Wayne Knight
| Wayne Knight | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Wayne Eliot Knight August 7, 1955 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Georgia |
| Occupation | Actor, voice actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Paula Sutor (m. 1996; div. 2003)[1] Clare de Chenu (m. 2006) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) |
William Edward Knight Grace Monti |
Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor, voice actor, and comedian.[2] He is known for playing Newman in the TV sitcom Seinfeld and Officer Don Orville in 3rd Rock from the Sun. His other roles include Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park, Stan Podolak in Space Jam, Al McWhiggin in Toy Story 2, Tantor in Tarzan, Dojo in Xiaolin Showdown, Zack Mallozzi in Rat Race, Mr. Blik in Catscratch, and Haskell Lutz in The Exes.
Early life
Knight was born in New York City, New York. He is the son of textile factory supervisor William Edward Knight and Grace (Monti) Knight.[3][4] His father moved the family to Cartersville, Georgia, where he worked in the textile industry. Knight went to local schools and was a lineman on his high school's football team.[5] He attended the University of Georgia but did not complete his degree until 2008.[6]
Although an honors student, Knight left college just one credit shy of completing his degree to pursue his acting career. He received an internship at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, which produced repertory works. After completing his internship, he joined the company and gained standing as an Equity actor. He subsequently moved to New York City and after two years landed his first role on Broadway.
Career
Knight appeared in a number of well-known films produced in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Dirty Dancing (1987), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), JFK (1991) and Basic Instinct (1992), where he played one of the characters in the infamous interrogation scene. He was the first actor cast in Jurassic Park after director Steven Spielberg saw him in the scene from Basic Instinct. Knight was cast as InGen Corporation's chief programmer for the park and secret spy for Biosyn, Dennis Nedry. He also appeared in Dead Again, To Die For, and Space Jam.
In the 1990s, Knight played prominent supporting roles on two TV series on NBC. He played the mailman Newman, Seinfeld's neighbor and nemesis in Seinfeld, and Officer Don Orville, Sally's love interest, in 3rd Rock from the Sun. He had earlier appeared in Against the Grain, featuring a then-unknown Ben Affleck. He also appeared as a regular on two sketch comedy series, The Edge for Fox and Assaulted Nuts for Cinemax and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Knight also appeared on Broadway in the plays Gemini, Mastergate, 'Art' and, most recently, Sweet Charity with Christina Applegate.
Knight has done voice work for numerous animations, including the black cat Mister Blik on the Nickelodeon cartoon Catscratch, Igor on the Fox Kids cartoon Toonsylvania, the dragon Dojo Kanojo Cho in the Kids' WB! animated series Xiaolin Showdown, Evil Emperor Zurg on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command on Toon Disney and Disney Channel; Al McWhiggin, the toy store manager of Al's Toy Barn, in Toy Story 2; Tantor the elephant in Tarzan, Demetrius the shopkeeper in Hercules, and the bug Juju on Tak and the Power of Juju. He made guest appearances on Billy & Mandy's Jacked-Up Halloween as the Jack-O-Lantern and Brandy and Mr. Whiskers as Mr. Cantarious the snail.
Knight appeared on the Pilot episode of the U.S. version of Thank God You're Here. He made a second appearance on the last episode of the first season of the TV series. He won the Thank God You're Here blue door award. He played the Punisher's techno sidekick Microchip in Punisher: War Zone. Knight guest stars in The Penguins of Madagascar as Max the Cat in the episodes "Launchtime" and "Cat's Cradle". In 2009, Knight reprised his role as the Seinfeld character Newman for the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Wayne also guest starred on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation season 10, episode "Working Stiffs."
Knight guest starred on an 2010 episode of Fox TV's hit drama series Bones, in the first season of the TV Land comedy series Hot in Cleveland (2010), where he became a recurring character for season two, and on an episode of The Whole Truth in fall 2010.[7] He played an Internet-fixated couch potato in the TV Land sitcom, The Exes. In the summer of 2011, he appeared in the BBC/Starz series Torchwood: Miracle Day as Brian Friedkin.[8]
Knight appeared as Santa in Elf: The Musical in November 2012. He previously appeared on Broadway in Art in 1999. In 2012, Knight was featured in the romantic comedy, She Wants Me starring Josh Gad, Kristen Ruhlin and Hilary Duff; the film was written and directed by Rob Margolies and executive produced by Charlie Sheen. In 2014, Knight reprised the character Newman during an Super Bowl commercial, alongside Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander.
