Bob Balaban (born August 16, 1945 in Chicago) is an American actor and director. He has starred in many films including Clockwatchers, Pie in the Sky, Best in Show, Altered States, and The Year We Make Contact. He also co-starred in Gosford Park, which he helped to conceive along with the director Robert Altman. An early movie appearance was as a young gay man in Midnight Cowboy.

Balaban's most regarded film-directing credit is Parents starring Randy Quaid; a satire of the values and prejudices of Eisenhower-era America. He is also well-remembered for playing the role of interpreter David Laughlin in the 1977 Steven Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Balaban later wrote a book about his experience shooting this film, called An Actor's Diary.

In the 1990s, Balaban starred as Russell Dalrymple, the fictional president of NBC on Seinfeld.

In 1999, Balaban directed Y2K, a play by Arthur Kopit, produced by Actors Theatre of Louisville as the "centerpiece" of the 23rd Humana Festival of New American Plays.

Since 2002, Balaban has been authoring a series of children's books: the McGrowl series. He lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his family. He also has a home on the beach... and made a TV series about it.

Balaban is an alumnus of Colgate University.

He will next appear as one of the tenants in M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water.

Books in the McGrowl Series

• Beware of Dog
• It's a Dog's Life
• Every Dog Has His Day
• Good Dog!
• It's a Dog-Eat-Dog World
• Puppy Tales

References