Kevin Kline: The Life Story Behind Hollywood's Versatile Star
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Kevin Kline is an actor who can do almost anything, and he has done it on stage and on screen for more than fifty years. He can play a romantic hero, a comic villain, a pirate, a president, and a Shakespearean king, and he can make each one feel real. He has won an Academy Award, he has won three Tony Awards, and he has been praised by critics as one of the finest actors of his generation. He is not a star who shouts for attention. He is a quiet, thoughtful, and versatile performer who lets his work speak for itself, and that work has spoken very clearly for a very long time.
His own life is a story of a boy from St. Louis who became a star on Broadway and in Hollywood, and who built a career that has lasted for decades. He was born in 1947, he grew up in a musical family, he studied at Indiana University and at Juilliard, he became a leading man on stage, and he became a film star in the 1980s. He married the actress Phoebe Cates, he raised two children, and he has kept his private life private, even as he has worked with some of the biggest names in theatre and film. He is a man who loves his craft, and who has devoted his life to it.
What makes his story worth telling is the versatility in it. He did not become famous for one kind of role. He became famous for many kinds of roles, and he did each one well. He played a pirate on stage, a Nazi in a film, a comic criminal, a president, and a father, and he made each one feel true. This is the story of a boy from St. Louis who became one of the most respected actors in America, and who is still working today, still learning, and still surprising audiences with what he can do.
A Boy From St. Louis
Kevin Delaney Kline was born on 24 October 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up in a family that loved music and theatre, and his father owned a record shop and later a toy shop. His mother was a singer, and she had performed in operas and in musicals. Kevin was the eldest of four children, and he grew up in a home where music was always playing, where books were everywhere, and where creativity was encouraged. St. Louis in the 1950s was a city of music, of jazz and blues, and of a rich cultural life, and Kevin absorbed it all.
As a boy, he was bright, musical, and curious. He played the piano, he sang, and he took part in school plays. He was not the biggest boy in the room, but he was one of the most talented, and he liked to perform. He went to school in St. Louis, and he did well, but he was not a student who dreamed of becoming a movie star. He was a boy who liked to learn, who liked to explore, and who was curious about the world. He took part in theatre, he played music, and he began to think about acting as a serious possibility.
He went to Indiana University in Bloomington, where he studied music and theatre, and where he began to perform in university plays. College gave him a chance to think about what he wanted to do with his life, and acting kept pulling him back. He was a talented young man, and he was noticed by his teachers, who encouraged him to apply to Juilliard, one of the most respected acting schools in America. He did, and he was accepted, and he moved to New York City to study at Juilliard, where he would learn his craft from some of the best teachers in the country.
The years in St. Louis shaped him in a lasting way. He learned to be proud of where he came from, and he learned to be careful with people. He saw how hard his father worked, and he wanted to make his parents proud. He also learned to be independent, to think for himself, and to follow his own path, even when it was different from what others expected. When he later became a star, he did not forget St. Louis, and he spoke about it with warmth. He was a boy from Missouri who became a star on Broadway and in Hollywood, and he carried the values of his home town with him wherever he went.
Juilliard and a Serious Training
At Juilliard in New York, Kevin Kline studied acting with some of the most respected teachers in America, including John Houseman, who had founded the school’s drama division. The training was strict and demanding. Students learned voice, movement, Shakespeare, and the discipline of working on a stage night after night. Kline took the work seriously. He was not looking for a quick way into fame. He wanted to understand how an actor builds a character from the inside, how to listen to other actors, and how to make a scene feel true even when the audience is far away. He was a dedicated student, and his teachers noticed his talent.
He was a member of the first class of Juilliard’s drama division, a group that included other talented young actors who would later become famous. He learned to work as part of an ensemble, to trust his fellow actors, and to put the play before his own ego. That lesson stayed with him for the rest of his career, and it is one of the reasons directors loved to work with him. He was not a star who demanded attention. He was an actor who served the play, and who made everyone around him better. That generosity is rare, and it is one of the hallmarks of his work.