Knight is a Democrat; he attended the 2012 Democratic National Convention in support of President Obama's re-election.[9]
Personal life
Knight married makeup artist Paula Sutor on May 26, 1996, in a ceremony held in fellow Seinfeld cast member Michael Richards' home.[1] The couple divorced in 2003.[10]
He married Clare de Chenu on October 15, 2006. They have a son together, Liam.[11]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The Wanderers | Waiter | Uncredited |
| 1987 | Dirty Dancing | Stan | |
| 1988 | Everybody's All-American | Fraternity Pisser | |
| 1989 | Born on the Fourth of July | Official #2 – Democratic Convention | |
| 1991 | V.I. Warshawski | Earl 'Bonehead' Smeissen | |
| 1991 | Dead Again | 'Piccolo' Pete Dugan | |
| 1991 | JFK | Numa Bertel | |
| 1992 | Basic Instinct | John Correli | |
| 1993 | Jurassic Park | Dennis Nedry | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1995 | To Die For | Ed Grant | |
| 1996 | Chameleon | Stuart Langston | |
| 1996 | Space Jam | Stan Podolak | |
| 1997 | Hercules | Demetrius the Merchant (voice) | |
| 1997 | For Richer or Poorer | Bob Lachmen | |
| 1998 | The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars | Microwave (voice) | |
| 1998 | Soundman | Tim (voice) | |
| 1999 | Hercules: Zero to Hero | Orthus (voice) | |
| 1999 | My Favorite Martian | Zoot (voice) | Uncredited |
| 1999 | Pros & Cons | Wayne | |
| 1999 | Tarzan | Tantor (voice) | |
| 1999 | Toy Story 2 | Al McWhiggin (voice) | |
| 2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins | Emperor Zurg (voice) | |
| 2001 | Rat Race | Zach Mallozzi | |
| 2003 | Cheaper by the Dozen | Electrician | Uncredited cameo |
| 2004 | Black Cloud | Mr. Tipping | |
| 2007 | Forfeit | Bob | |
| 2007 | Throwing Stars | Officer Brooks | |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda | Gang Boss (voice) | |
| 2008 | Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King | Amazing Krudsky (voice) | |
| 2008 | Punisher: War Zone | Linus Lieberman/Microchip | |
| 2012 | She Wants Me | Walter Baum | |
| 2012 | Excuse Me For Living | Albert | |
| 2014 | Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon | The Elf Elder (voice) | |
| 2016 | Kung Fu Panda 3 | Big Fun / Hom-Lee | |
| 2016 | Hail, Caesar! | Lurking Extra #1 | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | For Lovers Only | Video Game Fanatic | TV Movie Uncredited |
| 1983 | The Day After | Man in hospital | TV Movie |
| 1984 | The Burning Bed | Juror | TV Movie Uncredited |
| 1985 | Assaulted Nuts | Various | 7 episodes |
| 1988 | Tattingers | Kenny Axelrod | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Mathnet | Peter Pickwick | Episode: "The Case of the Parking Meter Massacre" |
| 1990 | Square One TV | Peter Pickwick | 3 episodes |
| 1992–1998 | Seinfeld | Newman | 48 episodes Nominated—Q Award for Best Recurring Player (1998) |
| 1992 | Double Edge | Tommy White | TV Movie |
| 1992–1993 | The Edge | Various Characters | 18 episodes |
| 1992 | T Bone N Weasel | Roy Kramp | TV Movie |
| 1993 | Fallen Angels | Leo Cunningham | Episode: "Dead End Delia" |
| 1993 | Against the Grain | Froggy Wilson | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1993–1994 | The Second Half | Robert Piccolo | 15 episodes |
| 1994 | Golden Gate | Arthur Genopopoulos | TV Movie |
| 1996–2001 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Don Orville | 79 episodes Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1998–1999) |
| 1997 | Contempt of Court | Merill Bushman | TV Movie |
| 1998 | Hercules | Cyclops Head #2 (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Toonsylvania | Igor (voice) | 19 episodes |
| 2000 | Dilbert | The Security Guard (voice) | Episode: "The Security Guard" |
| 2000–2001 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Emperor Zurg (voice) | Recurring role 12 episodes |
| 2001 | That '70s Show | The Angel | Episode: "It's a Wonderful Life" |
| 2001 | Bleacher Bums | Zig | TV Movie |
| 2002 | Becker | Wally | Episode: "Picture Imperfect" |
