Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as
Dwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III () is a fictional character on '' The Office (U.S.)'' and is portrayed by American actor Rainn Wilson. Dwight's character was a salesman and the assistant to the regional manager, at the fictional paper distribution comp ...
on the
NBC sitcom ''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original ser ...
'', for which he earned three consecutive
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominations for
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Born in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
, Wilson began acting at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...
, and later worked in theatre in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
after graduating in 1986. Wilson made his film debut in ''
Galaxy Quest
''Galaxy Quest'' is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. A parody of and homage to science-fiction films and series, especially ''Star Trek'' and its fandom, the f ...
'' (1999), followed by supporting parts in ''
Almost Famous'' (2000),
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker.
Soderbergh's direct ...
's ''
Full Frontal'' (2002), and ''
House of 1000 Corpses'' (2003). He also had a recurring part as
Arthur Martin in the
HBO series ''
Six Feet Under'' from 2003 to 2005. From 2018 to 2021, he starred as Trevor on the
CBS sitcom ''
Mom
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestati ...
''.
Wilson was cast as Dwight Schrute in ''The Office'' in 2005, a role which he played until the show's conclusion in 2013. Other film credits include lead roles in the comedies ''
The Rocker (film), The Rocker'' (2008) and ''
Super
Super may refer to:
Computing
* SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player
* Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages
* Super key (keyboard butt ...
'' (2010), as well as supporting roles in the horror films ''
Cooties
Cooties is a fictitious childhood disease, commonly represented as childlore. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines as a rejection term and an infection tag game (such as Humans vs. Zombies). I ...
'' (2014) and ''
The Boy'' (2015). In 2009, he provided his voice for the
computer-animated
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
film ''
Monsters vs. Aliens'' as the villain Gallaxhar and voiced
Gargamel in ''
Smurfs: The Lost Village''. He has played a small recurring role of
Harry Mudd on ''
Star Trek: Discovery'' (2017) and ''
Star Trek: Short Treks'' (2018), as well as a supporting role in ''
The Meg'' (2018). He is also the voice of
Lex Luthor in the
DC Animated Movie Universe.
Outside of acting, Wilson published an autobiography, ''
The Bassoon King'', in 2015, and co-founded the digital media company SoulPancake in 2008. In 2022, Wilson changed his name on his social media accounts in an effort to raise awareness for climate change.
Early life and education
Wilson was born on January 20, 1966, at the
University of Washington Medical Center
The University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) is a hospital in the University District of Seattle, Washington. It is one of the teaching hospitals affiliated with the University of Washington School of Medicine.And is located in the Wa ...
in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
,
the son of Shay Cooper, a
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
teacher and actress, and Robert G. Wilson (1941–2020), a novelist, artist, and business consultant who wrote the science fiction novel ''Tentacles of Dawn''. Wilson is of part Norwegian ancestry. From the ages of three to five, Wilson lived with his father and stepmother, Kristin, in
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...
before they returned to Seattle after their divorce. He attended
Kellogg Middle School and
Shorecrest High School in
Shoreline, Washington
Shoreline is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is located between the city limits of Seattle and the Snohomish County border, approximately north of Downtown Seattle. As of the 2020 census, the population of Shoreline was ...
, where he played the
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...
and
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...
in the school band. He transferred to and graduated from
New Trier High School
New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school, with its main campus for sophomores through seniors located in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, and a campus in Northfield, Illino ...
after his family moved to
Wilmette
Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
, to serve at the
Baháʼí National Center.
Wilson attended
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
in
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus al ...
, before transferring to the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...
in Seattle, graduating with a bachelor's degree in drama in 1986.
He then enrolled in
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 Acting Program at the
Tisch School of the Arts where he graduated with an
MFA in acting and was a member of
The Acting Company. While acting in theatrical productions in New York City, he drove a moving van to make ends meet.
Wilson worked extensively in the theater in his early career, performing with
The Public Theater, the
Ensemble Studio Theatre,
Playwrights Horizons, the
Roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...