After Juilliard, he joined The Acting Company, a touring theatre company founded by John Houseman, which performed classical plays across America. He toured with the company, playing Shakespeare, Chekhov, and other great writers, and he learned how to play to different audiences in different towns. Touring taught him to be flexible. A stage could be large or small, a hall could be warm or cold, and the audience could be quiet or loud. He had to adjust every night and still keep the character honest. That kind of work builds a strong actor, and Kline became one.
The years at Juilliard and with The Acting Company gave him a foundation that would carry him through a long career. He learned to be patient with a role, to rehearse until the words felt natural, and to respect the audience. He also learned that acting was a job, not a dream that would happen by itself. After his training, he began to work in New York theatre, taking parts wherever he could find them, and building a reputation as a reliable and talented young actor. The work was not always well paid, and it was not always glamorous, but it gave him the foundation he needed.
Broadway, Pirates, and Three Tonys
Kevin Kline became a star on Broadway in the late 1970s and early 1980s, appearing in musicals and plays that showed his range as a performer. He starred in The Pirates of Penzance in 1980, playing the Pirate King, a role that required him to sing, to act, and to be funny, all at the same time. He was a big, handsome, and charming Pirate King, and audiences loved him. He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance, and the show became a hit. He later appeared in the film version of The Pirates of Penzance, bringing his stage performance to a wider audience.
He also won Tony Awards for his work in the musical On the Twentieth Century in 1978, and for his work in the play Present Laughter in 2017, a play by Noel Coward about a famous actor. In total, he has won three Tony Awards, a rare achievement that shows his range as a stage actor. He can play a musical, a comedy, and a drama, and he can do each one well. He is one of the most honoured stage actors of his generation, and he is respected by his fellow actors for his professionalism, his timing, and his generosity on stage.
He also appeared in many other plays on Broadway, including Henry IV, Hamlet, and other Shakespearean works, and he was praised for his performances as a classical actor. He played Hamlet with a depth and a intelligence that made audiences see the character in a new way. He was not a traditional Hamlet. He was a thoughtful and funny Hamlet, a man who was both serious and playful, and that interpretation made the play feel fresh. He is a Shakespearean actor who can make old words feel new, and that is a gift that few actors possess.
Broadway remained his first love, and he returned to it throughout his life, even after he became a film star. He loved the direct link to the audience, the feeling of performing live, and the challenge of making a play work night after night. He once said in interviews that the stage was where he felt most alive as an actor. That love of live performance never left him, even after Hollywood made him famous around the world. He is a stage actor who became a film star, not the other way around, and that is an important part of his story.
Sophie’s Choice and a Film Breakthrough
Kevin Kline’s breakthrough in film came in 1982, when he starred in Sophie’s Choice, playing Nathan Landau, a brilliant and troubled man who is in love with Sophie, played by Meryl Streep. The film was based on the novel by William Styron, and it told the story of a woman who survived the Holocaust and who must choose which of her children will live. Kline played Nathan as a charming, intelligent, and mentally ill man, a character who was both loving and frightening. He was praised for his performance, and he was noticed by audiences and by critics as a serious film actor.
Sophie’s Choice was a difficult film, and Kline’s role was a difficult one. Nathan was a man who could be kind one moment and violent the next, and Kline played that complexity with an honesty that made the character feel real, not like a stereotype of mental illness. He worked closely with Meryl Streep, one of the greatest actresses in the world, and he held his own in every scene. The film was a success, and Streep won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. Kline did not win an award, but he was recognised as a talented film actor, and he began to be offered leading roles in Hollywood.
He continued to work in films in the 1980s, appearing in The Big Chill in 1983, a film about a group of college friends who reunite after a death, where he played Harold Cooper, a successful businessman who is trying to hold his life together. The film was a success, and it became a classic of the 1980s, a film that spoke to a generation of baby boomers who were growing older and asking questions about their lives. Kline played Harold with a warmth and a humour that made audiences care about him, even when he was being selfish or foolish.
