# Jonah Hill
**Jonah Hill** (born Jonah Hill Feldstein, 1983) is an American actor, writer, and director who rose to fame in comedies such as *Superbad* before earning two Academy Award nominations for dramatic supporting roles in *Moneyball* and *The Wolf of Wall Street*, and later moving behind the camera with the films *Mid90s*, *Stutz*, and *Outcome*.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | Jonah Hill Feldstein, born 1983 in Los Angeles[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) |
| Breakthrough role | Seth in the comedy hit *Superbad* (2007)[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) |
| Oscar nominations | Best Actor in a Supporting Role for *Moneyball* (2011) and *The Wolf of Wall Street* (2013)[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) |
| Golden Globe nomination | Best Actor for *War Dogs* (2016)[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) |
| Directing | Feature debut *Mid90s* (2018); documentary *Stutz*; Hollywood satire *Outcome* (Apple TV, 2026)[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/comedy-movies/keanu-reeves-new-apple-tv-movie-debuts-to-just-27-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes-as-critics-call-it-a-fascinating-mess/) |
| Family | Older brother of actress Beanie Feldstein; son of Richard Feldstein, a Guns N' Roses tour accountant, and Sharon Lyn, a fashion stylist and costume designer[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) |
## Early life and start in acting
Hill grew up in Los Angeles, attended Brentwood School, and graduated from Crossroads, a college preparatory school in Santa Monica. He moved to New York to study drama at [The New School](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-school), where he began writing and performing his own plays, including at the Black and White bar in the East Village. He had wanted to become a writer, with ambitions of joining the teams of *The Simpsons* and *Saturday Night Live*.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill)
His entry into film came through [Dustin Hoffman](https://www.edgepedia.org/dustin-hoffman). Hill became friends with Hoffman's children, Rebecca and Jake, who introduced him to their father; Hoffman, impressed by Hill's prank calls and improvised comedy, invited him to audition for *I Heart Huckabees*, the 2004 [David O. Russell](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-o-russell) film that became Hill's debut.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/12/jonah-hill-actor-wolf-of-wall-street) Hill has said the part was tiny and that he struggled for work afterward until he met [Judd Apatow](https://www.edgepedia.org/judd-apatow), who was preparing his first film, *The 40-Year-Old Virgin*, and mentored him; Apatow, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg then made *Superbad* and let Hill star in it.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2010/jun/20/jonah-hill-q-and-a)
## Comedy fame and the turn toward drama
*Superbad* (2007) made Hill famous, and supporting roles in *Knocked Up* and *Forgetting Sarah Marshall* followed.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) Frustrated by comedy typecasting, he made what he has described as the most pivotal choice of his career: he said no to *The Hangover*, a lucrative franchise offer, and accepted a role in the small indie film *Cyrus* (2010), directed by Mark and [Jay Duplass](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-duplass). Hill played the title character, a menacing man-child who sabotages his mother's budding relationship with [John C. Reilly](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-c-reilly), and critics began to see him as more than a comic.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/mar/31/jonah-hill-interview-mid90s-i-am-serious-deny-that-and-i-go-crazy)
**Moneyball and the Oscars.** In 2011 Hill co-starred with [Brad Pitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/brad-pitt) in *Moneyball*, playing Peter Brand, a Yale economics-trained statistician; the character was inspired by baseball executive [Paul DePodesta](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-depodesta), who declined to allow his name to be used.[6](https://theindependentcritic.com/moneyball) The performance brought Hill Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) Around that time he lost a reported 40 pounds, which he called a sign of maturity, saying "I think you are taken [more] seriously."[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/12/jonah-hill-actor-wolf-of-wall-street)
He then co-wrote, produced, and starred in *21 Jump Street* (2012), an adaptation of the 1980s television show, and appeared in its 2014 sequel *22 Jump Street* opposite [Channing Tatum](https://www.edgepedia.org/channing-tatum).[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) • [7](https://time.com/2854876/review-22-jump-street-goes-meta-on-your-ass/) In 2013 he played Donnie Azoff, Leonardo DiCaprio's sidekick in Martin Scorsese's *The Wolf of Wall Street*, which brought his second Oscar nomination.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) Hill has said he does not divide acting into comedic and dramatic kinds: "I think there are comedic movies and dramatic movies."[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-dec-15-la-en-1215-jonah-hill-20111215-story.html)
## Later acting work
The mid-2010s mixed comedy and drama. Hill played disgraced journalist [Michael Finkel](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-finkel) opposite [James Franco](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-franco) in *True Story* (2015), a drama based on the real relationship between Finkel and accused murderer [Christian Longo](https://www.edgepedia.org/christian-longo).[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-true-story-james-franco-movie-reviews-critics-20150417-story.html) In 2016 he appeared in the Coen brothers' *Hail, Caesar!*, voiced a sausage in *Sausage Party*, and starred as arms dealer Efraim Diveroli in *War Dogs* opposite Miles Teller, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) • [10](https://time.com/4450418/war-dogs-todd-phillips-miles-teller-interview/) In 2018 he co-starred with Emma Stone in the Netflix dark comedy-drama *Maniac*, about a pharmaceutical trial.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) He played the title role's groom-to-be Ezra Cohen in the Netflix comedy *You People* (2023), opposite Lauren London, Eddie Murphy, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.[11](https://apnews.com/article/60d33974c5fb4dfc40166b98cde59f0a) He also appeared in Adam McKay's *Don't Look Up* as the president's sarcastic chief of staff.[12](https://time.com/6126912/dont-look-up-review-netflix/)
