Personally I thought Saving Silverman was very funyn and underated..Zahn being one of the reasons(along with Jack Black) that it was so funny.I don't think he doesn't have the talent to be a lead role, but his list of movie flops have definitly put him in supporting status the rest of his life, unless he can get in a HUGE blockbuster hit and somehow spark some interest,

On a completly unreleated note, when is Money Talks Two coming out?

I don't think he was all that great to begin with.

Funny? Sure. But there are MANY actors a lot more funnier then he is.

I enjoyed Saving Silverman as well. I thought him and JB made that movie.

You forgot to mention his role in Boys In Cars(that is the name , right?) as well. A more dramatic , meaty role that got him some acclaim.

I loved Saving Silverman, not enough to buy, but if it's on Comedy Centreal I'll tune in.

I have to echo Purdy here, he has dramatic talent or a flare for the more complex baddies we all love to hate. It's not that SZ doesn't have talent, because a blind person can sense that he has a tonne of it buried beneathe the shitty roles he has chosen.

And it's not that he's wasting his time playing supporting or quirky roles as opposed to being a leading man, because not everyone is cut out to be a lead. Nor do they have to want to be. Perhaps he's perfectly happy being the sidekick or support for the bigger stars because more times than not, those characters get the better lines of dialogue, that although don't allow him to chew up a scene, does allow him to steal the scene all together. Happy Texas is a prime example of this. His character as the dance teacher showed he has talent, guts, timing and focus. He pretty much can do any part out there, but does he want to? Do we want him to? No... and yes. I don't want to see him pigeon holed any more than you do, John, but I'll take whatever roles he choses to do because he is so good at acting.

That said, I would now like to publicly plead Steve Zahn to take more control of his career choices. He can't possibly be a starving artist anymore, so why take any crap job that's offered? Someone wise once said the more you say no, they more they want you. Learn to say no more than yes, Steve. It's about quality, not quantity. The last thing we want to think of you as is some low-rent version of Luke Wilson who is in every movie his friends offer him parts in. That's just not right, dude.

Pudie; it's riding in cars with boys. Any way, I love Steve Z. I love his humble sarcastic humor. I first noticed his chops in "That thing you do", where he played the spunky goofy member of the one hit Wonders. From there I was always excited to see him as well (Saving Silverman, You've Got Mail, Freak talks about sex -better than you think- even Joy Ride) he landed a great role in National Security which was lacking in coolness but hey it was with Martin Lawrence -which is always a hit or miss movie, remember Black Night-. I really don't think we will ever see him as a leading man, and I like to think he knows that. He realy doesn't have the presence for a main dog, but he does excel in supporting roles (like a Jason Lee). So we should place much of his movies demises on the leading actors. With the right people to work with, he seems to be flawless.

Have you guys seen him in "That Thing You Do"? Second to Guy (the drummer's character) it was Lenny's (Steve Zahn) character that was enjoyable to watch.

I love this guy's work.

I like Zahn...a lot, but I just can't bring myself to watch the crap his is typically appearing in.

Without question, the best role I've seen him in is OUT OF SIGHT.

For some reason, Zahn reminds me of another great character actor, which may end up being more successful than Zahn due to better film choices. Sam Rockwell.

I agree that he was great in That Thing You Do and Joy Ride as well.

I havent seen "Sahara" yet but I heard he had such good rapport with McConaughey that talks of a sequel is very likely, any truth to this, I mean the rapport between him and Matthew.

He was also in "Reality Bites", any of you guys remember him in that as the homosexual friend of the group?

You know some actors for whatever reason just don't connect to the main stream audience. Not becuase of lack of talent or bad choice in roles, it just doesn't happen. Go through a list of all the great sidekick or smaller role actors and why didn't any of them get big? I can't explain it, but it does happen. Such discerning movie critics as we may be, we are not the majority. Half mainstream probably can't even tell you who this guy is.

Anyone worth their movie critic salt knows how Steve Zahn is and what he's done.

Who not how. Doh.

