Jody Hill (born October 15, 1976) is an American

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, producer,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. In 2006, he directed, co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred in his first film '' The Foot Fist Way'', which he based on his experience as a

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

black belt and instructor. His follow-up film, ''

Observe and Report ''Observe and Report'' is a 2009 American black comedy film written and directed by Jody Hill and starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris and Ray Liotta. It follows a Mental disorder, mentally unstable vigilante Security guard, mall cop who attempts to jo ...

'', stars

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series ''Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part on ...

and was released on April 10, 2009. Hill is also co-creator, director and executive producer of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series '' Eastbound & Down'', ''

Vice Principals ''Vice Principals'' is an American dark comedy television series starring Danny McBride, Walton Goggins, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Dale Dickey, Georgia King, Sheaun McKinney, Busy Philipps and Shea Whigham. The co-creators were Danny McBride ...

'', and ''

The Righteous Gemstones ''The Righteous Gemstones'' is an American television series created by Danny McBride that premiered on August 18, 2019, on HBO. The series follows a famous and dysfunctional family of televangelists. It stars McBride, John Goodman, Edi Patterson ...

''.Eastbound & Down’s Most Cringeworthy Moments - Vulture
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Career

Hill's first film, '' The Foot Fist Way,'' was seen by

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

and Adam McKay who bought the distributing rights to the film. Subsequently, Hill was invited to the set of ''

Knocked Up ''Knocked Up'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Judd Apatow, and starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann. It follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between a sl ...

'' where he met future collaborator,

. Hill was asked to do a cameo appearance with writing partner

Ben Best Benjamin Terrell Best (September 11, 1974 – September 10, 2021) was an American actor, writer, musician, and producer. Best attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with frequent collaborator ...

in Rogen's next film, ''

Superbad ''Superbad'' is a 2007 American coming-of-age teen buddy comedy film directed by Greg Mottola and produced by Judd Apatow. The film stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as Seth and Evan, two teenagers about to graduate from high school. Before grad ...

,'' as Tut Long John Silver. Hill later cast Rogen as the leading man in his film, ''

,'' which opened at number 4 at the box office. The role of Ronnie was written specifically for Rogen. In 2009, Hill directed

The Avett Brothers The Avett Brothers are an American folk rock band from Concord, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett ( banjo, lead vocals, guitar, piano, kick-drum) and Seth Avett (guitar, lead vocals, piano, hi-hat) along with Bob ...

music video "Slight Figure of Speech," which featured Wolfe and

Andy Daly Andrew J. Daly (born April 15, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred as Forrest MacNeil on the Comedy Central series ''Review'', and had a supporting role in the HBO comedy series '' Eastbound & Down'' as Terrence Cutler. H ...

. The following year he directed the parody music video ''Swagger Wagon'' as part of ad agency

Saatchi & Saatchi Saatchi & Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency gr ...

's campaign for the Sienna SE minivan from

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

. In 2009, Hill co-created the HBO show '' Eastbound & Down'', on which he acted as Executive Producer and directed a total of 16 episodes. The show finished its fourth and last season in 2013. Hill's next film, ''L.A.P.I.,'' was announced as an action comedy about a hardboiled private investigator, played by friend and frequent collaborator

Danny McBride Daniel Richard McBride (born December 29, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He starred in the HBO television series ''Eastbound & Down'', '' Vice Principals'', and ''The Righteous Gemstones'', also co-creating th ...

. It is the first film Hill would direct but not write. It is also the first film produced by Hill's, McBride's and

David Gordon Green David Gordon Green is an American filmmaker. He directed the dramas ''George Washington'' (2000), ''All the Real Girls'' (2003), and '' Snow Angels'' (2007), as well as the thriller '' Undertow'' (2004), all of which he wrote or co-wrote. In 2 ...

's production company, Rough House Pictures. In 2014, Hill and McBride created and began preparing the comedy series ''

'' for HBO. Since 2019, Hill has directed 8 episodes of ''

''. He also acts in the series as Levi.

Personal life

Hill is a graduate of the

University of North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

. As of 2009, Hill was in a long term relationship, from at least 2008, with actress

Collette Wolfe Collette Wolfe (born April 4, 1980) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in films such as ''Observe and Report'' (2009), ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' (2010), ''Young Adult'' (2011), and '' Interstellar'' (2014). Early life Wolf ...

, who appeared in his movies ''Observe and Report'' and ''The Foot Fist Way''. The couple eventually married in 2012 in

Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (, "Saint Luke Cape"), or simply just Cabo, is a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As at the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 202,694 inhabitan ...

, but have since divorced.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
''Vice'' on Jody Hill, Danny McBride and ''Eastbound and Down''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Jody 1976 births Living people American film producers American male screenwriters American male taekwondo practitioners American television writers Comedy film directors Film directors from North Carolina American male television writers People from Concord, North Carolina Screenwriters from North Carolina Showrunners University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni