About me
Kevin Pollak started as stand-up comedian in San Francisco at age Twenty. A few years later he moved to Los Angeles with dreams of appearing on "The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson", and being in movies… 200 acting auditions later, his role in Ron Howard’s “Willow” brought him directly to the couch on Carson’s “Tonight Show". After his first appearance, Kevin was invited back to chat with Johnny two or three times a year until he retired. Years later, Comedy Central named Pollak to their Top 100 Comedians of All Time list, and he continues to perform around the country, from time to time.
In 1992, Pollak’s role in Rob Reiner’s "A Few Good Men", proved his ability to stand out on the big screen among cinematic icons. The unplanned transformation of Kevin becoming a dramatic actor was further established two years later, when he co-starred in "The Usual Suspects” and Martin Scorsese’s "Casino" in the same year. Kevin has now co-starred in over 90 films, with four more due out in 2024/2025.
New fortunes found Pollak on the small screen in 2017… After being offered the part of Moishe Maisel in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", Kevin felt another historic adventure was beginning… Amazon Prime Studios’ worldwide hit enjoyed a meteoric rise, gathering 20 Emmy Awards in its first 3 seasons (including Best Comedy), 3 Golden Globes, 5 Critics Choice awards, and many more from the Directors Guild, Writers Guild, and Producers Guild. The entire cast were given Screen Actors Guild Awards two years in a row for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Pollak insists, “Co-starring on this show, with these astonishing actors, and actual genius creator/writers/directors in Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino, was life-changing in the truest sense.”
Pollak’s first outing as a film director, the comedy documentary "Misery Loves Comedy", premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It hit #1 on iTunes Documentaries in two days, and is available on Amazon Prime. Kevin then directed the indie comedy, “The Late Bloomer", casting J.K. Simmons, Jane Lynch, Maria Bello, Brittany Snow, Kumail Nanjiani and Beck Bennett, which brought Kevin his first directing award, and is available on Netflix. At present, Pollak is in pre-production on his next film to direct.
Pollak was also a pioneer in the podcast world. His multi award-winning "Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show" ran from ’09-’19, and featured the longest on-camera chats creative icons like Tom Hanks, Larry David or Jordan Peele have given. There are 400 of these interviews to choose from on YouTube.
Kevin’s autobiography, "How I Slept My Way To The Middle", was published in 2012. That same year Pollak’s notable “deep run” in the 2012 World Series Of Poker Main Event may have ended with Queens vs Queens, but finishing 134 (out of 6750 players) remains the best finish for a well-known actor or comedian in the last 25 years. Kevin cashed again in the WSOP Main Event in 2019, and in 2024 he cashed a third time in the Main Event, besting 8,900 players.
