B. J. Novak


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B. J. Novak

Born Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak
July 31, 1979 (1979-07-31) (age 29)
Newton, Massachusetts
Other name(s) B.J. Novak

Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak (born July 31, 1979[citation needed]), better known as B. J. Novak, is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and television writer. He is a leading actor as Ryan Howard on the NBC sitcom The Office, as well as a writer and co-executive producer for the Emmy Award-winning show.

Contents

Early life

Novak is the oldest of three and has two younger brothers, Jesse and Lev. Novak grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, as did John Krasinski;[1] the two played Little League together. Kransinski has said that Novak was a "home run king of Little League."[2] They also both graduated from Newton South High School.[2] While in high school, Novak wrote and cast a satirical play for the the senior show, and cast Krasinski as the lead -- his first role since sixth grade.[3] Krasinski credits this event with starting his interest in acting. After highschool, the two only saw each other incidentally.[2]

Novak applied to Harvard with the express intention of writing for the Harvard Lampoon, and said so much in his application essay.[2] After getting accepted, he did just that while majoring in English and Spanish literature. In addition to the Lampoon, he ocassionally staged a variety show called The BJ Show, which he also performed in.[2]

Career

Stand Up Comedy

In 2001, after graduating from Harvard University, Novak moved to Los Angeles, where he began working clubs as a comedian. His first live stand-up performance took place October 10, 2001 at the Hollywood Youth Hostel.[4] He soon became a fixture at popular L.A. comedy clubs such as The Improv and was named one of Variety's "Ten Comedians To Watch" in 2003.[4]

Television

He was a writer for the short-lived The WB sitcom Raising Dad[2] He has since performed on Comedy Central's Premium Blend and on Late Night with Conan O' Brien.[4]

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, and was most widely known for his pranks on Hilary Duff, Usher, and Mýa. He appeared in the films Unaccompanied Minors, Reign Over Me, and Knocked Up, and he has signed up for a role in Quentin Tarantino's upcoming film Inglourious Basterds.

After hearing Novak's opening joke at a comedy club one night,a[›] executive producer Greg Daniels immediately decided to include Novak in his then-upcoming project: a US version of the hit British series, The Office.[2] As a result Novak was cast as Ryan Howard, making him the first cast member.[2] Novak is also a writer and co-executive producer for the show.

Episodes of The Office written by Novak

  1. "Diversity Day" (March 29, 2005)
  2. "Sexual Harassment" (September 27, 2005)
  3. "The Fire" (October 11, 2005)
  4. "Boys and Girls" (February 2, 2006)
  5. "Initiation" (October 19, 2006)
  6. "Safety Training" (April 12, 2007)
  7. "Local Ad" (October 25, 2007)
  8. "The Chair Model" (April 17, 2008)

Personal life

Novak's brother, Jesse,[4] is an electronic music composer and former member of the sketch comedy group Olde English. Novak's father, William Novak, is a noted ghostwriter and the co-editor of The Big Book of Jewish Humor.[5]

Notes

^ a: The joke, according to Greg Daniels, was, "I just graduated from college, but I didn't learn much. I had a double major. Psychology and reverse psychology."[2]

References

  1. ^ Molly Goodson has stars in her eyes - and on her blog, The Boston Globe
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Muther, Christopher (December 6, 2005), "Class reunion". The Boston Globe. Retrived 2008-11-04
  3. ^ http://www.southstage.org SouthStage
  4. ^ a b c d B.J. Novak. ComedyCentral.com. Retrieved 2008-11-05
  5. ^ Heilman, Uriel. Better than Pork, Isn't it? Jewish Joke Book turns 25. Accessed: December 24, 2006 [1]

External links

External videos
Lisa Rinna interviews Novak at the 60th Annual Emmy Awards (2008)
Joey Fatone interviews Novak at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2008)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:


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