An Evening of FIlm Comedy - Kevin Pollak

Running time: 90 mins

?As rewarding as a good film role can be, there is just nothing like getting up on a stage and taking an audience for a ride. You make a movie, and the audience may not see it for another 10 months. Here, you know immediately their reaction.?
? Kevin Pollak

Join Cinequest 19 audiences at the California Theatre on March 4th at 7:00pm for a lively evening of exclusive, tailor made film stand-up with Kevin Pollak and a glowing tribute to his career.

An old proverb says, "What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.? Kevin Pollak has been transforming souls for the past two decades as both a comedian and actor. Recently named by Comedy Central as one of the Top 100 Comedians of All Time, Kevin Pollak has developed his own brand of funny over a substantial career of over sixty films and countless television roles. He has established himself as one of the few stand-up comedians to have a successful dramatic film career in addition to his achievements as both a writer and a producer.

Born in San Francisco, Pollak started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and became a touring professional stand-up by the age 20?well-known for his dead-on celebrity impressions of the likes of Christopher Walken, Robert De Niro, Alan Arkin, Jack Nicholson, Peter Falk and most notoriously, William Shatner.

In 1988, he landed a role in George Lucas' Willow, directed by Ron Howard, which launched further roles including work in Barry Levinson's Avalon (1990), for which he received an overwhelming response from critics, and Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men (1992)?a film that proved Pollak's ability to share the big screen with dramatic heavyweights like Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore.

In 1994, Pollak landed a plum role opposite Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey, Benicio Del Toro, Chazz Palminteri and Stephen Baldwin in The Usual Suspects?a film that debuted in Cannes to a frenzied response, and went on to win two Academy Awards® and a special award from The National Board of Review for "Best Ensemble Cast." Pollak quickly followed this up with a role in Martin Scorsese's Academy-nominated Vegas epic Casino, alongside Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone.

Pollak continued to steal the spotlight with roles in That Thing You Do! (1996), End of Days (1999), Deterrence (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), The Wedding Planner (2001), Juwanna Mann (2002), Seven Times Lucky (2004), Hostage (2005), Hotel Niagra (2006) and Numb (2007), and will be seen later this year in Middle Men with Luke Wilson, Choose with Katheryn Winnick, Sweetwater with Louis Gossett, Jr. and James Caan and 2-13 with Dwight Yoakam.

Pollak has starred in several television projects including The Underworld, a crime telepic which he co-created and co-executive produced with Chris McQuarrie (Academy Award-winning screenwriter of The Usual Suspects) and Lucy Webb; the sitcom Work With Me, which he co-executive produced; the multi award-winning miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon; and has had his own HBO stand-up comedy specials, the latest being Kevin Pollak, Stop With The Kicking, directed by David Steinberg.

Continuing to amass an array of successful roles on both the big and small screens as well as entertain audiences on the stand-up circuit, Kevin Pollak?s career continues to grow with a passion?a passion that is apparent when he is portraying a President in crisis, an aging con man, a hostage trying to save his family or even when trying to make us guess if he is Keyser Soze. There is nothing more important to him than to make us feel, whether it is to make us dream, hope or laugh.