Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer. He first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's ''
The State
A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...
'', which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and
David Wain created the
''Wet Hot American Summer'' franchise, with Showalter co-writing and starring in ''
Wet Hot American Summer
''Wet Hot American Summer'' is a 2001 American teen comedy film directed by David Wain from a screenplay written by Wain and Michael Showalter. The film features an ensemble cast, including Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, ...
'' (2001), and the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
series. Showalter wrote and directed ''
The Baxter'' (2005), in which he starred with
Michelle Williams,
Justin Theroux, and
Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perf ...
. Both films featured many of his co-stars from ''The State'', and so do several of his other projects. Showalter is also a co-creator, co-producer, actor, and writer for the TV series ''
Search Party''. He directed the 2017 critically acclaimed feature film ''
The Big Sick''.
Early life
Showalter was born in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of w ...
, the son of
Elaine Showalter
Elaine Showalter (born January 21, 1941) is an American literary critic, feminist, and writer on cultural and social issues. She influenced feminist literary criticism in the United States academia, developing the concept and practice of gynocr ...
(née Cottler), an author, feminist literary critic, and professor of English, and English Showalter, a Yale-educated professor of 18th century
French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...
. His father is
Episcopalian
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
and his mother is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. He has one older sister, Vinca Showalter LaFleur, a professional speechwriter. He attended
Princeton High School Princeton High School may refer to:
*Princeton High School (Illinois), Princeton, Illinois
*Princeton Community High School, Princeton, Indiana
*Princeton High School (Minnesota), Princeton, Minnesota
*Princeton Junior-Senior High School, Princeton ...
. For five years, Showalter shared an apartment with his friend, comedian and actress
Andrea Rosen.
Career
Showalter began his undergraduate studies at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
, where he joined the sketch comedy group The New Group. He transferred to and graduated from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
. After he completed college, The New Group changed its name to
The State
A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...
and began creating video shorts for an MTV show called ''
You Wrote It, You Watch It
''You Wrote It, You Watch It'' was an MTV sketch comedy show that aired in the 1992-1993 season. It was hosted by Jon Stewart, and featured members of the State comedy troupe prior to their being given their own show by MTV.
The State troupe pe ...
'', hosted by
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted '' The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts '' ...
. The comedy troupe then got its own sketch comedy TV series, ''
The State
A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...
'' , which aired for two years on MTV.
Showalter has also had several smaller roles in movies and TV shows. He played Ron Parker, the arrogant host of ''
Cheap Seats'', on
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns 20%).
The channel was originally la ...
in the pilot episode. However, after a bookcase fell on Showalter's character, tape librarians (and brothers)
Randy
Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...
and
Jason Sklar took over the hosting duties. Showalter spent a brief time as a correspondent on ''
The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fr ...
'' (1996). He is also one half of The Doilies, an acoustic comedy band, in which he sings lead vocals opposite guitarist
Zak Orth. In 2005 he wrote, directed and starred in the film ''
The Baxter''.
Showalter is the host of ''The Michael Showalter Showalter'', an original Internet series on
Collegehumor.com which premiered January 16, 2007. His first guest was comedian
Zach Galifianakis
Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show ''Late World with Zach'' on VH1.
Galifianakis has starred in films including ''Th ...
. Other guests have included
David Cross
David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/ Netflix sitco ...
,
Michael Ian Black,
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...
,
David Wain,
Andy Samberg
Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 200 ...
,
Michael Cera
Michael Austin Cera (; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor and musician. He started his career as a child actor, voicing the character of Brother Bear on the children's television show ''The Berenstain Bears'' and portraying a young Chuck B ...
, and
Mike Birbiglia
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
. In the fall and winter of 2006, Showalter toured the US with frequent collaborator Michael Ian Black. In March 2007 Showalter briefly toured as the opening act for
Janeane Garofalo. ''
The Ten
''The Ten'' is a 2007 anthology comedy film directed by David Wain and cowritten by Wain and Ken Marino. It was released through ThinkFilm. The film was released on August 3, 2007. The DVD was released on January 15, 2008. It is an internation ...
'' reunites him with frequent collaborators from ''
The State
A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...
''.
Showalter signed with
JDub Records, a non-profit record label, in June 2007. He released his first stand-up CD titled ''Sandwiches & Cats '' in November 2007. He teaches screenwriting at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
's Graduate Film School.
