Michael Showalter
Michael Showalter at theMontclair Film Festival, May 2015
Born	(1970-06-17)June 17, 1970 (age 55) Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Other names	Mikey S
Spouse	Anne Kalin Ellis ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	2
Comedy career
Years active	1992–present
Medium	Film,television
Genres	Surreal comedy,improvisational comedy,farce,dark comedy,stand-up comedy,alternative comedy,sketch comedy,anti-humor,cringe comedy,physical comedy,satire /parody

Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American director, writer, and producer. He first achieved recognition as a cast member onMTV'sThe State, which aired from 1993 to 1995. Along withDavid Wain, Showalter created theWet Hot American Summer franchise, with Showalter co-writing and starring inWet Hot American Summer (2001) and theNetflix series. Showalter wrote and directedThe Baxter (2005), in which he starred withMichelle Williams,Justin Theroux, andElizabeth Banks. Both films featured many of his co-stars fromThe State, and so do several of his other projects. Showalter is also a co-creator, co-producer, actor, and writer for the TV seriesSearch Party. He directed the 2017 filmThe Big Sick and the 2021 filmThe Eyes of Tammy Faye, both of which were critically acclaimed.

Showalter was born inPrinceton, New Jersey, the son ofElaine Showalter (née Cottler), an author, feminist literary critic, and professor of English, and English Showalter, aYale-educated professor of 18th centuryFrench literature.^{[citation needed]} His father isEpiscopalian and his mother isJewish.^[1][2] He has one older sister, Vinca Showalter LaFleur, a professional speechwriter. He attendedPrinceton High School. For five years, Showalter shared an apartment with his friend, comedian and actressAndrea Rosen.^[3]

Showalter began his undergraduate studies atNew York University, where he joined the sketch comedy group The New Group. He transferred to and graduated fromBrown University, where he joined the improv comedy troupe IMPROVidence.^[4] After he completed college, The New Group changed its name toThe State and began creating video shorts for an MTV show calledYou Wrote It, You Watch It, hosted byJon Stewart. The comedy troupe then got its own sketch comedy TV series,The State , which aired for two years on MTV.

Showalter has also had several smaller roles in movies and TV shows. He played Ron Parker, the arrogant host ofCheap Seats, onESPN Classic in the pilot episode. However, after a bookcase fell on Showalter's character, tape librarians (and brothers)Randy andJason Sklar took over the hosting duties. Showalter spent a brief time as a correspondent onThe Daily Show (1996). He is also one half of The Doilies, an acoustic comedy band, in which he sings lead vocals opposite guitaristZak Orth. In 2005 he wrote, directed and starred in the filmThe Baxter.

Showalter is the host ofThe Michael Showalter Showalter, an original Internet series onCollegehumor.com which premiered January 16, 2007. His first guest was comedianZach Galifianakis. Other guests have includedDavid Cross,Michael Ian Black,Paul Rudd,David Wain,Andy Samberg,Michael Cera, andMike Birbiglia. In the fall and winter of 2006, Showalter toured the US with frequent collaborator Michael Ian Black. In March 2007 Showalter briefly toured as the opening act forJaneane Garofalo.The Ten reunites him with frequent collaborators fromThe State.

Showalter signed withJDub Records, a non-profit record label, in June 2007. He released his first stand-up CD titledSandwiches & Cats in November 2007. He teaches screenwriting atNew York University's Graduate Film School.

Showalter teamed up once more withMichael Ian Black in theComedy Central seriesMichael and Michael Have Issues,^[5] which premiered in July 2009.^[6] The show detailed the two Michaels' trials and tribulations as they create a television series. They confirmed the series' cancellation in early 2010.

In an interview withThe Rumpus in February 2009, Showalter talked about a memoir he is working on. "I am writing an 'important' memoir about not being able to write an important memoir. It winds up being kind of a novel-length comedic essay on insecurity and procrastination."^[7] The book,Mr. Funny Pants, was published in February 2011.^[8]

He appeared twice on theNBC dramaLaw & Order: in the episode "Endurance", which aired on October 18, 2000, and in the episode "Reality Bites", which aired on October 16, 2009.^[9]

Showalter also appeared in a series of commercials advertising theToyota Yaris, starting in late 2011.^[10]

In 2013 Showalter andMichael Ian Black launched a podcast called "Topics" in which the duo discuss evergreen topics in a serious manner.^[11]

Showalter was a writer on the ABC sitcomSuper Fun Night.^[12]

In 2014, Showalter co-wrote with David WainThey Came Together. Wain and Showalter then co-wrote the eight-episode Netflix prequelWet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp based on the 2001 film with almost the entire cast of the original film returning. Showalter himself appeared as Gerald "Coop" Cooperberg and PresidentRonald Reagan in the series. The series premiered on July 31, 2015, and was more well received by critics. He also co-wrote and starred in the Netflix sequelWet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later which premiered in 2017.^[13]

In 2015 his filmHello, My Name Is Doris debuted at SXSW, where it was acquired byRoadside Attractions.^[14] It was released in the United States in March 2016, and received critical acclaim.^[15]

His 2017 filmThe Big Sick starredKumail Nanjiani,Zoe Kazan,Holly Hunter andRay Romano. It saw a wide theatrical release and had an overwhelmingly positive 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Showalter next directed the 2020 filmThe Lovebirds, starring Kumail Nanjiani ofThe Big Sick, along withIssa Rae,Anna Camp andPaul Sparks. The film was scheduled for theatrical release in the United States on April 3, 2020, however due to the worldwideCOVID-19 pandemic its theatrical release was cancelled, and it premiered onNetflix on May 22, 2020. In 2021, he signed an overall deal with HBO Max.^[16]

On March 18, 2024, it was announced that Showalter would be directing theAmazon MGM holiday comedy,Oh. What. Fun., starringMichelle Pfeiffer.^[17]

Showalter will direct an untitled movie inspired byCyrano de Bergerac, written byAndrea Seigel.^[18]

Showalter married Anne Kalin Ellis on January 16, 2011, in New York.^[19] The couple has twin daughters, born in 2014 and two french bulldog puppies who were born in 2025.^[20]

Acting roles

Acting roles

• Official website
• Michael Showalter atIMDb
• April 2008 interview withParadigm
• Michael Showalter Interviews Human Giant

• 1970 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American comedians
• 20th-century American Jews
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American comedians
• 21st-century American Jews
• 21st-century American male actors
• 21st-century American screenwriters
• Film directors from New Jersey
• American male comedians
• American male film actors
• American male screenwriters
• American male television actors
• American male television writers
• American male voice actors
• American sketch comedians
• American television writers
• Brown University alumni
• Male actors from Princeton, New Jersey
• American comedy film directors
• Comedians from Mercer County, New Jersey
• Film producers from New Jersey
• Jewish American male actors
• Jewish male comedians
• Jewish American comedians
• New York University alumni
• Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni
• Screenwriters from New Jersey
• Television producers from New Jersey
• Writers from Princeton, New Jersey

• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from April 2012
• Articles with hCards
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from May 2024