# Chris Klein (actor)
**Chris Klein** (born 1979) is an American actor known for playing Paul Metzler in [Alexander Payne](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexander-payne)'s satire *Election* (1999) and Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in the *American Pie* teen comedy franchise, and later for television roles as the villain Cicada in *The Flash* and Bill Townsend in *Sweet Magnolias*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Hinsdale, Illinois, 1979; family moved to Omaha, Nebraska, when he was about 12[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098) • [2](https://www.dailyherald.com/20120326/entertainment/chris-kleins-suburban-roots-shape-american-pie-election-roles/) |
| Breakthrough | Cast as Paul Metzler in *Election* (1999) after being discovered at his Omaha high school by director Alexander Payne[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098) |
| Franchise role | Chris "Oz" Ostreicher, a lacrosse player, in *American Pie* (1999), *American Pie 2* (2001), and *American Reunion* (2012); he missed *American Wedding* (2003)[2](https://www.dailyherald.com/20120326/entertainment/chris-kleins-suburban-roots-shape-american-pie-election-roles/) |
| Franchise total | The four *American Pie* theatrical films had earned $989.5 million worldwide as of the 2012 fourth outing[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html) |
| Television | Orlin Dwyer / Cicada in *The Flash* (2018–2019); Bill Townsend in *Sweet Magnolias* (2020–2023, 30 episodes)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098/?showAllCredits=true) |
| Critical range | Rotten Tomatoes lists his highest-rated film as *Election* at 92% and his lowest at 3%[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein) |
| Recent work | *Fear Street: Prom Queen* (2025) and *Bad Counselors* (2026)[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein) |
## Early life and discovery
Klein was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, to Terese (Bergen), a kindergarten teacher, and Fred Klein, an engineer, and is of German, Irish, and English descent[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098). He spent his earliest years in LaGrange and Brookfield, Illinois, until his father, a [General Motors](https://www.edgepedia.org/general-motors) employee, moved the family to Omaha when Klein was about 12[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098) • [2](https://www.dailyherald.com/20120326/entertainment/chris-kleins-suburban-roots-shape-american-pie-election-roles/).
**The audition that started the career.** In July 1997, a teenage Klein auditioned for filmmaker Alexander Payne, who was casting *Election*; a school drama teacher had introduced Klein to Payne, and the filmmaker liked what he saw[2](https://www.dailyherald.com/20120326/entertainment/chris-kleins-suburban-roots-shape-american-pie-election-roles/) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html). Payne's own recollection of the discovery is that he met a student at the school, could not remember his name, and called the school office to track him down before Klein called him back[6](https://s3.amazonaws.com/wac-imgix/cms/Alexander-Payne-Regis-Dialogue-Formatted.pdf). Klein had sung in his church choir and had just enrolled at [Texas Christian University](https://www.edgepedia.org/texas-christian-university) in Fort Worth, where he studied theater and joined the [Lambda Chi Alpha](https://www.edgepedia.org/lambda-chi-alpha) fraternity, when he learned he had won the role[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html). He has credited his Midwestern upbringing for the values of his early characters, telling the *Daily Herald* that without those roots he would not have known the Paul Metzler or Oz characters[2](https://www.dailyherald.com/20120326/entertainment/chris-kleins-suburban-roots-shape-american-pie-election-roles/).
## Election and American Pie
*Election*, Payne's adaptation of [Tom Perrotta](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-perrotta)'s novel, was released in April 1999 to positive reviews[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098) • [7](https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/filmnotes/fnf99n9.html). Klein played Paul Metzler, the dim but sweet football player persuaded by teacher Jim McAllister ([Matthew Broderick](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-broderick)) to run against the unopposed Tracy Flick ([Reese Witherspoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/reese-witherspoon)) in the student council election[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098). The film remains his highest-rated title on Rotten Tomatoes at 92%[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein), though it was a box office disappointment, overshadowed by other 1999 releases[8](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/26-years-later-election-is-still-a-perfect-comedy-and-it-just-arrived-on-netflix).
Months later, *American Pie* opened on July 9, 1999, and was a box office success[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098). Klein played Chris "Oz" Ostreicher, a lacrosse player who makes a pact with his friends to lose his virginity by graduation[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html). The role made him famous and fixed his screen persona: Rotten Tomatoes describes his all-American good looks and clean-cut image riding the late-1990s teen movie wave, and notes he was often compared to [Keanu Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/keanu-reeves)[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein). He reprised Oz in *American Pie 2* (2001) and *American Reunion* (2012), but missed the third theatrical film, *American Wedding*, because he was tied up in London at the time[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098) • [2](https://www.dailyherald.com/20120326/entertainment/chris-kleins-suburban-roots-shape-american-pie-election-roles/). In *American Reunion*, Oz and his high school girlfriend Heather ([Mena Suvari](https://www.edgepedia.org/mena-suvari)) have drifted apart[2](https://www.dailyherald.com/20120326/entertainment/chris-kleins-suburban-roots-shape-american-pie-election-roles/).
