Rainn Wilson

Following his 1986 graduation, he worked in theater in New York City. He made his film debut in Galaxy Quest (1999), followed by supporting parts in Almost Famous (2000), Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal (2002), and House of 1000 Corpses (2003). He also had a recurring part as Arthur Martin in the HBO series Six Feet Under from 2003 to 2005. Wilson's other film credits include lead roles in the comedies The Rocker (2008) and Super (2010), and supporting roles in the horror films Cooties (2014) and The Boy (2015). In 2009, he was heard in the animated science fiction film Monsters vs. Aliens as the villain Gallaxhar, and voiced Gargamel in Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017). He has had the guest-starring role of Harry Mudd on Star Trek: Discovery (2017) and Star Trek: Short Treks (2018), and a supporting role in The Meg (2018). From 2018 to 2021, he had a recurring role as Trevor on seasons 6–8 of the CBS sitcom Mom. He is also the voice of Lex Luthor in the DC Animated Movie Universe. Outside of acting, Wilson published his autobiography, The Bassoon King, in 2015, and cofounded the digital media company SoulPancake in 2008.

Wilson was born on January 20, 1966, at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, the son of Shay Cooper, a yoga teacher and actress, and Robert G. Wilson (1941–2020), a novelist, artist and business consultant who wrote the science fiction novel Tentacles of Dawn. Wilson is of part Norwegian ancestry. From ages three to five, he lived with his father and stepmother, Kristin, in Nicaragua before they returned to Seattle after their divorce. He attended Kellogg Middle School and Shorecrest High School in Shoreline, Washington, where he played the clarinet and bassoon in the school band. He transferred to and graduated from New Trier High School after his family moved to Wilmette, Illinois, to serve at the Baháʼí National Center. Wilson attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, before transferring to the University of Washington in Seattle, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in drama in 1986. He then enrolled in New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts where he graduated with an MFA in acting and was a member of The Acting Company. Between acting jobs in New York City, he drove a moving van to make ends meet. Wilson worked extensively in the theater early in his career, performing with The Public Theater, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, the Roundabout, and the Guthrie Theater, among others. He played one of the eight chorus members in Richard Foreman's 1996 production of Suzan-Lori Parks' Venus, and was nominated for three Helen Hayes Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his work at the Arena Stage.

Wilson first appeared onscreen in 1997 in an episode of the soap opera One Life to Live, followed by a supporting role in the television film The Expendables (1999). He made his feature film debut in Galaxy Quest (1999), followed by a minor supporting role in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000). In 2001, he played Dennis Van De Meer in When Billie Beat Bobby. In 2002, he was cast in a lead role in Rob Zombie's horror film House of 1000 Corpses (2003). Beginning in 2003, Wilson played Arthur Martin, an intern at Fisher & Diaz Funeral Home in HBO's Six Feet Under, earning a Screen Actors Guild award for best drama ensemble for the series. He also had minor roles in America's Sweethearts (2001) and the Melvin van Peebles biopic Baadasssss! (2003). He guest-starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Entourage, Monk, Numbers, Charmed, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job, and Reno 911!

