Michael Ian Black
Biography
Michael Ian Black is an American comedian, actor, and writer who began his career with the comedy group The State and appeared on its MTV television show. He played Johnny Bluejeans on Viva Variety and later appeared in Wet Hot American Summer (2001), directed by frequent collaborator David Wain. In the late 1990s and early 2000s he was the puppeteer and provided the voice for the Pets.com sock puppet and had a supporting part on the NBC dramedy Ed. He acted in and helped write the Comedy Central series Stella with Michael Showalter and David Wain, wrote the screenplays for Wedding Daze (2006) and Run, Fat Boy, Run (2007), and directed Wedding Daze. He has written books, including several for children, hosted podcasts, and played Peepers on Another Period. He appeared as Steve YouTube in Smosh: The Movie (2015) and joined CNN's Have I Got News For You as a panelist in 2024.
55years old
Turns 56 on August 12in 303 days
- Born Chicago
- Star sign: LeoThe sign runs July 23 to August 22
- Also credited as Michael Schwartz
Movie Career
- Films
- 12
- Career span
- 22 years2001 to 2023
Genres
- Comedy75%, 9 films
- Drama25%, 3 films
- Romance25%, 3 films
- Documentary17%, 2 films
- Sci-Fi17%, 2 films
First and latest
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About the name
Black's birth name was Schwartz, which comes from the German word schwarz, meaning black. He took the name Michael Ian Black so people would not confuse him with the actor Mike Schwartz.
A role that slipped away
Black was a finalist to host CBS's The Late Late Show in 2004, guest hosting while auditioning, but the job went to Craig Ferguson.
A change of course
From 1998 to 2000, Black voiced and puppeteered the Pets.com sock puppet. He later called the experience "painful but fun."
Behind the camera
Michael Ian Black directed Wedding Daze, a comedy starring Jason Biggs, Joe Pantoliano and Isla Fisher, and he also wrote its screenplay. His other screenplay credit is Run, Fat Boy, Run, which he co-wrote with Simon Pegg.
A first
Black instigated a Twitter feud with LeVar Burton in 2009 to see if he could gather more followers than Burton, calling it the World's First Twitter War.
Michael Ian Black movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
David Wain directed two of these films. David Wain appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
David Wain's page
Paul Rudd's page
Molly Shannon's page
Elizabeth Banks's page
Amy Poehler's page
Christopher Meloni's page
Also three films together4 more actors
- Ken MarinoHurricane of Fun: The Making of Wet Hot (2015), They Came Together (2014) and Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
- Zak OrthHurricane of Fun: The Making of Wet Hot (2015), The Baxter (2005) and Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
- Michael ShowalterHurricane of Fun: The Making of Wet Hot (2015), The Baxter (2005) and Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
- A.D. MilesHurricane of Fun: The Making of Wet Hot (2015), The Baxter (2005) and Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.