Bill Irwin

Bill Irwin’s life is kind of a wild ride, honestly. Born in Santa Monica back in 1950, he kicked things off as the oldest of three, with a teacher mom and a dad who worked in aerospace (so, yeah, probably some interesting dinner table conversations). He’s got that whole English-Irish-German mix, and he even took a detour living as an exchange student in Belfast for a bit—which had to be a trip. College-wise, he studied theatre arts at Oberlin, but then he went full tilt and did clown college. Like, legit Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. Not your average resume, right? By the early ‘80s, Irwin jumped onto the film scene and stacked up credits in over twenty movies. Most people spot him as Lou Lou Who in that Jim Carrey Grinch movie from 2000, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The guy’s been everywhere: producing, directing, writing, choreographing—you name it. In 2001, he got tangled up with this legendary Russian mime, Vyacheslav Polunin, and performed at the World Theatre Olympics in Moscow. That gig? Massive. He shared the stage with heavy hitters from the comedy and mime world, seriously the best of the best. Stage-wise, Irwin’s no slouch either. Broadway, La Jolla Playhouse, Chekhov—he’s done it all. He even snagged the 2005 Tony for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and racked up a handful of nominations in just about every category you can think of. The guy’s like a Swiss Army knife of the performing arts, always popping up where you least expect him.