| Jason Mantzoukas | |
| Birth Date: | 18 December 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Nahant, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education: | Middlebury College (BA) |
| Years Active: | 1998–present |
Jason Mantzoukas (; born December 18, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series The League, his role as Nadal in The Dictator, and as one of the three co-hosts of the podcast How Did This Get Made? alongside Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael.
After beginning his career as an improv comedian, he has played several comedic roles in film and television. He appeared in the films The Dictator, The Long Dumb Road, Sleeping with Other People, They Came Together, Conception, and . He has had recurring roles on three TV series created by Michael Schur: Parks and Recreation (as Dennis Feinstein), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (as Adrian Pimento), and The Good Place (as Derek Hofstetler). He voices the characters Jay Bilzerian in the Netflix animated series Big Mouth, Alex Dorpenberger in the HBO Max animated series Close Enough, Rex Splode in the Amazon Prime animated series Invincible, The Gray One in HouseBroken and Jankom Pog in the Paramount+ animated series .
Mantzoukas was born in Lynn, Massachusetts and raised in Nahant, Massachusetts, and is the oldest child of Cynthia (née Mourousas) and William Mantzoukas, second-generation Greek-Americans.[1] [2] He has one younger sister, Melissa.[3] He has described himself as "100 percent Greek".[4]
Mantzoukas began taking drum lessons at age 10 and studied under Steve Barrett for over 8 years.[5] In interviews, he has cited Stewart Copeland, Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction, and Jimmy Chamberlin from The Smashing Pumpkins as his biggest influences as a young musician.[6] He participated in jazz and marching bands in high school, as well as playing in a cover band called Slygoul.[7] He continued with jazz drumming in college and played for a bebop group.[8]
Mantzoukas attended Swampscott High School, graduating in 1991.[9] While attending, he was named captain of Swampscott's boys' soccer and track teams and was president of the marching band.[10] He attended Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, where he majored in religion.[11] He attempted to defend a "terribly written" honors thesis on religious iconography (which he admits to starting a week prior to his defense date) but was not given credit to graduate with honors.[12]
After graduating from college in 1995, Mantzoukas was granted a Watson Fellowship and traveled throughout North Africa and the Middle East studying religious and transcendental music for nearly two years.[13] [14] He has admitted to having a "horrible [grant proposal] but was charming in the room; so [he earned the grant]."[12] At the time he left for Morocco for the Watson Fellowship, he had already had six auditions and callbacks for the Blue Man Group, but he ultimately decided to travel before the audition process was complete.[15] [16] He lived in Morocco for about 7½ months while studying and recording Gnawa music.[17] While abroad, he traveled to Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Jordan, and Syria.[12] During his time abroad, he was arrested numerous times, once in Morocco for having an expired tourist visa and again in Turkey to prevent him from traveling through an active war zone.[12]
Mantzoukas first began writing comedy sketches during his junior and senior years of high school for variety shows.[18] He began performing short-form improvisational comedy (improv) as a part of the Otter Nonsense Players at Middlebury College and quickly became "obsessed" with improv as it used the same skill set as performing jazz.[12] While performing with the Otters, Mantzoukas met and began learning and practicing long-form improv with fellow performers, Jessica St. Clair, Dan O'Brien, and Rodney Rothman.[8]
After moving to New York City in 1998, he began performing comedy regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB) and was taught by Amy Poehler.[8] He was a member of the improv team "Mother", one of the UCB's earliest house teams.[18] [19] [20] During his time at UCB, Mantzoukas worked in the computer graphics department at J.P. Morgan for over three years to "make ends meet."[21]
Mantzoukas and comedian Ed Herbstman performed as the comedy duo, "The Mantzoukas Brothers", for a number of years and were named the "Best Improv Duo" by Time Out New York magazine in 2006.[18] [22] Mantzoukas continued to write and perform as a duo with Jessica St. Clair appearing in the sketch show, "We Used to Go Out" and long-form improv show, "First Date".[18] [23] [24] Together, he and St. Clair pitched a pilot to HBO (which was ultimately not picked up) and earned a deal with Comedy Central.[18] The two were often compared to the likes of Nichols and May and continue to collaborate and perform on the podcast, Womp It Up!.[25] Mantzoukas taught advanced improv classes at UCB.[26]
Mantzoukas has appeared in films such as Baby Mama, I Hate Valentine's Day, The Dictator, and , and starred in The Long Dumb Road.[13] [27] [28] [29] Mantzoukas has a main role in the Paramount+ comedy series No Activity, and has had recurring roles on The League as Rafi, Enlightened, Kroll Show, Parks and Recreation, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Transparent, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I'm Sorry, and The Good Place.[30]
Mantzoukas has done extensive voice acting work, including main roles on the animated series Big Mouth, Close Enough, HouseBroken, and . In 2018, he replaced T.J. Miller as the voice of Mr. Mucus for the Mucinex commercials.[31] In 2022, he was cast as Dionysus/Mr. D in the Disney+ adaptation of the book series Percy Jackson & the Olympians.[32]
In 2008, NBC ordered a pilot for a comedy series written by Mantzoukas called Off Duty.[8] [33] The pilot was filmed in New York starring Bradley Whitford and Romany Malco but the series was not picked up.[8] In interviews in 2014, Mantzoukas announced that he was working on a "loosely autobiographical" television show for Showtime about life after ending a long-term relationship.[8]
Mantzoukas earned credit for writing the screenplay draft of the buddy cop comedy Ride Along, starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.[34] He originally was asked to write for Andy Samberg as one of the leads, but the rights to the film were ultimately purchased by Universal Studios who later cast Hart in the role originally intended for Samberg.[35] He has served as a consulting writer and producer on Childrens Hospital and Portlandia.[36]
Mantzoukas co-hosts the podcast How Did This Get Made? with Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael.[37] Mantzoukas regularly makes appearances on Comedy Bang! Bang!, Womp It Up!, Reply All, and Doughboys.[38] [39] [40]
Mantzoukas was born with an egg allergy and experiences anaphylaxis if ingested.[41] He has cited this allergy as the cause of his hypochondriac tendencies.[42]
He was previously in a relationship with actress Connie Britton.[43] [44]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Terrorists | John Stevens | |
| 2007 | American Loser | Luggage Channel Guy | |
| 2008 | Baby Mama | Gay Couple | |
| 2009 | I Hate Valentine's Day | Brian Blowdell | |
| Splinterheads | The Amazing Steve | ||
| 2010 | Please Give | Shopper | |
| 2011 | Conception | Brian | |
| 2012 | The Dictator | Nadal | |
| 2014 | Ride Along | Writer | |
| They Came Together | Bob | ||
| Neighbors | Doctor Theodorakis | ||
| Adult Beginners | Herman | ||
| Stretch | Manny the Valet | ||
| Search Party | The Amazing Hugo | ||
| 2015 | Sleeping with Other People | Xander | |
| Mr. Ross | Voice | ||
| The Night Before | Bad Santa #1 | ||
| 2016 | Dirty Grandpa | Tan Pam | |
| Homeless Man | |||
| How to Be Single | George | ||
| 2017 | The Lego Batman Movie | Voice | |
| The Disaster Artist | Peter Anway | ||
| The House | Frank Theodorakis | ||
| 2018 | The Long Dumb Road | Richard | |
| Ralph Breaks the Internet | Hey Nongman | Voice | |
| 2019 | Tick Tock Man | ||
| 2020 | Dolittle | James the Dragonfly | Voice |
| 2021 | Infinite | Artisan | |
| Samuel Adams | Voice |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Upright Citizens Brigade | Orgy Man | Episode: "Sex" |
| 2007 | Human Giant | Human Giant's #1 Fan | Episode: "24 Hour Marathon" |
| 2008 | Squidbillies | Pine Booby | Voice, episode: "Flight of the Deep Fried Pine Booby" |
| 2010–2012 | The Life & Times of Tim | Various voices | 3 episodes |
| 2010–2015 | The League | Rafi | 30 episodes; also writer |
| 2010 | Lee Mathers | Victor Dekmajian | Television film |
| 2011 | Childrens Hospital | Mole Man | Episode: "Newsreaders" Also writer and consulting producer |
| Traffic Light | Dimitry | Episode: "En Fuego" | |
| 2011–2013 | Enlightened | Omar Ali | 8 episodes |
