# David Krumholtz

David Krumholtz (born May 15, 1978) is an American actor. Krumholtz is best known for portraying Bernard in The Santa Clause franchise (1994–present), Michael Eckman in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Goldstein in the Harold & Kumar film trilogy (2004–2011), Charlie Eppes in the CBS drama series Numb3rs (2005–2010), and Isidor Isaac Rabi in Oppenheimer (2023).
Krumholtz has also had other supporting roles in notable films such as Addams Family Values (1993), The Ice Storm (1997), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), Ray (2004), Serenity (2005), Superbad (2007), Hail, Caesar! (2016), Sausage Party (2016), Wonder Wheel (2017), and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018). He also portrayed Harvey Wasserman in the HBO drama series The Deuce (2017–2019) and Monty Levin in the HBO miniseries The Plot Against America (2020).
Krumholtz made his Broadway debut in the 1992 play Conversations with My Father. He returned to Broadway playing Hermann Merz in Tom Stoppard's semi-biographical Holocaust play Leopoldstadt (2022) for which he received a Drama League Award nomination.

## Early life

Krumholtz was born in New York City and grew up in the borough of Queens. He is the son of Michael, a postal worker, and Judy Krumholtz, a dental assistant. He grew up in a "very working class, almost poor" Jewish family. His paternal grandparents had emigrated from Poland, and his mother moved from Hungary to the U.S. in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution. He attended P.S. 196, Stephen A. Halsey Junior High School 157, and briefly attended Forest Hills High School.

## Career
### 1992–1999

At the age of 13, Krumholtz followed his friends to an open audition for the Broadway [[Play (theatre)|play] Conversations with My Father (1992). When he tried out, he won the role of Young Charlie, with Judd Hirsch, Tony Shalhoub and Jason Biggs, who was also making his Broadway debut. Soon after his run on Broadway, Krumholtz co-starred in two feature films, Life With Mikey (1993) with Michael J. Fox and Addams Family Values (1993) with Christina Ricci. For his role in Mikey, Krumholtz was nominated for a 1993 Young Artist Award. Although his work in these two films garnered him critical attention, Krumholtz is probably best known by children as the sarcastic head elf Bernard from The Santa Clause (1994) and its first sequel, The Santa Clause 2 (2002). While he was not able to appear in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) due to a scheduling conflict, he reprised the role two decades later in the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses (2022).
In 1994, Krumholtz co-starred in his first television series, Monty, with Henry Winkler; the show lasted only a few episodes. Krumholtz later starred in several short-lived series over the years. Along the way, he had the opportunity to work with Jason Bateman (Chicago Sons, 1997), Tom Selleck (The Closer, 1998), Jon Cryer (The Trouble with Normal, 2000), and Rob Lowe (The Lyon's Den, 2003). In 2005, he finally found television success with the CBS series Numb3rs. Along with his starring roles on television, Krumholtz made guest appearances on ER as schizophrenic patient Paul Sobriki, as well as on Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Lucky, Freaks and Geeks, and Undeclared.
He broke out of the children's movie genre with The Ice Storm (1997), directed by Ang Lee, and Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), starring Alan Arkin and Natasha Lyonne. In 1999, Krumholtz starred as Michael Eckman in the popular teen movie 10 Things I Hate About You with Larisa Oleynik, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julia Stiles, and Heath Ledger. That same year, he portrayed a completely different teen character – that of Yussel, a young conflicted Jewish man in Liberty Heights (1999).