He also appeared in Silverado in 1985, a Western where he played a cowboy, and in other films that showed his range. He was a versatile actor, and he could play a romantic hero, a cowboy, a businessman, and a troubled lover with the same skill. He was respected by his fellow actors for his professionalism, his timing, and his generosity on set. He did not try to steal scenes. He listened to other actors, and he let the work grow from their collaboration. That professionalism made him a sought-after actor, and it gave him a career that went beyond the stage.
A Fish Called Wanda and an Oscar
In 1988, Kevin Kline starred in A Fish Called Wanda, a British comedy about a group of criminals who try to steal diamonds, playing Otto West, a stupid and violent American who thinks he is very intelligent. The film also starred John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Palin, and it became one of the funniest films of the 1980s. Kline played Otto as a loud, arrogant, and hilarious man who is constantly getting things wrong, and audiences loved him for it. He was funny, he was physical, and he was completely committed to the character, even when Otto was being cruel or foolish.
He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Otto, and it was his first Oscar win. It was a moment of triumph for a man who had worked for more than fifteen years in theatre and in film, and who had been praised as a serious actor. The win showed that he could be funny as well as serious, and that he was one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. He accepted the award with grace, and he thanked the cast and crew of A Fish Called Wanda, and his family, who had supported him throughout his career.
A Fish Called Wanda also gave Kline a new kind of fame, as a comic actor who could make audiences laugh with a single look or a single line. He was not only a romantic hero or a Shakespearean actor. He was a comedian, and he was a very good one. He continued to work in comedies after Wanda, appearing in films such as Soapdish in 1991, where he played a soap opera star, and In and Out in 1997, where he played a teacher who is outed as gay on television. He was praised for both performances, and he showed that he could play comedy with the same skill he brought to drama.
The Oscar win did not change him. He continued to work in theatre, in films, and on television, choosing roles that interested him and that challenged him. He did not chase fame, and he did not take roles only for money. He chose work that he believed in, and he did it with the same care he had brought to his early work on stage. That integrity is one of the most admirable parts of his career, and it is why he is still respected today, more than thirty years after he won his Oscar.
Dave, In and Out, and a Versatile Star
In the 1990s, Kevin Kline continued to show his versatility as an actor, appearing in a wide range of films that showed different sides of his talent. In 1993, he starred in Dave, playing both Dave Kovic, an ordinary man who looks like the President, and President William Harrison Mitchell, a corrupt and cynical leader. The film was a comedy about an ordinary man who becomes President by accident and who tries to do a good job, and Kline played both roles with a warmth and a humour that made audiences love him. He was praised for his performance, and the film became a success. It showed that he could play two very different men in the same film, and make each one feel real.
In 1997, he starred in In and Out, playing Howard Brackett, a high school teacher in a small town who is outed as gay on national television by a former student who wins an Oscar. The film was a comedy about coming out, about small-town life, and about the courage to be yourself. Kline played Howard as a kind, nervous, and loving man who is trying to understand who he is, and he was praised for his performance. The film was a success, and it showed that Kline was not afraid to take on roles that were sensitive, funny, and important. He played Howard with a dignity that made the audience care about him, even when the film was making them laugh.
He also appeared in other films in the 1990s and 2000s, including French Kiss in 1995, where he played a French thief, and The Ice Storm in 1997, where he played a father in a troubled family in the 1970s. He was a versatile actor, and he could play a president, a teacher, a thief, and a father with the same skill. He was respected by his fellow actors for his professionalism, his timing, and his generosity on set. He did not try to steal scenes. He listened to other actors, and he let the work grow from their collaboration. That professionalism made him a sought-after actor, and it gave him a career that lasted for decades.
He also continued to work on stage, returning to Broadway in plays and musicals that gave him a chance to show his range. He was in his forties and fifties, and he was still working, still learning, and still making audiences believe in his characters. He did not slow down, and he did not retire. He loved acting, and he was determined to keep doing it for as long as he could. His versatility is the hallmark of his career, and it is why he is still one of the most respected actors in America today.
Family, Phoebe Cates, and a Private Life
Kevin Kline married the actress Phoebe Cates in 1989, after meeting her in New York. Cates was a young actress who had become famous in films such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins, and she was known for her beauty and her talent. Kline was 42 years old, and Cates was 26, and their marriage was widely reported in the press. They have two children, a son Owen, born in 1991, and a daughter Greta, born in 1994, who has become a singer and musician known as Frankie Cosmos. Kline is a devoted husband and father, and he speaks about his family with love and pride.
He lives a relatively private life, especially for a man as famous as he is. He lives in New York, and he spends time with his family, reading, playing music, and working on his acting. He is not a man who seeks attention, and he does not appear in tabloids or in gossip magazines. He is known as a kind and generous man, and he is respected by his fellow actors for his professionalism and his humility. He does not boast about his success, and he does not pretend to be perfect. He is a man who has made mistakes, who has learned from them, and who tries to do better every day.
He is in his seventies now, and he is still working, still acting, and still surprising audiences with what he can do. He appeared in the film The Good House in 2021, and in the television series Disclaimer in 2024, where he played a man whose life is changed by a novel. He was in his seventies, and he was still taking on new challenges, and still showing that age is not a barrier to talent. He is a reminder that a long career is possible, if you work hard, stay curious, and keep learning. He has done all of those things, and he continues to do them today.
His story is not finished, because he is still alive and still working. He continues to act on stage and on screen, to be a husband and a father, and to be a man who loves his craft. He is a versatile actor, a Tony winner, an Oscar winner, and a father, and he is proud of all of those roles. He is a man who has lived a full life, and who is still living it with purpose. That is a legacy that is still being written, and it is one that will be remembered for many years to come.
My Take:
When I think about Kevin Kline, I think first about the word versatile, and I think about how he can play almost any kind of character, on stage and on screen, and make each one feel real. He has played a pirate, a Nazi, a comic criminal, a president, a teacher, and a Shakespearean king, and he has done each one well. I have watched him in A Fish Called Wanda, in Dave, and in Sophie’s Choice, and I am always struck by how different he is in each film. He does not play the same man again and again. He becomes a new person each time, with a new voice, a new walk, and a new way of thinking. That ability to change is rare, and it is a sign of a great actor. I admire that versatility, because it shows a man who loves his craft, who studies it, and who is not afraid to take risks.
I also think about his training at Juilliard, and about the way that training shaped his career. He was a member of the first class of Juilliard’s drama division, and he learned from John Houseman and other great teachers. He learned voice, movement, Shakespeare, and the discipline of working on a stage night after night. That training gave him a foundation that has carried him through fifty years of work. I think about how many actors become famous without that kind of training, and how their careers often fade quickly. Kline’s career has lasted, because he built it on a solid foundation. He knows his craft, he respects it, and he keeps practising it, even after fifty years. That dedication is a lesson for anyone who wants a long career, in any field. You have to learn your craft, you have to practise it, and you have to keep learning.
What moves me most is his performance as Otto in A Fish Called Wanda, because Otto is a stupid and violent man, and yet Kline made him hilarious, and even, in a strange way, lovable. He played Otto with a complete commitment, with a loud voice, a big physical presence, and a confidence that was completely misplaced. Audiences laughed at Otto, but they also recognised something in him, a man who thinks he is smarter than he is, and who will not admit that he is wrong. That is a very human flaw, and Kline played it with an honesty that made the comedy feel real, not like a cartoon. He won an Oscar for that performance, and he deserved it, because he showed that comedy can be as serious and as skilled as drama, and that a comic performance can be great acting.
I feel sad when I think about the way Hollywood often overlooks versatile actors like Kline, because he does not fit into a single category. He is not only a romantic hero, or only a comic actor, or only a dramatic actor. He is all of those things, and that makes it hard for studios to market him. They like actors who play the same role again and again, because it is easy to sell. Kline refused to do that, and he paid a price for it, in fewer leading roles and in less fame than he deserved. I think that is a shame, because audiences lost the chance to see him in films he could have made great. He did not complain about this, and he found work on stage and in independent films, but I still wish he had been given more opportunities. He deserved them, and audiences deserved to see them.
I also think about his marriage to Phoebe Cates, and about the way he has kept his private life private for more than thirty-five years. He married in 1989, he raised two children, and he has lived a quiet life in New York, away from the gossip and the tabloids. That privacy is rare in Hollywood, and it is admirable. He has let his work speak for itself, and he has kept his family for himself. I think about how hard that must be, to be a famous actor and to protect your family from attention, and I admire the way he has done it. He is a husband and a father first, and an actor second, and that order matters. It tells me that he knows what is important in life, and that he has kept his priorities clear.
If I have a criticism, it is not of Kline. It is of an industry that values fame over talent, and that does not always recognise a versatile actor who can do everything. Kline can sing, dance, act in Shakespeare, and play comedy, and yet he is often overlooked in discussions of the greatest actors of his generation. I think that is unfair, and I think it says more about how Hollywood works than it says about Kline. He did not chase fame, and he did not play the game of self-promotion. He worked, he studied, and he let his performances speak for themselves. That integrity is admirable, and it is one that I hope young actors will learn from. You do not need to shout to be heard. You need to do good work, and to do it consistently, for a long time.
What I learn from his story is that versatility is a form of strength, and that an actor who can play many kinds of roles is more valuable than an actor who can play only one. I learn that training matters, and that a solid foundation in theatre can carry a career for fifty years. I learn that privacy is a form of dignity, and that a person who keeps their family life private is protecting something precious. I hope that young actors today will look at Kline and see that they do not have to be famous to be great, and that they do not have to play the same role again and again to be successful. They can be versatile, they can be thoughtful, and they can be themselves, and that is enough.
I also think about his work on stage, especially his three Tony Awards, and about what those awards mean. A Tony is given by people who work in theatre, by actors, directors, and producers who know what it takes to perform live, night after night. To win three Tonys is a rare achievement, and it shows that Kline is respected by his peers as a stage actor. I think about the nights he spent on Broadway, playing the Pirate King, playing Hamlet, and playing a famous actor in Present Laughter, and I imagine the feeling of standing on a stage in front of a live audience, knowing that you have to get it right the first time. That feeling is a gift, and it is one that Kline has experienced for fifty years. I am grateful for that gift, and I am grateful for the performances he has given us.
I think about Dave, and about the way he played two men in the same film, an ordinary man and a president, and made each one feel real. That is a difficult task, because the two men look the same, but they think differently, they move differently, and they speak differently. Kline made those differences clear, with a small change in his voice, a different walk, and a different look in his eyes. That is the work of a great actor, and it is one that few performers could do. I think about that performance whenever I need to remember that acting is not about looking the part. It is about thinking the part, and about letting the character live inside you. Kline does that, and he does it beautifully.
Finally, I think about the boy from St. Louis who played the piano, who sang, and who dreamed of a life on stage. I think about how far he came, from a record shop in Missouri to Juilliard in New York, to Broadway, and to Hollywood, and I think about the hard work that made that journey possible. He did not have an easy road, and he did not become famous overnight. He studied, he toured, he took small roles, and he built his career slowly, one play and one film at a time. That patience is a lesson for anyone who wants a long career, in any field. You have to do the work, you have to be ready, and you have to keep going, even when the road is long. Kline did that, and he is still doing it today, in his seventies, still acting, still learning, and still surprising audiences.
I also think about his daughter Greta, who has become a singer known as Frankie Cosmos, and about the way Kline passed his love of music to the next generation. He grew up in a musical family, his mother was a singer, and he played the piano as a boy. Now his daughter makes music, and she has spoken about her father with love and respect. That passing of a love of art from one generation to the next is a beautiful thing, and it shows that Kline did not only build a career. He built a family tradition, a love of creativity that will live on after him. I think about the grandchildren who will watch their grandfather on screen, and about the pride they will feel. That pride is a gift, and it is one that Kline gave to his family through his work.
