Kevin Kline was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Margaret and Robert Joseph Kline, who owned several stores. His father was of German Jewish descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry. After attending Indiana University in Bloomington, Kline studied at the Juilliard School in New York. In 1972, Kline joined the Acting Company in New York which was run by John Houseman. With this company, Kline performed Shakespeare across the country. On the stage, Kline has won two Tony Awards for his work in the musicals "On the Twentieth Century" (1978) and "The Pirates of Penzance" (1981). After working on the Television soap Search for Tomorrow (1951), Kline went to Hollywood where his first film was Sophie's Choice (1982). He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. His work in the ensemble cast of The Big Chill (1983) would again be highly successful, so that when Lawrence Kasdan wrote Silverado (1985), Kline would again be part of the cast. With his role as Otto "Don't call me Stupid!" West in the film A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Kline would win the Oscar for Supporting Actor. Kline could play classic roles such as Hamlet in Hamlet (1990); or a swashbuckling actor like Douglas Fairbanks in Chaplin (1992); or a comedic role in Soapdish (1991). In all the films that he has worked in, it is hard to find a performance that is not well done. In 1989, Kline married actress Phoebe Cates.

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Kevin Kline and Laura Linney in American Classic (2026)

Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)

Kevin Kline in The Pirates of Penzance (1983)

Kevin Kline and Dominique Pinon in My Old Lady (2014)

Kevin Kline and Michelle Pfeiffer in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

Sean Connery, Kevin Kline, Michael Caine, and Roger Moore in The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989)

Kevin Kline in Saturday Night Live (1975)

Kevin Kline and Will Smith in Wild Wild West (1999)

Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver in Dave (1993)

John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan in French Kiss (1995)

Kevin Kline(I)

Kevin Kline(I)

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