Jamie Kennedy

James Harvey Kennedy (born May 25, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Kennedy played Randy Meeks in the Scream film series (1996–2000), which saw him as a supporting character in the first and third installments and a lead ensemble member in the second installment. He has also had lead roles in Malibu's Most Wanted (2003), Son of the Mask (2005), Kickin' It Old Skool (2007), Finding Bliss (2009), Trick (2019), and Roe v. Wade (2020). He has had supporting roles in films such as Romeo + Juliet (1996), Enemy of the State (1998), Bowfinger (1999), Three Kings (1999), Boiler Room (2000), Max Keeble's Big Move (2001), and Good Deeds (2012).

In television, Kennedy hosted the WB sketch comedy series The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (2002–2004) and played the roles of Professor Eli James on the CBS series Ghost Whisperer (2008–2010) and Dr. Callahan on the NBC medical comedy-drama series Heartbeat (2016). He has had recurring voice roles on the Fox sitcom The Cleveland Show (2009–2013), the Nickelodeon series Fanboy & Chum Chum (2009–2014), and the Comedy Central sitcom Legends of Chamberlain Heights (2016–2017).

Early life

Kennedy was born on May 25, 1970, in Upper Darby Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kennedy was raised Catholic.^[1][2][3] He attended and graduated from Monsignor Bonner High School in 1988. After high school, Kennedy began his career as a Hollywood extra.^{[citation needed]}

Career

When Kennedy first arrived in Los Angeles, he became a professional Hollywood extra.

After a few years of struggling, Kennedy was unable to find an agent and worked as a host at Red Lobster. He auditioned for over 80 commercials and could not book one. He then took a job as a telemarketer and learned that he had a talent for selling things. Kennedy then thought that if he could sell anything, "why not sell myself?", becoming his own agent.^[4]

Kennedy created a false persona, screen agent "Marty Power", to attract the attention of real agents and managers over the phone, who would later book his performances. He came to prominence in the late 1990s for playing Randy Meeks in the Scream film series.^[5] His lead role as Tim Avery in Son of the Mask earned him a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actor. He would later voice his experiences with the film on his YouTube channel years after the film's release.^[6] The film would also go on to inspire Kennedy to host the 2007 documentary Heckler after feeling hurt by the film's poor reception in which some reviewers attacked him personally.

Kennedy formed a production company called Wannabe Producers, alongside Josh Etting,^[7] through which he has produced the shows The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, Blowin' Up, The Starlet, and Living with Fran created by David Garrett. Following Malibu's Most Wanted, in which he both wrote and starred, Kennedy co-wrote the MTV show Blowin' Up (2006) featuring his friend, Stu Stone.

Kennedy lent his voice to the videogame ESPN NFL 2K5 as a celebrity adversary with his own football team, the Upper Darby Cheesesteaks. He is also unlockable as a free agent tight end in season mode. His stint as Activision's emcee at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2007, however, drew much criticism not only for his ignorance of the industry, but also for appearing to perform drunk as he insulted the audience.^[8] In a video uploaded to YouTube on June 14, 2021, Kennedy claimed that Activision had scrapped his script at the last minute and he was ad-libbing his jokes while suffering from burnout.^[9]

While working on his film Malibu's Most Wanted, Kennedy wrote an autobiography titled, Wannabe: A Hollywood Experiment. The book chronicles his life in Hollywood as he attempts to become a star. It gives background on his life and family and quickly dives into his adventures. It tells of such things as Kennedy's living conditions in the Hollywood slums, his dilapidated car, and his kidney issues.^[10]

A performer of stand-up comedy, he is also known for his sketch performances on his television reality show, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, which became the WB Network's highest-ranking new show in 2002, but which was cancelled in April 2004 due to falling viewership.^[11] In 2006, Jizzy Entertainment released Unwashed: The Stand-Up Special. In 2008, Kennedy released the documentary Heckler, about the plight of stand-up comics versus their often-aggressive audiences.^[12] In 2007 and 2017, he made two appearances in Criminal Minds as a cannibal satanist serial killer.

