Jake Weber
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Equally at home onstage or in front of the camera, Jake Weber entered films with two wildly disparate 1989 pictures, writer-director Melvin Van Peebles little-seen farce "Identity Crisis" and Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July," but turned down roles in "Glory" (also 1989) and "Reversal of Fortune" (1990) to continue his graduate studies at Juilliard. He honed his classical chops in a number of Shakespeare in the Park productions, including "Richard III" (1990), "Othello" (1991) and "As You Like It" (1992), as well as acting in Off-Broadway productions of John Patrick Shanley's "The Big Funk" (1990) and the highly-acclaimed "Mad Forest" (1991). The blandly attractive blond actor made an auspicious Broadway debut playing five Italian brothers in Alan Ayckbourn's farcical "A Small Family Business" (1992). He had small roles as an ill-fated Hassid in Sidney Lumet's "A Stranger Among Us" (1992) and as a secret informant who puts his life on the line in Alan J. Pakula's "The Pelican Brief" (1993) before enjoying more screen time as a violent but likable pimp in the independent "Skin Art" (also 1993).
Weber upped his visibility somewhat as a regular on Gene Wilder's unsuccessful sitcom vehicle "Something Wilder" (NBC, 1994-95) and made a stronger impression as a dedicated country doctor with a dark past on the highly touted but low rated supernatural drama "American Gothic" (CBS, 1995-96). He worked Off-Broadway in Arthur Laurents' "Radical Mystique" (1995), Shanley's "Missing Marisa/Kissing Christina" (1996) and a Williamstown Theatre Festival revival of "The Rivals" (1998), but his burgeoning film career has precluded further stage work. Increasingly, he has essayed characters with an edge like the snotty, rich brat in "What the Deaf Man Heard" (CBS, 1997), the treacherous would-be successor and son-in-law to Anthony Hopkins in "Meet Joe Black" (1998) and John Cusack's sarcastic, opinionated best friend in "Pushing Tin" (1999). A change of pace was provided by the chamber drama "Into My Heart" (also 1998) in which he co-starred as the eyepatch-wearing never-been-emotionally-hurt "golden boy" best friend of Rob Morrow. Weber found himself in the top-notch ensemble of the blockbuster "U-571" (2000), playing the quietly-brave, German-speaking mastermind of the plot to capture the Enigma machine, and rounded out the year as an FBI agent unsure of the direction taken by his partner in the supernatural thriller "The Cell."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1988
Made his New York stage debut in "Road"
1989
First released film, Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July"
1989
Film acting debut, Melvin Van Peebles' "Identity Crisis" (film not released in the US)
1992
Played a Hasidic Jew in Sidney Lumet's "A Stranger Among Us"
1992
Was part of the ensemble of the Off-Broadway production of "Mad Forest"
1992
Made Broadway debut in Alan Ayckbourn's farcical "A Small Family Business"
1993
Played a secret informant in the film adaption of the John Grisham novel "The Pelican Brief"
1993
Portrayed a violent pimp in the independent feature "Skin Art"
1994
Made series debut, opposite Gene Wilder, in NBC's "Something Wilder"
1994
Portrayed a tobacco-chewing homicidal maniac in his TV-movie debut, "Vanishing Son II"
1995
Appeared as a regular on the CBS supernatural drama "American Gothic"
1997
Had small role in Steven Spielberg's "Amistad"
1997
Appeared as snotty, rich brat in the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation, "What the Deaf Man Heard" (CBS)
1998
Offered a memorable role as the treacherous Drew in "Meet Joe Black"
1998
Essayed the role of French King Henry in "Dangerous Beauty"
1999
Played John Cusack's sarcastic, opinionated best friend in "Pushing Tin"
2000
Cast as FBI agent in the supernatural thriller "The Cell"
2000
Portrayed one of the leaders of a mission to intercept a stranded German submarine in "U-571"
2001
Earned positive reviews as a man whose family comes under attack in the supernatural thriller "Wendigo"
2001
Cast as one of the leads in the HBO series "The Mind of the Married Man"
2002
Starred in the Off-Broadway play "Monster"
2004
Starred in the remake of the 1978 horror film "Dawn of the Dead"
2005
Cast as the husband of a woman (Patricia Arquette) plagued by psychic visions who uses her ability to help solve crimes in "Medium" (NBC, 2005-09; CBS, 2009-10)
Companions