### 2001–2011

It was the role of Yussel that brought Krumholtz to the attention of actor and filmmaker Edward Burns, who cast him in the independent film Sidewalks of New York (2001). Playing the romantic and slightly obsessed Benny, Krumholtz was on a path to larger, more complex film roles. His first role as a leading man was in the romantic comedy You Stupid Man (2002), opposite Milla Jovovich. Although never released theatrically in the United States, You Stupid Man, directed by Edward Burns's brother Brian Burns, was released on DVD (2006). Krumholtz carried his first leading role in a released American film when he starred in Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie (2002), which premiered on FX Networks.
Big Shot was a true story based on the Arizona State University basketball fixing scandal in 1994. Krumholtz played Benny Silman, a college student and campus bookmaker, who was jailed for his part in shaving points off key Arizona State basketball games. Benny was unlike any character Krumholtz had played before; and he garnered critical praise for his performance, proving that he was not just a sidekick.
In 2005, Krumholtz played Max in My Suicidal Sweetheart (formerly Max and Grace), once again starring opposite actress Natasha Lyonne. Krumholtz also returned to smaller key roles in the successful films Ray (2004) and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), along with its two sequels. In September 2005, he was seen in Joss Whedon's science fiction film Serenity as "Mr. Universe", a hacker and information broker. Most recently, in early 2006, Krumholtz's 2003 film Kill the Poor screened in New York City at IFC Center and across the country on Comcast's On Demand cable service.
From 2005 to 2010, Krumholtz starred on the CBS television show Numb3rs. Krumholtz portrayed Charlie Eppes, a genius who used mathematics to help his FBI agent brother Don (Rob Morrow) solve crimes. The cast of Numbers also included Judd Hirsch and Peter MacNicol, who appeared with Krumholtz in Addams Family Values as a camp counselor. Critic Matt Roush (TV Guide) called Krumholtz's work on Numbers "probably his best TV work to date". Numbers was cancelled by CBS on May 18, 2010. He starred in the 2010 TV film Tax Man on Fox but was not picked up to series. He starred in The Playboy Club on NBC in 2011, but the show was cancelled after three episodes.

### 2012–present

In 2012, Krumholtz was cast opposite Michael Urie in CBS' comedy TV series Partners but the show was cancelled after six episodes. In 2015, he played the title role wearing heavy prosthetics as an elderly Jewish woman in the IFC comedy series Gigi Does It which he wrote and co-created with Ricky Mabe and Zach Golden.
In recent years, he has had minor roles in the Coen brothers films Hail Caesar! (2016) and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), while also appearing in films such as This Is the End (2013), The Judge (2014), Sausage Party (2016), and Wonder Wheel (2017). He had a prominent recurring role as adult filmmaker Harvey Wasserman in the first two seasons of the HBO drama series The Deuce, before being promoted to a series regular for the third season. In 2020, he appeared as a series regular playing Monty Levin in the HBO miniseries The Plot Against America.
In fall 2022, Krumholtz returned to the stage to play the role of Hermann Merz in the original Broadway cast of Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt at The Longacre Theater in New York City. Variety described his performance as "vulnerable and powerful". He earned a nomination for the Drama League Award for Outstanding Performance. The following year Krumholtz portrayed physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi in Christopher Nolan's biographical drama Oppenheimer (2023).