## Film career after the teen era
Klein took dramatic and action parts through the 2000s. He played 2nd Lt. Jack Geoghegan in the Mel Gibson Vietnam War film *We Were Soldiers* (2002) and Jonathan Cross in the 2002 *Rollerball* remake, and appeared in *The United States of Leland* (2003) as Allen Harris[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098) • [9](https://www.rogerebert.com/cast-and-crew/chris-klein). *Rollerball* sits at the bottom of his critical record, with a 3% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein). He showed a spikier comedic edge with a rare villainous turn as Dusty Dinkleman in *Just Friends* (2005), and played William Williams in *American Dreamz* (2006)[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein).
**A career slowdown.** After the late-1990s run, film offers thinned out. Klein was arrested twice on suspicion of drunk driving and checked into Utah's Cirque Lodge for alcohol addiction in 2010; that same year, a video of his audition for *Mamma Mia!* went viral because of how poorly it went[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html). Outside the *American Pie* franchise, he had not appeared in a box office release for six years as of the 2016 WWI thriller *Game of Aces*, in which he played a pilot and also took a producer credit[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein). Director Damien Lay said industry backers were puzzled by the casting, but felt Klein looked "a little rough and weathered" rather than like a heartthrob lead[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html). His 2010s film work included *Authors Anonymous* (2014), co-starring [Kaley Cuoco](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaley-cuoco), and *The Competition* (2018)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein).
## Television work
Television gave Klein his most substantial adult roles. In the FX comedy *Wilfred* (2011), he played Drew, the controlling and competitive husband of Jenna ([Fiona Gubelmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/fiona-gubelmann)); a [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) feature argued the role let him show range beyond the *American Pie* image, though his performance was often overshadowed by co-stars [Elijah Wood](https://www.edgepedia.org/elijah-wood) and Jason Gann[10](https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/chris-klein-deserves-our-attention/).
**Cicada on The Flash.** In 2018 Klein was cast as Orlin Dwyer, the masked serial killer Cicada, a recurring villain in season five of [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s *The Flash* (2018–2019)[10](https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/chris-klein-deserves-our-attention/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098/?showAllCredits=true). TV Guide called it his first real meaty mainstream part in years, while noting that the mask and manipulated voice limited how much of his performance could register[10](https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/chris-klein-deserves-our-attention/).
He then had a steady run as Bill Townsend in the Netflix drama *Sweet Magnolias*, appearing in 30 episodes from 2020 to 2023[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098/?showAllCredits=true). More recently he appeared in the Netflix film *Fear Street: Prom Queen* (2025) as Dan Falconer and has a role as Tom in *Bad Counselors* (2026)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098/?showAllCredits=true) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein).
## Public image and personal life
Klein's wholesome, clean-cut reputation has followed him throughout his career, and in a 2016 interview he described it as something he was still fighting[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html). He was engaged to actress [Katie Holmes](https://www.edgepedia.org/katie-holmes); the relationship began in 2000 and ended in March 2005[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html) • [11](https://elpais.com/gente/2024-08-30/american-pie-cumple-25-anos-que-ha-sido-de-sus-protagonistas.html). A TV Guide retrospective observed that, of the male leads of *American Pie*, Klein remained the one whose Hollywood persona was still tied to the 1999 film, while his co-stars built separate identities in other projects[10](https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/chris-klein-deserves-our-attention/).
## References
1. [Chris Klein, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098)
2. [Chris Klein's suburban roots shape 'American Pie,' 'Election' roles, Daily Herald (2012)](https://www.dailyherald.com/20120326/entertainment/chris-kleins-suburban-roots-shape-american-pie-election-roles/)
3. [Chris Klein leaves 'American Pie' behind and takes to the skies for the WWI thriller 'Game of Aces', Los Angeles Times (2016)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-game-of-aces-chris-klein-20160825-snap-story.html)
4. [Chris Klein full credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005098/?showAllCredits=true)
5. [Chris Klein Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/chris_klein)
6. [Alexander Payne Regis Dialogue transcript, Walker Art Center](https://s3.amazonaws.com/wac-imgix/cms/Alexander-Payne-Regis-Dialogue-Formatted.pdf)
7. [Film Notes: Election, New York State Writers Institute](https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/filmnotes/fnf99n9.html)
8. [Election is still a perfect comedy 26 years later, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/26-years-later-election-is-still-a-perfect-comedy-and-it-just-arrived-on-netflix)
9. [Chris Klein Movie Reviews, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/cast-and-crew/chris-klein)
10. [Chris Klein Deserves Our Attention Again, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/chris-klein-deserves-our-attention/)
11. ['American Pie' cumple 25 años: ¿Qué ha sido de sus protagonistas?, El País (2024)](https://elpais.com/gente/2024-08-30/american-pie-cumple-25-anos-que-ha-sido-de-sus-protagonistas.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Jo to Kl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license