In 2005, Wilson appeared in the comedy film Sahara and in the independent mockumentary film The Life Coach. The same year, he was cast as neurotic sales representative Dwight Schrute in the network series The Office, for which he was nominated for Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and won two SAG awards as part of Best Comedy Ensemble on the series. As well as acting on the series, he directed three episodes: "The Cover-Up" (season 6), "Classy Christmas" (season 7) and "Get the Girl" (season 8). On February 24, 2007, Wilson hosted Saturday Night Live, becoming the second The Office cast member to host (after Steve Carell). During the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, Wilson appeared in ads for the 2007 United States women's national soccer team as public relations manager "Jim Mike". In August 2010, he appeared in the music video for Ferraby Lionheart's "Harry and Bess" and Andy Grammer's "Keep Your Head Up" as the "creepy elevator guy". Wilson starred in the Fox Atomic comedy The Rocker (2008). In 2009 he joined the voice cast of DreamWorks Animation film Monsters vs. Aliens as villainous alien overlord Gallaxhar; and was featured in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, playing a university professor. In 2010, he had the lead role of the unhinged protagonist in Super. Critic Roger Ebert faulted the script, but praised Wilson's performance: "[Wilson] never seems to be trying to be funny, and that's a strength." For his role of Paul, the bereft father, in Hesher (2011), Roger Ebert said of Wilson's work: “He has that rare quality in an actor, an uncanny presence. There are a few like him (Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken, Bill Murray) who need only to look at something to establish an attitude toward it. Yes, they can get worked up, they can operate on high, but their passive essence is the point: dubious, wise, sadly knowledgable [sic], at an angle to the throughline. Other actors could sit on a sofa and watch TV, but Rainn Wilson makes it a statement. A statement of … nothing, which is the point."

Wilson co-founded the website and YouTube channel SoulPancake with Joshua Homnick and Devon Gundry in 2008. As of February 20, 2019, the channel had over 3 million subscribers and 557 million video views. The channel was featured on Oprah Winfrey's Satellite Radio Show and Super Soul Sunday and was named one of Fast Company's 10 Most Innovative Companies in Video for 2015.[1] In 2015, it was ranked No. 114 on the Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America List. In 2016 the channel was purchased by Participant Media. Wilson co-wrote the New York Times bestseller SoulPancake: Chew on Life's Big Questions (2010). In 2015, he published The Bassoon King, a humorous memoir of his personal life, career and faith. Wilson is a climate-change activist. He visited Greenland in 2019 with Arctic Basecamp, whose Advisory Board he also serves on. During the trip he shot the web docuseries The Idiot’s Guide to Climate Change for SoulPancake's YouTube channel. In 2021, Wilson voiced the title character in the comedy audio series Dark Air with Terry Carnation. The podcast series is based on his character Terry Carnation from the Radio Rental podcast, created by Payne Lindsey. Wilson also competed in Chess.com's PogChamps 3 chess competition, finishing in second place after a tiebreaker game with French streamer Sardoche. In 2024, Wilson launched a long-form interview podcast on YouTube titled Soul Boom w/ Rainn Wilson.

Wilson is married to writer Holiday Reinhorn, whom he met in an acting class at the University of Washington. They married on the Kalama River in Washington in 1995, and have a son, Walter, born in 2004. They have a home outside of Sisters, Oregon, and a house in Los Angeles. They have two pit bulls, Pilot and Diamond; two Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, Snortington and Amy; a donkey named Chili Beans; and a zonkey named Derek. Wilson and his family are members of the Baháʼí Faith. The website Baháʼí Blog, which is popular in the Bahá’í community, hosts Wilson's podcast, the Baháʼí Blogcast, for which he interviews notable people about the intersection of their faith and work. On Bill Maher's Real Time, Wilson described himself as a diverse independent, having voted for Republican, Green and Democratic candidates. In 2008, he said he regretted the statement: "It was kind of a mistake, I don’t want to talk politics. […] The process of politics is so deeply corrupt on so many levels. Even the greatest candidate in the world couldn’t really make that much of a difference. But people with compassionate hearts can make the world a better place." However, Wilson does vote. Wilson's charitable works include fundraising for the Mona Foundation, a Bahá’í-inspired charity operating in developing countries. In 2013, he co-founded Lidè Haiti, an educational initiative that uses the arts and literacy to empower adolescent girls in rural Haiti. As of 2024, the group works in 13 locations with over 500 girls, providing scholarships to many of them. On November 10, 2022, Wilson changed his name on social media to Rainnfall Heat Wave Rising Sea Levels Wilson in an effort to raise awareness about climate change, though he did not change his legal name. As a native of Seattle, Wilson is an avid fan of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, having made several appearances on the team's behalf.