## Personal life

On May 22, 2010, Krumholtz married actress Vanessa Britting (born Vanessa Almeda Goonan), at the Plaza Hotel in New York City; they had been engaged since July 2008. They have a daughter and a son, both born in the 2010s. In 2017, they moved from Los Angeles to Wyckoff, New Jersey.
In July 2011, Krumholtz was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He began a radioactive iodine treatment five months later. At the end of January 2012, he was pronounced cancer-free.
On October 4, 2024, Krumholtz was interviewed by The New York Times regarding cannabis reliance.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | Life With Mikey | Barry Corman | |
| 1993 | Addams Family Values | Joel Glicker | |
| 1994 | The Santa Clause | Head Elf Bernard | |
| 1997 | The Ice Storm | Francis Davenport | |
| 1998 | Slums of Beverly Hills | Ben Abromowitz | |
| 1999 | 10 Things I Hate About You | Michael Eckman | |
| 1999 | Liberty Heights | Yussel | |
| 2000 | How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog | Brian Sellars | |
| 2001 | The Mexican | Beck | |
| 2001 | Sidewalks of New York | Benjamin Bazler | |
| 2001 | Two Can Play That Game | Jason | |
| 2001 | According to Spencer | Ezra | |
| 2002 | You Stupid Man | Owen | |
| 2002 | The Santa Clause 2 | Head Elf Bernard | |
| 2002 | Cheats | Evan Rosengarden | |
| 2003 | Scorched | Max | |
| 2003 | Kill the Poor | Joe Peltz | |
| 2004 | Looking for Kitty | Abe Fiannico | |
| 2004 | Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle | Goldstein | |
| 2004 | Ray | Milt Shaw | |
| 2005 | Guess Who | Jerry MacNamara | Uncredited |
| 2005 | My Suicidal Sweetheart | Max | |
| 2005 | Serenity | Mr. Universe | |
| 2006 | American Storage | Kurt | Short film |
| 2006 | The Nail | Daniel | Short film |
| 2006 | Bobby | Agent Phil | |
| 2006 | Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny | Frat boy #2 | Deleted scene |
| 2007 | Live! | Rex | |
| 2007 | Superbad | Benji Austin | |
| 2007 | Battle for Terra | Terrian Commander (voice) | |
| 2007 | Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | Schwartzberg | |
| 2008 | Demption | Detective Joseph Schneider | Short film |
| 2008 | Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay | Goldstein | |
| 2009 | I Love You, Man | Sydney's buddy #3 | Uncredited |
| 2011 | Mr. Popper's Penguins | Kent | |
| 2011 | A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas | Goldstein | |
| 2013 | Tuna | Getty | |
| 2013 | The Big Ask | Andrew | |
| 2013 | This Is the End | Himself | |
| 2014 | The Judge | Mike Kattan | |
| 2015 | I Saw the Light | James Dolan | |
| 2016 | Hail, Caesar! | Communist screenwriter #4 | |
| 2016 | Sausage Party | Kareem Abdul Lavash (voice) | |
| 2016 | Casual Encounters | Sammy Deetz | |
| 2016 | Ghost Team | Stan | |
| 2017 | Wonder Wheel | Jake | |
| 2018 | A Futile and Stupid Gesture | Time-Life Publisher | |
| 2018 | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs | Frenchman in Saloon | Segment: "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" |
| 2019 | Frances Ferguson | Group Therapy Leader | |
| 2019 | Crown Vic | Stroke Adams | |
| 2020 | Asking for It | The Cop | |
| 2023 | Oppenheimer | Isidor Isaac Rabi | |
| 2023 | Lousy Carter | Lousy Carter | |
| 2025 | Deliver Me from Nowhere | Al Teller | Post-production |
| 2026 | Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow | Zor-El | Filming |
| TBA | Forelock | Randy | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | Law & Order | Scott Fisher | Episode: "Sweeps" |
| 1994 | Monty | David Richardson | 5 episodes |
| 1995 | Pig Sty | Timmy | Episode: "Tess Makes the Man" |
| 1997 | Chicago Sons | Billy Kulchak | 13 episodes |
| 1997 | Justice League of America | Martin Walters | Pilot |
| 1997 | Union Square | Russell | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | The Closer | Bruno Verma | 10 episodes |
| 2000–2002 | ER | Paul Sobriki | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | The Trouble with Normal | Bob Wexler | 13 episodes |
| 2000 | Freaks and Geeks | Barry Schweiber | Episode: "Noshing and Moshing" |
