Jon Rudnitsky (born November 22, 1989) is an American actor and comedian who was a cast member on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' for the 2015–2016 season and played McWatt in the 2019 miniseries '' Catch-22''.

Early life

Rudnitsky is a native of Harrington Park, New Jersey. His mother, Karen, is in charge of the gerontology center at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and his father, Steven, is a businessman in the

hospitality industry The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism. It includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants and bars. Sect ...

. Rudnitsky attended

Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan is a comprehensive four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from the suburban communities of Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan in Berge ...

. He subsequently studied acting at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. His uncle (his mother's brother) is

Michael Oren Michael Bornstein Oren (Hebrew: מיכאל אורן; born Michael Scott Bornstein; May 20, 1955) is an American-born Israeli historian, author, politician, former ambassador to the United States (2009–2013), former member of the Knesset for ...

, the former

Israeli Ambassador to the United States The office of the Israeli Ambassador to the United States of America is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the State of Israel to the United States of America. It is generally regarded as the most prestigious position in the Isr ...

. Rudnitsky is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Career

Rudnitsky performed with

the Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniqu ...

. On August 31, 2015, it was announced that Rudnitsky would join the cast of ''

'' as a featured player for the show's forty-first season. In the third episode of that season, Rudnitsky portrayed Anderson Cooper in a sketch, acting as moderator for a Democratic presidential debate, for which he received criticism from Cooper. He has also done impressions of

Wolf Blitzer Wolf Isaac Blitzer (born March 22, 1948) is an American journalist, television news anchor, and author who has been a CNN reporter since 1990, and who currently serves as one of the principal anchors at the network. He is the host of ''The Situa ...

, John Mayer,

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

, Tom Cruise, and

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

(in a dress rehearsal sketch on the season 41 episode hosted by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

), while also doing a ''Dirty Dancing'' sketch for Weekend Update, which was seen as one of his high points for the season. On August 9, 2016, it was reported that Rudnitsky would not be returning to the show for the following season. In 2017, Rudnitsky starred alongside

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

in the romantic comedy film '' Home Again''. In 2018, Jon played Mike in the Netflix release '' Set It Up''. He starred alongside

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...

and Genevieve Angelson in the NBC pilot ''Relatively Happy'', which was not picked up. In March 2020, Rudnitsky was cast as Mike Devries in the musical comedy-drama television series '' The Big Leap'', which premiered on Fox on September 20, 2021.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudnitsky, Jon 1989 births Living people American sketch comedians Male actors from New Jersey Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan alumni People from Harrington Park, New Jersey USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni 21st-century American male actors American impressionists (entertainers) Jewish American male actors Jewish American comedians 21st-century American comedians American male comedians Comedians from New Jersey Jewish American male comedians 21st-century American Jews