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Rainn Wilson

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Rainn Wilson
Wilson at the Heroes for Autism event, Hollywood, California, 2010
Born
Rainn Dietrich Wilson

(1966-01-20) January 20, 1966 (age 58)[1]
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian, director
Years active1997–present
SpouseHoliday Reinhorn (1995–present)

Rainn Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966)[2] is an American actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his role as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office. He has also directed two episodes of The Office: the sixth season's "The Cover-Up" and the seventh season's "Classy Christmas".

Early life

Wilson was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of Shay Cooper, a yoga teacher and actress, and Robert G. Wilson, a novel writer, artist, and business consultant who wrote the science fiction novel 'Tentacles of Dawn'. Rainn showed the book and read from it on Jimmy Kimmel Live March 22nd, 2011. Wilson attended Central Middle School and Shorecrest High School in Shoreline, Washington, where he played the clarinet and bassoon in the band.[3] He transferred to and graduated from New Trier High School after his family moved to Wilmette, Illinois to serve at the Bahá'í National Center.[4] Wilson has a theatre background from Tufts University and the University of Washington, and has taught acting classes. He holds an MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and was a member of The Acting Company.[5] While acting in theatrical productions in New York, he drove a moving van to make ends meet.[6]

Career

In addition to his starring role on The Office, Wilson has appeared as the eccentric Arthur Martin—the intern at Fisher & Diaz Funeral Home—on HBO's Six Feet Under. He has also appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI, NUMB3RS, and Entourage, in the latter portraying a sleazy entertainment journalist based on Harry Knowles[7] of Ain't It Cool News. Wilson guest-starred as a murderous baseball fan in an episode of Monk entitled "Mr. Monk Goes to the Ballgame". He appeared in the "Coyote Piper" episode of Charmed as an alchemist named Kierkan. On February 24, 2007, Wilson hosted Saturday Night Live, becoming the second cast member from The Office to host (after Steve Carell). During the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, Wilson appeared in ads for the 2007 United States women's national soccer team as public relations manager "Jim Mike." Wilson has made a guest appearance in two episodes of the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim-bloc series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job. Wilson has also appeared on Reno 911.

His film credits include Almost Famous, America's Sweethearts, BAADASSSSS!, Galaxy Quest, House of 1000 Corpses, Sahara, The Last Mimzy, Juno (in which he played convenience store clerk Rollo), The Rocker, and My Super Ex-Girlfriend.

Wilson at the Dan in Real Life premiere, October 2007

Wilson starred in the Fox Atomic comedy The Rocker, released on August 20, 2008.[8] His 2009 films include Bonzai Shadowhands, which he co-wrote and co-produced;[6] Renaissance Men, which he wrote and is co-producing;[9] the DreamWorks Animation film Monsters vs. Aliens, for which he voiced the villainous alien overlord Gallaxhar;[10] and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, in which he played a university professor.[11]

Wilson wrote in-character as Dwight on his NBC blog, "Schrute-Space".[12] In June 2008, Wilson confirmed that he no longer writes the blog.[13]

SoulPancake

Wilson founded the website SoulPancake. Since its launch in March 2009, it has had over 1 million visits, and has been featured on Oprah Winfrey's Satellite Radio Show.[14]

Personal life

Wilson is married to writer Holiday Reinhorn. They met in an acting class in college and married on the Kalama River in Washington. The couple have a son, Walter Mckenzie, born in 2004, and they currently reside in Agoura Hills, California. They have three pit bulls, Oona, Barry, and Pilot.[15] He and his family are members of the Bahá'í Faith.[16][17][18] A short film inspired by his character in The Office was selected and shown at the 2009 Dawn Breakers International Film Festival in Zurich.[19]

On Bill Maher's Real Time, Wilson described himself as a diverse independent, voting for Republican, Green Party, and Democratic candidates. Wilson's charitable works include fundraising for the educational organization The Mona Foundation.[20]

