Biography

Blond performer of stage and film, first recognized for his rapid-fire, acid-tongued promos for MTV, Denis Leary began performing his distinctive brand of stand-up comedy while attending college in his native Boston. Preoccupied with smoking, red meat, death and rock 'n' roll, he took his routine around the country and eventually to London where (due to the premature birth of his son) he and his wife lived for the better part of a year. While there he wrote "No Cure For Cancer", a wildly popular one-man show, expounding on such issues as smoking ("I'm going to get a tracheotomy so I can smoke two cigarettes at the same time") to pop stars ("Sting--he wants to save the seals, he wants to save the rain forests . . . how about saving your hair, OK, pal?"). The show received favorable reviews and enjoyed a sold-out run on the West End and a four-month run off-Broadway. The success of "Cancer" brought Leary to the attention of MTV who hired him for promotional spots that usually featured him pacing back and forth in a squalid urban setting, smoking furiously, and ranting about everything from Cindy Crawford to the hypocrisy of "political correctness".
Leary's MTV work led to similarly style1 product endorsements for Nike, minus the cigarettes. and a feature debut (small bit) in the comedy "Strictly Business" (1992). The following year found him appearing in nearly half a dozen films with parts ranging from comic cameos ("National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1") to evil heavies ("Judgment Night") to regular guy roles ("The Sandlot"). Leary received his first starring role in Ted Demme's "The Ref" (1994), an uneven black comedy, in which he played a cat-burglar trapped in the house of a dysfunctional family. Misses like "Operation Dumbo Drop" (1995) preceded his foray into screenwriting, a collaboration on the story for "Two If By Sea" (1996, in which he also starred opposite Sandra Bullock) with his wife Ann Lembeck and Mike Armstrong (who also helped write the screenplay). The film bombed because the director was a moron (according to Leary), but its failure could not slow Leary's momentum, and he went on to act in five features in 1997: "The Matchmaker" (opposite Janeane Garofalo), "Love Walked In", "Wag the Dog" (with Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman), "Suicide Kings" (starring Christopher Walken) and "The Real Blonde".

The juggernaut barreled on as he returned to the land of the one-man rant for HBO's "Denis Leary: Lock 'n' Load" (1997, directed by Demme), where no one was safe from his acid wit, least of all, O.J. Simpson. ("I hope your kids pull a Menendez on you, O.J. And they'll be forgiven, 10 times over.") He followed with roles as a yuppie dad opposite Dana Delany in the family comedy "Wide Awake" and as a ruthless toy tycoon in Joe Dante's "Small Soldiers", in addition to providing the voice for Francis in "A Bug's Life" (all 1998), an animated version of Aesop's "The Ant and the Grasshopper". Leary reteamed with director Demme and screenwriting partner Armstrong for "Monument Ave" (also 1998), a project he co-produced about the Charlestown, MA "code of silence", which premiered at that year's Sundance Film Festival under the title "Snitch". He continued to land important supporting roles, including one in the remake of "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1999), with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. Leary made his directing debut with the "Lust" segment (written by his wife) of Showtime's "National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins" (1996), earning a CableACE Award for his effort.

Filmography

Just for Laughs (2002) (TV) .... Himself
... aka Judith Lucy's Just for Laughs (2002) (TV) (Australia: complete title)
Secret Lives of Dentists, The (2002) .... Slater
"Contest Searchlight" (2002) TV Series .... Himself
"Crank Yankers" (2002) TV Series (voice) .... Joe Smith
Ice Age (2002) (voice) .... Diego
Bad Boy (2002) .... Doug 'Dawg' Menford
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies (2001) (TV) .... Himself
Final (2001) .... Bill
"Job, The" (2001) TV Series .... Mike McNeil
Double Whammy (2001) .... Ray Pluto
Lakeboat (2000) .... The Fireman
Lord Stanley's Cup: Hockey's Ultimate Prize (2000) (V) .... Himself
Sand (2000) .... Teddy
... aka Sandstorm (2000/II)
Company Man (2000) .... Officer Fry
... aka Company Man (2000) (France)
"Comics Come Home" (1999) TV Series .... Host
Do Not Disturb (1999) .... Simon
... aka Silent Witness (1999) (USA: video title)
Jesus' Son (1999) .... Wayne
Thomas Crown Affair, The (1999) .... Detective First Grade Michael McCann
True Crime (1999) .... Bob Findley
Bug's Life, A (1998) (voice) .... Francis
Small Soldiers (1998) .... Gil Mars
Wide Awake (1998) .... Mr. Beal
Love Walked In (1998) .... Jack Morrisey
... aka Ni el tiro del final (1999) (Argentina)
Snitch (1998) .... Bobby O'Grady
... aka Noose (1998) (Australia: DVD title) (USA: working title)
... aka Monument Ave. (1999) (USA: new title)
Wag the Dog (1997) .... Fad King
Denis Leary: Lock 'N' Load (1997) (TV) .... Himself
MatchMaker, The (1997) .... Nick
Real Blonde, The (1997) .... Doug
Suicide Kings (1997) .... Lono Veccio
Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground (1997) (TV) .... Guy in Wheelchair (segment "The Red Shoes")
Second Civil War, The (1997) (TV) .... Vinnie Franko
I Want My MTV (1996) (V) .... Nicotine Fiend
Underworld (1996) .... Johnny Crown/Johnny Alt
Two if by Sea (1996) .... Francis Michael 'Frank/Frankie' O'Brien
... aka Stolen Hearts (1996)
Favorite Deadly Sins (1995) (TV) .... Jake
... aka National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins (1995) (TV) (USA: complete title)
Neon Bible, The (1995) .... Frank
... aka Biblia de neón, La (1997) (Spain)
Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) .... David Poole
... aka Dumbo Drop (1995)
Natural Born Killers (1994) (uncredited) .... Prison inmate (director's cut)
Ref, The (1994) .... Gus
... aka Hostile Hostages (1994)
Gunmen (1994) .... Armor O'Malley
Judgment Night (1993) .... Fallon
Demolition Man (1993) .... Edgar Friendly
Who's the Man? (1993) .... Sergeant Cooper
Sandlot, The (1993) .... Bill
... aka Sandlot Kids, The (1993)
Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) .... Mike McCracken
... aka National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
Denis Leary: No Cure for Cancer (1992) (TV) .... Himself
MTV Video Music Awards 1992 (1992) (TV) .... Himself (presenter)
"Paramount City" (1991) TV Series .... Host
... aka "London Underground" (1991)
Strictly Business (1991) .... Jake
"Remote Control" (1987/II) TV Series .... Various Roles/Himself