Rainn Wilson

Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director. He starred as Dwight Schrute on NBC's American adaptation of ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013, and received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the role.

Wilson began acting at the University of Washington. Following his 1986 graduation, he worked in theatre in New York City. He made his film debut in '' Galaxy Quest'' (1999), followed by supporting parts in '' Almost Famous'' (2000), Steven Soderbergh'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.

Wilson's other film credits include lead roles in the comedies '' The Rocker'' (2008) and ''Super'' (2010), and supporting roles in the horror films '' Cooties'' (2014) and '' The Boy'' (2015). In 2009, he was heard in the animated science fiction film ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' as the villain Gallaxhar, and voiced Gargamel in '' Smurfs: The Lost Village'' (2017). He has had the guest-starring role of Harry Mudd on '' Star Trek: Discovery'' (2017) and '' Star Trek: Short Treks'' (2018), and a supporting role in '' The Meg'' (2018). From 2018 to 2021, he had a recurring role as Trevor on seasons 6–8 of the CBS sitcom '' Mom''. He is also the voice of Lex Luthor in the DC Animated Movie Universe. Outside of acting, Wilson published his autobiography, '' The Bassoon King'', in 2015, and cofounded the digital media company SoulPancake in 2008.

Early life and education

Wilson was born on January 20, 1966, at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, the son of Shay Cooper, a yoga 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 ages three to five, he lived with his father and stepmother, Kristin, in Nicaragua before they returned to Seattle after their divorce. He attended Kellogg Middle School and Shorecrest High School in Shoreline, Washington, where he played the clarinet and bassoon in the school band. He transferred to and graduated from New Trier High School after his family moved to Wilmette, Illinois, to serve at the Baháʼí National Center.

Wilson attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, before transferring to the University of Washington in Seattle, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in drama in 1986. He then enrolled in New York University'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. Between acting jobs in New York City, he drove a moving van to make ends meet.

Wilson worked extensively in the theater early in his career, performing with The Public Theater, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, the Roundabout, and the Guthrie Theater, among others. He played one of the eight chorus members in Richard Foreman's 1996 production of Suzan-Lori Parks' ''Venus'', and 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'', followed by a supporting role in the television film ''The Expendables'' (1999). He made his feature film debut in '' Galaxy Quest'' (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'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 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). He guest-starred in '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', '' Entourage'', ''Monk'', ''Numbers'', ''Charmed'', '' Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job'', and '' Reno 911!''.

2005–2013: ''The Office'' and recognition

In 2005, Wilson appeared in the comedy film ''Sahara'' and in the independent mockumentary film ''The Life Coach''. The same year, he was cast as neurotic assistant manager Dwight Schrute in the network series ''The Office'', for which he was nominated for Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and won two SAG awards as part of Best Comedy Ensemble on the series. As well as acting on the series, he directed three episodes: "The Cover-Up" (season 6), "Classy Christmas" (season 7) and "Get the Girl" (season 8).

On February 24, 2007, Wilson hosted ''Saturday Night Live'', becoming the second ''The Office'' cast member 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 as public relations manager "Jim Mike". In August 2010, he appeared in the music video for Ferraby Lionheart'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'' (2008). In 2009 he joined the voice cast of DreamWorks Animation film ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' as villainous alien overlord Gallaxhar; and was featured in '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'', playing a university professor. In 2010, he had the lead role of the unhinged protagonist in ''Super''. Critic Roger Ebert faulted the script, but praised Wilson's performance: " ilsonnever seems to be trying to be funny, and that's a strength."

For his role of Paul, the bereft father, in '' Hesher'' (2011), Roger Ebert said of Wilson's work: “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'' and the thriller '' The Boy'' (2015). In the Fox crime-drama series '' Backstrom'', he played Everett Backstrom, an offensive, self-destructive detective, based on Leif G. W. Persson's Swedish book series of the same name. Wilson was also one of the show's producers. It was cancelled by Fox after 13 episodes. In 2016, Wilson appeared as a guest star on the TV series '' Roadies''.

In 2017, Wilson voiced Gargamel in the 2017 animated reboot of '' Smurfs: The Lost Village'' for Sony Pictures Animation. He also starred in the independent comedy film '' Permanent'', directed by Colette Burson and produced by 2929 Entertainment. Wilson starred in '' Shimmer Lake'' (2017) for Netflix and '' The Meg'' (2018) for Warner Brothers.

Wilson was cast in the guest role of Harry Mudd in '' Star Trek: Discovery'', and directed the '' Star Trek: Short Treks'' episode "The Escape Artist". He has voiced Lex Luthor in various DC animated films, including '' The Death of Superman'', '' Reign of the Supermen'', '' Batman: Hush'', and '' Justice League Dark: Apokolips War''.

