The West Wing

Background:

American actor Joshua Malina is well-known as a result of his fruitful collaboration with writer-producer Aaron Sorkin. First working together in the Broadway production of “A Few Good Men” (1989), the actor continued to have small parts in the 1992 feature film version of the same name, 1993's thriller “Malice” and 1995's “The American President,” which all scripted by Sorkin. After stage and film, the two broadened their affiliation to the small screen. In 1998, Malina was cast as Jeremy Goodwin the Sorkin-created series “Sports Night” (1998-2000), a critically acclaimed drama which was canceled after two season due to low-ratings. However, Malina did not hit the big time until he landed the role of Will Bailey in Sorkin's “The West Wing,” a role he played from 2002 to 2006. The series brought the actor four Screen Actors Guild nominations. On his own, Malina is probably known for playing roles in such movies as Clockwatchers” (1997), “Bulworth”(1998), “Kill the Man” (1999) and “Without Charlie” (2001). He currently plays Karl Mixworthy in the drama series “Big Shots” (2007).

Malina has been married to costume designer Melissa Merwin since 1996. They have two children.

Fan of Poker

Childhood and Family:

Joshua Charles Malina was born on January 17, i1966, in New York, New York, to parents Fran and Robert Malina, who were both founding members of Young Israel of Scarsdale. His father was a Broadway producer, lawyer and investment banker. He was raised in New Rochelle, New York and attended the Horace Mann School in Riverdale. In 1988, Joshua earned a B.A. in Theater from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

At age 30, on December 1, 1996, Joshua married costume designer Melissa Merwin. Together, they have a son named Avi and a daughter named Isabel. The family currently reside in Los Angeles. Joshua is a devouring poker player, and played to pay for rent when he was a struggling actor. He is now learning to play chess.

Sports Night

Career:

Upon graduating from Yale, Joshua Malina made his way to Manhattan with the hope of pursuing a stage career. He met and befriended aspiring playwright Aaron Sorkin, who later had significant part in building the actor's career. In 1989, Malina made his Broadway debut in Sorkin's first play, the military courtroom drama “A Few Good Men.” Three years later, when the production was made into a feature film with Rob Reiner directing and Sorkin scripting, the actor was cast in the small role of an orderly.

Malina went on to have small parts in such films as the Wolfgang Petersen-directed “In the Line of Fire” (1993), the Nicole Kidman-Alec Baldwin vehicle “Malice” (1993), written by Aaron Sorkin, and the thriller “Separates Lives” (1995, starred James Belushi and Linda Hamilton) before reuniting with Rob Reiner for “The American President” (1995), which was also scripted by Sorkin. In the meantime, Malina also did several TV projects, including making his first of several appearances on the HBO sitcom “The Larry Sanders Show” (1993) and debuting on the TV movie-debut with “ Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills” (1994).

In 1996, Malina had a recurring role on “Tracey Takes On...” and appeared as a cab driver in an episode of the short-lived comedy series “Champs,” starring Timothy Busfield. He also had an episodic role as Egghead Announcer in “Sliders” before returning to the big screen with bit parts in Matthew Broderick's “Infinity” and Maria Burton's “Just Friends” (all 1996). The following years found the actor being cast as the receptionist in the independent comedy “Clockwatchers” (1997) and a harassed campaign worker named Bill Feldman in “Bulworth”(1998), directed and written by and starring Warren Beatty. He also costarred with Jennifer Grant and Peter Krause in the comedy/romance “My Engagement Party” (1998) and was featured in the Emmy Award winning miniseries “From the Earth to the Moon” (1998), produced by Tom Hanks for HBO.

1998 also marked Malina's venture into a regular gig when he was chosen by the creator Aaron Sorkin to play one of the leads in the ABC comedy/drama “Sports Night” (1998-2000). Playing Jeremy Goodwin, the book-smart, recently recruited research assistant and associate producer, he enjoyed a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2000, but shortly thereafter the critically acclaimed show was canceled due to low ratings. Meanwhile, in 1999, he landed his biggest screen role to date, as Bob Stein, in the Sundance-screened comedy “Kill the Man,” opposite Luck Wilson.

After the demise of “Sports Night,” Malina starred with John Stamos in the comedy-made-for TV film “How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale (2000) and with Judy Greer in the independent film “Without Charlie” (2001), as well as acted as P.T. Hackey in Jonathan Silverman's “It Is What It Is” (2001). He returned to series TV as a regular in the Hank Azaria vehicle for NBC “Imagine That” (2002), playing Kenny Fleck. However, the show was soon canceled.

Thanks to his friendship with Aaron Sorkin, Malina eventually experienced a big breakthrough when he was invited to join the cast of “The West Wing's” in 2002, an acclaimed drama produced and created by Sorkin. Portraying campaign manager-turned-speechwriter Will Bailey, he remained with the series throughout its run, which ended in 2006, and jointly netted four consecutive Screen Actors Guild nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series from 2003 to 2006. While costarring on the show, he also could be seen pursuing other projects, like appearing as a male flight attendant in Gwyneth Paltrow's 2003 film, “View from the Top.”

After “The West Wing,” Malina portrayed a federal prosecutor named Howard Meeks in the three episodes of crime series “Numbers” (2006-2007) and Tim Marley in two episodes of the series “Nine” (2006-2007). Currently, he stars as Karl Mixworthy in the drama series “Big Shots” (2007), opposite Paige Turco, Jessica Collins and Peyton List, among others.

Awards:
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