Rainn Wilson

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Rainn Wilson

Wilson at the Dan in Real Life premiere, October 2007
Born Rainn Dietrich Wilson
January 20, 1966 (1966-01-20) (age 42)[1]
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Spouse(s) Holiday Reinhorn

Rainn Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966)[2] is an Emmy-nominated and three-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor. He is known for his roles as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American television comedy The Office, and Arthur Martin, assistant mortician in HBO's Six Feet Under.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Wilson was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of Shay Cooper, a yoga teacher and actress, and Robert G. Wilson, writer and business consultant. He attended Kellogg Middle School and Shorecrest High School in Shoreline, Washington. He transferred to and graduated from New Trier High School after his family moved to Wilmette, Illinois to work at the Bahá'í National Center.[3] Wilson has a theatre background from Tufts University and the University of Washington, and has taught acting classes. He holds an MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and was a member of The Acting Company.[4] While acting in theatrical productions in New York, he drove a moving van to make ends meet.[5]

[edit] Career

In addition to his starring role on The Office, Wilson has appeared as the eccentric Arthur Martin, the intern at Fisher & Diaz Funeral Home on HBO's Six Feet Under. He has also appeared in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI, NUMB3RS, and Entourage, in the latter portraying a sleazy entertainment journalist based on Harry Knowles of Aint it cool news. Wilson guest-starred as a murderous baseball fan in an episode of Monk entitled "Mr. Monk Goes To The Ballgame". He also appeared in the "Coyote Piper" episode of Charmed as an alchemist named Kierkan. On February 24, 2007, Wilson hosted Saturday Night Live, becoming the second cast member from The Office to host after Steve Carell. Wilson also appeared in ads for the 2007 United States women's national soccer team during the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup as public relations manager "Jim Mike". Wilson has also made a guest appearance in an episode of Adult Swim's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job.

His film credits include Almost Famous, America's Sweethearts, BAADASSSSS!, Galaxy Quest, House of 1000 Corpses, Sahara, The Last Mimzy, and Juno. He appeared alongside Luke Wilson and Uma Thurman in the film My Super Ex-Girlfriend. He had a part in the 2007 Oscar-nominated film Juno as Rollo, a drug store owner.

Wilson's next starring role will be in the film The Rocker, co-starring musician Teddy Geiger, which is due in spring 2008. Also expected in 2008 is Bonzai Shadowhands, which he co-wrote and co-produced. He wrote and is co-producing Renaissance Men, which is due out in 2010. He will be the voice of the villainous alien overlord Gallaxhar in the DreamWorks Animation film Monsters vs. Aliens. He has just joined the cast of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.[6]

Wilson has his own blog on NBC's website called "Schrute-Space"[citation needed], in which he writes in character as Dwight.

He hosted the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards on IFC.

In May 2008, he performed at the Echoplex in Los Angeles as part of T&E's Awesome Tour 2008.[7]

[edit] Personal life

Wilson is married to author Holiday Reinhorn. They met in an acting class in college and married on the Kalama River. The couple have a son, Walter Mckenzie, born in 2004, and they currently reside in Agoura Hills, California. He and his family are members of the Bahá'í Faith.[8]

On Bill Maher's Real Time, Wilson describes himself as a diverse independent, voting for Republican, Green Party, and Democratic candidates.

Rainn is also a lead activist for universal education, particularly with girls in America and abroad. He continues to work to raise money to support educational initiatives around the world. In an interview he said, "I believe education is the most important thing in the world. It all begins and ends there. That is what the Foundation supports above all else. I wanted to support a place where basically every penny of a donation would go directly to make the world a better place. The Mona Foundation does that."

Rainn and his father, both art collectors, buy and sell fine art and represent contemporary artists on their website.

[edit] References

  1. ^ RainnWilson.net.
  2. ^ Biography | Rainn Wilson Fan Site
  3. ^ Estudillo, Terry. From Shorecrest "loser" to "The Office" poser. The Seattle Times.
  4. ^ Television Without Pity: "The B.J. Novak Interview" Accessed March 16, 2007.
  5. ^ MSNBC: "Rainn Wilson leaves cubicle for the big screen" Accessed March 25, 2007.
  6. ^ "Rainn Wilson Transforms Into a Professor = Just Jared", 2008-05-29. 
  7. ^ Awesome Tour Live 2008
  8. ^ March 19, 2007 issue of Time Magazine

[edit] External links

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The Office (U.S. TV series)
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Persondata
NAME Wilson, Rainn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilson, Rainn Dietrich
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 20, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Seattle, Washington, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH