“Office” Ryan

Background:

Stand-up comedian and actor B.J. Novak, son of noted ghostwriter William Novak and brother of former member and composer of sketch comedy group Olde English Jesse Novak, is popular among TV viewers as reluctant office temp Ryan Howard (2005-Present) on NBC's comedy series “The Office,” for which he is also a writer and supervising producer. On the big screen, the 5' 8½" performer, who first appeared on TV as a prankster on MTV’s “Punk’d,” can be seen in Unaccompanied Minors (2006), Reign Over Me (2007) and the upcoming Knocked Up (2007). Novak has shown his comedic talents on Comedy Central's "Premium Blend" and on NBC’s "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."


Benjamin Joseph

Childhood and Family:

Son of noted ghostwriter William Novak (co-editor of “The Big Book of Jewish Humor”), Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak, who would later be popular as B.J. Novak, was born on July 31, 1979, in Newton, Massachusetts, and was later raised in Newton, a city near Boston. His brother is Jesse Novak, a former member and composer of Olde English Sketch Comedy. He also has another younger brother, Lev Novak, who studies at the Gann Academy in Waltham and is also planning to become a comedic actor.

Novak attended Newton South High School in Newton, Massachusetts, where his "The Office" co-star John Krasinski was his classmate. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English and Spanish literature in 2001. Novak, who wrote for the Harvard Lampoon, wrote about the films of Hamlet for his thesis. He now lives in Los Angeles.


In The Office

Career:

Finishing his studies at Harvard University in 2001, B.J. Novak headed to Los Angeles and began working as a comedian. That same year in October, he had his first live stand-up performance at the Hollywood Youth Hostel and quickly became popular among such L.A. comedy clubs as The Improv. He also became a staff writer for WB’s sitcom “Raising Dad.” In 2003, he received his first big break when Variety voted him as one of their "Ten Comedians To Watch."

Novak made his earliest appearance on television in 2003 in several episodes of MTV’s celebrity prankster series hosted by Ashton Kutcher, “Punk'd,” in which he was best remembered for his pranks on Hilary Duff (he played a driving instructor who nearly brought her to tears). Meanwhile, he showed his comedic talents on Comedy Central's “Premium Blend” and on NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O' Brien” (both in 2004).

2005 proved to be Novak’s biggest year when Greg Daniels, who produced such shows as Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill and The Simpsons, saw him performing stand-up comedy and later cast him as Ryan Howard, the reluctant office temp who has an on-again, off-again relationship with office chatterbox Kelly Kapoor (played by Mindy Kaling), in the NBC adaptation of the British comedy series “The Office.” Novak once said, "(Daniels) hired people who he knew were improv people who could bring their own ideas to the role."

Besides playing the regular role, Novak also served as a writer and supervising producer for the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning show. In 2007, he won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and a Writers Guild of America Award.

During his “Office” stint, Novak also made some films. He appeared as a desk attendant in director Paul Feig's family/comedy movie Unaccompanied Minors (2006; starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama and Tyler James Williams), based on a true story by Susan Burton first told on the public radio show “This American Life.” Recently, on March 23, 2007, Novak's latest film, Reign Over Me, hit theaters. In the drama film written and directed by Mike Binder, Novak shared the screen with Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland and Saffron Burrows. Additionally, Novak has just wrapped up writer-director Judd Apatow's upcoming comedy film Knocked Up, starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Leslie Mann. It will be released on June 1, 2007. Meanwhile, Novak could also be seen in print ads for Puma.


Awards:

• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, "The Office," 2007
• Writers Guild of America: WGA Award (TV)--Comedy Series, "The Office," 2007