Biography
An actor whom you've probably seen in more films than you realize, Zach Grenier possesses the rare ability to take the smallest of roles and transform them into memorable appearances that stick with audiences long after the credits have finished -- even if his frequently unsympathetic characters have often met an unpleasant demise. It was this ability and skill that found Grenier steadily building a career with appearances in such blockbusters as
Cliffhanger (1993),
Donnie Brasco (1997),
Shaft (2000), and
Swordfish (2001). Born in February 1954, Grenier's family lived a somewhat nomadic existence in his early years, moving 18 times before the worldly teen graduated from high school, where, in his junior year, the young man discovered his love of the stage while performing in a production of Shakespeare's Henry V. Continuing to hone his acting skills and frequently appearing on-stage following graduation, Grenier appeared in such other plays as Talk Radio and A Question of Mercy, and made his film debut in the 1987 drama
The Kid Brother (aka
Kenny). Soon appearing in such films as
Working Girl and
Talk Radio in 1988, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil the following year. The actor's parts may have been small, but his talent was growing and appearances memorable; his roles continued to expand throughout the '90s, and viewers saw the rising star in
Twister and
Maximum Risk (both 1996), among several other movies. A turn as Joseph Goebbels in that year's
Mother Night gave him a chance to prove his dramatic skills in front of the camera, and a subsequent role in
David Fincher's cult hit
Fight Club (1999) found him holding his own well against the film's talented leads. Alternating between television and movies in subsequent work, Grenier starred in the little-seen thriller
Chasing Sleep (2000) and joined the cast of the popular weekly suspense series
24 in 2001. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide