Famous Actors From Minnesota

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Famous actors from Minnesota

Admiring and envying the world's biggest stars is easy to do on Instagram. From A-list movie stars and major musicians to pro ball players and comedians who landed their own sitcoms, there's no shortage of evidence of just how good the good life is. They post pictures of themselves with other big shots on rooftop bars, at exclusive clubs, at backstage parties, and at restaurants where regular people can't get a reservation.

But the vast majority of these celebrities were born and raised outside of Hollywood, finding their way to the bright lights and big money of superstardom from obscure beginnings in regular small towns or cities across the country.

Stacker compiled a list of actors that were born in Minnesota from IMDb's most popular list. For each actor, we included a movie poster image from a film he is known for (all movie poster images from OMDb). Keep reading to see which favorite actors are from your home state.

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Chris Pratt

- Born: Virginia, Minnesota (6/21/1979)
- Known for:
--- Peter Quill in "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014)
--- Emmet Brickowski in "The Lego Movie" (2014)
--- Andy Dwyer in "Parks and Recreation" (2009-2015)

Vince Vaughn

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (3/28/1970)
- Known for:
--- Producer in "The Break-Up" (2006)
--- Jeremy Grey in "Wedding Crashers" (2005)
--- Producer in "Couples Retreat" (2009)

Steve Zahn

- Born: Marshall, Minnesota (11/13/1967)
- Known for:
--- Bad Ape in "War for the Planet of the Apes" (2017)
--- Duane in "Rescue Dawn" (2006)
--- Al Giordino in "Sahara" (2005)

Josh Hartnett

- Born: St. Paul, Minnesota (7/21/1978)
- Known for:
--- Slevin Kelevra in "Lucky Number Slevin" (2006)
--- Eben Oleson in "30 Days of Night" (2007)
--- Zeke Tyler in "The Faculty" (1998)

Garrett Hedlund

- Born: Roseau, Minnesota (9/3/1984)
- Known for:
--- Sam Flynn in "TRON: Legacy" (2010)
--- Jamie McAllan in "Mudbound" (2017)
--- Dean Moriarty in "On the Road" (2012)

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Seann William Scott

- Born: Cottage Grove, Minnesota (10/3/1976)
- Known for:
--- Stifler in "American Pie" (1999)
--- Steve Stifler in "American Wedding" (2003)
--- Stifler in "American Pie 2" (2001)

Breckin Meyer

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (5/7/1974)
- Known for:
--- Nick Schaffer in "Rat Race" (2001)
--- Josh in "Road Trip" (2000)
--- Travis in "Clueless" (1995)

Vincent Kartheiser

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (5/5/1979)
- Known for:
--- Pete Campbell in "Mad Men" (2007-2015)
--- Philippe Weis in "In Time" (2011)
--- Ozzie in "Masterminds" (1997)

Peter Krause

- Born: Alexandria, Minnesota (8/12/1965)
- Known for:
--- Nate Fisher in "Six Feet Under" (2001-2005)
--- Casey McCall in "Sports Night" (1998-2000)
--- Lawrence in "The Truman Show" (1998)

Patrick John Flueger

- Born: Red Wing, Minnesota (12/10/1983)
- Known for:
--- Adam Ruzek in "Chicago P.D." (2014-2022)
--- Chuck in "Footloose" (2011)
--- Shawn Farrell in "The 4400" (2004-2007)

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James Hong

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (2/22/1929)
- Known for:
--- David Lo Pan in "Big Trouble in Little China" (1986)
--- Mr. Ping in "Kung Fu Panda" (2008)
--- Mr. Ping in "Kung Fu Panda 2" (2011)

Kevin Sorbo

- Born: Mound, Minnesota (9/24/1958)
- Known for:
--- Dr. Sol Harkens in "Let There Be Light" 2017
--- Drake Hunter in "The Santa Suit" 2010

