Fisher Stevens

Stephen Fisher (born November 27, 1963), known professionally as Fisher Stevens, is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben Jabituya/Jahveri in Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2 (1988). He is also a documentary filmmaker, having won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature as one of the producers of The Cove (2009). He also directed the documentaries Crazy Love (2007) and Before the Flood (2016).

Stevens is known for his roles in films such as Reversal of Fortune (1990), Bob Roberts (1992), Hackers (1995), Anything Else (2003), and Hail, Caesar! (2016). He has acted in the Wes Anderson films The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018), The French Dispatch (2021), and Asteroid City (2023).

In television he portrayed Chuck Fishman in the CBS series Early Edition (1996–2000), Marvin Gerard on NBC's The Blacklist (2015–2022), Gabriel Kovac in CBS's The Good Fight (2017–2020), and Hugo Baker in the HBO drama series Succession (2019–2023).

Early life

Stevens was born in Chicago, the son of Jewish parents Sally and Norman Fisher. Stevens grew up in the Chicago area, living in Hyde Park, Highland Park, and Evanston and describes himself as a "white Jewish kid from Chicago".

Career

As an actor, Stevens is known for his roles as Chuck Fishman on Early Edition, Seamus O'Neill on Key West, Eugene "The Plague" Belford in Hackers, Iggy Koopa in Super Mario Bros., Hawk Ganz in The Flamingo Kid, and his role as the Indian robotics scientist Ben Jabituya/Jahveri in Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2, respectively.

Stevens has a Broadway and Off-Broadway career spanning nearly three decades. In 1988, he and John Leguizamo appeared in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream where he played Demetrius.

In June 2010, Stevens made his major theatrical directing debut with John Leguizamo's one-man show, Ghetto Klown (originally called Klass Klown), which eventually ran on Broadway from March to July 2011. On July 13, 2012, PBS debuted Tales From a Ghetto Klown, a documentary about the development of the show which prominently features Stevens.

In 2010, Stevens and director Louie Psihoyos won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards for co-producing The Cove.

He is a signatory of the Film Workers for Palestine boycott pledge that was published in September 2025.

Personal life Stevens dated actress Michelle Pfeiffer from 1989 until 1992. Their relationship ended when Stevens, 28, was caught cheating with aspiring actress and high school senior Jamie Golightly, 17. Stevens later dated longtime filmmaking partner and producer Alexis Bloom. The couple married in 2017 in a private ceremony. They have two children.

Stevens is a survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Producer Year Title Notes 2000 Sam the Man 2001 The Château Piñero 2002 Swimfan 2003 Uptown Girls 2004 Yes 2005 Slow Burn 2006 A Prairie Home Companion Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos Wedding Daze 2007 Crazy Love Meet Bill Feast of Love Awake 2008 The Midnight Meat Train 2009 The Grean Teem Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach Tenderness The CoveAcademy Award for Best Documentary 2011 Blank City Hollywood Renegade Bad Trip Mission Blue 2012 Beware of Mr. Baker 2015 Racing Extinction 2016 Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang Before the Flood 2020 Tiger King 2023Beckham We Are Guardians

Writer Sam the Man (2000, story) The Grean Teem (2009, story)

Narrator Secondhand Souls: A Novel by Christopher Moore A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore The Highest Tide: A Novel by Jim Lynch

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref. Academy Award Best Documentary Feature The Cove Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Documentary Series American Masters Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking Racing Extinction Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds Outstanding Directing for a Documentary Program Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series Tiger King Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series Beckham Outstanding Directing for a Documentary Program Beckham: What Makes David Run Cannes Film Festival Golden Eye Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award Before the Flood Saturn Award Best Guest-Starring Performance in a Network or Cable Television Series The Blacklist 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series Succession 2024