Bob Balaban
Actor
Born August 16, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Robert Elmer Balaban, Born: August 16, 1945, Chicago, Illinois, U.S (Height: 5' 5" [1.65 m]). is an American actor, author, comedian, director, and producer. He is best known for his appearances in the Christopher Guest mockumentary comedies Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006), as well as his roles in the films Midnight Cowboy (1969), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Altered States (1980), 2010 (1984), Deconstructing Harry (1997), and Capote (2005). Balaban has also directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films. He is also an author of children's novels. Balaban began his career in the 1960s, appearing in small roles in films and television shows. He made his breakthrough role in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, playing a young hustler who befriends an aging rodeo cowboy. In the 1970s, Balaban appeared in a number of popular films, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Altered States (1980), and 2010 (1984). He also continued to work in television, appearing in recurring roles on the shows Lou Grant and Designing Women.
Filmography
Fantasy Life
Lenny
Brooklyn, Minnesota
Bad Actors
Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
Self
Asteroid City
Larkings Executive
80 for Brady
Mark
How Dare You Want More: The Short Film
Severance
Mark Wilkins
The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
Uncle Nick
The Chair
Elliot Rentz
How Moving
Uncle Aaron
Space Force
Ron (voice)
The Politician
Keaton Hobart
Carl Laemmle
Himself
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
An L.A. Minute
Shelley
Summer Camp Island
Gerald (voice)
Condor
Reuel Abbott
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
Self
Isle of Dogs
King (voice)
Wormwood
Dr. Harold A. Abramson
Spielberg
Self
Mike Nichols: An American Master
Self
Graves
Secretary Burns
Mascots
Sol Lumpkin
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
Mr. Waxcap
Eva Hesse
Wilhelm Hesse (voice)
Starring Austin Pendleton
Self
Everything Is Copy
Self
Exploring the Set of 'Moonrise Kingdom'
Self / The Narrator
Hitchcock/Truffaut
Narrator (voice)
Show Me a Hero
Leonard B. Sand
We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Self
The Grand Budapest Hotel
M. Martin
The Monuments Men
Pvt. Preston Savitz
Broad City
Arthur Wexler
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
Lawyer (uncredited)
Fading Gigolo
Sol
Family Tree
Melvin Schmelff / Tumbleweed Tim
Alpha House
Senator Elliot Robeson
Girl Most Likely
Maxwell
Do You Like to Read?
The Narrator
Moonrise Kingdom
The Narrator
Girls
Therapist
Thin Ice
Leonard Dahl
China, IL
(voice)
Web Therapy
Ted Mitchell
The Five Stages of Grief
Voice of Daniel's father
Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood
Self
Howl
Judge Clayton Horn
F--k
Bob
Rage
Mr. White
The Good Wife
Gordon Higgs
Georgia O'Keeffe
The Windmill Movie
Self
Nurse Jackie
Web Therapy
Ted Mitchell
Swingtown
Recount
Ben Ginsberg
Dedication
Arthur Planck
License to Wed
Jewelry Store Clerk (uncredited)
No Reservations
Therapist
Prince of the City: The Real Story
Self / Santimassino
For Your Consideration
Philip Koontz
Bernard and Doris
The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman
Lady in the Water
Harry Farber
The Exonerated
Controversy and Acclaim: The Timelessness of a Groundbreaking Film
Self
Capote
William Shawn
Trust the Man
Tobey's Therapist
Hopeless Pictures
American Dad!
Glen Hanover (voice)
Kramer vs. Kramer: Kenny to Cosmo
Self
Tom Goes to the Mayor
Walt Pickle (voice)
Entourage
Doctor
Scene Stealers
Jonathan Crouch Esq.
Marie and Bruce
Roger
A Mighty Wind
Jonathan Steinbloom
The Tuxedo
Winton Chalmers (uncredited)
The Twilight Zone
The Making of Gosford Park
Self
Plan B
James Foster
Gosford Park
Morris Weissman
The Majestic
Elvin Glyde
Ghost World
Enid's Dad
The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
Self
The Mexican
Bernie Nayman
Best in Show
Dr. Theodore W. Millbank, III
Tex, the Passive/Aggressive Gunslinger
Tex
Cradle Will Rock
Harry Hopkins
Three to Tango
Decker
Now and Again
The West Wing
Ted Marcus
Jakob the Liar
Kowalsky
Swing Vote
Justice Eli MacCorckle
Strangers with Candy
The Monster Hunter
Dr. William Powell
Giving Up the Ghost
Bob
Deconstructing Harry
Richard
Subway Stories
Oz
The Definite Maybe
Wolfe Rollins
Clockwatchers
Milton Lasky
Conversation with the Beast
Mr. Webster
Waiting for Guffman
Lloyd Miller
The Late Shift
Warren Littlefield
Pie in the Sky
Paul Entamen
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
Bob (voice)
Legend
George Romero's Golden Tales 2
George Romero's Golden Tales 3
The Last Good Time
Friends
Frank Sr.
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold
Dr. Jeffrey Sanborn (uncredited)
Greedy
Ed
For Love or Money
Ed Drinkwater
My Boyfriend's Back
Amos & Andrew
Dr. R. A. (Roy) Fink
Stephen King's Golden Tales
Bob Roberts
Cutting Edge Producer
Unnatural Pursuits
Lou Finkleberg
Eerie, Indiana
Little Man Tate
Quizmaster
Alice
Sid Moscowitz
Tales from the Darkside
The Face of Fear
Ira Preduski
The Simpsons
Narrator (voice)
Seinfeld
Russell Dalrymple
Dead Bang
Elliott Webley
Parents
Monsters
Funny
Self
End of the Line
Warren Gerber
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread
Amazing Stories
Jo-Jo Gillespie
2010
Dr. R. Chandra
Tales from the Darkside
Miami Vice
Ira Stone
Nothing Lasts Forever
Guy with Sunglasses in Espresso Bar
2010 : The Odyssey Continues
Himself
Trick or Treat
The Brass Ring
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Carter Hill
Absence of Malice
Elliott Rosen
Prince of the City
Santimassino
Altered States
Arthur Rosenberg
Fridays
Self
Girlfriends
Martin
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
David Laughlin
Report to the Commissioner
Joey Egan
The Bank Shot
Victor Karp
Maude
Ambrose Riley
Marriage: Year One
Bernie
Making It
Wilkie
The Strawberry Statement
Elliot
Catch-22
Capt. Orr
Love, American Style
Nick
Room 222
Me, Natalie
Morris
Midnight Cowboy
The Young Student
The Mod Squad
Hank
The Mike Douglas Show
Self