Joshua Malina | |
|---|---|
 Malina in 2013 | |
| Born | Joshua Charles Malina January 17, 1966 New York City, NY, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | Melissa Merwin (m. 1996) |
| Children | 2 |
Joshua Charles Malina (born January 17, 1966) [1] is an American film and stage actor known for playing Will Bailey on the NBC drama The West Wing , Jeremy Goodwin on Sports Night , US Attorney General David Rosen on Scandal , and Caltech President Siebert on The Big Bang Theory .
Malina was born in New York City. His parents, Fran and Robert Malina, were founding members of Young Israel of Scarsdale in New Rochelle, where he grew up. [2] [3] His father was an attorney, investment banker and Broadway producer. The actor has commented that while the name "Malina" does not sound Jewish to most people and often leads them to assume he is Latino (often due to confusion of "Malina" with the Spanish surname Molina), the name is Czech in origin, from the "Czech [word] for 'raspberry.'" [4]
Malina attended middle school at Westchester Day School and high school at the Horace Mann School. He earned a B.A. in Theater from Yale University. At Yale, he was a member of The Spizzwinks, an a cappella group, together with fellow actor Noah Emmerich. [5]
He made his acting debut in the Broadway production of Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men , [6] and later in the play's run moved into a major role. Malina had contacted Sorkin initially at the suggestion of his parents when he first went to New York City, as they knew Sorkin was a high-school classmate and friend of Malina's cousins. The cousins, in turn, had spoken highly of Malina to Sorkin, who suggested he audition for the play. [7] Malina has joked in interviews that Sorkin's casting him in subsequent productions may owe to the fact that he once performed the Heimlich maneuver on Sorkin, saving his life, when the writer began to choke while eating a hamburger at a bowling match with the cast of the play. [7] [8] He has since appeared in many Sorkin film and TV projects.
In March 2023, Malina took over the lead role of Hermann Mertz in the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt.
Malina's first job in the film business was as a production assistant on the Chevy Chase comedy Fletch Lives , an ill-received sequel to the star's hit movie Fletch. [8] His first on-screen appearance was a three-line, five-word role in the film version of A Few Good Men, [7] where he has said he appreciated the dedication that star Jack Nicholson showed by performing his lines in the scene himself even though his character was off screen and could easily have been played for him by a crew member. [8] In his next film, Sorkin's The American President , Malina had a somewhat larger role as assistant to Annette Bening's environmental-activist character. [9]
Malina played two different characters over four episodes on the talk-show satire The Larry Sanders Show . He appeared first in 1993 as Robert Brody, a fictional reporter for the real-life magazine Entertainment Weekly , to whom actor John Ritter gives a scathing interview after having his appearance in the show cancelled to make room for musician Warren Zevon to play a second song (episode: "Off Camera"). Five years later, Malina returned in a recurring role as Kenny Mitchell, a sleazy network executive who pushes Larry Sanders out of the show in favor of Jon Stewart.
