B.J. Novak
Acting
Born: Jul 31, 1979
From: Newton, Massachusetts, USA
Credits: 30 titles
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 …
Filmography
| Title | Character | Year | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Devil Wears Prada 2 | Jay Ravitz | 2026 | 6.452 |
| Lessons in Chemistry TV | Six-Thirty (voice) | 2023 | 8.209 |
| Vengeance | Ben Manalowitz | 2022 | 6.598 |
| The Premise TV | Self - Host | 2021 | 6.3 |
| Home Movie: The Princess Bride TV | Count Rugen | 2020 | 7.5 |
| The Founder | Harry J. Sonneborn | 2016 | 7.143 |
| Crazy Ex-Girlfriend TV | B.J. Novak | 2015 | 6.8 |
| The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | Allistar Smythe | 2014 | 6.533 |
| Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor | Self - Coach | 2014 | — |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers TV | Self | 2014 | 5.2 |
| Saving Mr. Banks | Robert Sherman | 2013 | 7.337 |
| The Internship | Male Interviewer | 2013 | 6.238 |
| The Smurfs 2 | Baker Smurf (voice) | 2013 | 5.752 |
| The Office Retrospective | Self | 2013 | 7.5 |
| The Bitter Buddha | Self | 2012 | 7.6 |
| The Dictator | (uncredited) | 2012 | 6.224 |
| The Mindy Project TV | Jamie | 2012 | 6.21 |
| The Smurfs | Baker Smurf (voice) | 2011 | 5.758 |
| Threat Level Midnight: The Movie | 2011 | 10.0 | |
| Inglourious Basterds | PFC. Smithson Utivich | 2009 | 8.217 |
| The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien TV | Self | 2009 | 7.108 |
| Reign Over Me | Mr. Fallon | 2007 | 7.216 |
| Knocked Up | Young Doctor | 2007 | 6.303 |
| Unaccompanied Minors | Desk Attendant | 2006 | 5.954 |
| Punk'd TV | Field Agent | 2003 | 5.086 |
| Punk'd TV | Self | 2003 | 5.086 |
| Live from E! TV | Self | 2002 | 3.7 |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien TV | Self - Guest | 1993 | 7.3 |
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno TV | Self | 1992 | 5.375 |
| Untitled Mitch Hedberg documentary | Self | — | |
| Known for | Acting |
| Credits | 30 |
| Born | 1979 |
| From | Newton, Massachusetts, USA |