Jamie Kennedy is best known for his breakthrough performance as Randy Meeks, the video store clerk well-versed in the conventions of scary movies, in Wes Craven's 1996 self-referential horror film "Scream" and its follow-up "Scream 2" (1997). The Pennsylvania native headed west after high school and began performing stand-up comedy while supporting himself in a variety of odd jobs. Kennedy was spotted at one of the comedy clubs and cast in the little-seen 1995 indie comedy "The Road to Flin Flon". An appearance as a punked-out rival to John Leguizamo in "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet" (1996) and as a street hustler who attacks Greg Kinnear in the Oscar-nominated "As Good As It Gets" (1997) can be counted among his smaller roles.This offbeat, high-energy actor frequently sports a shock of peroxide blond in his short brown hair and has cultivated a rumpled hipster look complete with colorful eye-catching shoes reportedly culled from the set of "Scream". His laid-back yet edgy persona and dynamic performances have earned him an impressive fan following. Following his success in "Scream", Kennedy took on roles in the 1997 films "Sparkler", as one of a trio of youths headed to Las Vegas, and "Clockwatchers", as the office mailman who develops a crush on a temp worker. He continued to add to his gallery of eccentric characters with a dramatic turn as a heroin addict in "Bongwater" and a novice screenwriter in the comedy "Starf*cker" (both 1998). He added much-needed comedy in the dramas "The Three Kings" (1999) and "The Boiler Room" (2000). After years of obtaining his fair-share of supporting and featured roles, Kennedy was given his own sketched comedy show.
In 2002, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (JKX), a television show that can best be described as a combination of Candid Camera and Saturday Night Live, was born. "JKX" quickly became The WB's highest ranking new show. Among the wacky characters (played by Kennedy), one became across the board an all-time favorite—Brad Gluckman the Malibu rapper. The character was such a hit that Kennedy decided to take it, naturally, to the next level. Thus, in 2003, "Malibu's Most Wanted" was released starring Kennedy as the white "wanna-be rapper" from Malibu. Kennedy was set to elevate his profile with “Son of the Mask” (2005), the sequel to the blockbuster Jim Carrey vehicle. In the movie, Kennedy played a cartoonist who finds the Mask of Loki and later has a son that possesses some of its spectacular powers. Loki, however, comes down to earth and engages Kennedy in an epic power struggle.
Profession(s):
Actor, comic, delivered singing telegrams, pizza delivery man, health care attendant (at home for the elderly), scraped gum off of floors of Kmart
Sometimes Credited As:
James Harvey Kennedy
Education
Monsignor Bonner High School Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
Delaware County Community College was enrolled for one semester; dropped out of every class except acting.
British American Drama Academy spent the summer at the academy; instructors thought his acting style was the result of a drug addic
2005 Starred in the comedy "Son of the Mask"
2003 Wrote and starred in "Malibu's Most Wanted," a movie based on his most popular character, Brad Gluckman, a wanna-be white rapper
2002 Hosted and starred in Fox series "JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment"
2001 Cast as the Evil Ice Cream Man in the children's comedy "Max Keeble's Big Move"
2000 Acted in the ensemble of the Wall Street drama "Boiler Room"
2000 Once again appeared as Randy in "Scream 3"
1999 Appeared in "Three Kings", David O Russell's Gulf War-set drama
1998 Co-starred in "Clockwatchers", "Starf*cker" and "Bongwater"
1997 Reprised role of Randy in the sequel "Scream 2"
1996 Played Sampson in "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet"
1996 Breakthrough screen role as Randy Meeks in Wes Craven's "Scream"
1995 Feature debut in "The Road to Flin Flon"
1995 Made two appearances on both The WB sitcom "Unhappily Ever After" and the ABC sitcom "Ellen"
1989 Worked as an extra in "Dead Poets Society"
Raised in Upper Darby, PA
Moved to L.A. after graduating from high school
Began career as a stand-up comic