Birthday
1945/08/16 (79 years old)
Gender
Male
Place of Birth
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Also know as
Robert Elmer Balaban, Robert Balaban, باب بالابان
Robert Elmer Balaban, Born: August 16, 1945, Chicago, Illinois, U.S (Height: 5' 5" [1.65 m]). is an American actor, author, comedian, director, and producer. He is best known for his appearances in the Christopher Guest mockumentary comedies Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006), as well as his roles in the films Midnight Cowboy (1969), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Altered States (1980), 2010 (1984), Deconstructing...Read more
(2023) 80 for Brady
as Mark
(2001) Ghost World
as Enid's Dad
(1977) Close Encounters of the Third Kind
as David Laughlin
(1999) Jakob the Liar
as Kowalsky
(1969) Midnight Cowboy
as The Young Student
(1997) Conversation with the Beast
as Mr. Webster
(1997) Deconstructing Harry
as Richard
(2007) No Reservations
as Therapist
(1984) 2010
as Dr. R. Chandra
(1989) Dead Bang
as Elliott Webley
(2001) Gosford Park
as Morris Weissman
(1996) The Late Shift
as Warren Littlefield
(2001) The Majestic
as Elvin Glyde
(1991) Little Man Tate
as Quizmaster
(1980) Altered States
as Arthur Rosenberg
(2001) The Mexican
as Bernie Nayman
(1981) Whose Life Is It Anyway?
as Carter Hill
(1993) For Love or Money
as Ed Drinkwater
(2019) Carl Laemmle
as Himself
(2009) Rage
as Mr. White
(2006) Lady in the Water
as Harry Farber
(2004) Scene Stealers
as Jonathan Crouch Esq.
(2000) Best in Show
as Dr. Theodore W. Millbank, III
(2007) Dedication
as Arthur Planck
(2008) Recount
as Ben Ginsberg
(2009) The Windmill Movie
as Self
(1975) Report to the Commissioner
as Joey Egan
(2006) For Your Consideration
as Philip Koontz
(2010) Howl
as Judge Clayton Horn
(1996) Waiting for Guffman
as Lloyd Miller
(1988) Funny
as Self
(1987) End of the Line
as Warren Gerber
(1981) Absence of Malice
as Elliott Rosen
(1970) The Strawberry Statement
as Elliot
(2012) Girl Most Likely
as Maxwell
(1997) Clockwatchers
as Milton Lasky
(2023) Asteroid City
as Larkings Executive
(1992) Unnatural Pursuits
as Lou Finkleberg
(2014) The Grand Budapest Hotel
as M. Martin
(1999) The Monster Hunter
as Dr. William Powell
(2014) The Monuments Men
as Pvt. Preston Savitz
(2018) An L.A. Minute
as Shelley
(1969) Me, Natalie
as Morris
(1971) Making It
as Wilkie
(2013) Fading Gigolo
as Sol
(2022) How Dare You Want More: The Short Film
as ---
(2012) Moonrise Kingdom
as The Narrator
(1978) Girlfriends
as Martin
(2015) Exploring the Set of 'Moonrise Kingdom'
as Self / The Narrator
(1984) Nothing Lasts Forever
as Guy with Sunglasses in Espresso Bar
(1994) City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold
as Dr. Jeffrey Sanborn (uncredited)
(1998) Giving Up the Ghost
as Bob
(1999) Swing Vote
as Justice Eli MacCorckle
(2003) A Mighty Wind
as Jonathan Steinbloom
(2005) Trust the Man
as Tobey's Therapist
(1997) The Definite Maybe
as Wolfe Rollins
(2023) Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
as Self
(2012) Thin Ice
as Leonard Dahl
(1999) Three to Tango
as Decker
(1994) Greedy
as Ed
(2016) Mascots
as Sol Lumpkin
(1974) The Bank Shot
as Victor Karp
(1971) Marriage: Year One
as Bernie
(1999) Cradle Will Rock
as Harry Hopkins
(1996) Pie in the Sky
as Paul Entamen
(2016) Eva Hesse
as Wilhelm Hesse (voice)
(2011) The Five Stages of Grief
as Voice of Daniel's father
(2018) Isle of Dogs
as King (voice)
(1970) Catch-22
as Capt. Orr
(1990) The Face of Fear
as Ira Preduski
(2016) I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
as Mr. Waxcap
(1999) George Romero's Golden Tales 2
as ---
(1981) Prince of the City
as Santimassino
(2016) Mike Nichols: An American Master
as Self
(1992) Bob Roberts
as Cutting Edge Producer
(2001) The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
as Self
(2017) Spielberg
as Self
(2015) Everything Is Copy
as Self
(2005) Capote
as William Shawn
(2002) The Tuxedo
as Winton Chalmers (uncredited)
(1993) Amos & Andrew
as Dr. R. A. (Roy) Fink
(2006) Controversy and Acclaim: The Timelessness of a Groundbreaking Film
as Self
(2001) Plan B
as James Foster
(2016) Starring Austin Pendleton
as Self
(2015) Hitchcock/Truffaut
as Narrator (voice)
(2004) Marie and Bruce
as Roger
(2012) Do You Like to Read?
as The Narrator
(2021) The French Dispatch
as Uncle Nick
(2007) License to Wed
as Jewelry Store Clerk (uncredited)
(2010) F--k
as Bob
(2000) Tex, the Passive/Aggressive Gunslinger
as Tex
(1990) Alice
as Sid Moscowitz
(2002) The Making of 'Gosford Park'
as Self
(2013) Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
as Lawyer (uncredited)
(2021) How Moving
as Uncle Aaron
(2007) Prince of the City: The Real Story
as Self / Santimassino
(2025) Fantasy Life
as ---
(1999) Now and Again
as ---
(1999) The West Wing
as Ted Marcus
(1994) Friends
as Frank Sr.
(1984) Miami Vice
as ---
(1995) Legend
as ---
(1989) The Simpsons
as Narrator (voice)
(1969) Room 222
as ---
(1968) The Mod Squad
as ---
(1965) Hank
as ---
(2021) The Chair
as Elliot Rentz
(2005) Hopeless Pictures
as ---
(1972) Maude
as Ambrose Riley
(1985) Amazing Stories
as Jo-Jo Gillespie
(1989) Seinfeld
as Russell Dalrymple
(2014) Broad City
as Arthur Wexler
(2012) Girls
as Therapist
(2014) Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
as Self
(2018) Condor
as Reuel Abbott
(2015) Show Me a Hero
as Leonard B. Sand
(2020) Space Force
as Ron (voice)
(2004) Tom Goes to the Mayor
as Walt Pickle (voice)
(2010) Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood
as Self
(1969) Love, American Style
as Nick
(2008) Web Therapy
as Ted Mitchell
(2011) Web Therapy
as Ted Mitchell
(2018) Summer Camp Island
as Gerald (voice)
(2018) James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
as Self
(2019) The Politician
as Keaton Hobart
(2013) Alpha House
as Senator Elliot Robeson
(2009) The Good Wife
as Gordon Higgs
(2017) Wormwood
as Dr. Harold A. Abramson
(2022) Severance
as Mark Wilkins
(2011) China, IL
as (voice)