James Rash (born July 15, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He played

Dean Craig Pelton ''Community'' is an American television sitcom created by Dan Harmon that ran for 110 episodes. The show, set at the fictional Greendale Community College, depicts the on-campus exploits of a close-knit study group. In the pilot, the main ca ...

on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sitcom ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

'' (2009–2015), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012. He co-wrote '' The Descendants'' (2011) alongside

Alexander Payne Constantine Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is noted for his satire, satirical depictions of contemporary American society. Payne has received List of awards and nominations rec ...

and Nat Faxon for which they received the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

and

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

for Best Adapted Screenplay. They were also nominated for the

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

, and Critics' Choice Movie Award. Rash has since, with Faxon, written and directed the comedy films '' The Way, Way Back'' (2013), and '' Downhill'' (2020).

Early life

Rash grew up in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. Both he and his sister were adopted.Interview with Paul F. Tompkins, 'Speakeasy' He attended Charlotte Latin School. After graduating, he spent a post-graduate year at the

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

Lawrenceville, New Jersey Lawrenceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

. He was a member of The Groundlings, a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based improv comedy group.

Career

Rash played Mr. Grayson/Stitches in the 2005 film '' Sky High'', Fenton on ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from 197 ...

'', '' That '90s Show'', and Andrew the "whore house guy" on ''

Reno 911! ''Reno 911!'' is an American television sitcom created by Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver for Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically '' Cops'', with comic ...

''. He appeared in the final episode of ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'', and played Head T.A. Philip in ''Slackers''. From 2009 to 2015, Rash starred on ''

'' as Craig Pelton, the dean of the community college in which the show takes place. Rash and comedy partner Nat Faxon moved into screenwriting with a pilot in 2005 for a series entitled ''Adopted'', which did not take off.Profile
, charlotteobserver.com; accessed October 6, 2017. They wrote the screenplay for '' The Descendants'' (2011), based on the novel of the same name, which appeared on the 2008 edition of the Black List (the most popular unproduced scripts in Hollywood at that time). The film was released to critical acclaim, receiving a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

nomination and winning the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

. Both Rash and Faxon co-wrote and co-directed the film '' The Way Way Back'' (2013), which received a standing ovation at its premiere at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. Parts of the film are based on Rash's teenage life. The ensemble comedy starred Steve Carell,

Toni Collette Toni Collette (born Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television, blockbusters and independent films, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, wit ...

, Allison Janney,

Maya Rudolph Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress and comedian. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). During her tenure on the show, she appeared in supporting roles in ...

, and

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for playing troubled police officer Jason Dixon in ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' (2017). He was nominated i ...

. The film was a commercial and critical success, earning a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy nomination. In 2020, Rash and Faxon reunited for '' Downhill'', an adaptation of the film '' Force Majeure'' (2014) by Swedish director Ruben Östlund. The film starred

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

and

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has gained acclaim for starring in a string of successful comedy series as well as several comedy films. She has received List of awards ...

. Rash and Faxon co-wrote the script with

Jesse Armstrong Jesse David Armstrong (born 13 December 1970) is a British screenwriter and producer. Known for writing for a string of several critically acclaimed British comedy series as well as satirical dramas, he has received numerous accolades includin ...

. The film debuted at the

where it received mixed reviews, with critics' comparing the film to the original. Rash has voiced the

Marquess of Queensberry Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family. The Marquesses also held the title of Duke of Queensberry from 1684 to 1810, when it was i ...

for all four seasons of the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

animated comedy '' Mike Tyson Mysteries''. From 2017 to 2021, he voiced

Gyro Gearloose Gyro Gearloose ( ) is a cartoon character created in 1952 by Carl Barks for Disney comics. An anthropomorphic chicken, he is part of the Donald Duck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and any ...

in the reboot of ''

DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...

''. In 2023, Rash voiced the Fixer, the enforcer for the Conglomerate and recurring character in '' My Dad the Bounty Hunter''. He also voiced a video game announcer in the same series.

Personal life

Rash stated he came out "well over 10-plus years ago" during an interview promoting '' Bros'' in September 2022.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rash, Jim 1971 births Living people 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American LGBTQ people American adoptees American film producers American male comedians American male film actors American sketch comedians American male television actors American male voice actors American male screenwriters Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Lawrenceville School alumni American LGBTQ comedians American LGBTQ film directors American LGBTQ male actors LGBTQ people from North Carolina American LGBTQ screenwriters Male actors from Charlotte, North Carolina Male actors from North Carolina Screenwriters from North Carolina Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina Writers Guild of America Award winners Comedians from North Carolina