Jeffrey Meek
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey William Meek is an American actor. Meek and his family moved often; as a child, Meek lived in Zweibrücken, Germany, Michigan
, and San Francisco.
Meek graduated from Arlington High School in Riverside, California
, and attended the University of California
at Irvine
. After graduating from UCI with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Drama, he moved to New York City after he was offered the role of Quinn McCleary on Search for Tomorrow
.
and Bob Hoskins
in Heart Condition
with Mickey Rourke
, Morgan Freeman
and Forrest Whittaker in Johnny Handsome
, and with Kurt Russell
and Kelly McGillis
in Winter People
.
His television work includes starring in the CBS series, Raven and the CBS late-night series, The Exile
. He also played the dual roles of Raiden and Shao Khan in the TNT series, Mortal Kombat: Konquest
. He played the title role in the 1988 TV adaptation of Remo Williams. He began his TV career playing Quinn McCleary on the daytime series, Search for Tomorrow, Craig Montgomery on As the World Turns, guest-starred in the A&E series, The Glades and Criminal Minds.
Having performed in over 100 plays and musicals, he played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire
, at the Tony Award-winning, South Coast Repertory
Theatre, Jim Morrison
, in the Doors musical, Celebration of the Lizard, produced by Doors co-founder and keyboardist, Ray Manzerek, at the San Diego Repertory Theatre and the title role in Shakespeare's Coriolanus
. He also played the lead role of Markus, in the west coast première of Rob Ackerman's dark comedy, Table Top, at the Laguna Playhouse and, most recently, starred as Mack the Knife, in San Diego Repertory's production of The Threepenny Opera
. He has received two Dramalogue Awards.
He graduated with a bachelors degree in Theatre Arts from the University of California, Irvine
. He has studied acting with Ivanna Chubbuck and Cameron Thor.
He has also been writing for most of his 30 year career. He co-wrote the Bobby Darin
biographical film Beyond the Sea
, starring Kevin Spacey
and Kate Bosworth
.
He is an accomplished athlete. In addition to playing basketball and golf, he has a black belt
in taekwondo
and aikido
.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and San Francisco.
Meek graduated from Arlington High School in Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, and attended the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
at Irvine
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
. After graduating from UCI with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Drama, he moved to New York City after he was offered the role of Quinn McCleary on Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
.
Acting roles
Meek's film acting includes appearing with Denzel WashingtonDenzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
and Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
in Heart Condition
Heart Condition (film)
Heart Condition is a 1990 fantasy-comedy film starring Denzel Washington and Bob Hoskins.-Plot:Hoskins plays police sergeant Jack Moony, a racist cop and Washington plays Napoleon Stone, an adorable but sleazy ambulance chasing lawyer whom Moony hates. Moony's years of bad habits, such as...
with Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
, Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
and Forrest Whittaker in Johnny Handsome
Johnny Handsome
Johnny Handsome is an 1989 American crime-drama film directed by Walter Hill and starring Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin and Morgan Freeman. The film was written by Ken Friedman, from the novel by John Godey. The music for the film was written, produced and performed by Ry Cooder, and Jim Keltner...
, and with Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
and Kelly McGillis
Kelly McGillis
Kelly Ann McGillis is an American actress. Her films include Top Gun, The Accused, and Witness, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.-Career:...
in Winter People
Winter People
Winter People is a 1989 romantic drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff. It stars Kurt Russell and Kelly McGillis.The film is based on the novel by John Ehle. Wayland Jackson, a widower with a young daughter, moves to a small, impoverished mountain village in North Carolina, circa 1934...
.
His television work includes starring in the CBS series, Raven and the CBS late-night series, The Exile
The Exile (TV series)
The Exile is an American television series that aired on CBS as part of its late night Crimetime After Primetime line up. The series premiered on April 2, 1991 and ran til October 1991.-Plot:...
. He also played the dual roles of Raiden and Shao Khan in the TNT series, Mortal Kombat: Konquest
Mortal Kombat: Konquest
Mortal Kombat: Konquest is an American martial arts television series that aired for one season from 1998 to 1999, and was based on the popular Mortal Kombat fighting game series. The program was filmed at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida.-Storyline:"In each of us there burns a soul...
. He played the title role in the 1988 TV adaptation of Remo Williams. He began his TV career playing Quinn McCleary on the daytime series, Search for Tomorrow, Craig Montgomery on As the World Turns, guest-starred in the A&E series, The Glades and Criminal Minds.
Having performed in over 100 plays and musicals, he played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
, at the Tony Award-winning, South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
Theatre, Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
, in the Doors musical, Celebration of the Lizard, produced by Doors co-founder and keyboardist, Ray Manzerek, at the San Diego Repertory Theatre and the title role in Shakespeare's Coriolanus
Coriolanus
Gaius Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" because of his exceptional valor in a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was then promoted to a general...
. He also played the lead role of Markus, in the west coast première of Rob Ackerman's dark comedy, Table Top, at the Laguna Playhouse and, most recently, starred as Mack the Knife, in San Diego Repertory's production of The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
. He has received two Dramalogue Awards.
He graduated with a bachelors degree in Theatre Arts from the University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
. He has studied acting with Ivanna Chubbuck and Cameron Thor.
He has also been writing for most of his 30 year career. He co-wrote the Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
biographical film Beyond the Sea
Beyond the Sea (film)
Beyond the Sea is a 2004 biographical film based on the life of singer/actor Bobby Darin. Kevin Spacey, who stars in the lead role and used his own singing voice for the musical numbers, co-wrote, directed, and co-produced the film, which takes its title from the Darin song of the same name...
, starring Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
and Kate Bosworth
Kate Bosworth
Catherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress. Bosworth starred in the television series Young Americans, in which she played Bella Banks. She became known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush. The following year, Bosworth played the teenage girlfriend of porn star John Holmes in...
.
Personal life
During Meek's time in New York, he fronted a rock band, Crime which included Jaco Pastorius, Derf Scratch of the band Fear and John Densmore, the drummer of The Doors.He is an accomplished athlete. In addition to playing basketball and golf, he has a black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
in taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
and aikido
Aikido
is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
.