Ethan Suplee (born
May 25,
1976) is an
American film and television
actor know for his roles as Frankie Stechino in
Boy Meets World and
Randy Hickey in
My Name Is Earl.
Biography
Early life
Suplee was born in
Manhattan, the son of Debbie and
Bill Suplee (the latter of whom would go on to play "Willie," the one-eyed mailman, in
My Name Is Earl). His parents were actors who met while performing
summer stock and appeared on
Broadway; his mother also worked as a drama teacher. Suplee's family moved to
Los Angeles, California, when he was one year old.
Career
Suplee began acting in school plays. At 16, after high school, he was encouraged by friend
Giovanni Ribisi to take an acting class. (It was also through Ribisi that Suplee first met his friend and future "Earl" castmate,
Jason Lee.) Ethan dropped out of the acting class at 17, however he felt inspired to pursue acting as a career. He was originally best known as the kid from
Sega's "
Dead Squirrel"
Game Gear commercials in the early 1990s.
The first major role Ethan landed was his comedic performance as Willam Black in Mallrats, directed by Kevin Smith, alongside Jason Lee. Smith recast both Suplee and Lee in later films Chasing Amy, and Dogma. They both make cameos in Clerks II. He went on to a guest starring role as Frankie "The Enforcer" Stechino in Boy Meets World, from 1994-1998. Suplee's notable dramatic performances include the roles of the obese Nazi skinhead Seth in American History X, a Goth in The Butterfly Effect, football player Louie Lastik in Remember the Titans, Johnny Depp's buddy and initial drug-dealing partner Tuna in Blow, and the simpleminded Pangle in Cold Mountain. Suplee also had an uncredited cameo in the HBO TV series Entourage as the scene-mate of movie star Vincent Chase in the fictional movie Queen's Boulevard.
Personal life
Suplee married Brandy Lewis, daughter of
Geoffrey Lewis and sister of
Juliette Lewis, in the summer of 2006. The couple have two daughters, Frances Clementine (born 2005) and Billie Grace (born 2007). Lewis also has two daughters from a previous marriage. Both Suplee and Lewis are members of the
Church of Scientology. In
Clerks II, he was shown to have lost a substantial amount of weight.
Filmography
References
External links