, and the
Guthrie Theater
The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...
, among others. Wilson played one of the eight chorus members in
Richard Foreman's 1996 production of
Suzan-Lori Parks' ''Venus''. He was nominated for three
Helen Hayes Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his work at the
Arena Stage.
Career
1997–2004: Early roles
Wilson first appeared onscreen in 1997 in an episode of the soap opera ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'', followed by a supporting role in the television film ''The Expendables'' (1999). Wilson made his feature film debut in ''
Galaxy Quest
''Galaxy Quest'' is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. A parody of and homage to science-fiction films and series, especially ''Star Trek'' and its fandom, the f ...
'' (1999), followed by a minor supporting role in
Cameron Crowe's ''
Almost Famous'' (2000). In 2001, he played Dennis Van De Meer in ''
When Billie Beat Bobby''. In 2002, he was cast in a lead role in
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...
's horror film ''
House of 1000 Corpses'' (2003). Beginning in 2003, Wilson played
Arthur Martin, an intern at Fisher & Diaz Funeral Home in
HBO's ''
Six Feet Under'', earning a
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to me ...
award for best drama ensemble for the series. He also had minor roles in ''
America's Sweethearts'' (2001) and the
Melvin van Peebles biopic ''
Baadasssss!'' (2003). Wilson guest-starred in ''
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
'', ''
Entourage'', ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...
'', ''
Numbers'', ''
Charmed
''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcas ...
'', ''
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job
''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' is an American sketch comedy series created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which premiered February 11, 2007 on Adult Swim and ran until May 2010. The show features surreal and often sat ...
,'' and ''
Reno 911!''.
2005–2013: ''The Office'' and recognition
In 2005, Wilson appeared in the comedy film ''
Sahara
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
, map_image =
, location =
, country =
, country1 =
, ...
'' and in the independent
mockumentary film ''The Life Coach''.
The same year, Wilson was cast as
Dwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III () is a fictional character on '' The Office (U.S.)'' and is portrayed by American actor Rainn Wilson. Dwight's character was a salesman and the assistant to the regional manager, at the fictional paper distribution comp ...
, a neurotic office worker in the network series ''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original ser ...
''. He was nominated for an
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for Best Supporting Actor in 2007, 2008, and 2009. He won two
SAG awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie and ...
for best comedy ensemble on the series. In addition to acting on the series, Wilson also directed three episodes: season 6's "The Cover-Up", season 7's "Classy Christmas", and season 8's "Get the Girl".
On February 24, 2007, Wilson hosted ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
'', 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
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles ( 1991, 1999, 2015, an ...
as public relations manager "Jim Mike". In August 2010, Wilson appeared in the music video for
Ferraby Lionheart
Ferraby Lionheart (born May 1, 1977 in Los Angeles, California, United States) is an American songwriter and recording artist.
History
Lionheart's family moved from Los Angeles to Nashville when he was three years old. He remained there until a ...
's "Harry and Bess" and
Andy Grammer's "
Keep Your Head Up" as the "creepy elevator guy".
Wilson starred in the
Fox Atomic comedy ''
The Rocker (film), The Rocker'', released on August 20, 2008. In 2009 he lent his voice to
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a divisio ...
film ''
Monsters vs. Aliens'', as the villainous alien overlord Gallaxhar, and was featured in ''
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'', in which he played a university professor. In 2010, he played the lead role as the unhinged protagonist in ''
Super
Super may refer to:
Computing
* SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player
* Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages
* Super key (keyboard butt ...
''. In his review of the film, critic
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
praised Wilson's performance, writing: "
ilson
Ilson Wilians Rodrigues (born March 12, 1979) is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for América Futebol Clube (SP). His previous clubs include FC Shinnik Yaroslavl
FC Shinnik Yaroslavl (russian: Футбольный клуб «Ш� ...
never seems to be trying to be funny, and that's a strength," though he faulted the script's material.
