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Jamie Kennedy, one of the stars of the late 1990s and early 2000s, was unrecognizable when he surfaced this week in Los Angeles.
The 55-year-old first shot to fame in 1996 in Scream, playing the dorky horror movie obsessive Randy Meeks who provides much of the film's comic relief.
He beat out a battery of better-known actors of the era of the part - including Jason Lee and Seth Green - because director Wes Craven fought for his casting.
As the turn of the millennium approached and then receded, he acted with top-flight names like Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.
In 2003 he starred in the beloved comedy Malibu's Most Wanted, which he also co-wrote amid a group of scribes including Reno 911! actor Nick Swardson.
Kennedy's once unmistakable features were obscured by a bushy salt-and-pepper beard when he surfaced Wednesday for a casual outing.
The 55-year-old first shot to fame in 1996 in Scream, playing the dorky horror movie obsessive Randy Meeks; pictured in the film between Courteney Cox (left) and Neve Campbell (right)
One of his most beloved movies was the 2003 feature Malibu's Most Wanted, on which he served as one of the screenwriters as well as the leading man
He opted for a dressed-down ensemble of sweats and an Adidas jacket, accessorizing with a baseball cap and a necklace.
Gathering his now long hair back into a ponytail, the Pennsylvania-born actor could be glimpsed hopping aboard a Lime scooter.
Kennedy began his acting career in the 1990s, and as he struggled to gain attention, he created a fake agent called 'Marty Power' whom he played on the phone while pitching his talents to people who might cast him.
'That's literally how I started, by lies,' Kennedy joked during an appearance on the nostalgia podcast Hey Dude... The '90s Called!.
Ultimately he was able to impress horror movie icon Wes Craven, who had previously directed such classics as The Nightmare on Elm Street.
Craven at that point was putting together the cast of Scream and staunchly advocated for Kennedy to play Randy Meeks, over the objections of studio brass.
'Wes had to fight, because the studio liked Jason Lee because he was on Mallrats,' Kennedy told MovieWeb. 'They liked Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, all the guys that I would always go up against, and they're all great, but I was lucky.'
Craven made the point that when he discovered Johnny Depp for The Nightmare on Elm Street, the future teen idol was also an unknown.
Kennedy's once unmistakable features were obscured by a bushy salt-and-pepper beard when he surfaced Wednesday for a casual outing
Gathering his now long hair back into a ponytail, the Pennsylvania-born actor could be glimpsed hopping aboard a Lime scooter
'I'll never forget this,' said Kennedy. 'Wes said: "Johnny Depp didn't have any credits." If he didn't stick his neck out for me, you would not be talking to me today.'
Kennedy enjoyed a period of stardom as Randy Meeks in the first two Scream movies, the latter of which saw his character get killed off by Ghostface.
In the waning 1990s, he also had supporting roles in Baz Lurhmann's Romeo + Juliet, led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, as well as in David O. Russell's Gulf War picture Three Kings starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube.
One of his most beloved movies was the 2003 feature Malibu's Most Wanted, on which he served as one of the screenwriters as well as the leading man.
He acted in that film among such stars as Snoop Dogg, Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson, Regina Hall and even 1970s heartthrob Ryan O'Neal.
Malibu's Most Wanted, which Kennedy and Nick Swardson co-wrote with MADtv creators Fax Bahr and Adam Small, was a box office hit despite the critics' disdain.
Kennedy and Nick Swardson co-wrote Malibu's Most Wanted with MADtv creators Fax Bahr and Adam Small; Kennedy is pictured between Anthony Anderson (left) and Taye Diggs (right)
Kennedy played 'B-Rad,' a wealthy Senator's son who dreams of becoming a rapper in the mold of Eminem - a character that stemmed from Kennedy's early stand-up.
By the time of Malibu's Most Wanted, B-Rad was also featuring on his creator's prank show The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, which ran on The WB from 2002 to 2002.
Kennedy's career of the early 2000s also contained such lowlights as his Razzie-nominated leading performance in Son of the Mask, the 2005 sequel to Jim Carrey's zany comedy movie The Mask from 1994.
His more recent pictures include the 2021 release Roe v. Wade, which led to speculation about his political convictions considering it starred several conservatives like Jon Voight, Stacey Dash, Tomi Lahren, Milo Yiannopoulos and Robert Davi.
However he clarified that he is personally in favor of abortion being legal and took the role because it was a rare chance for him to play drama.
He argued that 'it's also not fair for people to think that because I'm in a project with them that I'm like that, or that I believe in this stuff,' via the Daily Beast.
Kennedy has since had a voice cameo in the 2022 Scream reboot and has a number of projects currently in the pipeline, including the comedy Lunch Hour, starring Alan Cumming and Thomas Middleditch and written by a cousin of the Safdie brothers.
English (US) ·