B. J. Novak
B. J. Novak | |
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Born | Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak |
Occupation(s) | Actor Comedian Screenwriter Director |
Years active | 2001 – present |
Benjamin Joseph Manaly “B. J.” Novak (born July 31, 1979) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for being a writer and co-executive producer for and playing the role of Ryan Howard on the US version of The Office. He is also known to international audiences for appearing in the Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds.
Early life
Novak was born and raised in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Linda and William Novak.[1][2] Novak's father co-edited The Big Book of Jewish Humor and has ghostwritten memoirs for Nancy Reagan, Lee Iacocca, and others; Novak's parents also established a Jewish matchmaking service.[3][4] Novak has two younger brothers, Jesse and Lev.[5] He attended Newton South High School with future Office costar John Krasinski,[6] and they graduated in 1997.[6] Novak attended Harvard University, where he worked for the Harvard Lampoon and majored in History & Literature. In addition to the Lampoon, he occasionally staged and performed in a variety show called The B.J. Show with fellow Harvard student B. J. Averell.[6] Novak wrote his honors thesis on the films of Shakespeare's Hamlet.[7]
Career
Novak graduated from Harvard in 2001. Afterward he moved to Los Angeles and began working in clubs as a comedian. His first live stand-up performance took place on October 10, 2001 at the Hollywood Youth Hostel. He was named one of Variety's "Ten Comedians To Watch" in 2003.[5]
Novak was a writer for the short-lived The WB sitcom Raising Dad.[6] He has also performed on Comedy Central's Premium Blend and on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[5]
Novak's television acting career began on MTV's Punk'd. He was the lead accomplice to Ashton Kutcher on the show's second season in 2003, and has played pranks on Hilary Duff, Usher, and Mýa.
After hearing Novak's opening joke at a comedy club, executive producer Greg Daniels immediately decided to include Novak in his upcoming project: a U.S. version of the hit British series The Office. Novak was cast as Ryan Howard, becoming the first cast member.[6] He is also a writer and co-executive producer for the series. In a June 2009 interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Novak spoke about sharing the success of The Office with his Newton South High School classmate John Krasinski:[8]
Sometimes when this feels too good to be true, I think that if this were all a dream, that would be what should have tipped me off. I'd wake up saying, 'I was in this incredible TV show and it was a big hit and the star was John Krasinski from high school. Isn't that weird?'
In addition to his television credits, Novak has appeared in the films Unaccompanied Minors, Reign Over Me, Knocked Up and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.[9]
Filmography
As actor
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Punk'd | Field Agent | TV series |
2005-present | The Office | Ryan Howard | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2006, 2007) Nominated: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2008) Nominated: Prism Award for Best performance in a Comedy Series (2009) |
2006 | Unaccompanied Minors | Flight Attendant | |
2007 | Reign Over Me | Mr. Fallon | |
Knocked Up | Unnamed Doctor | ||
2009 | Inglourious Basterds | Pfc. Smithson Utivich | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
As writer
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2001-2002 | Raising Dad | 2 episodes |
2005-present | The Office | 11 episodes:
Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy Series (2006) |
As director
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2009 | The Office - Blackmail webisode series | 4 episodes |
2009 | The Office - Scott's Tots | aired 12/03/09 |
Awards and nominations
Year | Group | Award | Won | Film/Television series |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Writers Guild of America Awards | New Series | No | The Office |
Episodic Comedy - for episode Diversity Day | No | |||
Comedy Series | No | |||
2006 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series[10] | Yes | |
Writers Guild of America Awards | Comedy Series | Yes | ||
Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | Yes | ||
2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series[11] | Yes | |
Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | No | ||
Writers Guild of America Awards | Episodic Comedy - for episode Local Ad | No | ||
Comedy Series | No | |||
2008 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | No | |
Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | No | ||
Writers Guild of America Awards | Comedy Series | No | ||
2009 | Prism Awards | Performance in a Comedy Series | No |
References
- ^ Courtney Hollands (20 December 2007). "Molly Goodson has stars in her eyes - and on her blog". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
- ^ Berman, Alyssa R. (2001-05-14). "BJ's Bring a Full House to Sanders". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Getlin, John (1992-09-17). "Ghost to the Stars - William Novak Is the Invisible Writer Behind Memoirs by Lee Iacocca, Nancy Reagan and--Soon--Magic Johnson". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
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(help) - ^ Uriel Heilman (19 November 2006). "Better than Pork, Isn't it? Jewish Joke Book turns 25". JTA. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ a b c "B.J. Novak: Videos, Jokes, Tour Dates, Biography and more". Jokes.com. ComedyCentral. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ a b c d e Christopher Muther (6 December 2005). "Class reunion". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
- ^ B.J. Novak - Biography
- ^ B.J. Novak gives at 'The Office' and out of it
- ^ B.J. Novak Takes 'Office' Leave
- ^ Screen Actors Guild Honors Outstanding Film and Television Performances..., a January 2007 press release from the SAG Awards website
- ^ 'Sopranos,' 'The Office' Win SAG Ensemble Awards, a January 2008 TVWeek article
External links
External videos | |
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Joey Fatone interviews Novak at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2008) |
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Template:Tv.com person
- B. J. Novak biography at the official NBC website
- "The Office's BJ Novak: Uncut", an NPR interview from May 2008
- 1979 births
- Actors from Massachusetts
- American comedy writers
- American television actors
- American television writers
- Harvard Lampoon members
- Harvard University alumni
- Living people
- The Office (U.S. TV series)
- People from Newton, Massachusetts
- Writers Guild of America Award winners
- Jewish actors
- Jewish comedians
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners