Saturday, December 08, 2012

Chris Klein

Chris Klein is an actor who is best know for his role as "Oz" in American Pie and several of its sequels.  Klein was on the verge of becoming a breakout star after the release of the popular American Pie in 1999, but he never lived up to his potential, eventually becoming a c-list actor desperate for roles, famously lost his fiancee to Tom Cruise, and wasted precious years as an alcoholic, hitting rock bottom when he was arrested for a DUI in 2005.


Chris Klein was born on March 14, 1979 in Hinsdale, IL, a suburb of Chicago, IL.  Klein was interested in theater at a young age and as a child he sang "This Little Light of Mine” in a community theater at the Sheraton Convention Center in Chicago.  Klein moved with his family to Omaha, Nebraska when he was 13 years old.

As a high school student, Klein was both an athlete and an actor, participating in football, swimming, and acting/theater.  Klein was fortunate to be discovered by director Alexander Payne, who was in Omaha scouting for fresh young talent for his 1999 film Election.  Klein's first movie role was as "Paul Metzler," a polite and dumb football player in Election.  Although somewhat of a box office flop, Election was popular among critics and performed well in the rental market.







The success of Election led to Klein's breakthrough role as Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in American Pie and in the sequels American Pie 2 and American Reunion.  In American Pie, Oz was a jock who was a member of his high school's lacrosse team.  Oz and his friends formed a pact to each lose their virginity by the end of their senior year in high school.


Chris Klein was one of the most popular actors from the movie (perhaps the second-most popular actor after Seann William Scott) and instantly became a heartthrob.  Klein was popular at the time among young women for his good looks.

As the 1990s came to a close, Klein must have thought he was destined to soon become a member of the upper echelon of Hollywood actors.  His career seemed to be hitting the big time and he soon started dating popular actress Katie Holmes, to whom he later became engaged in 2003.


Klein followed up on the success on American Pie by appearing in several major films, such as the 2002 flicks, We Were Soldiers and American Pie 2.  However, Klein also appeared in the widely-panned box office flop RollerballRollerball reportedly had a budget of at least $70 million, yet only earned about $25 million at the box office.  His appearance in Rollerball seems to have irreparably harmed his acting career, as it one of his last major roles.


Klein's star faded so rapidly that he was not even asked to appear in the second America Pie sequel, American Wedding.  Although there were rumors floating around that Klein had turned down a role in the movie, Klein has since set the record straight and let everyone know that he was not offered a role but would have accepted one if it had been offered to him.

At one point Klein  became so desperate for choice roles that he actually auditioned for a role in 2008 musical, Mamma Mia! despite not having experience in musicals or singing.  Here is a clip of Klein's embarrassing tone-deaf audition for the movie:



As his career crashed and burned, Klein's personal life was in shambles.  Katie Holmes famously dumped Klein while they were engaged to be with actor Tom Cruise in 2005.   Klein also started drinking heavily around this time, becoming an admitted alcoholic and was arrested for DUIs in 2005 and 2010.  Klein was sentenced to 96 hours in prison for the 2010 DUI.


The stress of being unceremoniously dumped by Katie Holmes and the rages of alcoholism have taken a notable toll on Klein's looks.  Although he is still fit, his face has aged to the point at which the 33-year-old actor now looks closer to age 40, as shown in the photos below:








Although he has appeared in a number of roles over the last ten years, most of Klein's roles have been inferior roles ever since the Rollerball debacle.  Klein has, however, made a minor comeback recently by appearing in the most recent American Pie sequel, American Reunion, and also scoring a recurring role in the cable TV drama, Wilfred.  Klein is still a relatively young man, even if he does look much older and it is possible that he may be able to resurrect his career.  However, at this point, it still seems obvious that Chris Klein is one washed-up celebrity!

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh well at least he's still young and a millionaire (Net worth estimated in 1,5 million).

Dylan H. said...

Good to see you back, nice pick, balls to the wall. Nic Cage?

James M. Tate said...

you don't do enough of these.

Anonymous said...

Chris Klein's career has gone downhill, but he continues to be a working actor. I hope he's able to control the drinking. Rumor has it that he and Katie Holmes have a child, but it's a topic that most are afraid to speak of in public. The reasons are well-known to followers of celebrity gossip.

Jeff said...

At this point, everyone in the Pie cast except Alyson Hannigan and (if I am to be charitable) Seann William Scott deserve to make the list. One request though has to be Stephen Baldwin, who just got indicted for tax evasion and filed bankruptcy 3 years ago, yet somehow think God will save him.

Michelle said...

I really never understood why the American Pie franchise was so popular. The guy who played the Dad has done well, I saw in in Madea's Witness Protection.

Shawn James said...

Seems like most of the American Pie cast is washed up. Shame A lot of the actors in that films showed so much promise. Maybe dude can turn it around.

Anonymous said...

Please do more of these much more frequently! This satiated my appetite...barely! :)

J said...

One request though has to be Stephen Baldwin, who just got indicted for tax evasion and filed bankruptcy 3 years ago, yet somehow think God will save him.

I've wanted a Stephen Baldwin entry for the longest time; hopefully his precious Lord and Savior doesn't take him away from us before that happens.

Anonymous said...

His career collapse didn't surprise me. There's no need for another Keanu Reeves!

RayRay said...

Chris' hairline seems to have receded along with his career.

Ed Green said...

Chris Klein? Was he ever a famous celebrity? Anyways, I heard that he is going to appear at comic con next year. He will be attending the Rollerball booth, and will give a bj with every purchase of a signed Rollerball headshot. That sounds like a great deal!

ButtNut said...

Him and Tara Reid are hardly even actors anymore. They should get real jobs at his point. If you're a young actor in Hollywood who has tasted success, you have two choices; take your career seriously and act like an adult, such as Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal, to name but a few. Or, alternately, you can become a you Hollywood cliche and party, act like an idiot and think you'll swamped with scripts, like Chris Klein.

Anonymous said...

Katie Holmes and Chris Klein are a couple again. It's been in the news, though Holmes has tried to keep it quiet.

Anonymous said...

Look what being with Tom (aka Mr scientology) did to Katie, hardly a better choice. As for the washed up celebrity status. I hardly think he was ever that famous to begin with. I think C.K is the perfect example of how Hollywood chews young actors up and spits them out. As for the comment above me I think Tara Reid's nipple slip helped her take her career more seriously.

Anonymous said...

he looks old because he's going bald. hair means everything.

Anonymous said...

you need to do more of these!!

Ed V said...

Him and Tara Reid should do a movie together! They can call it "American Pie DUI"

Andrewcell said...

I just simply like the pie scene... If you watch the movie you know what I'm talking about lol.

tatujim said...

He reminds me of Kevin Sorbo, and he still looks great. Cut him some respect.

Anonymous said...

Why hasn't Edward Furlong of "Terminator 2" appeared in this blog? He's broke and currently in prison.

Anonymous said...

I can't argue with anything posted here, but I would say that I had the pleasure of working on set with Chris Klein for three weeks last summer in LA, shooting a small indie called "Authors Anonymous" (Chris co-stars with Kaley Cuoco).

For what it's worth, Chris was a complete professional. He was on time. He knew his lines. He was friendly towards cast and crew and turned in a nice little performance. He's talked openly about his past mistakes and seems determined to clean up his act. I wish him well.

Anonymous said...

Please add val kilmer,mel gibson and nick nolte to the list.

Anonymous said...

How can you do one of these and not mention Street Fighter Legend of Chun Li?

Kleins over acting in that movie has led him to infamy among the web for how hilariously bad of an actor he is. Honestly if he was utilized in more roles that take advantage of how hilarious his acting is, despite being bad then he would rise to super stardom quite easily.

Eddie R said...

For some weird reason, I actually feel sorry for the guy! I honestly believe that his agent is responsible for his fall from the movie industry! You see kids, that is why you hire a good agent and a lawyer. Do not be cheap like Chris Klein, and hire a bum from skid row! Hire an agent with experience and knowledge of this shithole movie industry.

LesbieAvenue said...

He looks a cross between a transexual Keanu Reeves and an unfunny Doug Stanhope. That said, I'd still pay good money to have him do a Cleveland Steamer on me

deatroying anal said...

maybe klein could go the stephen geophreys route he'd fit nicely into twink porn. picture this, he revives his role as Oz along with jason biggs and sean william scott why not they are washed up and less known. they start by shoving their dicks into a warm apple pie and then discharging their loads so then they force feed eachother the pie then proceed to spitroast eachother bareback. after they have traded positions and made a sticky mess to everyones' suprise eugene levy walks in intially shocked, but then takes part in the festivities by shoving his cock in klein's ass along with biggs to make it a Double anal while klein rims scott until he sharts. this idea is gold!

Anonymous said...

if u think he looks bad how ood Orlando bloom looks then? hes an alcoholic dating kids with no actikg skills, he seems to be 55 years old and its so creepy to see him acting like a boy when thats all he did, his 2nd legolas was different, he cant even act himself again it was so disappointing and embarrassing

do Orlando, hes washed up

Anonymous said...

The entire article is based on your opinion. I think your writing career is far more doomed than his acting career. You need major work.
As for Chris-he is still acting. Much more tghan most can say. And his career is more successful than yours. AMEN.

Anonymous said...

Chris Klien is what I aspire to be in life. Who wouldn't want to be the guy who was dumped for a near midget scientologist?

Anonymous said...

No one has walked in his shoes...ease up people. And taking any delight in seeing someone publicly makes one wish people would stop throwing stones from their glass houses.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry but this guy really does strike me as gay. Not the crazy in your face kind of gay, but the kind where he gets drunk and says stuff just happened but please don't tell anyone because hes still trying sort things out and he still likes women sometimes too kind of gay.

keythd23 said...

Maybe his hairless, unmasculine body contributed to his downward trend. Who wants to see an adult who looks like he never went through puberty?

rachel ridgeway said...

u dont really see him on screen much anymore