From 1998 to 2000, Malina starred as character Jeremy Goodwin on Sorkin's Sports Night , a show that attracted him from the moment Sorkin sent him the pilot script. [9] The Goodwin character began as a research analyst, but was promoted to associate producer by the second season, creating a larger role for Malina. [10] The critically acclaimed show was unable to find a large fan base and was canceled after two seasons, with some critics saying the show's troubles were exacerbated by having to share Sorkin's time with his concurrent project on rival network NBC, The West Wing . [10] The actor counts Sports Night among his most popular roles and noted on the occasion of the show's 10th-anniversary DVD release, "If my straw poll of who stops me to say what is any indication, West Wing may only slightly edge Sports Night." [11]
Following the panned [12] [13] [14] [15] Hank Azaria vehicle Imagine That – where both he and Azaria were described as "talent going to waste" [16] – Malina played Will Bailey on The West Wing from 2002 to 2006. His character initially was perceived by the public as an attempt to replace departing series star Rob Lowe, [17] although Malina said in numerous interviews that the two actors and characters were too dissimilar to be viewed as anything but a change. [7] [8] During his tenure on The West Wing, Malina was known to the rest of the cast as a tireless prankster. It is said he coated telephones with Vaseline and reset producer Alex Graves's iPod menus to Mandarin Chinese. [18] He stole some of Bradley Whitford's letterhead stationery and used it in an elaborate prank. At the suggestion of co-star Janel Moloney, Malina sent a $200 Valentine's Day bouquet to season-six newcomer Jimmy Smits that included a card crafted on Whitford's stolen letterhead stating: "Jimmy, You are a delight. I enjoyed every moment we've had together. Be my Valentine." [19] Following the end of The West Wing, Malina campaigned for the leading role of Danny Tripp in Sorkin's next TV project, Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip, but the role went instead to Whitford. When the show was cancelled in its first season, Malina was teased by some in the industry who suggested he was Sorkin's good luck charm, but he pointed to Sorkin's upcoming film Charlie Wilson's War as evidence his friend could succeed without him. [20]
In 2007, Malina became one of the four stars of the short-lived ABC dramedy Big Shots . His character, Karl Mixworthy, was a pharmaceutical company executive juggling a wife and a mistress, [20] who meet when the jilted lover tries to expose him to his wife but befriends her instead. [21]
Malina is a co-creator and producer of Bravo's cable TV series Celebrity Poker Showdown . In private life, he is an avid poker player, having played with Sorkin while on Broadway, [7] used poker winnings to pay his rent early in his career, [22] [23] and organized a cast-and-crew game that lasted the full duration of Sports Night and occasionally delayed the start of shooting. [11] The idea for the show came from a weekly high-stakes poker game hosted by Hank Azaria, which Malina and friend Andrew Hill Newman attended.
From 2011 to 2019, Malina appeared as University President Siebert on The Big Bang Theory .
In 2012, Malina held a recurring role on ABC's Scandal as Assistant U.S. Attorney David Rosen. He was promoted to a series regular for season 2.
Malina co-hosted the podcast The West Wing Weekly with Hrishikesh Hirway. The series debuted in March 2016, and ended in January 2020. [24]
In 2004, Malina was a participant in the first-ever national television advertising campaign supporting donations to Jewish federations. The program featured "film and television personalities celebrating their Jewish heritage and promoting charitable giving to the Jewish community" and included Greg Grunberg, Marlee Matlin, Kevin Weisman, and Jonathan Silverman. [25]
In 1992, Malina met costume designer Melissa Merwin through his friendship with her sister Jennifer, and Jennifer's then-husband actor Timothy Busfield. [7] Merwin converted to Judaism under Conservative auspices. [26] They married in 1996 and have two children.[ citation needed ]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | A Few Good Men | Tom | |
| 1993 | In the Line of Fire | Secret Service Agent Chavez | |
| 1993 | Malice | Resident | |
| 1995 | Separate Lives | Randall | |
| 1995 | The American President | David | |
| 1996 | Infinity | Calculator Kid #3 | |
| 1997 | Clockwatchers | Global Credit Receptionist | |
| 1998 | Bulworth | Bill Feldman | |
| 1999 | Kill the Man | Bob Stein | |
| 2001 | Without Charlie | Charlie | |
| 2003 | View from the Top | Randy Jones | |
| 2012 | The First Time | Mr. Miller | |
| 2013 | Knights of Badassdom | Travis | |
| 2014 | The Young Kieslowski | Robert Kieslowski | |
