Product Code Database
Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), known professionally as Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. He began his career by performing stand-up comedy at clubs on Long Island in the 1980s. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Doug Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens (1998–2007), for which he received the nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2006.
In 2004, James made his first film appearance in 50 First Dates, and the following year co-starred in Hitch with Will Smith. He went on to star in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), (2009), Grown Ups (2010), Zookeeper (2011), Here Comes the Boom (2012), and Pixels (2015). He has also done voice work for Monster House, Barnyard (both 2006), and the first three films of the Hotel Transylvania franchise (2012–2018). He also was nominated for a People's Choice Award in 2017 for his role on the CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait (2016–2018). James has also appeared in several dramatic roles, including The Dilemma (2011), Little Boy (2015), and Becky (2020).
James later moved to Los Angeles and befriended Ray Romano, and he guest-starred on a few episodes of Romano's hit CBS sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond. These appearances led to the development of his own sitcom, The King of Queens, which ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, James played working class parcel delivery man Doug Heffernan who works for a company known as IPS. He is married to Carrie Heffernan (Leah Remini), a sharp-tongued, ambitious secretary at a Manhattan law firm who is far less content with working-class life in Queens. Her obsessive, vindictive father, Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller), who is prone toward bizarre conduct, lives with them. For his work on the eighth season, James was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2006.
James hosted the 2010 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on March 27, 2010. He was nominated to be the inaugural member of the "Arm Fart Hall of Fame" in the following year's show, with host Jack Black calling him Kevin "Not-Quite-As-Good-As-Jack Black" James. He and fellow nominee Kaley Cuoco lost in fan voting to Josh Duhamel.
James starred in the sitcom Kevin Can Wait, which premiered on September 19, 2016. The series was renewed for a second season, before being canceled at the season's end.
In 2021, James released a new show on Netflix called The Crew. It was canceled after one season.
In 2024, Deadline reported that James is set to portray John Daly, in the upcoming series.
In 2011, he had a lead role with Vince Vaughn in the comedy-drama The Dilemma and then with Rosario Dawson in Zookeeper, which he wrote and produced. James also had the lead role in the 2012 mixed martial arts comedy film Here Comes the Boom. He again provided voice work in the first three films of the Hotel Transylvania franchise (2012–2018). He starred as well in the movies Little Boy and Pixels (both 2015), and the following year in True Memoirs of an International Assassin, directed by Jeff Wadlow and released by Netflix on November 11, 2016. In 2017, James co-starred with Adam Sandler in another Netflix film, Sandy Wexler.
James had a lead dramatic role in the 2020 thriller film Becky. He starred as NFL head coach Sean Payton in the 2022 biographical film Home Team. As of 2024, James is set to appear in three comedy films, including Guns Up, Playdate and Solo Mio.
A web series titled Dusty Peacock produced by James and starring his brother Gary Valentine began streaming on Crackle in July 2009.
In February 2020, James revived his YouTube channel which he had launched back on November 27, 2017 featuring short films "based on thin premises, like James eagerly waiting for a green light, misreading a hand wave, or spending birthdays by himself, but many carry a sense of melancholy and restraint." By June 2020, he had over 535,000 subscribers and 28 million total views.
Raised in a Catholic Church home, James stated in 2012, that he remains a devout Catholic. In 2019, he hosted a Catholic retreat featuring priest Chad Ripperger and theologian Scott Hahn.
James is a fan of the New York Mets baseball team and threw out the first pitch at a game in August 2024.
| English voice |
| Direct-to-video |
| Voice and motion capture |
| Voice |
| Uncredited cameo |
| Also writer and producer |
| Also writer and producer |
| Scott Voss |
| Voice |
| Also writer and producer |
| Voice |
| Voice |
| Post-production |
| also writer and producer; Post-production |
| 4 episodes |
| 8 episodes |
| Lead role (207 episodes) |
| Episode: "Judgment Day" |
| Episode: "Drive, They Said" |
| Episode: "Nitro Man" |
| Episode: "Like No Business I Know" |
| TV special |
| Episode: "Cook-a-Rooney" |
| Lead role (48 episodes) |
| Lead role (10 episodes) |
| Lead role |
| 2025 | "Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend" | Nate Smith & Hardy | Best Friend |
| 2005 | Hitch | rowspan="2" | ||
| 2015 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 |
| 2006 | The King of Queens; episode: "Pole Lox" | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series |
| 2017 | Kevin Can Wait | Favorite Actor in a New TV Series |
|
|