Showalter teamed up once more with
Michael Ian Black in the
Comedy Central series ''
Michael and Michael Have Issues'', which premiered in July 2009. The show detailed the two Michaels' trials and tribulations as they create a television series. They confirmed the series' cancellation in early 2010.
In an interview with ''The Rumpus'' in February 2009, Showalter talked about a memoir he is working on. "I am writing an 'important' memoir about not being able to write an important memoir. It winds up being kind of a novel-length comedic essay on insecurity and procrastination." The book, ''Mr. Funny Pants'', was published in February 2011.
He appeared twice on the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
drama ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...
'': in the episode "Endurance", which aired on October 18, 2000, and in the episode "Reality Bites", which aired on October 16, 2009.
Showalter also appeared in a series of commercials advertising the
Toyota Yaris
The is a supermini/ subcompact car sold by Toyota since 1999, replacing the Starlet and Tercel.
Up to 2019, Toyota had used the Yaris nameplate on export versions of various Japanese-market models, with some markets receiving the same vehi ...
, starting in late 2011.
In 2013 Showalter and
Michael Ian Black launched a podcast called "Topics" in which the duo discuss evergreen topics in a serious manner, although if something funny comes up, it's okay.
Showalter was a writer on the ABC sitcom ''
Super Fun Night''.
In 2014, Showalter co-wrote with David Wain ''
They Came Together
''They Came Together'' is a 2014 American satirical romantic comedy film directed by David Wain and written by Wain and Michael Showalter. It is a parody of romantic comedies infused with Showalter and Wain's absurd approach. The film had its w ...
''. Wain and Showalter then co-wrote the eight-episode Netflix prequel ''
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp'' based on the 2001 film with almost the entire cast of the original film returning. Showalter himself appeared as Gerald "Coop" Cooperberg and President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
in the series. The series premiered on July 31, 2015, and was more well received by critics. He also co-wrote and starred in the Netflix sequel ''
Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later'' which premiered in 2017.
In 2015 his film ''
Hello, My Name Is Doris'' debuted at SXSW, where it was acquired by
Roadside Attractions
Roadside Attractions is an American production company and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, founded on July 27, 2000, by Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff, specializing largely in independent films
An independent film, in ...
. It was released in the United States in March 2016, and received critical acclaim.
His 2017 film ''
The Big Sick'' starred
Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ur, کمیل علی ننجیانی, ; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-wri ...
,
Zoe Kazan,
Holly Hunter
Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film '' The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...
and
Ray Romano
Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Ray Barone on the CBS sitcom '' Everybody Loves Raymond'', for which he received an Emmy Award, and as t ...
. It saw a wide theatrical release and had an overwhelmingly positive 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with th ...
.
Showalter next directed the 2020 film ''
The Lovebirds'', starring Kumail Nanjiani of ''The Big Sick'', along with
Issa Rae
Jo-Issa Rae Diop (born January 12, 1985), credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, producer, and comedian. Rae first garnered attention for her work on the YouTube web series ''Awkward Black Girl''. Since 2011, Rae h ...
,
Anna Camp and
Paul Sparks
Paul Sparks (born October 16, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as gangster Mickey Doyle in the HBO period drama series ''Boardwalk Empire'', writer Thomas Yates in the Netflix political drama series '' House of Cards'', m ...
. The film was scheduled for theatrical release in the United States on April 3, 2020, however due to the worldwide
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
its theatrical release was cancelled, similar to many other films, and it premiered on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
on May 22, 2020. More recently, he signed an overall deal with HBO Max.
Personal life
Showalter married Anne Kalin Ellis on January 16, 2011, in New York. Anne gave birth to their twin children in 2014.
Filmography
Film
Acting roles
Television
Acting roles
References
External links
Official website*
Michael Showalter Interviews Human GiantMichael Showalter: The state of comedy''
That Other Paper''
"A Love for Silliness" ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' interview, July 15, 2005
"Michael Showalter, comedian & filmmaker"The Michael Showalter ShowalterPremiere Episode with Zach Galifianakis
News Feature at ''Impose Magazine''Onion A.V. Club interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Showalter, Michael
1970 births
Living people
American male comedians
American male film actors
21st-century American male actors
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American sketch comedians
American television writers
American male voice actors
Comedy film directors
Film producers from New Jersey
Brown University alumni
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American comedians
Male actors from New Jersey
New York University alumni
People from Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni
American male television writers
Film directors from New Jersey
Screenwriters from New Jersey
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American screenwriters
Jewish American male comedians
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American Jews
Television producers from New Jersey