BIO
Balaban's first notable role was on stage; he created the role of Linus in the original off-Broadway production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown in 1967.
One of his earliest appearances in film was in Midnight Cowboy (1969). In the 1970s, he appeared as Grady Garrett on an episode of Room 222, Orr in Catch-22, Elliot the Organizer in The Strawberry Statement, and the interpreter David Laughlin in the 1977 Steven Spielberg science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In 1979, he received a Tony Award nomination for his role in The Inspector General. During the 1980s he appeared in films including Ken Russell's Altered States (1980) and the 1984 2001: A Space Odyssey sequel 2010 (as Dr Chandra, the creator of HAL 9000). He also directed the Randy Quaid horror comedy film Parents, and the Armin Mueller-Stahl drama film The Last Good Time (1994).
Balaban had supporting roles in films such as Absence of Malice, Bob Roberts, Deconstructing Harry, Ghost World, The Majestic, Lady in the Water, and Christopher Guest's Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration.
Balaban appeared in Miami Vice as reporter Ira Stone. In the 1990s, Balaban had a recurring role on the fourth season of Seinfeld as Russell Dalrymple, the fictional president of NBC. He also played Warren Littlefield, a real-world NBC executive, in The Late Shift, about the battle between Jay Leno and David Letterman for NBC's The Tonight Show. His tie to Littlefield continued in 2012 when he read the audiobook of Littlefield's autobiography, Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV. In 1999, Balaban made a guest appearance in the sitcom Friends as Phoebe Buffay's father Frank in "The One With Joey's Bag". In 2010, Balaban appeared as Judge Clayton Horn, the real-life judge who presided over the obscenity trial of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and City Lights Bookstore in the movie Howl.
In 2001, Balaban produced Gosford Park, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. He also appeared in the movie as Morris Weissman, a Hollywood producer. He appeared in an episode of Entourage as a doctor known for writing prescriptions for medical marijuana. He directed the film Bernard and Doris (2006), starring Susan Sarandon; and also the biopic Georgia O'Keeffe (2009), starring Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. He has directed several episodes of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie.
In September 2011, he was featured with Morgan Freeman and John Lithgow in the Broadway debut of the play, 8—a staged reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage—as Judge Vaughn Walker. The production was held at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.
In January 2016, Balaban appeared in the short play Milton Bradley by Peter Sagal, for Playing On Air, a non-profit organization that "records short plays [for public radio and podcast] written by top playwrights and performed by outstanding actors."
In early 2021, Balaban provided the voice of the narrator in The Simpsons episode “The Dad-Feelings Limited”.
Movies
Me, Natalie
[ 1969 ] Morris
Midnight Cowboy
[ 1969 ] The Young Student - New York
The Strawberry Statement
[ 1970 ] Elliot - Organizer
Catch-22
[ 1970 ] Orr
Making It
[ 1971 ] Wilkie
The Bank Shot
[ 1974 ] Victor Karp
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
[ 1977 ] David Laughlin
Girlfriends
[ 1978 ] Martin
Altered States
[ 1980 ] Arthur Rosenberg
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
[ 1981 ] Carter Hill
Absence of Malice
[ 1981 ] Elliott Rosen
2010: The Year We Make Contact
[ 1984 ] Dr. R. Chandra
End of the Line
[ 1987 ] Warren Gerber
Dead Bang
[ 1989 ] Elliot Webly
Parents
[ 1989 ] director
Alice
[ 1990 ] Sid Moscowitz
Bob Roberts
[ 1992 ] Michael Janes
Amos & Andrew
[ 1993 ] Dr. R.A.RoyFink
For Love or Money
[ 1993 ] Ed Drinkwater
Greedy
[ 1994 ] Ed
The Last Good Time
[ 1994 ] producer
Pie in the Sky
[ 1995 ] Paul Entamen
Waiting for Guffman
[ 1996 ] Lloyd Miller
Conversation with the Beast
[ 1996 ] Mr. Webster
Clockwatchers
[ 1997 ] Milton Lky
Deconstructing Harry
[ 1997 ] Richard
The Definite Maybe
[ 1997 ] Wolfe Rollins
Three to Tango
[ 1999 ] Decker
Natural Selection
[ 1999 ] Dr. William Powell
Cradle Will Rock
[ 1999 ] Harry Hopkins
Jakob the Liar
[ 1999 ] Kowalsky
Best in Show
[ 2000 ] Dr. Theodore W. Millbank, III
The Mexican
[ 2001 ] Bernie Nayman
The Majestic
[ 2001 ] Elvin Clyde
Ghost World
[ 2001 ] Enid's Dad
Plan B
[ 2001 ] James Foster
Gosford Park
[ 2001 ] Morris Weissman
A Mighty Wind
[ 2003 ] Jonathan Steinbloom
Scene Stealers
[ 2004 ] Jonathan Crouch Esq.
Marie and Bruce
[ 2004 ] Roger
Capote
[ 2005 ] William Shawn
Lady in the Water
[ 2006 ] Harry Farber
For Your Consideration
[ 2006 ] Philip Koontz
Dedication
[ 2007 ] Arthur Planck
No Reservations
[ 2007 ] Therapist
Rage
[ 2009 ] Mr. White
Howl
[ 2010 ] Judge Clayton Horn
Thin Ice
[ 2011 ] Leonard Dahl
A Monster in Paris
[ 2011 ] Pâté
Girl Most Likely
[ 2012 ] Maxwell P. Duncan
Moonrise Kingdom
[ 2012 ] The Narrator
Fading Gigolo
[ 2013 ] Sol
The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ 2014 ] M. Martin
The Monuments Men
[ 2014 ] Preston Savitz
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
[ 2016 ] Mr. Waxcap
Mascots
[ 2016 ] Sol Lumpkin
Isle of Dogs
[ 2018 ] King
An L.A. Minute
[ 2018 ] Shelly
The French Dispatch
[ 2021 ] Uncle Nick