| 2011–2015, 2020 | Parks and Recreation | Dennis Feinstein | 5 episodes |
| 2012 | Hank Schiller | Episode: "Comic-Con-Flict" | |
| 2013 | Bob's Burgers | Mr. Manoogian | Voice, episode: "The Unnatural" |
| The Greatest Event in Television History | Director | Episode: "Too Close for Comfort" | |
| Hole to Hole! | Ashleigh Dangerhole | Television film | |
| Modern Family | Kenny | Episode: "Party Crasher" | |
| 2013–2015 | Kroll Show | Various | 9 episodes |
| 2013–2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself / Chef Emeril Lugosi | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Broad City | Creepy DJ #2 | Episode: "Fattest Asses" |
| Playing House | C.J. Wolfe | Episode: "Drumline" | |
| Review | Crazed Driver | Episode: "Road Rage; Orgy" | |
| 2014–2017 | Transparent | Dr. Steve | 5 episodes |
| 2014–2018 | Drunk History | Various | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Community | Matt Lundergard | Episode: "Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing" |
| Regular Show | Various voices | 3 episodes | |
| 2016 | Animals. | Fink | Voice, episode: "Rats." |
| Robert Castellanos | Episode: "Spring" | ||
| Mr. Neighbor's House | Executive producer, creator, writer | ||
| 2016–2017 | Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ | Jerry | 2 episodes |
| Lady Dynamite | Karl Grisham | 2 episodes | |
| We Bare Bears | Scientist | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| 2016–2021 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Adrian Pimento | 11 episodes |
| 2016–2022 | American Dad! | Various voices | 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Comrade Detective | Drago | Voice, 6 episodes |
| HarmonQuest | Grabble Gribble | Episode: "The City of Forlona" | |
| Workaholics | Isaac Lubetkin | Episode: "Party Gawds" | |
| 2017–2019 | I'm Sorry | Kyle | 6 episodes |
| 2017–2020 | The Good Place | Derek Hofstetler | 9 episodes |
| 2017–present | Big Mouth | Jay Bilzerian / various voices | Voice, 71 episodes |
| 2017–2021 | No Activity | Marco / Dustin Kasprowicz | 18 episodes |
| 2018 | Mr. Neighbor's House 2 | Executive producer, creator, writer | |
| 2018–2019 | Nailed It! | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Legion | Jerome Wolf | Episode: "Chapter 25" |
| Dickinson | Bee | Voice, 3 episodes | |
| 2019–2020 | Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Carl Sando | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2020 | Solar Opposites | Vanbo | Voice, episode: "Retrace-Your-Step-Alizer" |
| The Shivering Truth | Voice, episode: "Nesslessness" | ||
| Magical Girl Friendship Squad | The Emptier | Voice, episode: "Just Two Weak Girls" | |
| 2020–2021 | The George Lucas Talk Show | Himself | 3 episodes |
| DuckTales | Steelbeak | Voice, 3 episodes | |
| 2020–2022 | Close Enough | Alex Dorpenberger | Voice, 24 episodes |
| 2021 | Robot Chicken | Voice, episode: "The Bleepin' Robot Chicken Archie Comics Special" | |
| 2021–present | Invincible | Rex Sloan / Rex Splode / Rex / Zombie #2 | Voice, 13 episodes |
| 2021 | The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse | Huckster McBackstabber | Voice, episode: "Duet for Two" |
| Ultra City Smiths | Tim Snodgrass | Voice, 5 episodes | |
| 2021–2022 | Jankom Pog | Voice, main role | |
| 2021–2023 | HouseBroken | The Gray One | Voice, main role |
| 2022 | We Baby Bears | Zorpo | Voice, episode: "Big Trouble Little Babies" |
| Pam & Tommy | Penis of Tommy Lee | Voice, episode: "I Love You, Tommy"[45] | |
| Roar | Dave | Episode: "The Woman Who Was Fed by a Duck" | |
| Paper Girls | Grand Father | 3 episodes | |
| 2023 | History of the World, Part II | Greek Ambassador | Episode: "VII" |
| Agent Elvis | Voice, 6 episodes | ||
| Twisted Metal | Preacher | 1 episode | |
| Obliterated | Gremlin | Voice, 6 episodes | |
| 2023–present | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | 3 episodes | |
| 2024 | The Simpsons | Finn Bon Idée | Voice, episode: "Night of the Living Wage" |
| Velma | Scrappy-Doo | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| Lego Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition | Deadpool / Wade Wilson | Voice, Disney+ Television Special[46] | |
| Krapopolis | Joshua | Voice, episode: "Mr. Boogens" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Blakebeard the Blackhearted | |||
| 2022 | Jankom Pog (voice) |
In addition to hosting How Did This Get Made?, Mantzoukas also has been a guest on a number of podcasts.
