John Michael Higgins
Encyclopedia
John Michael Higgins is an American actor whose film credits include Christopher Guest
's mockumentaries
, the role of David Letterman
in HBO's The Late Shift
, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim
.
in Bethesda, Maryland
, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Amherst College
in 1985, where he led the all-male a cappella
group, The Zumbyes.
, Brother's Keeper
, Boston Legal
and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show. He played attorney Wayne Jarvis in five episodes of Arrested Development. Higgins arranged the dense vocal harmonies sung by the New Main Street Singers in 2003's A Mighty Wind
. Recently, Higgins has gained more recognition by being featured in the films Fun with Dick and Jane
and The Break-Up
, for which he also wrote vocal arrangements. His work as a voice actor includes the role of Judge Mentok in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
and 2401 Penitent Tangent in Halo 2
and Riddler
in Batman: The Brave and the Bold
. Higgins is also remembered for portraying David Letterman
in the HBO made-for-TV movie The Late Shift
. Higgins can also be seen in the introductory video for the Epcot
attraction Test Track
.
Higgins directs and appears on the stage from time to time as well. In 2004, he played Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
in the American premiere of David Hare
's Stuff Happens
at the Mark Taper Forum
in Los Angeles. In 2003, he played the title role in A.R. Gurney's Big Bill at New York's Lincoln Center Theater.
In 1991, Higgins was featured in Broadway's La Bête
and, in 2000, he was seen off-Broadway
at Second Stage Theatre
in a production of Edward Albee
's Tiny Alice
. He also originated the title role in Paul Rudnick
's Jeffrey
off-Broadway in 1994.
Higgins currently appears in DirecTV
's advertising campaign alongside fellow Christopher Guest co-star Ed Begley, Jr.
.
He also stars in season 2 of TNT
's Raising the Bar
as an openly gay, rule-obsessed judge.
Higgins also took part in Disney's The Suite Life On Deck
taking the role as the obnoxious and secluded Mr. Tipton.
In 2011 Higgins was cast in Happily Divorced
opposite Fran Drescher
. He plays Drescher's gay ex-husband, a character based on Drescher's real gay ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson
.
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
's mockumentaries
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
, the role of David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
in HBO's The Late Shift
The Late Shift (film)
The Late Shift is a 1996 American TV movie produced by HBO. It is directed by Betty Thomas and based on the book of the same name by The New York Times media reporter Bill Carter.-Plot synopsis:...
, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim
Kath & Kim (U.S. TV series)
Kath & Kim is an American version of the Australian television comedy series of the same name starring Selma Blair and Molly Shannon. The series premiered on NBC on October 9, 2008...
.
Early life
John Michael Higgins was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Known as "Mike Higgins" as he was growing up, he went to Walter Johnson High SchoolWalter Johnson High School
Walter Johnson High School is located at 6400 Rock Spring Drive in Bethesda, an unincorporated region of Montgomery County, Maryland.WJHS serves areas in Bethesda and Rockville, as well as the towns of Garrett Park and Kensington.-History:...
in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in 1985, where he led the all-male a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group, The Zumbyes.
Career
Higgins' numerous television credits include recurring characters on Ally McBealAlly McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
, Brother's Keeper
Brother's Keeper (TV series)
Brother's Keeper is an American television series that was originally broadcast from 1998 to 1999 on ABC. It was produced by Axelrod-Widdoes Productions and Donald Todd Productions in association with Studios USA Television....
, Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show. He played attorney Wayne Jarvis in five episodes of Arrested Development. Higgins arranged the dense vocal harmonies sung by the New Main Street Singers in 2003's A Mighty Wind
A Mighty Wind
A Mighty Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands must reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. It was directed by Christopher Guest...
. Recently, Higgins has gained more recognition by being featured in the films Fun with Dick and Jane
Fun with Dick and Jane (2005 film)
Fun with Dick and Jane is a 2005 remake of the 1977 American comedy film of the same name, directed by Dean Parisot and written by Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller. It stars Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni as Dick and Jane Harper, an upper-middle-class couple who resort to robbery after the company for...
and The Break-Up
The Break-Up
The Break-Up is a 2006 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Peyton Reed, starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. It was written by Jay Lavender and Jeremy Garelick and produced by Universal Pictures.-Plot:...
