| B.J. Novak |
Novak in June 2007 |
| Born |
Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak
July 31, 1979 (1979-07-31) (age 29)
Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation |
Actor, Comedian, Screenwriter |
| Years active |
1990s – present |
Benjamin Joseph Manaly “B.J.” Novak (born July 31, 1979) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and director. He has appeared in films such as Knocked Up and Inglourious Basterds, but is most widely known for playing Ryan Howard on the NBC sitcom The Office. He is also a writer and co-executive producer for the Emmy Award-winning show.
Early life
Novak's father William Novak is a ghostwriter and the co-editor of The Big Book of Jewish Humor.1 Novak has two younger brothers, Jesse and Lev. Jesse is an electronic music composer and former member of the sketch comedy group Olde English.2
Novak grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, as did his future The Office co-star John Krasinski.3 The two both attended Newton South High School,4 and played Little League baseball together. Krasinski has said that Novak was a "home run king of Little League." While in high school, Novak wrote and cast a satirical play for the senior show, and cast Krasinski as the lead – his first role since sixth grade. Krasinski credits this event for sparking his interest in acting. After graduating from high school in 1997, the two only saw each other incidentally.4
Novak applied to Harvard University with the express intention of writing for the Harvard Lampoon, and said so in his application essay. After getting accepted, he worked for the magazine and majored in English and Spanish 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.4 Novak wrote his honors thesis on the films of Shakespeare's Hamlet.5
Career
After graduating from Harvard in 2001, Novak 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 soon became a fixture at Los Angeles comedy clubs such as The Improv, and was named one of Variety's "Ten Comedians To Watch" in 2003.2
Novak was a writer for the short-lived The WB sitcom Raising Dad.4 He has also performed on Comedy Central's Premium Blend and on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.2
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 was most widely known for his 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.4 He is also a writer and co-executive producer for the series. Novak was the first writer to pen the line "that's what she said," which has become a popular and recurring joke throughout the series.6 In a June 2009 interview with The Philadelphia Enquirer, Novak spoke about sharing the success of The Office with his Newton South High School classmate John Krasinski:7
| “ |
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.8
Filmography
As actor
As writer
| Year |
Title |
Notes |
| 2001-2002 |
Raising Dad |
2 episodes |
| 2005-present |
The Office |
10 episodes:
- Diversity Day (March 29, 2005)
- Sexual Harassment (September 27, 2005)
- The Fire (October 11, 2005)
- Boys and Girls (February 2, 2006)
- Initiation (October 19, 2006)
- Safety Training (April 12, 2007)
- Local Ad (October 25, 2007)
- Chair Model (April 17, 2008)
- Prince Family Paper (January 22, 2009)
- Dream Team (April 9, 2009)
Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy Series (2006)
Nominated: Writers Guild of America Award for a Comedy Series (2005, 2007, 2008)
Nominated: Writers Guild of America Award for a New Series (2005)
Nominated: Writers Guild of America Award for an Episodic Comedy (2005, 2007)
|
As director
| Year |
Title |
Notes |
| 2009 |
The Office - Blackmail webisode series |
4 episodes |
Awards and nominations
References
External links
![B.O. Film Noir [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VPVE83CML._SL160_.jpg)
![Weight Loss, Parts 1 and 2 [HD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51e1E0T4C0L._SL160_.jpg)
 - Butler University 11/6&videoType=YouTube&summary=BJ Novak does stand up...reciting his childrens book Wikipedia Brown.&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/56lM634XkHE&fs=1&hl=en&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://1.gvt0.com/vi/56lM634XkHE/default.jpg&celebrity=B.J. Novak)
 - Butler University 11/6/08&videoType=YouTube&summary=One of three videos of BJ Novaks stand up tour kick off at Butler University. Here he covers Google, On Star, Triple Threats, Superstars, Snoop ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/eIkvymlH2AY&fs=1&hl=en&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://2.gvt0.com/vi/eIkvymlH2AY/default.jpg&celebrity=B.J. Novak)
 calls BJ Novak (Ryan) at Ohio State.&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/TVch8uHdJAM&fs=1&hl=en&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://3.gvt0.com/vi/TVch8uHdJAM/default.jpg&celebrity=B.J. Novak)
![Clip BJ Novak performing at Northeastern University on 1/23/08 reads us his new childrens story](/viewVideo.html?title=BJ Novak "Wikipedia Brown"&videoType=YouTube&summary=BJ Novak performing at Northeastern University on 1/23/08 reads us his new childrens story "Wikipedia Brown"&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/tcS_MrnxIcE&fs=1&hl=en&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://1.gvt0.com/vi/tcS_MrnxIcE/default.jpg&celebrity=B.J. Novak)
