25 Little known facts about Jonah Hill

October 25, 2017 | Jeff Myers

25 Little known facts about Jonah Hill


“I really care about this stuff, I care about movies, and you just have to be strong and don't be stupid; freedom of choice is a big responsibility, and I'm lucky enough not to have to just take any movie to pay the rent, so there's no need to be greedy.” – Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill was born on December 20, 1983 in Los Angeles. Hill moved to New York to study drama at The New School. While writing and performing plays in college, he was given his first film role in I Heart Huckabees. More high-profile film and TV roles followed until he landed a starring role in the comedy hit Superbad . He received Oscar nominations for his performance in Moneyball , The Wolf of Wall Street, and a Golden Globe nomination for War Dogs.

We hope you’re ready to learn some more about the actor, comedian, and producer Jonah Hill.


25. Shakespeare

Jonah started writing his own plays in college and would perform them at the Black and White bar in New York. His work gave him a small following, which made him realize that he wanted to be a movie actor.

jonah hill facts

24. Good ol' Judd

Jonah Hill made a brief appearance in Judd Apatow’s directorial debut The 40-Year-Old Virgin, then he scored a larger supporting role in Knocked Up. It was also with the help of Apatow (and Seth Rogen) that Hill landed his first leading role in Superbad.

jonah hill facts

23. Educated man

After graduating high school, Hill attended Bard College, The New School and the University of Colorado Boulder.

jonah hill facts

22. Bunk buddies

Jonah Hill used to be roommates with Justin Long, who you may remember from films such as Jeepers Creepers (2001), Dodgeball (2004), Accepted (2006), Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007).

jonah hill facts

21. Connections

Hill’s father Richard Feldstein was an accountant and he handled the books for Guns N’ Roses.

jonah hill

20. Family business

Jonah has a sister Beanie, who is an actress, and a brother Jordan, who manages musicians such as Robin Thicke and Maroon 5.

jonah hill facts

19. How you living?

Hill grew up in an affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood of Cheviot Hills, where he continues to live today.

jonah hill facts

18. Green Lantern

Jonah Hill was the voice of the Green Lantern in The Lego Movie.

jonah hill facts

17. What happens in Vegas

Hill turned down one of the leading roles in The Hangover to work with Jay and Mark Duplass in Cyrus.

jonah hill facts

16. Half the man he used to be

Hill started noticeably dropping weight in 2011, allegedly doing so not just for his health, but to be able to get more serious roles.

jonah hill facts

15. He went Platinum

Jonah Hill is Jewish and had a Bar Mitzvah – the theme of which was “Jonah Goes Platinum”.

jonah hill bar mitzvah

14. Nancy rules

No joke, Jonah Hill has a tattoo on his left forearm that says “Nancy rules” – as a tribute to his grandmother.

jonah hill facts

13. Pastor Hill

Jonah Hill officiated Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo’s wedding in 2014.

jonah hill facts

12. Homeward bound

Unlike many actors, who had to make the move to L.A., Hill was born there and moved to New York City for school. Clearly, he found his way home.

Jonah Hill facts

11. Famous friends

Hill was friends with Dustin Hoffman’s children, Rebecca and Jake, who introduced him to their father. It was through the Hoffmans that Hill made his big screen debut in I Heart Huckabees.

jonah hill facts

10. Faceted

Hill always had a passion for writing. He was penning a screenplay with his friend and I Heart Huckabees co-star Jason Schwartzman. Then he was writing a screenplay for Sony called Pure Imagination, about a man who develops an imaginary friend after a traumatic incident. Who knows? Maybe we’ll be seeing a Jonah Hill film some time in the future.

jonah hill

9. Anything for Marty

Jonah Hill is a huge fan of Martin Scorsese. He even agreed to be paid the minimum SAG salary of $60,000 just to be in The Wolf of Wall Street.

jonah hill facts

8. Stand up

Hill is a vocal opponent of the Russian anti-gay laws and has spoken out against them publicly in alliance with the Human Rights Campaign.

Jonah Hill facts

7. Sounds Cleaner

The actor was actually born Jonah Hill Feldstein.

Jonah Hill Facts

6. Nailed it

After making the transition to more serious acting roles, Hill was nominated for his very first Golden Globe and Academy Award for his role in Moneyball (2011).

jonah hill facts

5. The Simpsons appearance

It wasn’t quite a cameo, but Hill voiced the character Andy Hamilton on The Simpsons back in 2009.

jonah hill facts

4. Speaking of The Simpsons

When he was a kid, Jonah loved the Simpsons os much he asked his parents if they could move to the fictional town of Springfield.

jonah hill facts

3. Why not?

Before Jonah decided to be an actor, he actually wanted to be a hip-hop producer.

jonah hill facts

2. Seth Rogen collaborations

Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen have appeared in 7 films together.

jonah hill facts

1. Quite the wager

Jonah Hill made a bet with Channing Tatum that 21 Jump Street would not make more than $35 million in its opening weekend, promising to kiss the tip of Tatum’s penis if he lost. Well… The movie made $36 million in its opening weekend.  No word on whether the payment has been collected.

jonah hill facts

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4


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