A-list

Celebrities

David Krumholtz at the Avalon Hotel, Beverly Hills.

David Krumholtz

With Judd Apatow comedies raking in hundreds of millions of dollars and traditional leading-man vehicles floundering, a pretty face no longer automatically equals a big opening weekend. Suddenly the nerdy boys next door are wielding a whole lot of clout.

February 2008

David Krumholtz misses his peacoat. “No one wears black here,” he laments. “I’m so over L.A.” One suspects it’s not just West Coast fashion that’s got the Queens native down but also the monotony that comes from spending the past two years filming his TV drama, CBS’s Numb3rs, which has turned the curly-haired Krumholtz, 29, who plays a math professor who helps crack criminal cases, into an unlikely sex symbol among brainy schoolgirls across America. “It’s boring.… I get disenchanted,” he admits. It’s a great role, sure, but a glance at Krumholtz’s résumé reveals an actor compelled to try new things: He’s been the funny guy (Walk Hard, Superbad, Harold and Kumar), the nebbishy Jew (Slums of Beverly Hills, Sidewalks of New York, Liberty Heights), the character actor in Oscar contenders (Ray and Bobby) and even a mental-hospital escapee (My Suicidal Sweetheart). His childhood roles—a dorky cereal commercial star in Life With Mikey and Wednesday’s wussy boyfriend in Addams Family Values—could easily have given way to a lifetime of playing the consummate geek. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. He recounts meeting a teenage girl at a math convention in St. Louis. “She said, ‘You make it okay to be awkward and weird and nerdy,’” he says. “That’s awesome.”

Krumholtz’s versatility goes beyond his onscreen work—he just finished writing a script for Judd Apatow called Attorneys at Raw about two white lawyers who decide to become rappers. “My friends and I have been rapping on the side for years,” he says. “I wrote it for me and Seth [Rogen]; he’s actually amazing at freestyling.”

More Hollywood's Power Geeks: Michael Cera, Jon Heder, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, Jonah Hill

Comments

Post a Comment
Subscribe to Wmagazine.com
Give the Gift of Wmagazine.com

W Specials

Join W on our Facebook fan page.

Follow W on Twitter.

The pop star shakes things up with catchy songs and loads of underwear. (October 2007)

For years Bruce Willis vowed he'd never marry again. Then the movie star met sizzling Emma Heming, and she changed his mind—and his life.

Madonna: Blame it on Rio
Amid sultry settings and irresistible distractions, Madonna falls under the spell of Rio de Janeiro.

The actor defends Jen, denies the "dastardly affair" and flaunts his flaws in portraits by Chuck Close. (February 2009)
Blake Lively

After a long, hard slog, Amy Adams is, at 34, finally a Hollywood Golden Girl. (May 2009)

Sweet, innocent, bubbly—actress Ginnifer Goodwin knows exactly what you think of her. Now forget it. (June 2009)

If it doesn't sound a little impossible, the formidable actress is not interested. (October 2007)
W Classics

Madonna

Yoga-mad Madge does her best imitation of a human pretzel. In fishnets. (April 2003)
Brad Pitt

Lean and mean for Fight Club, the actor proves he's ready to rumble. (July 1999)
Posh and Becks

Stripped down, sexy and worth a fortune, the UK's hottest couple prepare to hop the pond. (August 2007)
Katie Holmes

The newly-engaged actress gushed about Tom, Tom and, uh, Tom. It was crazy. (August 2005)
W Classics

Revisit Brad & Angelina, Naomi on cleanup crew, the Kate Moss tribute issue and more at W Classics.

W Newsletter

Sign up to receive the latest on fashion, art and style delivered to your email inbox.

W Blogs

Subscribe to Wmagazine.com

W Newsletter

Sign up to receive the latest on fashion, art and style delivered to your email inbox.

Christy Turlington Burns

Champion

One good classic deserves another. Christy Turlington Burns works the warrior-goddess side of Greco-Roman influence. Photographed by Michael Thompson.

W Blogs

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Domestic Bliss

The Steven Klein shoot that started it all: Mr. and Mrs. Smith costars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play house in Palm Springs. (July 2005)