Jason Schwartzman Biography

Jason Schwartzman made his film debut as the star of the film Rushmore, the 1998 art house hit that helped launch the career of filmmaker Wes Anderson.

Schwartzman grew up in Los Angeles as part of the filmmaking Coppola clan — his mother is Talia Shire, the actress who is sister to Francis Ford Coppola.

While working on a music career, Schwartman auditioned and won the part of Max Fischer, the overachieving protagonist of Rushmore. It was the first of many quirky roles for Schwartzman, whose onscreen specialty is like an updated Woody Allen — nebbish, but with a sharper jaw line and a bit more confidence with the ladies.

He’s worked steadily as an actor, often in small roles in offbeat comedies, including Slackers (2002) and many Wes Anderson films, includingThe Darjeeling Limited  (2007), The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and Asteroid City (2023).

Schwartzman hit his stride as a would-be detective in Bored to Death, a cable series that co-starred Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis, but it was canceled after three seasons.

His other films include I Heart Huckabees (2004, starring Lily Tomlin), Marie Antoinette (2006, directed by his cousin, Sofia Coppola) and Judd Apatow‘s Funny People (2009, starring Adam Sandler).