Mark Webber

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (7/19/1980)
- Known for:
--- Actor in "Flesh and Blood" (2017)
--- Mark in "The End of Love" (2012)
--- Daniel in "Green Room" (2015)

Richard Dean Anderson

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (1/23/1950)
- Known for:
--- Colonel Jack O'Neill in "Stargate SG-1" (1997-2007)
--- MacGyver in "MacGyver" (1985-1992)
--- Major General Jack O'Neill in "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004-2006)

John Hawkes

- Born: Alexandria, Minnesota (9/11/1959)
- Known for:
--- Mark in "The Sessions" (2012)
--- Teardrop in "Winter's Bone" (2010)
--- Charlie in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (2017)

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Ralph Meeker

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (11/21/1920)
- Died: 8/5/1988
- Known for:
--- Mike Hammer in "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955)
--- Cpl. Philippe Paris in "Paths of Glory" (1957)
--- Captain Stuart Kinder in "The Dirty Dozen" (1967)

James Le Gros

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (4/27/1962)
- Known for:
--- Rick in "Drugstore Cowboy" (1989)
--- Wally Burgan in "Mildred Pierce" (2011)
--- Ryan in "Certain Women" (2016)

T.R. Knight

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (3/26/1973)
- Known for:
--- Davey Bowden in "The Flight Attendant" (2020-2022)
--- Max Jacob in "Genius" (2017-2018)
--- Johnny Clayton in "11.22.63" (2016)

James Arness

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (5/26/1923)
- Died: 6/3/2011
- Known for:
--- Matt Dillon in "Gunsmoke" (1955-1975)
--- Robert Graham in "Them!" (1954)
--- The Thing' in "The Thing from Another World" (1951)

E.G. Marshall

- Born: Owatonna, Minnesota (6/18/1914)
- Died: 8/24/1998
- Known for:
--- Juror 4 in "12 Angry Men" (1957)
--- Art in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (1989)
--- Colonel Rufus S. Bratton in "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970)

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Jason Behr

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (12/30/1973)
- Known for:
--- Max Evans in "Roswell" (1999-2002)
--- Doug in "The Grudge" (2004)
--- Varek in "Skinwalkers" (2006)

John James

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (4/18/1956)
- Known for:
--- Jeff Colby in "Dynasty" (1981-1989)
--- Sy in "Axcellerator" (2020)
--- Jeff Colby in "The Colbys" (1985-1987)

Nick Swardson

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (10/9/1976)
- Known for:
--- Jeff in "Grandma's Boy" (2006)
--- Howie in "The Benchwarmers" (2006)
--- Eddie in "Just Go with It" (2011)

Mike Farrell

- Born: St. Paul, Minnesota (2/6/1939)
- Known for:
--- Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt in "M*A*S*H" (1975-1983)
--- Producer in "Patch Adams" (1998)
--- Jerry Robinson in "The Questor Tapes" (1974)

Nate Richert

- Born: St. Paul, Minnesota (4/28/1978)
- Known for:
--- Other Teenage Boy in "Lovely & Amazing" (2001)
--- Harvey Kinkle in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (1996-2003)
--- Jason in "The Tony Danza Show" (1998)

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Johnny Pemberton

- Born: Rochester, Minnesota (6/1/1981)
- Known for:
--- A.J. Brown in "In the Loop" (2009)
--- Ice Cream Store Customer in "Ant-Man" (2015)
--- Delroy in "21 Jump Street" (2012)

Jay Underwood

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (10/1/1968)
- Known for:
--- Eric in "The Boy Who Could Fly" (1986)
--- Chip Carson in "Not Quite Human" (1987)
--- Bug in "Uncle Buck" (1989)

Richard Widmark

- Born: Sunrise Township, Chisago County, Minnesota (12/26/1914)
- Died: 3/24/2008
- Known for:
--- Tommy Udo in "Kiss of Death" (1947)
--- Col. Jim Bowie in "The Alamo" (1960)
--- Dr. Harris in "Coma" (1978)

