Albert Brooks is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1987 comedy-drama film Broadcast News and was widely praised for his performance in the 2011 action drama film Drive. Brooks has also acted in films such as Taxi Driver (1976), Private Benjamin (1980), Unfaithfully Yours (1984), and My First Mister (2001). He has written, directed, and starred in several comedy films, such as Modern Romance (1981), Lost in America (1985), and Defending Your Life (1991). He is also the author of 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America (2011).

Broadcast News is a 1987 American romantic comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by James L. Brooks. The film concerns a virtuoso television news producer who has daily emotional breakdowns, a brilliant yet prickly reporter, and the latter's charismatic but far less seasoned rival. It also stars Robert Prosky, Lois Chiles, Joan Cusack, and Jack Nicholson.