| 2002 | Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story | Walter Ballou | TV Movie |
| 2003 | The Twilight Zone | Nick Dark | Episode: "How Much Do You Love Your Kid?" |
| 2003–2006 | Xiaolin Showdown | Dojo (voice) | Main cast 52 episodes |
| 2003 | Gary the Rat | Gary's Rival (voice) | Episode: "The Reunion" |
| 2003 | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | Jack O'Lantern (voice) | Episode: "Billy & Mandy's Jacked-Up Halloween" |
| 2004 | I'm with Her | Kevin | Episode: "Friends in Low Places" |
| 2004 | The Drew Carey Show | Owen | Episode: "Liar Liar House on Fire" |
| 2004 | Listen Up! | Buddy | Episode: "Sweet Charity" |
| 2005–2007 | Catscratch | Mr. Blik (voice) | 20 episodes |
| 2005 | Justice League Unlimited | Abnegazar (voice) | Episode: "The Balance" |
| 2006 | CSI: NY | Truman Bosch | Episode: "Fare Game" |
| 2007 | Tak and the Power of Juju | Bug Juju (voice) | Episode: "Our Favorite Juju" |
| 2009–2012 | The Penguins of Madagascar | Max (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Woke Up Dead | Andrew Batten | 10 episodes |
| 2009 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Mr. Terrence Lombard | Episode: "Working Stiffs" |
| 2009 | Nip/Tuck | Don Hoberman | Episode: "Don Hoberman" |
| 2009–2011 | The Super Hero Squad Show | Elihas Starr/Egghead (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Himself | Uncredited Episode: "The Table Read" |
| 2010–2011 | Hot in Cleveland | Rick | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | The Good Guys | Perry Black | Episode: "Little Things" |
| 2010 | The Whole Truth | Judge Mark Hulverson | Episode: "Uncanny" |
| 2010 | Bones | Jimmy Walpert III | Episode: "The Babe in the Bar" |
| 2011 | Torchwood | Brian Friedkin | 3 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness | Jong / Jong's Son (voices) | 2 episodes |
| 2011–2015 | The Exes | Haskell Lutz | 64 episodes |
| 2012 | Green Lantern: The Animated Series | Captain Goray (voice) | Episode: "Into the Abyss" |
| 2012 | Pound Puppies | Ralphie / Construction Worker #1 (voices) | Episode: "Good Dog, McLeish!" |
| 2013 | Regular Show | Guardian of the Friend Zone / God of Street Performing (voices) | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee | Newman | Episode: "The Over-Cheer" |
| 2014 | Unforgettable | Dr. Theodore Blumer | Episode: "East of Islip" |
| 2015 | Sirens | Richard | Episode: "Sub-Primal Fears" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Jurassic Park: The Game | Dennis Nedry (voice) | Uncredited |
| 2015 | Lego Jurassic World | Dennis Nedry (voice) | Archive recording |
References
- 1 2 "Articles about Wayne Knight — tribunedigital-chicagotribune". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "Veromi People Search". veromi.net. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Wayne Knight Biography (1955–)". Filmreference.com.
- ↑ "Grace Knight Obituary: View Obituary for Grace Knight by Owen Funeral Home, Cartersville, GA". Obits.dignitymemorial.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ↑ Fretts, Bruce (October 8, 1993). "Wayne Knight: Gaining Roles, Losing Weight – The "Seinfeld" star takes on three NBC shows this fall", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Is this it?". The Guardian. March 6, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ↑ Abrams, Natalie. "Exclusive: The Whole Truth Swears In Wayne Knight". TVGuide.com. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
- ↑ Brew, Simon. "Wayne Knight joins Torchwood: Miracle Day". Den of Geek. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
- ↑ Tran, Vivyan (September 7, 2012). "Celebrities spotted at the Democratic National Convention". Politico.
- ↑ Adato, Allison. "Hello, New Man!". people.com. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ↑ Heller, Corinne. "OTRC: WAYNE KNIGHT, 'SEINFELD'S NEWMAN, 'FAMILY TIES' BRIAN BONSALL not DEAD". KABC-TV Los Angeles. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
External links
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