Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
Back
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro
Chris Klein in American Reunion (2012)

Biography

Chris Klein

Edit

Overview

  • Born
    March 14, 1979 · Hinsdale, Illinois, USA
  • Birth name
    Frederick Christophe Klein
  • Height
    6′ 1″ (1.85 m)

Biography

    • Chris Klein was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, on March 14, 1979, to Terese (Bergen), a kindergarten teacher, and Fred Klein, an engineer. He is of German, Irish, and English descent. After spending the first thirteen years of his life there, he moved with his family to Nebraska. It was while he was in high school that Klein was discovered by director Alexander Payne, who was busy casting his upcoming film, Election. Klein won the role of Paul Metzler in Payne's film, which opened to enthusiastic reviews. As Paul, Klein played the dim but sweet football player persuaded by Matthew Broderick's Jim McAllister to run against the unopposed Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) in the school's student council election. The film was released in April 1999 to positive reviews. Soon after, Klein found a steady amount of work in the film industry while briefly attending TCU, where he studied theater and was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He was next seen in American Pie, which opened on July 9, 1999, and was a box office success. Klein reprised his American Pie role in American Pie 2 and American Reunion. In 2002, Klein had a role in the Mel Gibson Vietnam War film, We Were Soldiers. Klein has also appeared in several teen movies, including Just Friends (2005), American Dreamz (2006). In 2014, Klein was cast as an American pilot in the Damien Lay film The Uberkanone. He co-starred in the 2014 comedy indie film Authors Anonymous with Kaley Cuoco.
      - IMDb mini biography by: Jaime Primak Sullivan

Family

  • Spouse
      Laina-Rose Thyfault(August 10, 2015 - present) (2 children)
  • Children
      Frederick Easton Klein
      Isla Rose
  • Parents
      Terese (Bergen)
      Fred Klein
  • Relatives
      Debbie Klein(Sibling)
      Timothy Klein(Sibling)

Trivia

  • Was discovered in his high school by director Alexander Payne who was scouting locations for Election (1999).
  • He was the only one of the five original boys from the series to not appear in American Wedding (2003). When queried, writer Adam Herz stated that they did not have enough for Chris to do, and that it was hard enough to fit the currently existing cast in. They were unable to do a cameo appearance because Chris was in London during filming, and the budget would not allow for the expenses of having him flown in for just a few scenes.
  • Engagement to actress Katie Holmes called off in March 2005.
  • Became a father for the 1st time at age 37 when his wife Laina-Rose Thyfault gave birth to their son Frederick Easton Klein on July 23, 2016.
  • Was in a relationship with Ginnifer Goodwin for two years, until December 2008.

Quotes

  • I don't need food to impress, man. It's a flash of a smile and a nice conversation. And at the end of the day, she's cooking the food.
  • (2012, on quitting drinking) I realized I had to get it straight and realize what the fuck was going on because the me that I knew was slipping away. At that point, fuck acting. Can I even get out of bed? I was a 31-year-old man with bills to pay, a dog to take care of, and my mother sick with worry. And I'm in jail again. How did I get here? Living with addiction is not living, it's existing and barely hanging on. I was sick and tired of feeling that way and I didn't know how to not feel that way, so I got help.
  • (2012) Rollerball was definitely a dud. I was 21-years-old, working on a movie with a budget of $103 million, and working with John McTiernan, who did Die Hard, Predator, and The Hunt For Red October. I did the best I could with that project. But listen: the movie doesn't work. There's a lot of reasons for it, but it certainly wasn't for lack of effort on my part.

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More from this person

  • View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.