Hart Matthew Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Ruth (Roher), a concert pianist, and Lloyd Bochner, an actor. He is of Russian Jewish and Ukrainian Jewish descent. Hart made his feature film debut portraying
George C. Scott's son in
Ernest Hemingway's
Inseln im Strom (1977)
and would go on to gain notice for his role in the Academy
award-winning,
Vier irre Typen - Wir schaffen alle, uns schafft keiner (1979). However, it
was his role in Stirb langsam (1988),
opposite Bruce Willis, that would earn him
pop culture status. His performance as the obnoxiously sleazy Harry
("Hans, Bubby") Ellis was bestowed the #2 spot on Maxim's "The Greatest
Movie Sleazeballs Of All Time" list. Other films also include playing
opposite Susan Sarandon in
Wayne Wang's
Überall, nur nicht hier (1999),
Nackte Angst (1998) with
Bridget Fonda, the cult hit
Apartment Zero (1988) opposite
Colin Firth,
George Cukor's
Die wilden Reichen (1981), with
Jacqueline Bisset, and
John Schlesinger's
...und der Himmel steht still (1993), opposite
Anthony Hopkins.
On television, Bochner starred in the Emmy award-winning epic
miniseries,
Feuersturm und Asche (1988),
Ernest Hemingway's
Verloren und verdammt (1984),
John Steinbeck's
Jenseits von Eden (1981),
Nur die See kennt die Wahrheit (1991),
Die Rache der Gejagten (1995), and Haywire (1980).
He would inevitably transition to behind-the-scenes work as a director,
making his debut with the cult comedy, Zwei Chaoten auf dem Campus (1994),
for Twentieth Century Fox, and
High School High (1996) for
Columbia Pictures.
Just Add Water (2008) for Sony
Pictures is his latest directorial effort, which he also wrote, and
stars Danny DeVito,
Dylan Walsh,
Jonah Hill, and
Justin Long.
He will next be seen starring in the upcoming
Campbell Scott film,
Company Retreat (2009), as well
as Toy Boy (2009) opposite
Ashton Kutcher. Most recently was seen
starring as Debra Messing's love interest
in the USA Network series,
The Starter Wife - Alles auf Anfang (2008).
Bochner lives in Los Angeles and is actively involved in several
causes, sitting on the board of directors for the Environmental Media
Association as well as the DGA-PAC Leadership Council, and L.A.'s Green
Ribbon Commission. In 2008, Bochner was named Time Magazine's "Greenest
Celebrity in Hollywood".
