One day Jesse Eisenberg was walking down the street with his cousin when a fan yelled out, “Hey, I love your work.”
The star thanked the fan, and his cousin interrupted: “How do you know he was talking to you?”
In some circles, the star of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “The Social Network” isn’t the biggest celebrity in the family. His cousin, Jamey Eisenberg, is a senior fantasy writer and on-air personality for CBS Sports with a podcast, several columns, regular radio spots and a video show on CBSSports.com.
And this isn’t one of those situations where two very different people, known for different things, just happen to be distant relatives. Jesse was the co-best man in Jamey’s wedding.
“Jamey is kind of a half cousin, half brother,” Jesse Eisenberg told TheWrap. “He had no siblings and I have an excess, so we’ve been very close.”
The rapidly growing fantasy sports world boasts over 56.8 million active players in the U.S. and Canada, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Many of them play on CBSSports.com, which is a major player in the industry.
“I guarantee you there is a significantly large group of people who would rather spend five minutes with Jamey than Jesse,” said FNTSY director of programming Nando Di Fino.
Jesse is cool about sharing fame. His sister, Hallie, was the adorable girl from the Pepsi commercials back in the 1990s. (She now attends graduate school at Seton Hall University.)
Acting and fantasy sports are both, in a way, extreme forms of playing pretend. And it’s no surprise the instinct is strong with the Eisenbergs. Jesse’s mother, Amy has a theatrical background and used to work as a clown that entertained children’s parties. Jesse and his older sister, Kerry Lea, performed onstage as kids.
“He was talented from the get-go,” Jamey said of his celebrity cousin. “You could just kind of tell he could be good at this. I don’t think anyone could foresee it leading to a career like this.”
While Jamey never caught the acting bug, Jesse is pleasantly surprised that his cousin is making a name for himself in the world of fantasy sports.
“I’m always shocked to see him ranked amongst the best sports minds in the country,” Jesse said. “He has a prescient sense of what’s happening in football, but when I ask him how he does it, he just says, ‘I’ve had some good luck.’”
Jamey has 89,100 Twitter followers, while the “Social Network” star avoids social media.
“Jamey’s great on social media because his job is so interactive — people can be pretty intense in their reactions to his advice but he’s good about responding and putting out any fires,” Jesse said.
Jamey has made a habit of throwing parties for Jesse’s film premieres, and they often turn into gatherings of big names from the fantasy sports community. Jesse says his cousin’s career has both pros and cons.
“Jamey is like the Encyclopedia Britannica of sports, so although it’s incredibly advantageous to have him as a resource, it’s kind of difficult to have a conversation with someone who has not only an opinion but a completely thorough and factually accurate account of your favorite team,” Jesse said. For example: Jamey crushed his dreams of Indiana winning the NCAA tournament.
Jamey’s mother, Jesse’s aunt, passed away a few years back but the tragedy helped bring the Eisenberg clan even closer.
“His parents have kind of taken on that role for me, as well, in terms of parental stuff, especially his mom,” Jamey said. “I’ve always been very close with him and my aunt and uncle.”
Jamey and his wife Alison have two small boys, Ronen and Ely, and say that Jesse is considered an uncle, as opposed to a cousin, because he makes such an effort to be involved in the family’s traditions.
“He’s taken on that brother role that we’ve always kind of had with each other. He’s so involved with my kids from afar,” Jamey says. “Ronen loves to FaceTime with Uncle Jesse. They’re as close as you could possibly ask for.”
Jesse is seven years younger than his fantasy guru cousin, but Jamey says Jesse is “very mature for his age, as I’m sure you’ve gathered by watching him.”
Jesse was already starring in “Get Real” on Fox before Jamey landed his first post-college job at the Boca Raton News. Jamey eventually landed a gig covering the Miami Dolphins for the Palm Beach Post, and landed at CBS in 2006.
Jesse has now starred in films including “The Squid and the Whale,” “The Education of Charlie Banks,” “30 Minutes or Less,” “Now You See Me” and “Zombieland.” “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” has grossed over $261 million domestically and $681 million worldwide.
Jamey’s not doing too badly either.
“Very often he will take a firm stance on a player that no one else sees and be right about it,” CBS senior fantasy writer Dave Richard said of his colleague. “I’ve been lucky to see Jamey become a great Fantasy Football mind since Day 1.”
Sometimes the cousins work together to earn some extra cash. Last year, Jesse was working on a film in London and lived across the street from a Ladbrokes betting shop, which is essentially a small store where you can place bets on any sport. Jamey would give Jesse his weekly NFL picks, and they would usually win.
“The only time I lost was when I went with The Saints over his pick as a kind of rebellion against an older sibling,” Jesse said. “I lost. But he didn’t gloat.”
For the record: A previous version of this story misspelled Encyclopedia Britannica.