Griffin Dunne was born on June 8, 1955 in New York City, the oldest
child of Dominick Dunne, a producer,
actor, and writer, and Ellen Beatriz (Griffin) Dunne, an activist. His sister was actress Dominique Dunne. He
grew up mainly in Los Angeles, California and attended school in
Colorado before moving back to New York in the late 1970s. As an actor,
Dunne has the distinction of having starred in two 1980s cult
favorites. First came the
John Landis monster movie
American Werewolf (1981),
then the Martin Scorsese black comedy
Die Zeit nach Mitternacht (1985). After Hours is
also among the movies that Dunne has produced with partner
Amy Robinson through their company
Double Play Productions. Other Double Play productions include
Die Flucht ins Ungewisse (1988),
Frühstück bei Ihr (1990) and
Ein charmantes Ekel (1991). Dunne has
continued to appear on both sides of the camera, taking supporting
roles as an actor in films like
My Girl - Meine erste Liebe (1991) and
I Like It Like That (1994).
He made his directorial debut with a short film,
Duke of Groove (1995),
which was nominated for an Oscar.
Dunne then made the leap to feature films with
In Sachen Liebe (1997),
Zauberhafte Schwestern (1998),
Lisa Picard Is Famous (2000) and
Fierce People (2005). Dunne
produced and starred in the film
Game 6 (2005), which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival in 2005.
Griffin's ancestry is Irish (from his father) and Irish, English,
German, Mexican, and Swedish (from his mother).
