Neil Flynn
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| Neil Flynn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Neil Richard Flynn November 13, 1960 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor/Comedian |
| Years active | 1989–present |
Neil Richard Flynn (born November 13, 1960) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as Janitor in the medical sitcom Scrubs. He also currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Flynn was born in the south side of Chicago, Illinois and is of Irish heritage[1] and moved to Waukegan, Illinois at an early age. As a student at Waukegan East High School in 1978, he and partner Mike Shklair won an Illinois Individual Events state championship for “Humorous Duet Acting.” After graduating from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, in 1982, Flynn returned to Chicago to pursue an acting career. Flynn participated on the nationally renowned Bradley University Speech Team and was a Sigma Nu there as well.
[edit] Career
During his time in Chicago, he acted with the renowned Goodman and Steppenwolf Theaters. Flynn was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award (Actor in a Principal Role, for The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, 1986). He also performed at the Improv Olympic and the Second City Comedy Troupe.
Flynn originally auditioned for the role of Dr. Cox but was given the role of Janitor instead. In Scrubs, Flynn was originally only cast for the first episode ("My First Day") but was so popular he became a regular, playing a character known only as Janitor who devotes much of his energies to menacing young Dr. John "J.D." Dorian. His most memorable moment filming Scrubs was meeting Dick Van Dyke.[2] Although his role on Scrubs has been Flynn's most visible to date, he has had small roles in a variety of different TV shows and movies, including Seinfeld, That '70s Show, Baby's Day Out, CSI, My Boys, and Smallville. He also played a Chicago Transit Authority police officer in The Fugitive. This role was used in a subplot of the Scrubs episode ("My Friend the Doctor") (Season 3, Episode 8) when J.D. (Zach Braff) notices Flynn's character in the film, and believes that Flynn's Janitor character is the actor in the film. In 2008, he worked with Harrison Ford again, playing a suspicious law enforcement official as FBI agent Smith in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Flynn appears to play many similar bit part roles, mostly as Police, bouncers and other law enforcement officers, with as many as 10 appearances as one of these in a film or TV show (Doogie Howser, M.D., The Fugitive, Baby's Day Out, Chain Reaction, Seinfeld, Home Alone 3, The Awful Truth (TV series), That '70s Show, Scrubs (becomes Hospital Security in 1 episode), Anchorman (deleted scenes only) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).
Flynn had a minor role in Mean Girls as the father of Lindsay Lohan's character. He then played the part of an anonymous police officer in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy; this scene was cut out of the final version of the film, though it can be viewed in the straight to DVD spin-off film Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, and in the deleted scenes of the Anchorman DVD. He also had a minor role in Major League as a longshoreman. Flynn had a role on Phil Hendrie's animated pilot that wasn't picked up by FOX. He was also the first baseman in the movie Rookie of the Year.[3]
Flynn once appeared in an episode of The Drew Carey Show, playing the fake husband of future Scrubs co-star Christa Miller. He also appeared on Seinfeld, playing a police officer. In addition to his TV and movie credits, Flynn has done voice acting for the animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, though he is better known for voicing the popular characters Skidd McMarx and the Plumber in the first three Ratchet & Clank games for the PlayStation 2 . He also was the voice of a fashion policeman in Kim Possible.
In the episode of Scrubs ("My Choosiest Choice of All") Neil also played a security guard. Flynn has also played the role of a janitor in an episode of Clone High, as well as Julius Caesar and Moses ("Litter Kills: Litterally").
Frequently, Flynn can be seen at the iO WEST performing in Beer, Shark, Mice. Voted Chicago Improv Festival's Ensemble of the Year and considered one of the best long-form improvisational groups in the country, the cast, which includes Mike Coleman, Pat Finn, Neil Flynn, Peter Hulne and David Koechner, boasts an impressive list of credits, both collectively and individually (Scrubs, Anchorman, Seinfeld, American Body Shop, How High, My Boys, Ed, Mean Girls, Thank You for Smoking, SNL, among many others).
Neil filmed a pilot called The Middle. In case it wasn't picked up he signed a second position one-year deal for Scrubs season nine. The Middle was picked up, although he did guest star in the season 9 premiere of Scrubs.
Flynn also stands out in most of his film scenes because of his height at 6 ft 5½ in (1.97 m).
[edit] Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1989 | Doogie Howser, M.D. | Cop assisting Doogie | |
| Major League | Longshoreman | ||
| 1993 | Rookie of the Year | Chicago Cubs first basemen, Stan Okie | |
| 1993 | The Fugitive | Transit cop | |
| 1994 | 'Baby's Day Out | Cop in the park | |
| 1996 | Chain Reaction | Cop on the observatory's roof | |
| 1997 | Home Alone 3 | cop responding to Alex Pruit's 9-1-1 call | |
| 2000 | The Right Temptation | as Max | |
| 2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | XR (voice) | |
| 2002 | It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie | Himself | |
| 2004 | Anchorman | a cop in a deleted scene | |
| 2004 | Mean Girls | Chip Heron | |
| 2006 | Hoot | Mr. Eberhart | |
| 2007 | Sex and Death 101 | Zack | |
| 2008 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Paul | |
[edit] Television Roles
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year(s) | Show | Role | Notes/Episode |
| 1989 | Tour Of Duty | as a US Navy SEAL | episode 'Sealed With A Kiss' |
| 1997 | Seinfeld | as a Cop (the one Elaine complains to about her co-worker) | |
| 1998 | The Drew Carey Show | as Scott Honey in Kate's Family | |
| 1999 | That '70s Show (The Velvet Rope) | as a bouncer, who won't let Eric into a nightclub | episode The Velvet Rope |
| 2001-2009 | Scrubs | as Janitor (Scrubs) | |
| 2002 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | as a Police Officer Kevin Yarnell | episode "Identity Crisis." |
| 2002-03 | Clone High (2002–2003) | as various characters | (voice only) |
| 2003-04 | Smallville | as Mr. Dinsmore | |
| 2006 | Joey | as Father O'Neil | episode Joey and The Holding Hands |
| 2006-07 | Re-Animated | as a member of the board of directors | |
| 2007 | The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show | as the 500th hitchhiker | |
| 2007 | Kim Possible | as Tweed | voice only |
| 2009 | The Middle | as Mike Heck | |
