Paul Dinello

Did you know?!

1. Early training

   Dinello's first improv class paired him with Greg Hollimon by having students close their eyes and find a partner; he opened his eyes to the six-foot-six bald man and joked about quitting.

2. Big break

   Hired in the late 1980s for Second City's touring company, Dinello first met Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert there. The three did not get along at first, but touring together turned them into close friends.

3. 

   Getting ready for a role

   Dinello based Geoffrey Jellineck, the art teacher he played on Strangers with Candy, on a teacher he had in high school.

4. Behind the camera

   Dinello directed and produced a film adaptation and co-wrote its screenplay with Sedaris and Colbert. He also played Geoffrey Jellineck again in it, and the film premiered at Sundance in 2005 before a limited release in 2006.

5. Behind the camera

   Dinello helped Colbert with his 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner speech, revising it with him the night before the event.

6. Behind the camera

   Dinello, Colbert and David Pasquesi wrote the comedy script Trifecta, which Artisan Entertainment bought for Dinello to direct, but it stalled in development because Dinello disliked the script.