Biography
Jamie Kennedy became best known for his breakthrough performance as Randy Meeks, the video store clerk well-versed in the conventions of scary movies, in Wes Craven's 1996 self-referential horror film "Scream" and its follow-up "Scream 2" (1997). The Pennsylvania native headed west after high school and began performing stand-up comedy while supporting himself in a variety of odd jobs. Kennedy was spotted at one of the comedy clubs and cast in the little-seen 1995 indie comedy "The Road to Flin Flon." An appearance as a punked-out rival to John Leguizamo in "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet" (1996) and as a street hustler who attacks Greg Kinnear in the Oscar-nominated "As Good As It Gets" (1997) can be counted among his smaller roles. This offbeat, high-energy actor frequently sported a shock of peroxide blond in his short brown hair and cultivated a rumpled hipster look complete with colorful eye-catching shoes reportedly culled from the set of "Scream." His laid-back yet edgy persona and dynamic performances earned him an impressive fan following. Following his success in "Scream," Kennedy took on roles in the 1997 films "Sparkler," as one of a trio of youths headed to Las Vegas, and "Clockwatchers," as the office mailman who develops a crush on a temp worker. He continued to add to his gallery of eccentric characters with a dramatic turn as a heroin addict in "Bongwater" and a novice screenwriter in the comedy "Starf*cker" (both 1998). He added much-needed comedy in the dramas "The Three Kings" (1999) and "The Boiler Room" (2000). After years of obtaining his fair-share of supporting and featured roles, Kennedy was given his own sketch comedy show, "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" (WB, 2002-04), which quickly became The WB's highest-rated new show. Among the wacky characters (played by Kennedy), one became across the board an all-time favorite: Brad Gluckman, the Malibu rapper. The character was such a hit that Kennedy decided to take it, naturally, to the next level. Thus, in 2003, "Malibu's Most Wanted" was released starring Kennedy as the white "wanna-be rapper" from Malibu. Kennedy next appeared in the cult comedy "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle" (2004) before starring in the critically-reviled flop "Son of The Mask" (2005). The extreme reaction to that setback hurt the trajectory of Kennedy's career, which soon found him reduced to occasional low-budget films and TV guest spots until a recurring role on Jennifer Love Hewitt's "Ghost Whisperer" (CBS 2005-2010) regained some respect. His voiceover career took off during this period as well, with a recurring role on "Fanboy and Chum Chum" (Nickelodeon 2009-2014) and various voices on "The Cleveland Show" (Fox 2009-2013). Against type, Kennedy was cast as a surgeon on the medical drama "Heartbeat" (NBC 2016), but the series was canceled after its first season. Kennedy has since been in films such as "Trick" (2019), "Roe V. Wade" (2021) and "Last Call" (2021).
