JONAH HILL has quickly become one of Hollywood‘s most sought after talents, due initially in part to his starring role opposite Michael Cera in the acclaimed hit Superbad, produced by Judd Apatow, directed by Greg Mottola and written by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg. Since then, Hill has become a mainstay in the Apatow clan, starring in the Apatow-produced summer comedies, Get Him to the Greek, in 2010, Funny People in 2009 and Forgetting Sarah Marshall in 2008. Hill‘s first appearance under Apatow Productions was in The 40-Year-Old Virgin in 2005 starring opposite Steve Carell and Rogen.
2010 was an important year for Hill, breaking free from typecast comedy characters and taking on a more serious role starring as the title character for the dark comedy, Cyrus, directed by Jay and Mark Duplass. The film received a lot of buzz at the Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered for Fox Searchlight Pictures, and Hill received high praise from critics, who cited his evolution as an actor and artist.
2010 also brought Hill attention with a starring role in the animated hit Megamind for Dreamworks Animation, starring Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, and Tina Fey. Hill also voiced Snotlout in Dreamworks Animation‘s How to Train Your Dragon, opposite Gerard Butler. The film went on to gross $492 million worldwide. Hill also toplined Get Him to the Greek opposite Russell Brand, which was released in summer 2010.
As the 26-year-old continued to confirm his place among a new generation of writer/actors. On the small screen, Hill co-created the new animated series Allen Gregory, which tells the tale of one of the most pretentious seven-year-olds of our time, which premiered on the Fox network as part of the network‘s vaunted Sunday night Animation Domination block. Hill also served as the voice of the title character and show‘s executive producer.
Following Moneyball, Hill also starred in the David Gordon Green-directed comedy The Sitter.
Hill also starred in 21 Jump Street, which he co-wrote. The film also stars Channing Tatum and Ice Cube for directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller. The film is slated for a March, 2012 US release. Hill also served as associate producer on the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy, Bruno.
Hill began his career performing one-scene plays that he wrote and performed at the gritty Black & White bar in New York City. After landing a role in David O. Russell‘s I Heart Huckabees with Dustin Hoffman and Lilly Tomlin, his career quickly took off.
© 2011 Columbia Pictures (Sony)