Wilson and his father, both art collectors, buy and sell fine art and represent contemporary artists on their website, www.rrwilsonart.com.[1]

Filmography

Films

Year Film Role Notes
1999 Galaxy Quest Lahnk
1999 The Expendables Newman
2000 Almost Famous David Felton
2001 America's Sweethearts Dave O'Hanlon
2002 Full Frontal Brian
2002 Wheelmen Barney
2003 House of 1000 Corpses Bill Hudley
BAADASSSSS! Bill Harris
2005 The Life Coach Dr. Watson Newmark
Sahara Rudi Gunn
2006 My Super Ex-Girlfriend Vaughn Haige
2007 The Last Mimzy Larry White
Juno Rollo
2008 The Rocker Robert 'Fish' Fishman
2009 Monsters vs. Aliens Gallaxhar Voice only
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Professor Colan
2011 Hesher Paul Forney
Peep World Joel
Super Frank D'Arbo / The Crimson Bolt

Television

Year Show Role Notes
1997 One Life to Live Casey Keegan Several episodes
2001 Charmed Kierkan Single episode
When Billie Beat Bobby Dennis Van De Meer Television film
Dark Angel Phil Single episode
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Guy in Supermarket Single episode
2002 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Janitor Single episode
2003 Monk Walker Browning Single episode
2003–2005 Six Feet Under Arthur Martin Thirteen episodes
2005 Numb3rs Martin Grolsch Single episode
Entourage R.J. Spencer Single episode
2007 "Saturday Night Live" Host Single Episode
2008 Tim and Eric Nite Live! The Psychic Single episode
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Bobby Stoan Three episodes
2009 Reno 911! Calvin Robin Tomlinson Single episode
2005–Present The Office Dwight Schrute Every episode
2010 Family Guy Dwight Schrute Single episode; guest voice actor

References

  1. ^ a b "RainnWilson.net".
  2. ^ "Biography". Rainn Wilson Fan Site. January 3, 2007.
  3. ^ "Rainn Wilson on Myspace". Myspace.com. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  4. ^ Estudillo, Terry (May 22, 2006). "From Shorecrest "loser" to "The Office" poser". The Seattle Times. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Chung, Wing (March 1, 2006). "The B.J. Novak Interview". Television Without Pity.
  6. ^ a b "Rainn Wilson leaves cubicle for the big screen". MSNBC.com. Accessed November 2, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Rainn Wilsons Talks About Entourage!". Entourage The Blog. July 17, 2008.
  8. ^ The Rocker
  9. ^ "Rainn Wilson and Matt Ross are 'Renaissance Men'". Cinematical. August 25, 2007.
  10. ^ "Monsters vs Aliens (2009)". Internet Movie Database. Accessed November 2, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Rainn Wilson Transforms Into a Professor = Just Jared". 2008-05-29.
  12. ^ Schrute-Space
  13. ^ "Rainn Wilson Moves From 'The Office' to the Big Screen". AOL. August 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-25. [dead link]
  14. ^ "Rainn Wilson on Oprah's Radio Show". Oprah.com. March 9, 2009.
  15. ^ "Rainn Wilson Book: Office Actor Releases Soul Pancake". thedailybeast.com. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  16. ^ Winters Keegan, Rebecca (March 8, 2007). "Rainn Wilson". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2008-08-24. Did being of the Baha'i faith help you understand the spirituality? As a Baha'i, I believe in all the spiritual beliefs: Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ "Rainn Wilson Feeds The Internet Soul Pancakes: Online Video News «". Newteevee.com. 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  18. ^ Bahai.org: "Rainn Wilson talks about Hollywood, his family and the Bahá'í Faith"
  19. ^ "First line-up". Dbiff.com. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  20. ^ MSNBC.com: "Charity's work aligns with Rainn Wilson's faith" (Q&A interview), January 3, 2008
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