Biography And Filmography:

Best known for his role as the unbearable Dwight Schrute on the NBC smash hit television series "The Office", Rainn Wilson has always taken roles as the guy you love to hate.

Born January 20, 1966, he grew up in Seattle Washington, but attended high school in Illinois. He attended Tufts University and the University of Washington before staring to study acting at NYU’s graduate acting program. He joined The Acting Company and Arena Stage, performing in the off-Broadway shows “Titus Andronicus”, "Twelfth Night” and “Venus”, and on Broadway in “London Assurance” and “The Tempest.” 

One of his first breakthroughs was on the soap opera “One Life to Live,” and followed that job with guest appearances on various feature films, including “Galaxy Quest” (1999) with Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver, “Almost Famous” (2001) with Billy Crudup and Kate Hudson, and “Full Frontal” (2002) starring David Duchovny. Other movie roles included the action adventure comedy “Sahara” (2005) with Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz.

Wilson also had several appearances on network television, including small roles on “Dark Angel”, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and “Numb3rs”, but his biggest television breakthrough was on HBO’s comedy “Six Feet Under,” where he made a remarkable impression portraying the odd mortician Arthur Martin. He had a thirteen show deal on the show, a drama series that took a darkly comical look at members of a dysfunctional Pasadena family that runs an independent funeral home. 

His role of the charmingly creepy, self-important Dwight Schrute, the United States version of the original British series "The Office" (2005 - ), was clearly the role that gained him national and critical attention. The mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium, was able to showcase his dry comedy as he grew frustrated at trying to get his co-workers to follow orders. His character is constantly trying to assert himself as second in command to fellow boss and actor Steve Carell. By the end of the first season, Rainn and Carell had developed a rock solid comedy back-and-forth that amused audiences and won him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Riding on the success of "The Office", he stretched his talents and began working on the big screen. In 2006, he was hired and cast in the Luke Wilson and Uma Thurman romantic comedy “My Super-Ex-Girlfriend” (2006) where he played Luke Wilson's repulsive loser friend, Vaughn Haige. The following year, he was cast in a supporting role in the fantasy adventure “The Last Mimzy” (2007) where two siblings begin to develop special talents after they find a mysterious box of toys and are soon drawn into a strange new world and find a task ahead of them that is far more important than any of them could imagine.

His big movie break came in 2007 with the smash hit and award winning comedy "Juno" starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, where faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child. While his role as Rollo was only a supporting role, the movie was a hit with audiences and critics and he was credited with helping to make the movie a hit. The actors participation in the award winning film shot him to the forefront of Hollywood and suddenly every producer wanted the new star in their movies.

He finally got his first headlining role in the 2008 summer comedy "The Rocker" with Christina Applegate and Emma Stone. He played  the lead character of Robert 'Fish' Fishman. While the film was a sophomoric teen summer movie, it showed that under the right conditions the actor could headline a big screen project. The critics panned the movie as outdated and dull - but "The Rocker" seemed just a jumping off point for him.

His next role was in the animated family adventure "Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009) working with an all-star cast that included Seth Rogen, Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland Paul Rudd and Hugh Laurie, in a funny animated tale of when a meteorite from outer space hits a young girl and turns her into a giant monster. She is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years.

He wrapped his year working on the Michael Bay thriller "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (2009) starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, the sequel where the battle for Earth has ended but the battle for the universe has just begun. After returning to Cybertron, Starscream assumes command of the Decepticons, and has decided to return to Earth with force. In late July, lead character Shia LaBeouf was involved in a late night car accident smashing his left wrist requiring emergency reconstructive surgery. Filming on the action movie was delayed while Shia healed but the "Transformer" sequel is still expected to release June 26 2009.  

Watch Rainn Wilson In "The Rocker" Movie Trailer

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