This tall, gangly, stage-trained character lead is best known for playing quirky neurotics and likable oddballs, often too smart or too innocent for their own good. Goldblum made his film debut as a rapist in "Death Wish" (1974) and followed up with a bit part as a frustrated actor in Robert Altman's "California Split.” In Altman's "Nashville" (1975), he played the more substantial role of a silent motorcyclist/magician. Goldblum did an indelible bit in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" (1977) as the nervous Los Angeles party guest overheard fretting on the telephone that he'd forgotten his mantra. Goldblum detoured to TV with "Tenspeed and Brown Shoe" (Abc 1980), a superior detective comedy co-starring Ben Vereen. The show presented Goldblum as a hopelessly square stockbroker-turned-P.I. who narrated each episode with hilariously maladroit hard-boiled voiceovers. A busy actor, Goldblum alternated between television, theater, and features throughout the 80s. He stood out as the somewhat sleazy People magazine journalist in Lawrence Kasdan's "The Big Chill" (1983). Goldblum's varied gifts for conveying intelligence, wide-eyed superciliousness, glib disingenuousness and dark intensity served him well in roles ranging from the treacherous frontier cardsharp in Kasdan's "Silverado" (1985) to his heartbreaking and critically acclaimed portrayal of a scientist-turned-insect in David Cronenberg's remake of "The Fly" (1986). The intense rapport between Goldblum and co-star Geena Davistransformed the horror film into a deeply moving romance. Goldblum appeared in several eccentric British features and French co-productions in the late 80s and early 90s including the engaging British comedy, "The Tall Guy" (1989), wherein he played an insecure American actor struggling in the London theater. He returned to Hollywood features in 1992 with a showy turn as a Jewish yuppie lawyer turned big time drug dealer in Bill Duke's "Deep Cover,” a cameo as himself in Altman's "The Player,” and a sober change-of-pace performance as a father raising an adolescent son in "Fathers and Sons.” Perfectly cast as eccentric black-clad mathematician Ian Malcolm in Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" (1993), Goldblum walked away with the best notices of all the human participants in that mammoth blockbuster. Rather than aggressively capitalizing on this incomparable success, he continued to take a fairly unconventional path for a celebrity of his stature. Goldblum lent his distinctive voice to narrating chores on several PBS science documentaries and acted in a made-for-cable movie, "Lush Life" (1994), as a NYC jazz musician opposite Forrest Whitaker. He returned to features in 1995 as a leading man in the supernatural flop "Hideaway,” a supporting role in the Hugh Grantcomedy vehicle "Nine Months" and a winning character turn in the fantasy "Powder.” Over the next several years Goldblum continued to appear in a wide range of films including appearing in 1997's sequel to "Jurassic Park," "The Lost World." Still the unlikely action hero, he also had a crowd-pleasing turn in "Independence Day" (1997) alongside Will Smith, before going on to appear in a series of low-profile films and undistinguished comedies such as "Holy Man" (1998) opposite Eddie Murphyand "Cats & Dogs" (2001). The actor's film fortunes were on the rise again when he appeared in the hit indie dark comedy "Igby Goes Down" (2002), opposite Kerian Culkin, Claire Danes and Susan Sarandonas the self-centered godfather of a mouthy, rebellious teen (Culkin). His next triumph was as the dashing oceanographer Alistair Hennessey, the friendly arch-rival of the title character (Bill Murray) in director Wes Anderson's quirky "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004), in which Goldblum delivered one of the film's most delightfully droll performances. He also enjoyed a highly comic stint on the hit sit-coms "Friends" in 2002 as an acting coach and "Will & Grace" in 2005 as Karen's bitter high school rival-turned-billionaire corporate raider, and had a long stint as the commercial voice for Apple Computer's iMac line. After appearing as a leering neighbor in “Mini’s First Time” (2006), an independent dark comedy about an opportunistic teenager (Nikki Reed whose obsession with having “firsts” leads her into the seedier side of Los Angeles’ nightlife, Goldblum costarred in Barry Levinson’s return to political satire, “Man of the Year” (2006), playing a corporate thug at a voting machine company where a glitch was discovered by an employee (Laura Linney that helps elect a popular talk show host (Robin Williams) to the presidency during his mock campaign. Long after his Hollywood breakthrough, Goldblum enjoyed a minor but diverting side career playing jazz piano with warm and witty asides in lounges throughout Los Angeles. YahooMovie