Zahn is originally from either Marshall, Minnesota and is the son of the Lutheran pastor. When attending Harvard University, his number one acting role was inside "Biloxi Blues"; the Minnesota production; however his number one large break come inside 1994, when he was found by Ben Stiller, who cast him around his picture, Reality Bites.

Zahn appeared around many films in a mid-1990s, which gained him plenty respect that he was given the leading role in the critically-acclaimed film Happy, Texas (1999). A bit of of Zahn's virtually all popular flick use been his virtually all recent ones, including National Security (2003) in which he starred paired Martin Lawrence, and Daddy Day Care (2003). Zahn received his strongest critical acclaim for his performance in Riding In Cars With Boys, in which he co-starred by having Drew Barrymore as her dim-witted, drug addicted fellow. Each Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper stated that the performance was meriting of an Oscar nomination.[http://www.ebertandroeper.tv]

Off a screen, Zahn is an inspiring fly fisherman, and he owns the domestic inside american New Jersey. Zahn is successfully married to Robyn Peterman, an actress whom he met in the road production of Bye Bye Birdie. Them have a boy, Henry James Zahn, natural inside 2000.