Jim Meskimen
Versatile and veteran actor of stage and film (“Oppenheimer,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Impress Me,”) and many others opines on the many talents of the artistic mind (he’s also an artist) and his serendipitous run-in with Harvey Kartel in Madrid, who he credits with inspiring his quest as an actor. He talks about the importance and impact of humor on the human spirit, and he lets Host Glass in on how his 38-year marriage thrives. He talks about people who are funny and are most often good people, and his comments on his philosophy about comedy in general all make perfect sense. A social media star as well, Meskimen shares why his role in “Apollo 13” remains one of his favorites, how communication “solves anything,” and Host Glass tries to ambush Meskimen with a barrage of random fill-in-the blank sentences while impersonating famous celebrities, but to no avail. Meskimen remains fast and ready. He was once a “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” player. His impressions are spot-on during the interview, and his quick mind will make you laugh out loud! He believes that funny people are almost always the best people! You will be captivated with Meskimen’s answers to David’s questions—every one of them brilliantly worded.
Jim Meskimen
Biography
His first career was as a visual artist, doing illustrations and commercial art in New York City. There he designed cartoon characters for Rankin/Bass for their original hit series Thundercats, While working in animation, Jim realized that being a voice actor was his true calling, and he began to pursue work in radio and TV voice overs.
He soon was one of the most sought-after voice actors in New York, and did hundreds of radio and TV commercials, and became a regular on the animated series The Comic Strip, from his old bosses at Rankin/Bass. He was the voice of the channel that became Comedy Central, then named HA! and did campaigns for Swatch Watch as the character Doctor Swatch, which he created.
He worked extensively on TV campaigns as a man-on-the-street interviewer for grocery chains and other clients, in improvised comedic commercials that won dozens of industry awards.
When not working his day job as voice actor, Jim performed improv with several improv companies and did hundreds of live shows. On the invitation of producers, he guest starred several times on Britainâ™ Whose Line Is It, Anyway?
In 1993, Jim moved home to LA with his family to pursued a career in TV and film, beginning with Fresh Prince of Bel Air and a role in director Ron Howardâ™ Oscar-nomiated Apollo 13.
Howard, (whom Jim had met as a boy on the set of his motherâ™ series Happy Days) has cast Jim in no less than five feature films, including The Grinch and Frost/Nixon.
Jim has appeared on major television programs; Friends, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, This is Us, SWAT, NCIS, Parks & Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, to name but a few.
He will be seen in 2022 in episodes of the series HUNTERS, Gaslit (with Sean Penn and Julia Roberts) and American Auto. He is also recurring in a new series, The Big Door Prize.
His character voices have been heard on innumerable video games and animated shows including Marvel Avengers Assemble, Batman: Arkham Asylum,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pinky & The Brain, Phineas & Ferb, The Legend of Korra, Avatar the Last Airbender, and two reboots of Thundercats.
His viral hit, Shakespeare in Celebrity Voices brought him global attention on YouTube and lead to many opportunities, including performing on America's™ Got Talent in 2013, where his improvised celebrity impressions at Radio City Music Hall earned him a standing ovation.
He has performed his live one-man show, JIMPRESSIONS in Hollywood, Australia and the U.K.
Currently, Jim provides the voice of iconic Colonel Harland Sanders for the KF brand on radio, web and television ads.
