JIMMY SHUBERT
Jimmy Shubert is off to a rocking start for 2005, He recently returned from Korea where he was entertaining the United States military. Upon, returning to the States he had to get on a plane and fly to Tucson, Arizona. Where he filmed Taking Charge as the fifth lead in an independent feature film starring Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie 1,2 & 3), Amanda Brooks, Clint Howard and James Russo. In February, Jimmy filmed another independent feature entitled ROOM 6 starring Christine Taylor (Dodgeball / Zoolander) Written and Directed by Michael Hurst. Jimmy can soon be seen in Twentieth Century Fox Pictures Mr. and Mrs. Smith Starring Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie.
Jimmy guest starred in an episode of Comedy Centrals hit show Reno 911, and had a guest starring role in the new 20th Century Fox Pilot New Car Smell, written by the Cullen Brothers, Directed by David Schwimmer starring, Brooke Shields and Dave Attell. Jimmy’s ½ Hour Special “COMEDY CENTRAL PRESENTS” has received rave reviews!! And it is currently airing in the networks rotation.
It was Jimmy's scene-stealing performance as the lollipop-sucking strip club bouncer in Columbia Pictures' GO, directed by Doug Liman (SWINGERS), that jumpstarted his film career. Since, he has landed several roles in films such as Jerry Bruckheimer's COYOTE UGLY, Fox Searchlight Pictures' ONE HOUR PHOTO, starring Robin Williams, and Paramount Pictures THE ITALIAN JOB Directed by F. Gary Gray starring Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg & Ed Norton .
As a result of two development deals, he has been seen on numerous television shows including ER, has made several recent appearances on The King of Queens with longtime friend Kevin James, RUDE AWAKENINGS (where he played Roger Daultry’s Road manager), The WB series ANGEL, ONCE AND AGAIN, SECRET SERVICE GUY, YOUTH IN REVOLT, LUCKY, MONK, TOUGH CROWD WITH COLIN QUINN.
Growing up as the son of a Philadelphia detective wasn’t easy for Jimmy, as he and his band of six brothers were always getting into trouble. Since Jimmy was the middle child, most of his youth was spent wearing “blood-stained” hand-me downs. Always the class clown and performer, Jimmy would perform magic tricks for his friends and family. By the age of 15, he had become an accomplished professional magician.
He attended the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, studied Dramatic Arts. It was from those experiences in acting class that Jimmy knew he wanted to be an actor and a stand up Comedian. Jimmy performed in comedy clubs in the early 1980’s around the Philadelphia area. He later moved to Los Angeles and started working at the world-famous Comedy Store, performing and writing material for other acts.
It was at the Comedy Store where he later met Sam Kinison, In a daring move, Jimmy drove his motorcycle onto the Comedy Store stage and proclaimed to the startled Kinison, “It’s last call…by the way, your ride is here!” Kinison jumped on the back of the motorcycle and they drove out the back door, onto Sunset Boulevard, and into a close friendship that lasted until Sam died in 1992. Kinison loved Shubert’s cockeyed chutzpah and inducted him as one of the original “Outlaws of Comedy” where they toured for several years, playing major theatres, auditoriums, and casinos to audiences as large as 6,500 screaming fans, including the Universal Amphitheater. Shubert says of this experience, “it was more like “being a rock star than being a comedian.”
In 1997, after a well-recognized performance at the prestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, he was spotted by the late Brandon Tartikoff who signed Jimmy to a holding deal to develop a pilot sitcom for him to star in at 20th Century/ FOX, though not nearly as hellish, as traversing the continent of North America as a stand-up comedian honing his craft, his time spent in LA reaffirmed to Jimmy that, appearances aside, nothing comes easy in film or television. It took years of hard work and acting classes and numerous casting calls, before director Doug Liman offered the part in “GO” to Jimmy.
Now on the festival circuit, Jimmy stars in a short-film entitled, “VELOCITY RULES” written and directed by Patty Jenkins (monster) for producer Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Rush Hour II, Family Man & Money Talks).
His first CD, Animal Instincts, demonstrates Jimmy’s work in a sort of comedic short-story form. Highlights include the album’s first cut "Psychedelic Frogs," a druggy segment about people who lick frogs in hopes of a Psychedelic trip, and "From Democracy to Hypocrisy," a rare non-sexual segment that finds Shubert mercilessly bashing George W. Bush and Al Gore. A recent review at AllMusic.com (which received a 3 star rating) say’s, “His confidence and lucid delivery enhances his humor, making even his most perverse moments hilarious.” Jimmy just produced his second comedy album entitled Pandemonium which was released on Stand-up Records.
He continues to perform live about thirty weeks a year. “I have a great balance going between acting and performing as a stand up comedian, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Shubert copes with the often-inexplicable ways of his profession by repeating a line from The Godfather: “When Mo Green got shot, I didn’t ask why, I didn’t ask who. I just said, “This is the business we have chosen.”
More Shubert ? Check out www.jimmyshubert.com