The son of Elmer Balaban. Balaban is most known for his appearan- ces in the Christopher Guest comedies Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006) and in the Wes Anderson films MoonriseKingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Isle of Dogs (2018). Balaban's other film roles include the drama Midnight Cowboy (1969); the science fiction films Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Altered States (1980), 2010 (1984), the comedy Deconstructing Harry (1997), and the historical dra- ma Capote (2005). Balaban has directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films. Among his early roles ni the 1970s were those of Grady Garrett on an episode of Room 222, Orr in Catch-22, Elliot the Organizer in The Strawberry Statement, and the interpreter David Laughlin in the 1977Steven Spielberg science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In 1979 he received a Tony Award nomination for his role in The Inspector General. During the 1980s he appeared in films including Ken Russell's Altered States (1980) and the 1984 2001: A Space Odyssey sequel 2010 (as Dr Chandra, the creator of HAL 9000). He also directed the Randy Quaid horror comedy film Parents, and the Armin Mueller-Stahl drama film The Last Good Time (1994). In 2021, Balaban pro- vided the voice ofthe narrator in "The Simpsons" episode"The Dad-Feelings Limited".