| 2015 | Thrilling Adventure Hour Live | Barkeep | |
| 2016 | Rules Don't Apply | Herb | Uncredited |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Bob | Vince | Episode: "Da Game" |
| 1993–1998 | The Larry Sanders Show | Kenny Mitchell / Robert Brody | 4 episodes |
| 1994 | Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills | Gerald Bronstein | TV movie |
| 1996 | Tracey Takes On... | Jordan | 3 episodes |
| 1996 | Champs | Cab Driver | Episode: "Live and Let Breathe" |
| 1996 | Sliders | Egghead Announcer | Episode: "Rules of the Game" |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Tim Messick | Episode: "We Have Cleared the Tower" |
| 1998–2000 | Sports Night | Jeremy Goodwin | 45 episodes |
| 2000 | How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale | Mark Sickler | TV movie |
| 2002 | She Spies | Jimmy Onassis | Episode: "First Episode" |
| 2002 | Imagine That | Kenny Fleck | 6 episodes |
| 2002–2006 | The West Wing | Will Bailey | 71 episodes |
| 2003 | See Jane Date | Kevin Adams | TV movie |
| 2006–2007 | Numb3rs | Howard Meeks | Episodes: "Nine Wives", "Democracy", "Waste Not" |
| 2006–2007 | The Nine | Tim Marley | 2 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | Big Shots | Karl Mixworthy | 11 episodes |
| 2007 | Stargate SG-1 | Cicero | Episode: "Bad Guys" |
| 2008 | Medium | Tim Carmer | Episode: "Car Trouble" |
| 2008 | Grey's Anatomy | Seth Hammer | Episode: "In the Midnight Hour" |
| 2008 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | DA Monroe | Episode: "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" |
| 2009 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | Agent Auldridge | Episode: "Born to Run" |
| 2009–2011 | In Plain Sight | Peter Alpert | 17 episodes |
| 2009 | iCarly | Goldstein | Episode: "iTake on Dingo" |
| 2009 | Valentine | Duncan | Episode: "Hound Dog" |
| 2009 | Psych | Stewart Gimbley | Episode: "Let's Get Hairy" |
| 2009 | House M.D. | Tucker | Episode: "Wilson" |
| 2009 | Legally Mad | Aaron | Unaired pilot [27] |
| 2010 | Bones | Dr. Adam Copeland | Episode: "The Devil in the Details" |
| 2010 | The Sarah Silverman Program | Supervisor Bill Wilson | Episode: "Nightmayor" |
| 2010 | The Good Guys | Assistant Chief James Guthrie | Episode: "Cop Killer" |
| 2011–2019 | The Big Bang Theory | President Siebert | 13 episodes |
| 2011 | CSI: Miami | Neil Marshall | Episode: "G.O." [28] |
| 2011 | Private Practice | Jason | Episode: "To Change The Things We Can" |
| 2011 | American Horror Story: Murder House | The Dentist | Episode: "Spooky Little Girl" |
| 2012 | Leap Year | Sam Berry | 4 episodes |
| 2012–2018 | Scandal | David Rosen | 112 episodes |
| 2014 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Simon Wilkes | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Extant | Dr. Gavin Beck | Episode: "What on Earth Is Wrong?" |
| 2015 | Childrens Hospital | Gene | Episode: "We Are Not Our DNA!" |
| 2017 | Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later | Deep Throat | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | The Good Doctor | Mitchell Stewart | Episode: "Take My Hand" |
| 2020 | Perfect Harmony | Torsten VanBlaricum | Episode: "Know When to Walk Away" |
| 2020 | FBI: Most Wanted | Paul Hayden | Episode: "Silkworm" |
| 2020–2021 | Shameless | Arthur Tipping | 5 episodes |
| 2021 | This Is Us | Car Crash Victim | Episode: "There" |
| 2021 | The Rookie | Max | Episode: "Life and Death" |
| 2022 | Inventing Anna | Henrick Knight | Episode: "The Devil Wore Anna" |
| 2022–2023 | American Auto | Ted | 2 episodes |
The West Wing is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior personnel are located, during the fictitious Democratic administration of President Josiah Bartlet.
Henry Albert Azaria is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom The Simpsons since 1989, most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Snake Jailbird, Professor Frink, and formerly Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Lou, Carl Carlson, and Bumblebee Man, among others. He gained recognition after becoming a series regular in its second season. For his work, he has won six Primetime Emmy Awards, an Annie Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
A Few Good Men is a play by Aaron Sorkin, first produced on Broadway by David Brown in 1989. It tells the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, two United States Marines accused of murder.
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin is an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a writer for stage, television, and film, Sorkin is recognized for his trademark fast-paced dialogue and extended monologues, complemented by frequent use of the storytelling technique called the "walk and talk". Sorkin has earned numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Golden Globes.