For his role of Paul, the bereft father, in ''
Hesher'' (2011), Roger Ebert said of Rainn in his review: “He has that rare quality in an actor, an uncanny presence. There are a few like him (Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken, Bill Murray) who need only to look at something to establish an attitude toward it. Yes, they can get worked up, they can operate on high, but their passive essence is the point: dubious, wise, sadly knowledgable
ic at an angle to the throughline. Other actors could sit on a sofa and watch TV, but Rainn Wilson makes it a statement. A statement of … nothing, which is the point."
2014–present: continued film and television
In 2014, Wilson had roles in the independent horror comedy ''
Cooties
Cooties is a fictitious childhood disease, commonly represented as childlore. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines as a rejection term and an infection tag game (such as Humans vs. Zombies). I ...
'' and the thriller ''
The Boy'' (2015). In the
Fox crime-drama ''
Backstrom'', Wilson played Everett Backstrom, an offensive, self-destructive detective who is part of a team of eccentric criminologists. The series is based on
Leif G. W. Persson
Leif Gustav Willy Persson (born 12 March 1945) is a Swedish criminologist and novelist. Persson has four children, one of whom, Malin Persson Giolito, is also a crime writer.
Early life
Leif Gustav Willy Persson was born on 12 March 1945 in Stoc ...
's Swedish book series of the same name. Wilson also served as the show's producer. It was cancelled by Fox after 13 episodes. In 2016, he appeared in television as a guest star on ''
Roadies.''
In 2017, Wilson voiced the character of
Gargamel in the 2017 animated reboot of ''
The Smurfs: The Lost Village'' for
Sony Pictures Animation. He also starred in the independent comedy film ''
Permanent'' as loving and funny father Jim Dickson alongside
Patricia Arquette
Patricia Tiffany Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987). Her other notable films include '' True Romance'' (1993), '' Ed ...
and Kira McLean. The film was directed by
Colette Burson and produced by
2929 Entertainment
2929 Entertainment, LLC. is an American integrated media and entertainment company co-founded by billionaire entrepreneurs Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. 2929 maintains companies and interests across several industries including entertainment develo ...
. Wilson starred in ''
Shimmer Lake'' (2017) for Netflix and ''
The Meg'' (2018) for
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
.
Wilson was cast to play
Harry Mudd in ''
Star Trek: Discovery'' and directed the
Star Trek: Short Treks ''The Escape Artist''. Wilson has voiced
Lex Luthor in the most recent animated Superman movies from
DC, including ''The Death of Superman'', ''Reign of the Supermen'', and ''Batman: Hush''.
In 2019, Wilson appeared in the independent drama ''
Blackbird'' opposite
Susan Sarandon and
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, inc ...
, and in 2020 starred in the independent thriller ''
Don't Tell a Soul'', opposite
Jack Dylan Grazer and
Fionn Whitehead
Fionn Whitehead (; born 18 July 1997) is an English actor. He portrayed the lead role in the 2017 film ''Dunkirk'' and the 2018 film '' Black Mirror: Bandersnatch''. His first acting credit was in the 2016 ITV miniseries '' Him''.
Life
Whitehe ...
. Also that year, he was a series regular opposite
John Cusack and
Sasha Lane in the new
Amazon Original Series ''
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island soc ...
'', as virologist Dr. Michael Sterns. On October 10, 2019 he was featured in a 30 minute
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
documentary created by SoulPancake in collaboration with
Funny or Die wherein a variety of comedians discuss mental health called ''Laughing Matters''. He was cast as the villain in the upcoming animated film ''Hitpig''. In 2020, Wilson was an executive producer and narrator for the Netflix documentary series ''We Are the Champions''.
Other ventures
Wilson founded the website and YouTube channel SoulPancake. As of February 20, 2019, the channel has over 3 million subscribers and over 557 million video views. SoulPancake has been featured on
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...
's Satellite Radio Show and ''
Super Soul Sunday''. The tagline of the brand is: "We make stuff that matters". They were named one of
Fast Company's 10 Most Innovative Companies in Video for 2015.
