Jeff Fahey

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Biography

Recent Role:
Karl Sneijder on Chuck
Gender:
Male
Born:
11-29-1952
Birthplace:
Olean, NY
Birth Name:
Jeffrey David Fahey
Jeff Fahey was born on November 29, 1952, in Olean, New York. He was the 6th child of a family of thirteen children (eight boys and five girls). Despite the large difference in ages, the family was always a close one.



When Jeff was seventeen years old, after graduating from high school, he began traveling extensively. His travels took him to Alaska, Europe, Israel, India, the Himalayas and Afghanistan. His great range and diversity as an actor may well be a direct result of his traveling days, as he lived and learned of the life and cultures of the vast diversity of



… More people wherever he traveled, working his way around by taking odd jobs at different locations.



When Jeff was in his early twenties he returned to the States where he successfully experimented with a wide variety of employment opportunities which included working as a vacuum cleaner salesman, selling encyclopedias, as a trainer in a health club, and teaching ballroom dancing. At the age of twenty five, while he worked as a ballroom dancing teacher he was invited to attend the ballet. He applied and won a full scholarship to dance with the Joffrey Ballet in New York City. It was while he was dancing that he learned the importance of utilizing his entire body to tell a story, and not to rely only on a tone of voice or change in facial features to express his thoughts and emotions. The Joffrey Ballet led to stage roles, first in the chorus, then in more and increasingly longer speaking roles. An accident in London necessitated Jeff to return home prematurely. Jeff remained, as ever, undaunted. A few weeks later, in 1982, he landed his first major television role, as Gary Corelli in the popular daytime soap opera One Life To Live.



From 1982 to 1985, Jeff lived and enjoyed the life of a daytime soap idol. In 1985, Jeff's big break came. He was offered his first major big-screen role, as Deputy Tyree in Silverado. From his first break in Silverado in 1984, and continuing to the present day, he has never experienced a lull in his acting career. Calling himself a "jobber actor", Jeff makes around four or five films per year, selecting his parts according to the needs he wishes to fulfill inside himself. Once it might be a place in the world he has never seen (Dazzle), another time it might be an actor he would like to work with (Robert Mitchum), or he might want the experience of working with a female director to understand a role from a different point of view (Sandra Locke). In 1994, Jeff had the opportunity to star in a weekly television series, The Marshal, produced by his close friend, and acting colleague, Don Johnson. Jeff has said that more than any other vehicle he had acted in to date, his own personality, values, and feelings become encompassed in the character that was to evolve, and emerge, as Winston MacBride. Unique in its concept, the show starred only Jeff, as he liked to say in interviews at the time, one man, one hour. It was a show which showcased the talent of a very versatile actor well. Once the series ended (after two seasons) Jeff continued to make around four or five films a year, and became a big celebrity in European markets. Never one to wait for life to catch up to his aspirations and goals, Jeff now added producing to his resume, bringing the experience of years to his movie rolls and projects. Continuing to seek out roles that would allow him to stretch the bounds of his own individuality, he has always remained faithful to the inner voices that urges him to explore the multiplicity of the human condition in all of its varied manifestations. His movies, therefore, represent an extremely eclectic mixture of type and content, as Jeff has repeatedly accepted the challenge of portraying multiple personas that are living and reacting to a variety of life and experiences.

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  •  
    10 Perfect
    There's something about Jeff... hide show

    Jeff Fahey, at the age of 56, with his beard and untidy grayish hair still has the same alluring presence he had on screen twenty years ago. With his haunting blue eyes and handsome roguish look, he has, in his appearance in Lost developed a cult of Lost followers who treasure him as one of the finest additions to the Lost series and hope to see more of him over the upcoming seasons.

    Part of Jeff's charm is his mysterious mannerism. Not much is known about Jeff except for his extensive biography detailing mostly his travel abroad in his youth. I have found that the same biography circulates on almost every website that holds Jeff's biography with no additional information available. As the editor of his page on www.tv.com I read and re-read the few interviews I found on the web in order to collect tiny tidbits about the man, then I went into all the chats, message boards, websites etc. related to him and collected whatever I could find that seemed interesting. Though there's hardly any information about him, it's been fascinating and captivating. I love a good mystery and Jeff is a great one. Not to mention that his extensive travel to Afghanistan to build and support an orphanage and to promote women's rights just adds to the man charm.

    The only fault I can find with him is his choice of movies. He is, no doubt, a very talented actor, as can be seen in the 1990 movie White Hunter, Black Heart (which is my personal favorite Jeff Fahey movie), The Lawnmower Man (1992), The Marshal (1995), Planet Terror (2007) and of course Lost (the 4th season) which makes it all the harder to understand why, he would choose to participate in movies such as Scorpius Gigantus (2006) or Absolute Zero (2005) which I recently watched. The plot of Absolute Zero's story, though scientifically entirely incorrect was interesting enough, but the acting was just awful. I think other than Jeff's character, all the other characters were extremely shallow, the cast was poorly chosen and some of the actors/actresses should never have been allowed to participate in any movie. There are a few other examples of poorly chosen movies but it doesn't really matter, because on a scale from 1 to 10, I'll still give Jeff a full 10 because there's just something about him. It's uncanny, but I'll admit it, there's something about his presence that will make me sit through his movies, even be it a low budget B movie, with a cast that does not know how to act. And you know what, I'm sure there are many others that feel the same way as me, and that is perhaps why he can afford to get away with B-movies.

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    kwell1 Added May 31, 2008 All my reviews
  •  
    10 Perfect
    I was a hand double for the movie Maniacts, shot in Los Angeles. Jeff was fantastic and so patient, it took 4 takes to be stuck in the neck with a fake syringe. I would love to work with him again someday. hide show

    Jeff Fahey you are a terrific actor and I love your movies. My name is Tammy Boule and I worked a movie with you in 2001, Maniacts, I had to stick a syringe in your neck, it took me 4 takes. Thank you for being so patient with me, I think you are the greatest.

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    alwaysatammy Added Nov 13, 2005 All my reviews
 

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