American Actor, Director, and Comedian

Jonah Hill | Biography

Known For Roles in Movies like 'Wolf of Wall Street' and 'Money Ball.'

• By Puja Bhetwal
• Update : September 30, 2021

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Jonah Hill is an American actor famous for his role in ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘Money Ball.’

Who is Jonah Hill?

Jonah Hill is an American actor, producer, director, screenwriter, and comedian. He got his first film role in I Heart Huckabees while writing and performing plays in college (2004). More high-profile film and television roles followed, culminating in a starring role in the Superbad (2007). He was nominated for Oscars for Moneyball (2011) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). He also got a Golden Globe nomination for War Dogs (2016).

Early Life

Jonah Hill Feldstein was born on 20 December 1983 in Los Angeles. He was born to his father, Richard Feldstein, Guns N’ Roses tour accountant, and his mother, Sharon Lyn, a fashion stylist and costume designer. He has an elder brother, Jordan, and a younger sister, actress Beanie Feldstein.

Hill, who was raised in a creative environment, aspired to be a writer and wanted to join the writing squad of The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live. Hill went to Brentwood School and later graduated from Crossroads, a Santa Monica college preparatory school. He then relocated to New York to pursue a degree in drama at The New School, where he started writing and taking part in plays.

Early Career

Hill began writing his plays at college in the New York City East Village Black and White Bar. His plays gained a small following, allowing him to realize that acting in films was his true calling. While attending college in New York, he started writing and acting in plays and was introduced to Dustin Hoffman, through whom he received an audition for his first film role in I Heart Huckabees (2004).

Following that came a string of increasingly high-profile film and television appearances, including a cameo in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and supporting roles in Knocked Up (2007) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008). Eventually, he landed one of the lead roles in the teen hit Superbad in 2007. More roles followed and several appearances on US television talk shows like Reno 911! and Saturday Night Live as he continued to write and act.

Movies & Acting Career

In 2011, Hill featured in a dramatic role in Moneyball alongside Brad Pitt. He earned a nomination for the reputed Golden Globe Awards and an Oscar for his acclaimed role. While he did not win them, he was awarded the Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Creative Effect. 

In the following years, the star got famous with hit movies, such as 21 Jump Street (2012), Django Unchained (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). Besides those clicks, he also voiced in animated movies like The Lego Film, How to Train Your Dragon 2.

He appeared in The Coen Brothers’ comedy Hail, Caesar! in 2016. The same year, he played a sausage in the adult animation comedy Sausage Party. In addition, he starred in the biographical military drama War Dogs, for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.

In 2018, Hill joined the Netflix dark comedy-drama Maniac, in which he was seen alongside the role of Emma Stone in a pharmaceutical fashion. He also appeared in the 2019 comedy film The Beach Bum alongside Matthew McConaughey.

‘Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot’

Hill portrayed the role of a charismatic sponsor, Donny, in the 2018 biographical comedy film, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. The movie was based on John Callahan’s memoir of the same name. Directed by two-time Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant, the film followed Oregon slacker John Callahan (played by Joaquin Phoenix), who intends to give up drinking after nearly losing his life in a car accident. However, upon encouragement from his girlfriend Annu (played by Rooney Mara) and Donny (played by Hill), Callahan reluctantly enters a treatment program and discovers that he has a knack for drawing. His sharp, atheistic newspaper cartoons quickly gain a national following, which gives him a new lease on life.

Hill was nominated for the ‘IFJA Award’ for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ by Indiana Film Journalists Association, US (2018) for his role in Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.

‘Don’t Look Up’

Hill will appear in the upcoming sci-fi comedy-drama film, Don’t Look Up, alongside Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Lawrence. Hill will portray the role of Jason Orlean, a sycophantic son of President Janie Orlean (played by Meryl Streep) and Chief of Staff. Directed by Adam McKay, the film has already completed its production. It has been slated to release on 10 December 2021 in theaters and on 24 December 2021 on Netflix. 

Don’t Look Up follows the story of two low-level astronomers, Kate Dibiasky (played by Lawrence) and Dr. Randall Mindy (played by DiCaprio). First, they make an astonishing discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system to determine that it’s on a direct collision course with Earth. Then, with the help of Dr. Oglethorpe (played by Rob Morgan), Dibiasky and Mindy go on a media tour to warn mankind of the approaching comet. 

While embarking on the media tour, Dibiasky and Mindy meet an indifferent President Janie Orlean and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason Orlean. The media tour also takes the astronomers duo to the airwaves of an upbeat morning show, The Daily Rip, hosted by Brie Evantee (played by Cate Blanchett) and Jack Bremmer (played by Tyler Perry). 

Is Jonah Hill in ‘The Batman’?

On 23 September 2019, The Hollywood Reporter reported Hill was in early talks to play one of the Dark Knight’s signature villains in Matt Reeves’ upcoming DC film The Batman. The Penguin and The Riddler were the two villainous characters that were in conversation. However, according to the report, neither Hill nor the studio could decide which character he should play, and it was also unclear if the two sides could even reach an agreement. On 16 October 2019, Deadline reported Hill exited talks to play either character. Reportedly, he left the project over money issues. 

Upcoming Project with Eddie Murphy

Hill will be starring in an upcoming untitled Netflix comedy project alongside Eddie Murphy. For the comedy project, Hill co-wrote the script with Kenya Barris. Produced by Hill, Barris, and Kevin Misher, the Netflix comedy project is in pre-production.

Career as a Voice Actor

Hill first lent his voice for Tommy in the 2008 animated adventure comedy film Horton Hears a Who! He then voiced the character Snotlout in the hit animated film How to Train Your Dragon (2010), the television short Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010), and the video Dragons: Gift of the Fury. He also lent his voice to the same character in How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). 

Hill also voiced the animated character Tighten in the animated action-comedy film Megamind (2010) and the video game Megamind: Mega Team Unite (2010). In 2011, he voiced the title character in the seven-part animated comedy television series Allen Gregory. 

He voiced Green Lantern in The Lego Movie (2014) and its sequel, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019). He also voiced Green Lantern in The Lego Batman Movie (2017), the spin-off of The Lego Movie film series. In addition, he voiced the same character in the video short; Batman Is Just Not That Into You (2017). 

Additionally, Hill was featured in the voice of Carl in the 2016 animated adventure comedy film Sausage Party. 

Career as a Director

Moreover, he also directed his 2018 feature film, Mid90s, which was about a disturbed youth seeking help with a skate club. As the comedy-drama feature film director of the Mid90s, Hill won the ‘Blue Angel Award’ for ‘Best Director’ at the Art Film Festival in 2019. It was also nominated for the same award under ‘Best film’ that same year. In addition, Hill was nominated for the ‘OAFFC Award’ under the category ‘Breakthrough Filmmaker’ by the Online Association of Female Film Critics in 2018.

Directing Music Videos

Hill made his directorial debut in 2011 in Sara Bareilles’s music video ‘Gonna Get Over You.’ In 2017, he directed another music video titled ‘Ain’t It Funny’ by Danny Brown. Two years later, he directed Travis Scott’s music video titled ‘Wake Up.’ 

Career as a Producer

Hill first served as an associate producer for the 2009 comedy film Brüno, starring Sacha Baron Cohen. Two years later, in 2011, he served as an executive producer for the comedy film, The Sitter, directed by David Gordon Green. That year, he also executive produced the animated comedy television series Allen Gregory. He then executive produced the buddy cop action comedy film 21 Jump Street in 2012 and produced its sequel, 22 Jump Street in 2014. 

He served as an executive producer for the 2015 sci-fi horror comedy film Freaks of Nature and the 2016 animated adventure-comedy film Sausage Party. In 2016, he also produced the comedy film Why Him? 

Hill also produced his 2018 feature film, Mid90s. The same year, Hill executive produced Netflix sci-fi comedy-drama miniseries Maniac. The miniseries was co-created by Cary Joji Fukunaga and Patrick Somerville. 

In 2019, Hill produced biographical crime drama film Richard Jewell, based on Marie Brenner’s article titled ‘American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell’ published in Vanity Fair in February 1997 and the 2019 book titled ‘The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle’ co-written by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen. 

