Bob Balaban is a producer, director, actor, & writer. He recently directed "Georgia O'Keeffe," which stars Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons and premiered on Lifetime Television in September 2009. It has been nominated for nine Emmy, three Golden Globe, two Screen Actors Guild, Producers Guild, Directors Guild, and NAACP awards.
Bob received three 2008 Emmy Award nominations: for his performance in "Recount" (HBO) and for directing and producing the HBO film "Bernard and Doris," starring Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes. "Bernard and Doris" earned ten Emmy nominations, three Golden Globe nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, as well as Producers Guild and Directors Guild nominations.
Bob produced and co-starred in “Gosford Park,” which was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (Julian Fellowes), as well as the British Academy Award for Best British Film, the Golden Globe award for Best Director (Robert Altman), the Writers Guild Award for screenwriting, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for performance. In addition, the film was honored by the National Society of Film Critics, New York Film Critics Circle, London Critics Circle, Broadcast Film Critics, and Online Film Critics.
Bob produced and directed the hit Off-Broadway play, “The Exonerated” starring Richard Dreyfuss and Jill Clayburgh (Drama Desk Award, New York Times #1 Play, Outer Critics Circle Award, Court TV’s Scales of Justice Award, Defender of Justice Award from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) as well as the National Tour starring Robin Williams, Stockard Channing, Mia Farrow, and others. He also directed the film version of “The Exonerated” for Court TV, starring Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover, Aidan Quinn, and Brian Dennehy.
He produced, directed and wrote the award winning film, "The Last Good Time," starring Armin Mueller-Stahl, Maureen Stapleton and Lionel Stander, and directed "Parents," starring Randy Quaid, Sandy Dennis and Mary Beth Hurt. He is the creator-writer-producer of the IFC animated series "Hopeless Pictures" and executive produced two seasons of "Celebrity Charades" for AMC. Bob also produced and directed the pilot for IFC's "The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman" and directed the pilot for the long running television series "Tales from the Dark Side."
Bob has appeared in nearly a hundred movies, including "Midnight Cowboy," "Catch 22," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Altered States," "2010," "Absence of Malice," "Prince of the City," "Deconstructing Harry," "Jakob the Liar," "Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind," "The Mexican," "Ghost World," "Capote," "Lady in the Water," and "No Reservations." He was recently seen alongside Jude Law and Judi Dench in Sally Potter's new film, "Rage," and costars in the upcoming Allen Ginsburg biopic, “Howl,” starring James Franco. He recently shot “The Convincer,” starring alongside Alan Arkin, Greg Kinnear, and Billy Crudup.
His Broadway appearances include "Plaza Suite," "The Inspector General," (Tony Award nomination) and "Speed the Plow." Off-Broadway includes "You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown," "The White House Murder Case," "Marie and Bruce," "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel," "Romance," and "Some Americans Abroad."
He wrote a series of best-selling children’s books for Scholastic called "McGrowl," which he will be making into a film. The diary he kept during the filming of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” has been published under the title, “Spielberg, Truffaut, and Me.” He is currently at work on another series of children’s books for Viking, called “The Creature from the Seventh Grade,” to be published in 2011.
A Chicago native, Balaban's roots are in the entertainment world: his uncle was a long-time president of Paramount and his grandfather headed production at MGM for many years. He now lives in Bridgehampton, NY when he’s not away working.