| 2001–2002 | Undeclared | Greg | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie | Benny Silman | Television film |
| 2003 | Lucky | Tony | Episode: "Savant" |
| 2003 | The Lyon's Den | Jeff Fineman | 8 episodes |
| 2005–2010 | Numb3rs | Charlie Eppes | 118 episodes |
| 2007 | Wainy Days | Ortez | Episode: "Tough Guy" |
| 2010 | Tax Man | Spencer | Pilot |
| 2010, 2024 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dr. Vincent Prochik / Dr. Ray Goldberg | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | The Playboy Club | Billy Rosen | 7 episodes |
| 2012 | Raising Hope | Carl | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 | Patrick Kelly | Episode: "Shitagi Nashi..." |
| 2012 | The Newsroom | Dr. Jacob "Jack" Habib | 3 episodes |
| 2012 | Partners | Joe Goodman | 13 episodes |
| 2012 | Childrens Hospital | Dookie | Episode: "Wisedocs" |
| 2013–2014 | The League | Joel Cocque | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Newsreaders | Mark Jones | Episode: "Motorboating Dads; the Negative $100,000 Question" |
| 2014 | Key & Peele | Terrorist #3 | Episode: "Terrorist Meeting" |
| 2014 | Men at Work | Myron | 5 episodes |
| 2014–2016 | The Good Wife | Josh Mariner | 7 episodes |
| 2015 | Forever | 1984 Abe | Episode: "Punk is Dead" |
| 2015 | Gigi Does It | Gigi | 8 episodes; also co-creator and executive producer |
| 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | Episode: "David Krumholtz Wears a Blue Zip-Up Jacket and Grey Sneakers" |
| 2015 | Master of None | Nathan | Episode: "Plan B" |
| 2015–2016 | Mom | Gregory Munschnick | 5 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | All Hail King Julien | Timo / Additional voices | 23 episodes |
| 2016 | The Interestings | Ethan Figman | Pilot |
| 2017–2019 | The Deuce | Harvey Wasserman | 20 episodes |
| 2017 | Difficult People | Ray | Episode: "Criminal Minds" |
| 2018 | Living Biblically | Rabbi Gil Ableman | 13 episodes |
| 2018 | Star vs. the Forces of Evil | Cobalt Ferrero (voice) | Episode: "Marco Jr." |
| 2018 | Billions | Frotty Anisman | Episode: "Redemption" |
| 2019 | At Home with Amy Sedaris | Angelo DiBeverly | Episode: "Game Night" |
| 2020 | Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens | Jerry Harrison | Episode: "Launch Party" |
| 2020 | The Plot Against America | Monty Levin | 6 episodes |
| 2020 | The Twilight Zone | Mayor John Conway | Episode: "A Small Town" |
| 2021 | WWE Monday Night Raw | Fake Drew McIntyre | Episode: "Jan 18th, 2021" |
| 2021 | Blue's Clues & You! | Mr. Oregano | Episode: "Blue's Big Neighborhood Adventure" |
| 2021–2022 | Wolfboy and the Everything Factory | (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Super Pumped | Sergey Brin | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Angelyne | Max Allen's Lawyer | Episode: "The Tease" |
| 2022 | The Santa Clauses | Bernard | Episode: "Chapter Five: Across the Yule-Verse" |
| 2023 | White House Plumbers | William O. Bittman | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | Sausage Party: Foodtopia | Kareem Abdul Lavash (voice) | 5 episodes |
| 2024 | Batman: Caped Crusader | Fletcher Demming (voice) | Episode: "The Stress of Her Regard" |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1992–1993 | Conversations with My Father | Young Charlie | Royale Theatre March 22, 1992 – March 14, 1993 |
| 2011 | Copenhagen | Werner Heisenberg | LA Theatre Works |
| 2013 | The Columnist | David Halberstam | LA Theatre Works |
| 2022 | Leopoldstadt | Hermann Merz | Longacre Theatre |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1994 | Young Artist Awards | Best Youth Actor Leading Role in a Motion Picture Comedy | Life with Mikey | Nominated |
| 1999 | Teen Choice Awards | Funniest Movie Scene | 10 Things I Hate About You | Nominated |
| 2006 | Hollywood Film Awards | Ensemble of the Year (shared with the cast) | Bobby | Won |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (shared with the cast) | Bobby | Nominated |
| 2024 | Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble Cast (shared with the cast) | Oppenheimer | Won |