## Directing
Hill made his feature directing debut with *Mid90s* (2018), which he also wrote: a coming-of-age film about a troubled teen who seeks acceptance with a group of skateboarders in 1990s Los Angeles, shot on 16mm film with a retro 4:3 aspect ratio.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) • [13](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/mid90s-review-jonah-hill-katherine-waterston-lucas-hedges-sunny-suljic-a8865696.html) He followed it with *Stutz*, a documentary about his therapist, Phil Stutz, which explores the therapist's life and his visualization exercises, The Tools.[14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/stutz)
**Outcome.** Hill returned to fictional directing with *Outcome*, a dark comedy that premiered globally on Apple TV on April 10, 2026. Hill directed, co-wrote, produced, and co-starred as crisis lawyer Ira Slitz, opposite [Keanu Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/keanu-reeves) as Reef Hawk, a beloved movie star extorted with a mysterious video that could end his career; the cast also includes [Cameron Diaz](https://www.edgepedia.org/cameron-diaz) and [Matt Bomer](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-bomer) as Reef's best friends, and Martin Scorsese in a small role.[15](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2026/02/apple-original-films-unveils-a-first-look-at-jonah-hills-dark-comedy-outcome-starring-keanu-reeves-cameron-diaz-matt-bomer-and-hill-and-premiering-globally-april-10/) • [16](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/outcome/) The film runs 84 minutes and debuted to a 27 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 26 reviews; critics were divided, with RogerEbert.com crediting Hill's "instinct for identifying the heart of a dramatic scene" while the AV Club wrote that he "comes close to true self-reflection, then quickly scurries away."[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/comedy-movies/keanu-reeves-new-apple-tv-movie-debuts-to-just-27-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes-as-critics-call-it-a-fascinating-mess/) • [17](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/outcome-keanu-reeves-apple-tv-movie-review-2026)
## Voice work and other projects
Hill has done extensive voice acting, including voicing Snotlout in the *How to Train Your Dragon* films; in 2019 he voiced characters in *How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World* and *The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part*, and appeared with Matthew McConaughey in *Beach Bum*.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) • [18](https://www.nerdly.co.uk/interview-archive/jonah-hill/) He has also written for and starred in the short-lived animated series *Allen Gregory* (2011) and directed a music video for Sara Bareilles.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-dec-15-la-en-1215-jonah-hill-20111215-story.html)
## References
1. [Jonah Hill - Movies, Family & Facts, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/jonah-hill)
2. [Keanu Reeves' new Apple TV movie debuts to just 27% on Rotten Tomatoes, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/comedy-movies/keanu-reeves-new-apple-tv-movie-debuts-to-just-27-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes-as-critics-call-it-a-fascinating-mess/)
3. [Jonah Hill: 'Snorting fake cocaine in a Scorsese movie is pretty iconic', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/12/jonah-hill-actor-wolf-of-wall-street)
4. [Jonah Hill: 'People think I'm a horny, foul-mouthed teenager. But I'm 26 and very ambitious', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2010/jun/20/jonah-hill-q-and-a)
5. [Jonah Hill: 'I am serious. If I deny that I'll go crazy', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/mar/31/jonah-hill-interview-mid90s-i-am-serious-deny-that-and-i-go-crazy)
6. [The Independent Critic - "Moneyball" Review](https://theindependentcritic.com/moneyball)
7. [REVIEW: 22 Jump Street Goes Meta on Your Ass, TIME](https://time.com/2854876/review-22-jump-street-goes-meta-on-your-ass/)
8. [Jonah Hill: 'Moneyball' was no sweat, but '21 Jump Street'..., Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-dec-15-la-en-1215-jonah-hill-20111215-story.html)
9. ['True Story': James Franco-Jonah Hill drama doesn't convince critics, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-true-story-james-franco-movie-reviews-critics-20150417-story.html)
10. [How War Dogs Found the Drama in a Pair of Miami Stoners, TIME](https://time.com/4450418/war-dogs-todd-phillips-miles-teller-interview/)
11. [Review: Star-crossed lovers tackle history in 'You People', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/60d33974c5fb4dfc40166b98cde59f0a)
12. [Adam McKay's Don't Look Up Buckles Under the Weight of Its Smugness, TIME](https://time.com/6126912/dont-look-up-review-netflix/)
13. [Mid90s review: Jonah Hill's directorial debut is a problematic paean to adolescence, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/mid90s-review-jonah-hill-katherine-waterston-lucas-hedges-sunny-suljic-a8865696.html)
14. [Stutz | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/stutz)
15. [Apple Original Films unveils a first look at Jonah Hill's dark comedy "Outcome", Apple TV Press](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2026/02/apple-original-films-unveils-a-first-look-at-jonah-hills-dark-comedy-outcome-starring-keanu-reeves-cameron-diaz-matt-bomer-and-hill-and-premiering-globally-april-10/)
16. [Outcome Reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/outcome/)
17. [Outcome review: Keanu Reeves looks inward in Jonah Hill drama, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/outcome-keanu-reeves-apple-tv-movie-review-2026)
18. [Jonah Hill interview, Nerdly](https://www.nerdly.co.uk/interview-archive/jonah-hill/)
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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 He to Hs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license