I will remember Kevin Kline as Otto, as Dave, as Nathan, and as the Pirate King, four very different men, all played with the same versatility and the same heart. I will remember him as a Juilliard student, as a Tony winner, as an Oscar winner, and as a father who loves his family. He is a man who became famous for his talent, not for his fame, and who used that talent to tell stories that matter. That is a life well lived, and it is a life that deserves to be remembered with respect, with love, and with gratitude for the performances, the lessons, and the versatility he gave to us all.
I also think about the future, and about how Kline will be remembered. I hope he will be remembered not only as an Oscar winner, but as a stage actor who won three Tonys, as a versatile performer who could do anything, and as a man who kept his private life private and his work public. He is a star who never played it safe, and who never stopped learning. That is a legacy that will live on, in his films, in his plays, and in the actors he inspired. I will remember him with love, with respect, and with gratitude for the courage he showed us all, both on stage as a pirate king, and off stage as a man who lived his life with dignity and with grace.
I think about the way Kline has handled his Oscar win, and I find it quietly admirable, because he did not let the award change who he was. He won for a comedy, for playing a foolish criminal, and he accepted it with humour and with grace. He did not become arrogant, and he did not demand bigger roles or more money. He went back to work, to the theatre, to films, and to his family, and he kept doing what he loved. That humility is rare in Hollywood, where an Oscar can make a person believe they are untouchable. Kline stayed grounded, and that groundedness is one of the reasons his career has lasted so long.
I will remember Kevin Kline as a man who loved his craft, who studied it seriously at Juilliard, who won three Tonys and an Oscar, and who never stopped learning. He is a versatile actor, a devoted husband and father, and a quiet star who let his work speak for itself. That is a life well lived, and it is one that deserves to be celebrated, not only for the awards, but for the patience, the versatility, and the dignity that made those awards possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who did Kevin Kline play in A Fish Called Wanda?
Kevin Kline played Otto West, a stupid and violent American criminal who thinks he is very intelligent, in A Fish Called Wanda in 1988, opposite John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Palin. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, which was funny, physical, and completely committed to the character. The film became one of the funniest films of the 1980s.
Where was Kevin Kline born?
Kevin Kline was born Kevin Delaney Kline on 24 October 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri, and he grew up in a musical family where his father owned a record shop and his mother was a singer. He studied music and theatre at Indiana University, and he was accepted to Juilliard in New York, where he was in the first class of the drama division. His upbringing in St. Louis shaped his love of music and theatre.
How many Tony Awards has Kevin Kline won?
Kevin Kline has won three Tony Awards: for the musical On the Twentieth Century in 1978, for The Pirates of Penzance in 1980, where he played the Pirate King, and for the play Present Laughter in 2017. He is one of the most honoured stage actors of his generation, and he is respected for his work in musicals, comedies, and Shakespearean plays on Broadway.
Who is Kevin Kline married to?
Kevin Kline married the actress Phoebe Cates in 1989, after meeting her in New York, and they have two children, a son Owen, born in 1991, and a daughter Greta, born in 1994, who is a singer known as Frankie Cosmos. Kline lives a private life in New York with his family, away from tabloids and gossip, and he speaks about his wife and children with love and pride.
What films did Kevin Kline star in besides A Fish Called Wanda?
Kevin Kline starred in many films besides A Fish Called Wanda, including Sophie’s Choice in 1982, where he played Nathan Landau opposite Meryl Streep, The Big Chill in 1983, Dave in 1993, where he played both an ordinary man and the President, and In and Out in 1997, where he played a teacher outed as gay. He is known for his versatility across drama, comedy, and romance.
Is Kevin Kline still acting?
Yes, Kevin Kline is still acting in his seventies, appearing in the film The Good House in 2021 and in the television series Disclaimer in 2024, where he played a man whose life is changed by a novel. He continues to work on stage and on screen, choosing roles that interest him and that challenge him, and he remains one of the most respected actors in America.
