B.J. Novak

Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak, born on July 31, 1979, is a multifaceted American actor, comedian, screenwriter, author, and producer. He rose to fame in the early 2000s as a comedian and later transitioned to become a field agent on MTV's reality prank series, Punk'd, which debuted in 2003.

Novak's career reached new heights with his prominent role as Ryan Howard in the beloved NBC mockumentary sitcom, The Office, airing from 2005 to 2013. His contributions as an actor, writer, and producer on the show earned him significant accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Writers Guild of America Award, and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.

In the late 2000s, Novak expanded his filmography with notable roles in Reign Over Me (2007) and Inglourious Basterds (2009). The 2010s saw him portray Robert B. Sherman in Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and Alistair Smythe in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). He starred as Harry J. Sonneborn in The Founder (2016) and lent his voice to Baker Smurf in The Smurfs (2011) and its sequel (2013). Additionally, he appeared as Lucas Pruit in HBO's The Newsroom (2014).

Entering the 2020s, Novak made his directorial debut with Vengeance (2022), a project he also produced and starred in. He created and wrote the anthology series The Premise for FX on Hulu in 2021. Alongside his screen work, Novak authored the books One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories and The Book with No Pictures, both released in 2014.