Jesse Eisenberg

Jesse Eisenberg (born October 5, 1983, Queens, New York, U.S.) is an American actor, writer, and director best known for playing smart but awkward characters. He appeared in such popular movies as The Squid and the Whale (2005) and Zombieland (2009) before his star-making turn as Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network (2010). Eisenberg also wrote, directed, and starred in the well-received film A Real Pain (2024).

Early life

Eisenberg was born in the New York City borough of Queens and grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey. He was raised in a Jewish family. His mother, Amy Eisenberg, performed at birthday parties as a clown, and his father, Barry Eisenberg, was a sociology professor. Jesse Eisenberg, who suffers from anxiety and depression, had what he has described as a “weird childhood.” He cried every day of first grade, and the stresses of a new school resulted in his being homeschooled for the sixth grade. Struggling to fit in, Eisenberg found an outlet in acting. He did community theater, and in 1996 he was an understudy in the Broadway production of Summer and Smoke.

In 1999 Eisenberg made his TV debut in Get Real, about a dysfunctional family; the show was canceled after one season. As a high-school senior, he landed a role in the independent film Roger Dodger, playing an inexperienced 16-year-old who spends a night on the town with his womanizing uncle. For his work in the drama, which was released in 2002, Eisenberg was named the “most promising new actor” at the San Diego Film Festival (later San Diego International Film Festival). After graduating from the Professional Performing Arts School in 2001, Eisenberg attended the New School, where he studied anthropology.

Acting career

Following a small role in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village (2004), Eisenberg starred in Noah Baumbach’s critically acclaimed The Squid and the Whale (2005), portraying an awkward teen son of divorcing parents (played by Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney). Eisenberg appeared in several movies in 2007, notably The Hunting Party, a satire about journalists mistaken for CIA operatives, and the coming-of-age drama The Education of Charlie Banks. His credits from 2009 include Adventureland (opposite Kristen Stewart) and Zombieland, a popular horror comedy costarring Woody Harrelson and Emma Stone.

While garnering attention for his previous roles, Eisenberg became a star with his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher’s The Social Network (2010); the drama was written by Aaron Sorkin and costarred Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. “When Mr. Eisenberg makes Mark’s face go blank, the character seems scarily emptied out: it’s a subtly great, at times unsettling, performance,” Manohla Dargis wrote in her movie review for The New York Times. Eisenberg went on to earn an Academy Award nomination.

In 2012 Eisenberg joined an all-star cast for Woody Allen’s To Rome with Love. The following year he reunited with Harrelson in Now You See Me, a heist drama about magicians who rob banks during their performances. Eisenberg played the group’s leader, J. Daniel Atlas. Other films from 2013 include the thrillers The Double and Night Moves. In the latter, Eisenberg was cast as an environmentalist who plots to destroy a dam. In 2016 he portrayed villain Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, returned as J. Daniel Atlas in Now You See Me 2, and reunited with Allen and Stewart for Café Society, a romantic comedy set in 1930s Hollywood.

Eisenberg remained busy, and in 2019 he reprised his role as Columbus in Zombieland: Double Tap and appeared in The Art of Self-Defense, a dark comedy about a meek accountant who begins taking karate lessons from a hypermasculine sensei. He later starred with Claire Danes in the acclaimed miniseries Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022). It was based on a novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner and centers on the breakdown of a couple’s marriage, as viewed from different perspectives.

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Eisenberg’s distinct acting style—highlighted by quick speaking and various tics, such as finger tapping—has earned him comparisons to Allen and Dustin Hoffman. Eisenberg has said that all of his roles are based on little parts of himself.

Directing

In 2022 Eisenberg directed his first feature film, When You Finish Saving the World. The comedy, which he also wrote, centers on the strained relationship between a mother and son, played by Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard, respectively. Eisenberg next wrote, directed, and starred in A Real Pain (2024), about two Jewish cousins (Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin) who honor their recently deceased grandmother by traveling to Poland, where they tour Holocaust sites and visit her childhood home. Eisenberg drew from his own family history for the movie. The character Grandma Dory is based on Eisenberg’s great-aunt Doris, who was born and raised in Poland. After filming A Real Pain, Eisenberg applied for—and received—Polish citizenship after becoming “obsessed” with his family history in that country. The movie was praised by critics, and Eisenberg received an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.

Other activities

Eisenberg also wrote and appeared in the off-Broadway plays Asuncion (2011), a comedy that centers on the friendship of two men; The Revisionist (2013), which costarred Vanessa Redgrave; and The Spoils (2015), about a struggling filmmaker who pursues a childhood crush. In addition, Eisenberg penned short stories, and in 2015 he published the collection Bream Gives Me Hiccups.

Personal life

During the filming of The Emperor’s Club (2002), Eisenberg met Anna Strout, who was an assistant to one of the film’s producers. The couple dated for more than 10 years before breaking up. However, they later reunited, and in 2017 Eisenberg and Strout married. That year the couple had a son.