Rainn Wilson

Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson is an American actor, author, producer, and media entrepreneur. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom adaptation of The Office from 2005 to 2013. His portrayal of the eccentric sales representative earned him widespread recognition, including three consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and two Screen Actors Guild Awards as part of the show's comedy ensemble.

Wilson was born on January 20, 1966, in Seattle, Washington. He spent part of his early childhood living in Nicaragua before returning to Washington, where he attended Kellogg Middle School and Shorecrest High School. During his youth, he played both the clarinet and the bassoon in his school band. After moving to Illinois, he graduated from New Trier High School. He initially attended Tufts University before transferring to the University of Washington, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama in 1986. He subsequently earned a Master of Fine Arts in acting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Wilson worked extensively in stage theater, performing with groups such as The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, and the Guthrie Theater. To support himself between early acting jobs, he drove a moving van in New York City. He made his television debut on the soap opera One Life to Live in 1997 and his feature film debut in the 1999 science fiction comedy Galaxy Quest. He subsequently appeared in supporting roles in films like Almost Famous and House of 1000 Corpses. From 2003 to 2005, he gained further screen prominence playing funeral home intern Arthur Martin on HBO's Six Feet Under, sharing a Screen Actors Guild Award for drama ensemble.

Wilson achieved mainstream fame after joining the cast of The Office in 2005. In addition to acting on the series, he directed three of its episodes. During this period, Wilson hosted Saturday Night Live in 2007 and starred in feature comedies such as The Rocker and Super. He also lent his voice to animated projects, voicing the alien villain Gallaxhar in Monsters vs. Aliens and Gargamel in Smurfs: The Lost Village.

Following The Office, Wilson continued to work in television, film, and digital media. He starred in the drama series Backstrom, guest-starred as Harry Mudd in the Star Trek franchise, and played a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Mom. He has voiced Lex Luthor across several DC Animated Movie Universe projects and presented the travel series Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss. Beyond screen acting, Wilson co-founded the digital media company SoulPancake in 2008, published his memoir The Bassoon King in 2015, and co-founded the educational non-profit Lidè Haiti.