">/sup> More recently, SoulPancake was ranked No. 114 on the 2015 Inc. 500
''Inc.'' is an American business magazine founded in 1979 and based in New York City. The magazine publishes six issues per year, along with surrounding online and social media content. The magazine also produces several live and virtual events ...
Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America List. In October 2016, it was purchased by Participant Media
Participant Media, LLC is an American Film industry, film production company founded in 2004 by Jeffrey Skoll, dedicated to entertainment intended to spur social change. The company finances and co-produces film and television content, as well as ...
.
He co-wrote the ''New York Times'' bestseller ''SoulPancake: Chew on Life's Big Questions'' and wrote a humorous memoir about his personal life, career and faith called '' The Bassoon King'' that was published in November 2015.
Wilson is a climate change activist and visited Greenland in 2019 with Arctic Basecamp whose Advisory Board he also serves on. During his Greenland trip Wilson made a documentary “The Idiot’s Guide to Climate Change” which is available to stream online.
In 2021, Wilson starred in the comedy audio series ''Dark Air'' with Terry Carnation, in which he also voices the title character. The podcast series is based on his character Terry Carnation from the Radio Rental podcast, created by Payne Lindsey. Wilson also competed in the Chess.com PogChamps
PogChamps is a series of online amateur chess tournaments hosted by Chess.com. Players in the tournament are internet personalities, primarily Twitch streamers. PogChamps takes place over the course of two weeks. The first and second PogChamps ...
3 chess competition, finishing in second place after a tiebreaker game with French streamer Sardoche.
Personal life
Wilson is married to writer Holiday Reinhorn
Holiday Reinhorn (born March 12, 1964) is an American fiction writer known for her short stories.
Biography
Reinhorn was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.
She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the author of ''Big Cats'', publi ...
. The couple met in an acting class at the University of Washington; Reinhorn had relocated to Seattle to attend the university from her native Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
. The couple married on the Kalama River in Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
in 1995 and have a son, Walter, born in 2004. They have a home outside of Sisters, Oregon, and a house in Los Angeles. They have two pit bulls, Pilot and Diamond; two Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, Snortington and Amy; a donkey named Chili Beans; and a zonkey named Derek.
Wilson and his family are members of the Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
. The website Baháʼí Blog, which is popular in the Bahá’í community, hosts Wilson's podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
, the ''Baháʼí Blogcast'', on which he interviews notable people about the intersection of their faith and their work.
On Bill Maher
William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show '' Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar ...
's '' Real Time'', Wilson described himself as a diverse independent, having voted for Republican, Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
, and Democratic candidates.
Wilson's charitable works include fundraising for the Mona Foundation, a Bahá’í-inspired charity operating in developing countries. In 2013, along with Dr. Kathryn Adams, he co-founded Lidè Haiti The LIDÈ Haiti Foundation is an educational initiative in rural Haiti that uses the arts and literacy to empower at-risk adolescent girls and help them transition into school or vocational training. Established by actor Rainn Wilson, author Holida ...
, an educational initiative that uses the arts and literacy to empower adolescent girls in rural Haiti. They currently work in 13 locations with over 500 girls, providing scholarships to many of them. In 2018, Wilson stated he had adopted a vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
diet.
On November 10, 2022, Wilson changed his name on social media to Rainnfall Heat Wave Rising Sea Levels Wilson in an effort to raise awareness about climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
, though he did not legally change his name.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Written publications
* Rainn Wilson. ''Soul Pancake''. 2010. Hatchette Books,
* Rainn Wilson. '' The Bassoon King''. 2016. Dutton,
References
External links
SoulPancake.com
*
*
*
Rainn Wilson
at the American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Lead ...
catalog
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Rainn
1966 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
20th-century Bahá'ís
21st-century American male actors
21st-century Bahá'ís
American Bahá'ís
American bloggers
American male bloggers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of English descent
American people of Norwegian descent
Male actors from Seattle
People from Shoreline, Washington
People from Sisters, Oregon
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
University of Washington alumni
Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni