Rise to Fame
He spent years as the reliable character actor in other people's movies before Big Night in 1996 changed the math. Co-writing, co-directing, and starring in the film earned him the Sundance Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and made the case that he was something more than a supporting player. The Emmy for playing Walter Winchell in 1999 and the Golden Globe for Conspiracy confirmed it. He'd built a career by making everyone else's scenes better. Big Night was the first time he refused to play background.
In the Spotlight
Searching for Italy premiered on CNN in 2021, averaged 2.1 million viewers per episode, and won three Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series. CNN canceled it anyway in their 2022 cost-cutting purge. He relocated to National Geographic. Around that time he revealed the cancer he'd hidden for three years: a 3-centimeter tumor at the base of his tongue, treated with radiation and chemo that cost him 35 pounds and permanently burned out his thyroid. The industry moved on. He kept eating.
Side Notes
He met his second wife Felicity Blunt at the 2006 premiere of The Devil Wears Prada. She showed up to support her sister Emily, who was in the film. Their 2012 wedding featured Steve Buscemi as best man, Meryl Streep in the guest list, and a six-tier structure made of wheels of cheese in place of a cake. He's also said that after Prada grossed $326 million worldwide, he couldn't get work. The industry casts him perfectly and rewards him erratically.