| Year | Title | Episode(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–present | Comedy Bang! Bang! | 53+ | |
| 2018–present | Doughboys | 3 episodes | |
| 2011–2015 | Doug Loves Movies | 7 episodes | |
| Affirmation Nation | 9 episodes | ||
| 2012 | Sklarbro Country | "Hotzi" | |
| Jordan, Jesse Go! | "Ep 244 Hashtag Friend Zone" | ||
| Earwolf Presents | "The Christmas Womptacular" | ||
| 2012–2013 | You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes | 2 episodes | |
| 2012, 2014 | Totally Laime | 2 episodes | |
| 2012–2017 | Who Charted? | 5 episodes | |
| 2012–2018 | improv4humans | 6 episodes | |
| 2013 | Kevin Pollak's Chat Show | "Jason Mantzoukas" | |
| The Dead Authors Podcast | "Chapter 24: Plato, featuring Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| WireTap | "S10E09: Trapped" | ||
| 2014 | The K Ohle with Kurt Braunohler | "The Boat Show with Jason Mantzoukas" | |
| Never Not Funny | "Episode 1517 - Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| 2014, 2018 | The Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project | 2 episodes | |
| 2014–2020 | Hollywood Handbook | 3 episodes | |
| 2015 | Reading Aloud | "#25 Jason Mantzoukas, Robert Baker, Crispin Whittell" | |
| Crybabies | "Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| Black List Table Reads | "Balls Out" | ||
| 2015–2017 | Gilmore Guys | 7 episodes | |
| 2015–2020 | Womp It Up! | 9 episodes | |
| 2016 | Don't Get Me Started | "Jason Mantzoukas - Improv" | |
| Spontaneanation | "Rented Cabin in the Mountains" | ||
| With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus | "Jason Mantzoukas: What Went Wrong?" | ||
| Unqualified |
| ||
| How To Be Less Old | "Jason Mantzoukas Is #NotOnTwitterGuys" | ||
| 2016–2017 | FOUND | 2 episodes | |
| 2016–2019 | The Watch | 8 episodes | |
| 2016–2020 | Reply All |
| |
| 2017 | WTF with Marc Maron | "Jason Mantzoukas" | |
| K&B Podcast | "Wednesday, June 28th" | ||
| Dumb People Town | "Jason Mantzoukas - Dibblin' a Toe In" | ||
| UCB Long-Form Conversations | "Paul Scheer/Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| DTR - The Official Tinder Podcast | "JU-LI-A" | ||
| 2018 | UCB Sports & Leisure | "What about Blotch? (w/ Jason Mantzoukas)" | |
| Maisel Goys | "Season One (with Jason Mantzoukas)" | ||
| Dr. Gameshow | "#NAHSMYOZ" | ||
| R U Talkin' R.E.M. RE: ME? | "Covers of R.E.M. with Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| Heavy Friending | "Joe and Laura Talk to Jason Mantzoukas at Austin Film Festival" | ||
| Raised By TV | "Zoom Zoom (w/ Jason Mantzoukas)" | ||
| KFC Radio | "Jason Mantzoukas, Back 2 School with Large, and Frankie's Groupie" | ||
| My TV Family | "Austin Film Festival Review" | ||
| The Comic's Comic Presents Last Things First | "Episode #235: Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| Back to One | "Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| 2018–2019 | The Good Place: The Podcast | Ch. 21, Ch. 38 | |
| 2019 | Armchair Expert | "Jason Mantzoukas" | |
| Aquarium Drunkard | "Transmissions Podcast: Jason Mantzoukas/Remembering Sara Romweber/Low: On Double Negative" | ||
| Off Camera | "Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| Wild Horses: The Perspective | "Jason Mantzoukas: For Who Could Ever Love A Beast" | ||
| The TV Campfire | "The League Reunion (Live from ATX Season 8)" | ||
| The Need to Fail | "Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| 2020 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Podcast | 2 episodes | |
| Off Book | "Jason Mantzoukas in Off Book: Undercover" | ||
| Beef and Dairy Network | "Introducing … Bimpsie!" | ||
| Binge Mode: Weekly | "Jason Mantzoukas Part 1", "Jason Mantzoukas Part 2" | ||
| The Scaredy Cats Horror Show | "#1 The Exorcist" | ||
| How Did This Get Played? | "Street Fighter The Movie with Jason Mantzoukas & Paul Scheer" | ||
| Thirst Aid Kit | "A Dog Called Rex (with Jason Mantzoukas)" | ||
| Bonanas for Bonanza | "The Saga of Annie O'Toole" | ||
| Selected Shorts | "Child's Play" | ||
| I Will Write Your Book | "Feel the Beat - Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| We Have To Stop Talkin' TMNT On CBB | "TMNT 3 w/ Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| Home Cooking | "Fronds with Benefits (with Jason Mantzoukas)" | ||
| The Last Laugh | "Jason Mantzoukas Is Comedy's Go-To 'Maniac'" | ||
| 2020–2021 | Hello from the Magic Tavern | 2 episodes | |
| Blank Check with Griffin & David | 2 episodes | ||
| 2021 | Three Questions with Andy Richter | "Jason Mantzoukas" | |
| Mega | 2 episodes | ||
| Circle Round | "The Missing Knight feat. Sarah, Duchess of York & Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| The Ringer-Verse | 3 episodes | ||
| Movies That Changed My Life | "Jason Mantzoukas: Harold and Maude, The Big Lebowski, and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" | ||
| Ask Ronna | "A Little Bit of Vomit in Every Kiss with Jason Mantzoukas" | ||
| X-Ray Vision | "The Marvelous MCU TV Shows of Disney+" | ||
| 2022 | The Sporkful | "Jason Mantzoukas Sees Every Meal as a Threat" | |
| 2023 | Parks and Recreation | "Jason Mantzoukas: Citizen Knope (S4 E10)" | |
| 2024 | Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster | "Episode #252: Jason Mantzoukas" |