Fred Hechinger is an American actor and director who is well known for starring in the American films The Woman in the Window (2021), News of the World (2020), and Eighth Grade (2018).
Wiki/Biography
Fred Hechinger was born on Thursday, December 2, 1999 (age 21 years; as of 2020), and he hails from Manhattan in New York City. While growing up on the Upper West Side of New York, Fred Hechinger was intrigued by storytelling from a young age. Consequently, he even became a reporter during his teenage years. His journey as an actor began after his bar mitzvah, a Jewish coming-of-age ritual for boys, when a family friend invited him to UCB’s improv show named ‘ASSSSCAT.’ Amused by improv, Fred spent the next night sitting on the floor of the basement theater in Chelsea, watching the show. While sharing his experience in an interview, he said,
I sat on the side of the stage, I watched and I said, ‘That’s the coolest thing ever. I want to do what they’re doing,”
Thereafter, he became an active member of UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade), an improvisational and sketch comedy group.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Hair Color: Light Golden Brown
Eye Color: Lavender Gray
Family & Ethnicity
Fred was born in a Jewish family . He is named after his grandfather, Fred M. Hechinger, the popular German-born education editor for The New York Times who also served on its editorial board.
Fred M. Hechinger
His father’s name is Paul D. Hechinger. He is the maternal nephew of the popular film critic Leah Rozen.
Career
In January 2018, Fred Hechinger starred in the theatrical production ‘Now That We’re Men,’ which centers around the close friendships of five high school boys. The play features their unfiltered stories of sex, power, consent, porn, manning up, and getting girls or maybe boys, while they figure out what it means to be a man. In the play, Fred played the role of Nick, a cinephile who is addicted to fetish porn.
Fred Hechinger in Now That We’re Men (2018)
Fred Hechinger made his film debut with the 2018 American comedy-drama film ‘Eighth Grade’ in which he played the role of Trevor. The film depicts how technology has embedded itself in kids’ lives.
Fred Hechinger in Eighth Grade (2018)
Later, in the same year, he appeared in the films ‘Alex Strangelove’ as Josh and ‘Vox Lux’ as Aidan. In 2019, he played the role of Jamie Manning in the American-Italian drama film ‘Human Capital.’ In the film, Jamie Manning, having been drunk and not knowing what actually happened, is being blamed for an accidental death by a jeep that hit a man on his bike.
Human Capital (2018)
He gained popularity for playing the role of John Calley in the 2020 American Western drama film ‘News of the World’ in which he shared the screen with the celebrated American actor Tom Hanks. The film follows a Civil War veteran Kyle Kidd who discovers a young girl named Johanna who was stolen by Native Americans as an infant, and he accepts responsibility for taking her to her surviving family. In the film, Hechinger plays a loner who is a member of a band of militia that works to cleanse the county from outsiders. As the story unfolds, John bonds with Kyle Kidd and also helps him escape.
Fred Hechinger in News of the World (2020)
Apart from feature films, he has also starred in the short films David (2020) and Let Them All Talk (2020). He struck stardom with the 2021 American psychological thriller film ‘The Woman in the Window’ in which he played the antagonist Ethan Russell, a teenage boy next door who is a budding serial killer.
Fred Hechinger in The Woman in the Window (2021)
Facts/Trivia
- Surprisingly, Hechinger’s career came full circle when his first UCB teacher Natasha Rothwell became one of his costars in 2021 while filming for the television series “The White Lotus.”
- In a world where people are addicted to social media, Fred Hechinger isn’t active on any social media platform.
- Fred Hechinger has been outspoken about sexual assaults and believes that rapes are mostly committed by non-strangers. In a talkback after the play ‘Now That We’re Men’ (2018), he said,
People often associate rape with dark alleys, while a great deal of rape cases are not, in fact, committed by strangers. In the wake of Brock Turner and other similar cases, it is important to keep the conversation going, so that we prevent such tragedies from happening.”