Hill was also a co-executive producer of the 2020 live documentary film Beastie Boys Story, where Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam Horovitz share the story of their hip hop band, Beastie Boys. The live documentary was directed by their friend, collaborator, and filmmaker, Spike Jonze.

Furthermore, Hill will also be one of the producers of the upcoming Netflix comedy project.

Career as a Screenwriter

Hill has penned several television series and films. In 2008, he wrote and hosted one episode of Saturday Night Live’s segment called ‘Andy’s Dad.’ It was an SNL Digital Short where Andy Samberg finds out Hill was dating his dad. The episode was aired on 15 March 2008.

He also wrote the lyrics of ‘Gonna Get Over You,’ released in 2011. The same year, he penned two episodes of the seven-part animated comedy television series Allen Gregory. Furthermore, Hill wrote the story of 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street, Sausage Party, and Why Him? He also wrote his comedy-drama feature film, Mid90s. He will also be the co-writer of the upcoming Netflix comedy project. 

Accolades

Hill was ranked 28th on Forbes magazine’s ‘The World’s Highest-Paid Actors 2015.’ According to the magazine, he brought $16 million during the review year, and he could command nearly $10 million for 2014’s film 22 Jump Street. 

Personal Life

In October 2020, Jonah Hill and his ex-fiancée, Gianna Santos, called off their engagement a year later, after they were engaged. 

Who Is Jonah Hill Dating?

Hill is currently dating Sarah Brady. He took to his Instagram in September 2021 to introduce his girlfriend. Sharing a selfie with his girlfriend, he wrote, “Grateful for you @sarahhbrady.”

Bullying 

In January 2019, Jonah posted a picture of himself on Instagram and confessed two months of Brazil’s Jiu-Jitsu practice. In this heartfelt post, he detailed how he was humiliated by the boys on the Jiu-Jitsu team in high school. After that, he didn’t want to be associated with martial art because of bullying, even though he had always considered it a “beautiful art form.”

‘Un-filtered’ Bullying Docu-Series 

As part of its anti-bullying efforts, Facebook’s Instagram sponsored a series directed by Jonah Hill that featured teenagers and young adults discussing their experiences with bullying.

The four-episode Un-filtered premiered on Instagram’s IGTV channel on 18 September 2019 on the mobile app and online. Hill interviewed people aged 13 to 25 in the unscripted series about their experiences as victims.

“It was an incredible experience to direct this project,” Hill said in a statement. “I tried to create an environment for young people to be heard and listened to. I wish there was a platform to hear other’s struggles and experiences when I was growing up. I hope that this will be inspiring for young people to share their stories and feelings and not feel so alone.”

Weight Loss and Self-acceptance

In 2016, Jonah Hill and Miles Teller co-starred in the crime drama War Dogs. Hill had to gain a lot of weight for his part, and he wasn’t pleased about how he looked. He wanted to enlist the aid of his former co-star, Channing Tatum, to get in shape after filming wrapped. Hill had made headlines for both losing and gaining weight during 2016. He also discussed how he struggled with weight his whole life and learned to manage by loving and embracing himself.

The actor shared paparazzi pictures on Instagram showing him shirtless and surfing on the beach in Malibu, California. However, Hill claimed that these types of images no longer bother him. “I’m 37 and finally love and accept myself,” he wrote. He also claimed that the media’s and interviewers’ public ridicule of his body had set him back on his path to self-acceptance.

Activism and Philanthropy

Hill has been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement. On 1 June 2020, he posted about the Black Lives Matter movement on his Instagram, captioning, “I’m going to listen, learn, show up, donate and support.” A couple of days later, he marched in the Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles.  

On 11 July 2020, he took to Instagram to inform about the release of his Adidas Originals Superstar and further shared that he would donate 100% of his royalties from the Superstar to the Black Lives Matter movement. He also announced that he would partner with an organization called SEED to lead a storytelling mentorship for women from marginalized communities on the same Instagram post.

Similarly, on 16 March 2021, he made a Twitter post to attract donations for the CCHS Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising awareness, funds, and family support for a rare orphan disease called congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS).