Who is Troy Gentile? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Troy Francis Farshi

Age: 30 Years, 30 Year Old Males

Family:

father: Albert Farshi

mother: Debbie Gentile

Actors American Men

Height: 5'10" (178 cm), 5'10" Males

Ancestry: Iranian American, Italian American

City: Boca Raton, Florida

U.S. State: Florida

More Facts

awards: Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor

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Career

Adopting his mother’s maiden name as his professional name, Troy Gentile debuted on the big screen in Richard Linklater’s 2005 sports comedy film ‘Bad News Bears’. Also starring Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, and Marcia Gay Harden, the film revolves around a grizzled little league coach who attempts to lead his below-average team of misfits to championship glory. The film was a reboot of the 1976 sports film, ‘The Bad News Bears,’ starring Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal. Gentile portrayed Matthew Hooper, one of the characters introduced in the 2005 film. Despite being overweight and a wheelchair user, Hooper loves to play baseball. Unlike the original, which received widespread critical acclaim, the 2005 revival garnered mixed reviews and was a box-office failure. However, the film won the 2005 Young Artist Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Feature Film.

Gentile’s next appearance was in a 2005 episode of CBS’ ‘The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson’, portraying a younger version of the Scottish-American host. A year later, he guest-starred in the second season premiere of the Disney Channel sitcom ‘The Suite Life of Zack & Cody’.

In 2006, he starred in the comedy-drama sports film ‘Nacho Libre’, playing the young Nacho, while the older version was portrayed by Jack Black. This was the first time that Gentile played a young Jack Black. He would do it again in the musical fantasy comedy film ‘Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny’, which was also released in 2006.

In 2007, he was cast as a fighting boy in the comedy-drama romance film ‘I Could Never Be Your Woman. Written and directed by Amy Heckerling, the film tells the story of a mother who develops romantic feelings for a younger man while her daughter experiences those same feelings for the first time. Besides Gentile, the film also stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, and Saoirse Ronan. That year, he also appeared in the short film ‘Order Up’, romantic comedy ‘Good Luck Chuck’, TV movie ‘Fugly’, and thriller film ‘9 Lives of Mara’.

In 2008, he worked in the Owen Wilson-starrer ‘Drillbit Taylor’. He also had an uncredited role in the action comedy ‘Pineapple Express’. Gentile guest-starred in a 2008 episode of HBO’s comedy-drama series ‘Entourage’ and a 2010 episode of TNT’s medical drama series ‘Hawthorne’. In the TV movie ‘Zip’ (2008), he played a character named Nelson.

The 2009 family comedy ‘Hotel for Dogs’ is his most recent film. Gentile was cast as Mark, a good-natured young boy who resides close to the two central characters and helps them in taking care of the dogs at the hotel. In 2011, he appeared in the short film ‘Pig Lady’. In recent years, he has played small roles in TV shows like ‘The Middle’, ‘American Dad’, and ‘Those Who Can’t’.

Inspired by his own family and childhood in the 1980s, Adam F Goldberg created the period sitcom ‘The Goldbergs’ (2013-present). A young version of Goldberg himself (Sean Giambrone) serves as the narrator and lead character of the series. Gentile plays the middle child of the family, Barry Goldberg. Barry is highly overconfident and can be considered dim-witted. He is exceptionally good at ice hockey and wrestling but terrible at everything else. Despite this, he has an almost unshakable belief in himself. By season six, he is engaged and has decided to pursue a career as a doctor.

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Family & Personal Life

Born on October 27, 1993, in Boca Raton, Florida, USA, Troy Gentile is the son of Debra (née Gentile) and Albert Farshi. His father is an Iranian immigrant while his mother is a New York native of Italian descent. At the age of four, Gentile left Florida with his family and came to live in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at a community college. It was then that he landed the role of Barry Goldberg in ‘The Goldbergs’.

As someone who has virtually grown up in front of the camera, Gentile’s radical weight loss since his childhood has not gone unnoticed. Some people have speculated that he must have undergone some difficult procedure. However, he has not revealed any information on the matter as of yet.

Troy Gentile Biography