Kevin Kline Biography Quotes 2 Report mistakes

Early Life
Kevin Kline was born on October 24, 1947, in St. Louis, Missouri, and came of age with a voracious appetite for literature, music, and performance. From an early point, he showed the mix of discipline and comic instinct that would define his career, moving fluidly between serious study and a love of clowning that surfaced in school and community productions. The combination of classical interests and a natural flair for humor set the stage for a life in theater and film, where he would become one of the most versatile American actors of his generation.

Training and The Acting Company
Kline received rigorous conservatory training at the Juilliard School as part of the first generation of its Drama Division. There he studied under influential mentors including John Houseman, whose emphasis on text, voice, and technique resonated deeply with Kline. After Juilliard, he joined Houseman in forming The Acting Company with fellow alumni such as Patti LuPone. The troupe toured extensively, playing classical repertory and modern works across the United States. Those years forged Kline's reputation as a commanding classical actor and taught him the craft of holding large audiences with clarity of language and physical precision.

Breakthrough on Stage
New York audiences first came to know Kline through his association with the New York Shakespeare Festival and The Public Theater under Joseph Papp, where he tackled leading roles in Shakespeare with an athletic, contemporary energy. His Broadway breakthrough came with the screwball musical On the Twentieth Century, which earned him a Tony Award for his exuberant supporting turn. He followed with The Pirates of Penzance, playing the Pirate King with gleeful swagger; the production moved from Central Park to Broadway and won him another Tony, confirming that he could sing, dance, and swordfight with the same authority he brought to Shakespearean verse. He became a fixture of New York's classical and comedic stages, tackling parts from Hamlet to Garry Essendine in Noel Coward's Present Laughter.

Film Career
Kline's transition to film was swift and assured. He made an indelible impression opposite Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, demonstrating a capacity for tragic complexity that contrasted with his musical-theater exuberance. He then became a frequent collaborator with writer-director Lawrence Kasdan, appearing in The Big Chill, Silverado, I Love You to Death, and Grand Canyon, films that highlighted his range from wry romantic lead to Western hero and "everyman" undone by moral crisis.

He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for A Fish Called Wanda, a caper directed by Charles Crichton and co-written by John Cleese, in which he stole scenes from a formidable ensemble including Jamie Lee Curtis, Cleese, and Michael Palin. The 1990s solidified his stardom with Dave, opposite Sigourney Weaver, French Kiss with Meg Ryan, Ang Lee's The Ice Storm alongside Joan Allen and Weaver, and Frank Oz's In & Out with Joan Cusack, which showcased his deft comic timing and warmth. Later, he embodied composer Cole Porter in De-Lovely with Ashley Judd, played Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream under Michael Hoffman's direction, and joined Kenneth Branagh's As You Like It as the melancholic Jaques. He continued to appear in high-profile projects into the 2010s, including the live-action Beauty and the Beast, in which he portrayed Maurice.

Voice and Television Work
Kline's resonant voice and musicality also led to significant voice roles. He voiced the gallant Phoebus in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the quick-witted Tulio in The Road to El Dorado, bringing an actor's nuance to animated storytelling. On television, his stage work has been preserved in broadcasts that introduced wider audiences to his Shakespearean and classical performances, extending the reach of his theater career beyond the auditorium.

Later Stage and Awards
Even as his film career flourished, Kline remained devoted to the stage. He returned repeatedly to Shakespeare at The Public and to Broadway for modern comedies and classics. His 2017 performance in Present Laughter earned him another Tony Award, a capstone to decades of stage work that included acclaimed turns in Cyrano de Bergerac and other demanding roles. Honors across stage and screen recognized not only his versatility, but also a commitment to craft learned in rehearsal rooms and touring repertory rather than in the vagaries of celebrity.

Personal Life
Kline married actor Phoebe Cates in 1989, and the couple made a home in New York City grounded in family and the arts. They have two children: Owen Kline, who has worked as an actor and filmmaker, and Greta Kline, an acclaimed indie musician who performs as Frankie Cosmos. Their partnership, often described as private and steady, stands as a counterpoint to the public circus of show business and allowed Kline to maintain a careful balance between professional ambition and family life.

Craft and Legacy
Colleagues often note Kline's uncommon blend of technique and spontaneity: a classically trained actor with a jester's heart, able to pivot from lyrical soliloquy to physical comedy without breaking character. Collaborations with figures like John Houseman and Joseph Papp gave him a foundation in text and ensemble values; work with filmmakers such as Lawrence Kasdan, Ang Lee, and Frank Oz showed how that foundation could travel to the camera. His partnerships with performers including Meryl Streep, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Sigourney Weaver, Meg Ryan, Ashley Judd, and Kenneth Branagh map a career built on curiosity and range rather than typecasting.

Across decades, Kline has embodied the ideal of the American actor equally at home on a park stage at dusk, under Broadway lights, or on a film set. He brought audiences along from the intellectual rigor of Shakespeare to the gleeful chaos of farce, from intimate romantic comedy to the moral tensions of contemporary drama. That breadth, sustained by careful choices and an evident love of language and music, secures his standing as one of the most accomplished performers of his time.

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Other people realated to Kevin: Hayden Christensen (Actor), Bai Ling (Actress)