Sports Night is an American television series about a fictional sports news show also called Sports Night. It focuses on the friendships, pitfalls and ethical issues the creative talent of the program face while trying to produce a good show under constant network pressure. Created by Aaron Sorkin, the half-hour prime time comedy drama aired on ABC for two seasons, from September 22, 1998 to May 16, 2000.
Gregory Phillip Grunberg is an American film and television actor known for starring as Eric Weiss in the ABC series Alias, Matt Parkman in the NBC series Heroes, Temmin "Snap" Wexley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Phil in A Star Is Born. He has often appeared in works produced and directed by his childhood friend J. J. Abrams, such as Felicity as Sean Blumberg. He was a recurring cast member in the first two seasons of the Showtime American television drama series Masters of Sex.
Bradley Whitford is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama The West Wing (1999–2006), for which he was nominated for three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards from 2001 to 2003, winning in 2001. The role earned him three consecutive Golden Globe Award nominations.
Thomas David Schlamme is an American television director, known particularly for his collaborations with Aaron Sorkin. He is known for his work as executive producer on The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as well as his work as director on Sports Night and The Americans.
Joshua Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama series The West Wing. The role earned Whitford the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2001. For most of the series, he is White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Political Advisor in the Josiah Bartlet administration.
Madeline "Mandy" Hampton is a fictional character from the American serial drama The West Wing, portrayed by Moira Kelly. She is the White House media director during the first season of the show and the former girlfriend of Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, with whom she often clashes. A savvy political strategist and no-nonsense negotiator, the character is said to have been based on Mandy Grunwald, a real-life Democratic political consultant and media adviser who worked on the presidential campaigns for both Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. Moira Kelly said of her character, "She's a fighter in a difficult business and has a lot of strength."
John Spencer was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Leo McGarry on the NBC political drama series The West Wing and for his role as attorney Tommy Mullaney in L.A. Law. His performance on The West Wing earned him a Primetime Emmy Award in 2002.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series similar to Saturday Night Live. Produced by Warner Bros. Television, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ran on NBC for 22 episodes, from September 18, 2006, to June 28, 2007. On May 14, 2007, NBC cancelled the series after one season. It is the only one of the four television shows created by Sorkin not to air for more than one season.
Eli Attie is an Emmy-winning writer, producer, and former White House staff member. He served as Vice President Al Gore's chief White House and campaign speechwriter through Gore's concession of the 2000 presidential election, which Attie and Gore wrote together. Attie then became a longtime writer and producer on the drama series The West Wing, House, and more recently, Billions. He is currently a writer and producer on Netflix's political thriller The Diplomat and on Netflix's upcoming limited series Zero Day, which will star Robert De Niro.
"Two Cathedrals" is the 44th episode and second season finale of The West Wing. It was first broadcast on May 16, 2001, on NBC.
The seventh and final season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 25, 2005, to May 14, 2006, and consisted of 22 episodes. The series changed time slots from Wednesdays at 9:00 pm to Sundays at 8:00 pm, and the series struggled in its new time slot against ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and CBS's Cold Case.
The fourth season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 25, 2002 to May 14, 2003 and consisted of 23 episodes.
The fifth season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 24, 2003, to May 19, 2004, and consisted of 22 episodes. This was the first season with executive producer John Wells as showrunner after series creator Aaron Sorkin departed the series at the end of the previous season.
Pilot is the pilot episode of the television series Sports Night, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Thomas Schlamme, which premiered on ABC in the United States on September 22, 1998. The pilot introduces viewers to a varied group of personalities working on a fictional late-night American sports show called Sports Night, on the CSC network.
Imagine That is an American sitcom television series that aired from January 8 until January 15, 2002 on NBC.
The West Wing Weekly is an American podcast hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway and Joshua Malina. In each episode, the hosts discuss one episode of the television program The West Wing, which originally aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006. The podcast, which ran from 2016–2020, features various cast and crew members including series creator Aaron Sorkin, director Tommy Schlamme, series actors Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney, Marlee Matlin, and Dulé Hill, longtime series writer-producers Eli Attie and Lawrence O'Donnell, and many former government officials, academics, and pundits, among others.
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