Joel Gretsch

- Born: St. Cloud, Minnesota (12/20/1963)
- Known for:
--- Nick's Father in "Push" (2009)
--- Donald Dubin in "Minority Report" (2002)
--- Thomas Gates in "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (2007)

Carl Lumbly

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (8/14/1951)
- Known for:
--- Mac Brashear in "Men of Honor" (2000)
--- John Parker in "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" (1984)
--- Marcus Dixon in "Alias" (2001-2006)

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Peter Graves

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (3/18/1926)
- Died: 3/14/2010
- Known for:
--- Sgt. Frank Price in "Stalag 17" (1953)
--- Captain Clarence Oveur in "Airplane!" (1980)
--- James Phelps in "Mission: Impossible" (1967-1973)

Ian Anthony Dale

- Born: St. Paul, Minnesota (7/3/1978)
- Known for:
--- Chow's #1 in "The Hangover" (2009)
--- Adam Noshimuri in "Hawaii Five-0" (2011-2020)
--- Harris Edwards in "Salvation" (2017-2018)

Izaac Wang

- Born: Minnesota (10/22/2007)
- Known for:
--- Boun in "Raya and the Last Dragon" (2021)
--- Soren in "Good Boys" (2019)
--- Owen in "Clifford the Big Red Dog" (2021)

Dan Bakkedahl

- Born: Rochester, Minnesota (11/18/1969)
- Known for:
--- Roger Furlong in "Veep" (2012-2019)
--- Craig in "The Heat" (2013)
--- Tim Hughes in "Life in Pieces" (2015-2019)

Hoon Lee

- Born: Hennepin County, Minnesota (7/18/1973)
- Known for:
--- Job in "Banshee" (2013-2016)
--- Splinter in "Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (2013)
--- Reggie Woo in "Bosch" (2015-2018)

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Tim Bagley

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (8/17/1957)
- Known for:
--- Peter in "Grace and Frankie" (2015-2021)
--- Dr. Pellagrino in "Knocked Up" (2007)
--- Larry in "Will & Grace" (2000-2020)

Gig Young

- Born: St. Cloud, Minnesota (11/4/1913)
- Died: 10/19/1978
- Known for:
--- Rocky in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" (1969)
--- Roger in "That Touch of Mink" (1962)
--- Dick Pepper in "The Tunnel of Love" (1958)

Louie Anderson

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (3/24/1953)
- Known for:
--- Maurice in "Coming to America" (1988)
--- Andy Anderson (Dad) in "Life with Louie" (1994-1998)
--- Christine Baskets in "Baskets" (2016-2019)

Jesse Ventura

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (7/15/1951)
- Known for:
--- Blain in "Predator" (1987)
--- Arkham Asylum Guard in "Batman & Robin" (1997)
--- Captain Freedom in "The Running Man" (1987)

Benjamin Salisbury

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (10/19/1980)
- Known for:
--- Benjamin Harvey in "Captain Ron" (1992)
--- Brighton Sheffield in "The Nanny" (1993-1999)
--- Production Assistant in "S1m0ne" (2002)

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Brock Pierce

- Born: Minnesota (11/14/1980)
- Known for:
--- Young Gordon in "D2: The Mighty Ducks" (1994)
--- Luke Davenport in "First Kid" (1996)
--- Gordon at 10 Years Old in "The Mighty Ducks" (1992)

Cedric Yarbrough

- Born: Burnsville, Minnesota (3/20/1973)
- Known for:
--- Dad at Health Clinic in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (2005)
--- Chocolate Giddy-Up in "Black Dynamite" (2009)
--- Deputy S. Jones in "Reno 911!" (2003-2020)

Lew Ayres

- Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota (12/28/1908)
- Died: 12/30/1996
- Known for:
--- Ned Seton in "Holiday" (1938)
--- Paul in "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930)
--- Mandemus in "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" (1973)