer offered similar stoner characterizations in the teen witchcraft horror film "The Craft" (1996) and "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A." (1996). He began to show more range as the best friend and running teammate of an Olympic hopeful (Jared Leto) in the biopic "Prefontaine" (1997) and as a high school student yearning to leave his hometown in the well-reviewed coming-of-age indie "Dancer, Texas Pop. 81" (1998). The same year he had an uncredited role as a partygoer alongside best buddy Seth Green in "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998), Meyer promised to raise his profile with his role as a sexy busboy married to the coat check girl (Salma Hayek) and pursued by a bartender (Ryan Philippe) in "54" (1998), a look at life in the famous Studio 54 nightclub in New York. Unfortunately, the muddled film failed to live up to expectations.
Meyer subsequently appeared as a supporting player in films including Doug Liman's junior crime comedy "Go" (1999) before graduating to a full-fledged leading role in the Canadian indie film "Tail Lights Fade" (1999), playing one quarter of a pair of couples who travel across Canada to bail his girlfriend's brother out of jail. In the broad college comedy "Road Trip" (2000), he again hit the road, this time scoring a box office success for playing a college student who races desperately across country to retrieve a videotape of him having sex with another girl, which was inadvertently mailed to the wrong person. The same year, Meyer landed a recurring voice role on "King of the Hill" (Fox, 1997-2009), playing the clearly non-biological son of the oblivious Dale Gribble. His film career continued unabated, and he joined "Road Trip" co-star Amy Smart and Green in the multi-plot ensemble of "Rat Race" (2001), an homage to the all-star screwball chase films of the 1960s like "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963).
Meyer's career received a boost when snared the leading role on the NBC sitcom "Inside Schwartz" (2001), in which he played a minor-league sportscaster whose dating life was illustrated by fantasy-driven sports highlights. While the show aired in the cozy post-"Friends" (NBC, 1995-2005) timeslot on NBC's "Must-See" Thursdays, it was reviled by critics and failed to capture much of an audience, leading to its cancellation after only 11 episodes. Meyer resurfaced in a winning supporting turn as Meg Ryan's brother in the whimsical fantasy-comedy "Kate & Leopold" (2001) and re-teamed with Green to give a hilarious performance as members of a boy band in "Josie and the Pussycats" (2001). Unfortunately, his second attempt at TV series job security, "Married to the Kellys" (ABC, 2003-04), about a New York man who suddenly finds himself surrounded by his bride's eccentric Kansas family, also met with little fanfare or ratings success.
Returning to the big screen, Meyer took on the voice role of Jon, the hapless owner of the famed comic book cat, in the animated film "Garfield" (2004) and continued his run of family-friendly fare with the Disney smash "Herbie: Fully Loaded" (2005), playing the son of a NASCAR champ whose racing slump threatens to slam the brakes on the family legacy unless his sister (Lindsay Lohan) can revive the family's glory. Meyer appeared alongside Martin Lawrence in the basketball comedy "Rebound" (2005) before landing another long-running animated series, Seth Green's creation "Robot Chicken" (Cartoon Network, 2005-), in which he played countless voices and wrote scripts, with his "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" script earning Meyer an Emmy nomination for writing.
Now in his thirties, Meyers' focus shifted more towards his writing and voice work, with the actor reprising his role in "Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties" (2006) before returning to the screen as lead in the indie "Blue State" (2007), about a devout Democrat who follows through a drunken promise to move to Canada in the event of George W. Bush's reelection. He portrayed one of a group of partiers trapped in the subway tunnels of New York in the retro horror flick "Stag Night" (2008) and made guest appearances that year on the television dramas "House M.D." (Fox, 2004-12) and "Heroes" (NBC, 2006-2010) alongside Green. While Meyers' television work continued to keep him busy, he did return to mainstream cinema in the spring of 2009 with a supporting role as the soon-to-be-married brother of an unsettled ladies man (Matthew McConaughey) in the romantic comedy "Ghost of Girlfriends Past." After consistent voiceover work on "King of the Hill" and "Robot Chicken," Meyer popped back in front of the cameras by co-starring opposite Mark-Paul Gosselaar as one of two lawyer best friends who are recruited by their firm's partner after winning a major case on the legal comedy "Franklin & Bash" (TBS, 2011-14).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1988
Early TV credit, a guest appearance on "The Wonder Years" (ABC)
1989
Had recurring role as Lynn Redgrave's nephew on the ABC sitcom "Chicken Soup"
1991
Feature acting debut "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare"
1992
Played recurring role of Chas Walker, an actor playing the son of Jackie Thomas (Tom Arnold) on "The Jackie Thomas Show" (ABC)
1995
Had regular role of Mike Solomon on the NBC sitcom "Home Court"
1995
Breakthrough screen role as the skateboarding stoner in "Clueless"
1997
Appeared as the best friend of Olympic hopeful Steve "Prefontaine"
1997
Cast opposite Skeet Ulrich and Tom Arnold in "Touch"
1998
Co-starred in the ensemble drama "Dancer, Texas Pop. 81"
1998
Cast as a sexy busboy married to the coat check girl (Salma Hayek) in "54"
2000
Appeared in the teen comedy "Road Trip"
2000
Voiced Joseph Gribble in the FOX animated series, "King of the Hill"
2001
Played the lead role in the short-lived NBC sitcom "Inside Schwartz"
2001
Featured as a straight-laced lawyer in "Rat Race"
2001
Co-starred as Meg Ryan's brother in "Kate & Leopold"
2003
Starred in the short lived ABC series "Married to the Kellys"
2004
Starred as Jon, Garfield's owner in the comedy "Garfield: The Movie"
2005
Voiced several characters in the animated series, "Robot Chicken" on the Cartoon Network; earned an Emmy nomination for writing the episode "Robot Chicken: Star Wars"
2005
Cast opposite Lindsay Lohan in the Disney feature "Herbie: Fully Loaded"
2006
Reprised role as Garfield's owner in the seguel, "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties"
2009
Played Matthew McConaughey's brother in the romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"
Family
Companions