In 2019, Wilson appeared in the independent drama '' Blackbird'', and in 2020 starred in the independent thriller '' Don't Tell a Soul''. In 2020, he was also a series regular in the Amazon Original Series ''Utopia'' as virologist Dr. Michael Sterns. On October 10, 2019, he was featured in the 30-minute YouTube documentary ''Laughing Matters'', created by SoulPancake in collaboration with Funny or Die, wherein a variety of comedians discuss mental health. Wilson was cast as the villain in the upcoming animated film '' Hitpig!''. In 2020, he executive-produced and narrated the Netflix documentary series ''We Are the Champions''.

Wilson played Trevor Wells, the recurring therapist to Bonnie ( Allison Janney) on nine episodes of the CBS sitcom '' Mom''. He was also cast in mystery series '' Dark Winds'' on AMC. In 2023, Wilson appeared in four episodes of '' Lessons in Chemistry'' on Apple TV.

Wilson presented the travel series '' Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss'' in 2023 for Peacock. Wilson's other streaming credits include a role in '' Jerry & Marge Go Large'' for Paramount+, and a loose depiction of Dr. Demento in '' Weird: The Al Yankovic Story''. Wilson is set to play a lead role in '' Code 3'', a buddy comedy film.

In February 2025, Wilson is set to portray Caldwell B. Cladwell in '' Urinetown'' at New York City Center as a part of their Encores! series.

Other ventures

Wilson co-founded the website and YouTube channel SoulPancake with Joshua Homnick and Devon Gundry in 2008. As of February 20, 2019, the channel had over 3 million subscribers and 557 million video views. The channel was featured on Oprah Winfrey's Satellite Radio Show and '' Super Soul Sunday'' and was named one of Fast Company's 10 Most Innovative Companies in Video for 2015. /sup> In 2015, it was ranked No. 114 on the Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America List. In 2016 the channel was purchased by Participant Media.

Wilson co-wrote the ''New York Times'' bestseller ''SoulPancake: Chew on Life's Big Questions'' (2010). In 2015, he published ''The Bassoon King'', a humorous memoir of his personal life, career and faith.

Wilson is a climate-change activist. He visited Greenland in 2019 with Arctic Basecamp, whose Advisory Board he also serves on. During the trip he shot the web docuseries ''The Idiot’s Guide to Climate Change'' for SoulPancake's YouTube channel.

In 2021, Wilson voiced the title character in the comedy audio series ''Dark Air with Terry Carnation''. The podcast series is based on his character Terry Carnation from the Radio Rental podcast, created by Payne Lindsey.

Wilson also competed in Chess.com's PogChamps 3 chess competition, finishing in second place after a tiebreaker game with French streamer .

In 2024, Wilson launched a long-form interview podcast on YouTube titled ''Soul Boom w/ Rainn Wilson''.

Personal life

Wilson is married to writer Holiday Reinhorn, whom he met in an acting class at the University of Washington. They married on the Kalama River in Washington 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 website Baháʼí Blog, which is popular in the Bahá’í community, hosts Wilson's podcast, the ''Baháʼí Blogcast'', for which he interviews notable people about the intersection of their faith and work.

On Bill Maher's '' Real Time'', Wilson described himself as a diverse independent, having voted for Republican, Green and Democratic candidates. In 2008, he said he regretted the statement: "It was kind of a mistake, I don’t want to talk politics. ��The process of politics is so deeply corrupt on so many levels. Even the greatest candidate in the world couldn’t really make that much of a difference. But people with compassionate hearts can make the world a better place." Wilson does, however, vote.

Wilson's charitable works include fundraising for the Mona Foundation, a Bahá’í-inspired charity operating in developing countries. In 2013, he co-founded Lidè Haiti, an educational initiative that uses the arts and literacy to empower adolescent girls in rural Haiti. As of 2024, the group works in 13 locations with over 500 girls, providing scholarships to many of them.

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 (though he did not change his legal name).

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and nominations

Written publications

* Rainn Wilson. ''Soul Pancake''. 2010. Hachette Books,
* Rainn Wilson. '' The Bassoon King''. 2016. Dutton,
* Rainn Wilson. ''Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution''. 2023. Hachette Books,

References

External links

SoulPancake.com
- currently redirects t
Participant.com
(Snapshot of SoulPancake.com before the redirect can be found on th
WaybackMachine

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Rainn Wilson
at the American Film Institute catalog
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{{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 Norwegian descent
Comedians from Seattle
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
Writers Guild of America Award winners
American male comedians
Comedians from Oregon
Actors from Deschutes County, Oregon