From 2008 to 2010, Kennedy played psychology professor Eli James in the CBS drama Ghost Whisperer. From 2009 to 2013, he was in the TV series, The Cleveland Show, playing Roberta Tubbs' boyfriend.^[13]

He also stars in Nicktoons' Fanboy & Chum Chum as Kyle, an insecure boy wizard who loathes the fun-loving Fanboy and Chum Chum, but who secretly yearns for their friendship. In April 2010, sources reported that Kennedy would very likely return to the Scream franchise to star in the fourth installment;^[14] however, according to Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson, plans were never made for him to rejoin the franchise, attributing the misinformation to a fabrication by Kennedy.^[15]

On December 31, 2012, Kennedy hosted and produced First Night 2013 with Jamie Kennedy, a New Year's Eve television special widely considered one of the worst shows of all time. His film Lost & Found in Armenia, in which he plays an American tourist who ends up in an Armenian village, accused of being a Turkish spy, later opened to select theatres on June 7, 2013. His film Buddy Hutchins, in which Kennedy plays a down-on-his-luck recovering alcoholic, was released in 2015.^[16] In 2015, he portrayed Frump in the Colton Tran adventure mystery film Gloom and Beach Patrolman Alex in Allegra Pictures' horror film The Sand.^[17] In 2015, he also starred as Travis Welker in Tremors 5: Bloodlines^[18] and as Rob in Rivers 9.^[19]

Kennedy played NARAL Pro-Choice America founder Larry Lader in the 2020 film Roe v. Wade, which stars a predominantly conservative ensemble cast.^[20] In an interview with The Daily Beast, which noted the film depicts Lader as "a shady figure pulling strings from behind the scenes who treats abortions as a money-making operation," Kennedy said he personally supports abortion rights and appeared in the film to perform in a dramatic role that he is not normally offered, and that, "it’s also not fair for people to think that because I’m in a project with them that I’m like that, or that I believe in this stuff."^[21]

Personal life

Kennedy dated his Ghost Whisperer co-star Jennifer Love Hewitt from March 2009 to March 2010.^[22]

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Discography

• Blowin' Up (2006)

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ Kennedy does stand-up Archived June 10, 2011 at the Wayback Machine Dailytargum.com
2. ^ Jamie Kennedy: Man-Child In The Promised Land | Mens Magazine Online
3. ^ Barry, Rebecca (August 13, 2006). "A quick word with Jamie Kennedy". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
4. ^ Kennedy, Jamie (2004). Wannabe: My Hollywood Experiment. Citadel Press. pp. 42, 162–171. ISBN 978-0-8065-2572-3.
5. ^ "Jamie Kennedy Talks 'Buddy Hutchins' and 'Tremors 5′". BloodyDisgusting.com. April 27, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
6. ^ "2005 RAZZIE Nominees & "Winners"". Razzies.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
7. ^ "Jamie Kennedy Biography". All American Speakers
8. ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (July 19, 2007). "Watch Activision alienate E3 audience with Jamie Kennedy". Joystiq. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
9. ^ Kennedy, Jamie. "Jamie Kennedy Reacts to E3 TRAINWRECK". YouTube
10. ^ "Jamie Kennedy | Kickin' It Old School, Malibu's Most Wanted, & More". comedyworks.com. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
11. ^ Jamie Kennedy review^{[dead link]}
12. ^ "Interview with Kennedy about Heckling". Lvrj.com. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
13. ^ "California's new winter tourism ad to star Jamie Kennedy, Arnold Schwarzenegger". Industry.visitcalifornia.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
14. ^ "Jamie Kennedy, Cinephile, Returning in 'Scream IV'". Bloody-disgusting.com. April 14, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
15. ^ "Jamie Kennedy NOT Back for Scream 4!". Dread Central. April 27, 2010. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
16. ^ "Interview: Jamie Kennedy, 'Buddy Hutchins'". Renegade Cinema. February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
17. ^ "Exclusive: Jamie Kennedy Talks Buddy Hutchins, Chainsaws, and Tremors 5". dreadcentral.com. February 18, 2015.
18. ^ "Tremors 5 Shakes, Rattles, and Rolls in October 2015". dreadcentral.com. January 7, 2015.
19. ^ Gingold, Michael (February 26, 2015). "Jamie Kennedy Talks 'BUDDY HUTCHINS,' 'TREMORS 5' and More" Archived September 8, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Fangoria.
20. ^ Andrews, Travis M. (July 16, 2018). "The 'Roe v. Wade' movie has an all-star cast". Washington Post. Archived July 18, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
21. ^ Stern, Marlow (2021-04-02). "Jamie Kennedy on How He Ended Up in an Anti-Abortion Film". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
22. ^ Chiu, Alexis (March 12, 2010). "Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie Kennedy Split". People. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
23. ^ "Dead Poet's Society Full Cast & Crew". imdb. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
24. ^ "On Set of Chris Brown's 'Till I Die' Video with Big Sean and Wiz Khalifa". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
25. ^ "Usher Keeps the Party Rocking in "Don't Waste My Time" Video with Ella Mai". 25 March 2020.

External links

• Jamie Kennedy at IMDb