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| Jesse Eisenberg |
Early life
Jesse Eisenberg was born in Queens, New York City. His mother, Amy (née Fishman), worked as a clown at children's parties, and his father, Barry Eisenberg, ran a hospital and later became a college professor. He has two siblings, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, a former child actress who was once famous as the "Pepsi girl" in a series of commercials, and Kerri. He was raised in a secular Jewish family that originated in Poland and Ukraine. Jesse Eisenberg grew up in Queens and East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, attending the East Brunswick Public Schools at Frost School, Hammarskjold Middle School, Churchill Junior High School, and spending his sophomore year at East Brunswick High School.
Jesse Eisenberg struggled to fit in at school and began acting in plays at the age of 10, stating "when playing a role, I would feel more comfortable, as you're given a prescribed way of behaving." Jesse Eisenberg studied contemporary architecture at The New School in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. Originally, he had applied and was accepted to New York University, but declined enrollment in order to complete a film role.
Career
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| Jesse Eisenberg |
In 2005, Jesse Eisenberg appeared in Cursed, a horror film directed by Wes Craven, and The Squid and the Whale, a well-reviewed independent drama also starring Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels. In 2007, he starred opposite Richard Gere and Terrence Howard in The Hunting Party, a comic thriller in which he plays a young journalist in Bosnia. In 2009, Jesse Eisenberg played the lead role in Adventureland, a comedy directed by Greg Mottola and filmed in Kennywood Park near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Filming ended in October 2007, and the movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. In November 2007, Jesse Eisenberg was cast in the indie comic-drama Holy Rollers. He played a young Hasidic Jew who gets lured into becoming an ecstasy dealer. Filming took place in New York in 2008. During the late 2000s, he also had roles in the independent films Solitary Man, playing Cheston, and Camp Hope, a horror film directed by George Van Buskirk.
Jesse Eisenberg's breakthrough starring role was as the neurotic Columbus in Zombieland. The horror comedy, which paired him with Woody Harrelson on a roadtrip through a post-zombie apocalypse America, was a surprise hit. In 2010, he starred alongside Andrew Garfield in the role of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg in the film The Social Network, for which he earned the Best Actor Award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, and nominations for Best Actor at the Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
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| Jesse Eisenberg |
In 2011, Jesse Eisenberg starred in the box-office animated hit Rio, as the main character Blu, a Spix's Macaw who learns how to fly, starring alongside Anne Hathaway, his former co-star (and onscreen sibling) from Get Real, George Lopez, Jake T. Austin, Tracy Morgan, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, will.i.am, and Jamie Foxx. He contributed his singing voice for one of the songs in the soundtrack, "Real in Rio". He also starred in 30 Minutes or Less, released August 2011.
In October 2011, Jesse Eisenberg made his playwriting debut Off-Broadway in Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's production of Asuncion, presented at Cherry Lane Theatre. Eisenberg also acted in the play that was directed by Kip Fagan. The play highlights two liberal-minded friends whose assumptions are challenged by their new Filipina roommate, played by Camille Mana.
In 2012, Jesse Eisenberg will star alongside Melissa Leo in Predisposed, a drama about a drug addict mother and her piano prodigy son and in the romantic comedy Nero Fiddled. Also in 2012, he filed a $3 million dollar lawsuit claiming he was exploited by the producers of the direct-to-DVD movie, Camp Hell. According to the lawsuit, in 2007 Jesse Eisenberg agreed to appear in Camp Hell as a favor to his friends. He was on set for only one day of filming, and logged only a few minutes of total screen time. Because he was only minimally involved in the movie, he was surprised to see that his face was prominently featured on the cover of the DVD, implying that he starred in the film. His lawsuit asserts various California law causes of action, including claims for unfair business practices and publicity rights.
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| Jesse Eisenberg |
Jesse Eisenberg plans to write for stage and screen. Jesse Eisenberg has said that fan confusion between himself and Michael Cera is annoying.
Personal life
Jesse Eisenberg is fond of cats and has been involved in fostering the animals. He has been associated with Farm Sanctuary and has presented at several of their galas. Jesse Eisenberg has mentioned that he has obsessive–compulsive disorder. He also mentioned enjoying riding his bicycle in New York City.
