---
name: "Rene Kirby"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/rene-kirby"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "27 February 1955"
died: "11 July 2025"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 66
updated: "2026-09-16T23:47:05.661238+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Rene Kirby

Actor. Born 27 February 1955 in Burlington, Vermont, USA. Died 11 July 2025.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 27 February 1955, Burlington, Vermont, USA
- **Died:** 11 July 2025
- **Active:** 2001–2003

## Biography

Rene Kirby (27 February 1955 – 11 July 2025) was an American actor. He was born in Burlington, Vermont, and appeared in a small number of film and television roles between 2001 and 2005.

Kirby was best known for playing Walt in the Farrelly brothers' film *Shallow Hal* (2001). He also appeared as Phil Rupp in *Stuck on You* (2003) and as Hoppy in an episode of the television series *Carnivàle* (2005). Like his character in *Shallow Hal*, Kirby was born with spina bifida. He was scouted by Peter Farrelly in Vermont and collaborated with the Farrelly brothers on two films.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, variety.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Carnivàle* (2003), Fi1m 76, as Hoppy — [page](https://film.one/tv/carnivale.md)
- *Shallow Hal* (2001), Fi1m 55, as Walt — [page](https://film.one/film/shallow-hal.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/rene-kirby