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B.J. Novak

B.J. Novak

Known For Acting
Birthday Jul 31, 1979 (46)
Birthplace Newton, Massachusetts, USA
Popularity 1 (history)
Updated Nov 22, 2025
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
Biography

Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak (born July 31, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, author, and producer. He gained traction as a comedian during the early 2000s before becoming a field agent for the MTV reality prank show Punk'd (2003). Novak had his breakout with a leading role as Rya ... n Howard on seasons 1–8 of the NBC mockumentary sitcom The Office (2005–2013). His acting, writing and producing for the show earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Writers Guild of America Award, alongside five nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. In the late 2000s, Novak had supporting roles in the films Reign Over Me (2007) and Inglourious Basterds (2009). In the 2010s, he portrayed musician Robert B. Sherman in Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and Marvel Comics character Alistair Smythe in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). He had a starring role as Harry J. Sonneborn in the biographical film The Founder (2016) and voiced Baker Smurf in The Smurfs (2011) and The Smurfs 2 (2013). In television, he had a recurring role as Lucas Pruit on the HBO series The Newsroom (2014). In the 2020s, Novak made his film directorial debut with Vengeance (2022), which he also produced and starred in. He created and wrote the FX on Hulu anthology series The Premise (2021). In addition to his film and television career, Novak authored the books One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories (2014) and The Book with No Pictures (2014). Description above from the Wikipedia article B.J. Novak, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Headshots

Profile
Profile
Profile
Filmography

Vengeance

Vengeance

2022

as Ben Manalowitz

The Founder

The Founder

2016

as Harry J. Sonneborn

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

2014

as Allistar Smythe

Saving Mr. Banks

Saving Mr. Banks

2013

as Robert Sherman

The Internship

The Internship

2013

as Male Interviewer

The Smurfs 2

The Smurfs 2

2013

as Baker Smurf (voice)

The Dictator

The Dictator

2012

as (uncredited)

The Smurfs

The Smurfs

2011

as Baker Smurf (voice)

Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds

2009

as PFC. Smithson Utivich

Reign Over Me

Reign Over Me

2007

as Mr. Fallon

Knocked Up

Knocked Up

2007

as Young Doctor

Unaccompanied Minors

Unaccompanied Minors

2006

as Desk Attendant

Vengeance

Vengeance

2022

Writer

Late Night

Late Night

2019

Thanks

Vengeance

Vengeance

2022

Director

Vengeance

Vengeance

2022

Executive Producer

Organization Category Movie
Television Credits

The Office

as Ryan Howard

Episodes: 176

First Aired: Mar 24, 2005

Punk'd

as Field Agent

Episodes: 5

First Aired: Mar 17, 2003

The Mindy Project

as Jamie

Episodes: 5

First Aired: Sep 25, 2012

The Newsroom

as Lucas Pruit

Episodes: 4

First Aired: Jun 24, 2012

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

as B.J. Novak

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 12, 2015

The Office

as Hockey Coach

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 24, 2005

Home Movie: The Princess Bride

as Count Rugen

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jun 29, 2020

Lessons in Chemistry

as Six-Thirty (voice)

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 12, 2023

Community

as Mr. Egypt

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 17, 2009

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

as Self - Guest

Episodes: 6

First Aired: Jul 16, 2009

The Premise

as Self - Host

Episodes: 5

First Aired: Sep 16, 2021

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

as Self - Guest

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Sep 13, 1993

E! Live from the Red Carpet

as Self

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Jan 13, 2002

Punk'd

as Self

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Mar 17, 2003

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Episodes: 1

First Aired: May 25, 1992

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jun 01, 2009

Late Night with Seth Meyers

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Feb 25, 2014

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 08, 2015

The View

as Self - Guest

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Aug 11, 1997

Real Time with Bill Maher

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Feb 21, 2003

Celebrity Jeopardy!

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 25, 2022

Some Good News

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 29, 2020

Conan

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 08, 2010

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 15 27 9
2024 7 17 26 9
2024 8 16 25 10
2024 9 12 24 5
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2024 12 10 15 3
2025 1 14 20 8
2025 2 9 19 2
2025 3 7 16 1
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2025 7 1 1 1
2025 8 1 6 0
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Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
2025 11 468 428

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