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B. J. Novak

B. J. Novak

Acting1979Newton, Massachusetts, USA

Biography

Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak (born July 31, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, author, and producer. He gained traction as a comedian during the early 2000s before becoming a field agent for the MTV reality prank show Punk'd (2003).

Novak had his breakout with a leading role as Ryan Howard on seasons 1–8 of the NBC mockumentary sitcom The Office (2005–2013). His acting, writing and producing for the show earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Writers Guild of America Award, alongside five nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

In the late 2000s, Novak had supporting roles in the films Reign Over Me (2007) and Inglourious Basterds (2009). In the 2010s, he portrayed musician Robert B. Sherman in Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and Marvel Comics character Alistair Smythe in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). He had a starring role as Harry J. Sonneborn in the biographical film The Founder (2016) and voiced Baker Smurf in The Smurfs (2011) and The Smurfs 2 (2013). In television, he had a recurring role as Lucas Pruit on the HBO series The Newsroom (2014).

In the 2020s, Novak made his film directorial debut with Vengeance (2022), which he also produced and starred in. He created and wrote the FX on Hulu anthology series The Premise (2021). In addition to his film and television career, Novak authored the books One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories (2014) and The Book with No Pictures (2014).

Description above from the Wikipedia article B.J. Novak, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting History

2025
Poker Face
TVas Hiram Lubinski1 eps
2023
Lessons in Chemistry
TVas Six-Thirty (voice)1 eps
Celebrity Jeopardy!
TVas Self1 eps
2022
Vengeance
as Ben Manalowitz
Real Time with Bill Maher
TVas Self1 eps
Vengeance
Executive Producer
Vengeance
Writer
Vengeance
Director
2020
Home Movie: The Princess Bride
TVas Count Rugen1 eps
2019
2016
The Founder
as Harry J. Sonneborn
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
TVas B.J. Novak1 eps
2014
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
as Allistar Smythe
The Newsroom
TVas Lucas Pruit4 eps
Community
TVas Mr. Egypt1 eps
2013
The Smurfs 2
as Baker Smurf (voice)
The Internship
as Male Interviewer
Saving Mr. Banks
as Robert Sherman
The Mindy Project
TVas Jamie5 eps
The Mindy Project
TVWriter1 eps
The Mindy Project
TVDirector2 eps
2012
The Dictator
as (uncredited)
The Mindy Project
TVExecutive Producer117 eps
2010
Conan
TVas Self
2009
2007
Knocked Up
as Young Doctor
Reign Over Me
as Mr. Fallon
2006
Unaccompanied Minors
as Desk Attendant
Live from E!
TVas Self2 eps
2005
The Office
TVas Ryan Howard165 eps
The Office
TVDirector
The Office
TVCo-Producer
The Office
TVCo-Executive Producer
The Office
TVSupervising Producer
The Office
TVExecutive Producer
The Office
TVExecutive Story Editor
The Office
TVWriter
2003
Punk'd
TVas Self2 eps
2001
Raising Dad
TVWriter
1997
The View
TVas Self - Guest
1993

Social Media

Personal Info

Known For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
7/31/1979(46 years old)
Place of Birth
Newton, Massachusetts, USA