Jason Francesco Schwartzman was born in Los Angeles on June 26, 1980, the son of actress Talia Shire (Coppola) and film producer Jack Schwartzman. His paternal grandparents were Polish Jews, while his mother is an Italian-American Catholic. His younger brother, Robert Schwartzman, is also an actor and musician. His paternal half-siblings are Stephanie and cinematographer John Schwartzman. As a member of the Coppola family, many of his relatives are also involved in the entertainment industry—he is the nephew of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and opera conductor Anton Coppola; the cousin of actor Nicolas Cage and filmmakers Sofia Coppola, Roman Coppola, and Christopher Coppola; and the grandson of Coppola family matriarch Italia Coppola (Pennino) and composer Carmine Coppola. He attended Windward School in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Schwartzman’s acting career began in 1998, at which point he was 17 years old, when he starred in Wes Anderson’s Rushmore. Shortly after in 2000, Jason had a guest role in the short-lived series Freaks and Geeks. In 2001, he starred in CQ, a film by his cousin Roman Coppola. In 2002, he starred in the comedy film Slackers, and in 2003 headlined the drama Spun. In 2004, he starred in I Heart Huckabees, and Shopgirl in 2005. He also appeared in various television shows, such as Cracking Up. In 2006, he starred in Marie Antoinette under the direction of his cousin, Sofia Coppola, in which he appeared as King Louis XVI.
Schwartzman made a cameo appearance as Ringo Starr in the biopic spoof Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. In 2009, he appeared as C-list television star Mark in Funny People. He also voiced Ash Fox in Wes Anderson’s animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox, which he described as “the best movie [he’s] ever been a part of”. He starred in the HBO show Bored to Death, in which he played a writer who moonlights as a private detective and puts himself up for hire on Craigslist. In 2009, he starred in The Marc Pease Experience. In 2010, he played Gideon Graves in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the movie adaptation of the comics by Bryan Lee O’Malley.
In 2011, Schwartzman made a cameo appearance as Vincent van Gogh in the Beastie Boys short film Fight for Your Right Revisited. In 2013, he made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of the television show Key & Peele. In 2014, he played himself in the Tim & Eric’s Bedtime Stories episode “The Endorsement”. In 2020, he began starring as Italian crime boss Josto Fadda in the fourth season of the FX anthology series Fargo.
Prior to acting, Schwartzman was the drummer and a songwriter for the band Phantom Planet. He appeared in the music video for the rock remix of “It’s All About the Benjamins” by Puff Daddy, and contributed to Ben Lee’s 2005 album Awake Is the New Sleep. In 2007, he created the indie rock solo act Coconut Records. The first album, entitled Nighttiming, was produced by Michael Einziger and features a cover photo from Roman Coppola. The album was first released on iTunes on March 20, 2007. It had musical contributions by members of Incubus, as well as appearances by actresses Zooey Deschanel and Kirsten Dunst and Schwartzman’s brother Robert. His second album, Davy, was released on iTunes on January 20, 2009. Schwartzman performed the musical score for Funny People and the theme song for Bored to Death. He has also written tracks for Smallville and Slackers. Schwartzman also played the drums on Phoenix’s rendition of The Beach Boys’ song “Alone on Christmas Day” in 2015. The song was featured in Bill Murray’s Netflix special, A Very Murray Christmas.
Schwartzman’s work has also been featured in many films and television programs. In 2009, he composed the theme song to his HBO series Bored to Death, in which he also starred, under his Coconut Records title. That same year, he also contributed to the film score to the film Funny People with composer Michael Andrews. The original soundtrack is downloadable, as well as available in vinyl LP, on Coconut Records’ official Cinder Block store. His song, “Microphone” was featured in the 2012 coming of age comedy, LOL.
Schwartzman married his long-time girlfriend, art and design director Brady Cunningham, at their home in the San Fernando Valley on July 11, 2009. Cunningham is the co-owner of TENOVERSIX in Los Angeles.
In 2009, he was named one of the “Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America” by GQ magazine. In 2011, he narrated a video called What to Eat: The Environmental Impacts of Our Food for Farm Sanctuary.