Before I get started on Steve Zahn - rent the Joy Ride DVD and watch his commentary - he basically sounds like he's getting drunk and making fun of the movie! (Stop once LeeLee starts she's pretty dull)

I think based on his commentary he's having fun doing fun movies - if he wanted to make bigger movies I'm sure he'd hold out for something.

Also, I've seen him on Conan and he owns a farm which he runs - this to me sounds like a guy who likes having the movie star thing - but doesn't need it.

The depth I've seen in his acting - to me - has shown an ability to do it - but he may just lack the willingness. I would love to see him in more stuff - especially with more commentaries - but I'd rather have him be a "secret" than the next Jim Carrey or Jack Black.

...Zahn was hilarious in "That Thing you Do".
a very underated movie i think.

It always amazes me but you (the blog author) have some the most bland, vanilla, middle of the road tastes of any self professed movie buff on the internet (at least that I've come across anyway). But whatever... you've identified your niche and you've committed yourself to nurturing it. Besides I still seem to read it regularly. so yeah.. touche...

The definitive Zahn (ha ha) for me is the geeky gen-x dweebs he played in Reality Bites and Linklater's Suburbia. That's where I first remember seeing him. He was easily the best part of Suburbia. He didn't become a star because a.) he's not really much of an actor beyond that goofball persona that some people find pretty grating but more importantly b.) he picks awful, awful movies.

That Thing You Do is probably really wonderful if you don't know anything about the music or the era its about (or music general actually). Its one of those films that seemes like good natured fluff the first time you see it and then slowly begins to seem more implausible and clueless and cynical with each later viewing (thank you cable television). Tom Hanks said at the time (proudly, in fact) that he didn't even know anything about that era in music before he did the movie and it really shows. Hey look, another movie where the rock group gets famous in about 5 minutes and then implodes. Spare me.

Allison Anders' Grace of My Heart is a much better, more authentic film about pretty much the same era (though it's from a much differant perspective). The music is fantastic too, unlike That Thing You Do.

The Steve Zahn gem has got to be Safe Men. This movie has he and Sam Rockwell are both excellent in this movie, not to mention Paul Giamatti. Hell, everyone in it is great. I happened upon it several years ago on video and as far as I know it's only available on vhs, which is too bad because it's a great film that was just overlooked, fell through the cracks, whatever.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0120813/

Track it down and watch it...if you like Zahn you won't be dissapointed.

I personally don't worry about if the movie is great or not. Steve went to the same high school I attended (although I was there later). My family (who all attended the same school) just think its so great that he's made it as far as he has. Hollywood is cut throat and Steve is doing movies to do what he loves.

Saving Silverman, that's called Evil Woman over here in the UK. We have a different version too, straight to Dvd though, crying shame. Hilarious movie......SAMEENNNNAAAAAYEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAA

I think that Steve is one of the best supporting actors there is.
Alot of his movies may not be blockbuster hits but most of them the only person that I can recall in them is him. It doesnt always takea Glitzy Hollywood Heavyweight to make a movie good, or memorable, most of the time it is the supporting actors and he is one of these people that rocks at it. It is also incredible that he is able to live his life and follow his dreams and keep it real. His star is shinning bright and will not easily go out. Dramas and chick flicks come and go but lets face it when it all comes down to it everyone likes to laugh, and if you can make a person laugh they will love you for ever!

Repeat after me-- "Hooray for me, and to heck with everyone else!!"

Peace love and Rock-n-Roll!!!

I lik zahn very much,the best role i have seen is sahara he was exellent, he is agreat actor and reminds me with my brother i"m realy like his style ,smile,acting all of him.

Steve Zahn is wonderful. A true gem in That Thing You Do. Happy Texas and Daddy Day Care showed Zahn's ability to perform strong character acting. His filler characters such as You've Got Mail and Reality Bites make for true Zahn lines/scenes that are easily remembered. Steve ranks amoung thoses such as Elijah Wood and Johnny Deep- the quality of the film over the quantity of films. A hansome leading man role is no stretch for character actors, their choices show their love of movie making.