, for which he also wrote vocal arrangements. His work as a voice actor includes the role of Judge Mentok in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American animated television series comedy created by Williams Street and produced by Cartoon Network Studios that aired on Cartoon Network during its Adult Swim late night programming block. The series' pilot first aired in 2000, and later became a series in...
and 2401 Penitent Tangent in Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
and Riddler
Riddler
The Riddler is a fictional character, a comic book character and supervillain published by DC Comics, and an enemy of Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #140 ....
in Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Batman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
. Higgins is also remembered for portraying David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
in the HBO made-for-TV movie The Late Shift
The Late Shift (film)
The Late Shift is a 1996 American TV movie produced by HBO. It is directed by Betty Thomas and based on the book of the same name by The New York Times media reporter Bill Carter.-Plot synopsis:...
. Higgins can also be seen in the introductory video for the Epcot
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
attraction Test Track
Test Track
Test Track is an attraction at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, sponsored by General Motors The ride is a simulated excursion through the rigorous testing procedures that General Motors uses to evaluate its vehicles, culminating in a high-speed drive around the...
.
Higgins directs and appears on the stage from time to time as well. In 2004, he played Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
in the American premiere of David Hare
David Hare (dramatist)
Sir David Hare is an English playwright and theatre and film director.-Early life:Hare was born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex, the son of Agnes and Clifford Hare, a sailor. He was educated at Lancing, an independent school in West Sussex, and at Jesus College, Cambridge...
's Stuff Happens
Stuff Happens
Stuff Happens is a play by David Hare, written in response to the Iraq War. Hare describes it as "a history play" that deals with recent history.The title is inspired by Donald Rumsfeld's response to widespread looting in Baghdad:...
at the Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
in Los Angeles. In 2003, he played the title role in A.R. Gurney's Big Bill at New York's Lincoln Center Theater.
In 1991, Higgins was featured in Broadway's La Bête
La Bête
La Bête is a comedy by American playwright, David Hirson. Written in rhymed couplets of iambic pentameter, the Molière-inspired story, set in 17th century France, pits dignified, stuffy Elomire, the head of the royal court-sponsored theatre troupe, against the foppish, frivolous street entertainer...
and, in 2000, he was seen off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre is an award-winning contemporary Off-Broadway theater company.-Mission:The theatre's mission is to give new life to contemporary American plays and to produce the world premiers of new plays by both established and emerging playwrights...
in a production of Edward Albee
Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
's Tiny Alice
Tiny Alice
Tiny Alice, a three act play written by Edward Albee, premiered on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theatre on December 29, 1964.- Billy Rose Theatre production :...
. He also originated the title role in Paul Rudnick
Paul Rudnick
Paul M. Rudnick is an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. His plays include I Hate Hamlet, Jeffrey, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Valhalla and The New Century. He also wrote for Premiere magazine under the pseudonym Libby Gelman-Waxner, and for Spy.Rudnick grew up in Piscataway...
's Jeffrey
Jeffrey (film)
Jeffrey is a 1995 American gay romantic comedy directed by Christopher Ashley. It is based on a play by Paul Rudnick, who also wrote the screenplay.Starring Steven Weber as Jeffrey and Michael T...
off-Broadway in 1994.
Higgins currently appears in DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
's advertising campaign alongside fellow Christopher Guest co-star Ed Begley, Jr.
Ed Begley, Jr.
Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
.
He also stars in season 2 of TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
's Raising the Bar
Raising the Bar (TV series)
Raising the Bar is an American legal drama, which ran on TNT network from September 1, 2008 to December 24, 2009. The series revolves around a group of lawyer friends who find themselves on opposite sides of the criminal law.-Production:...
as an openly gay, rule-obsessed judge.
Higgins also took part in Disney's The Suite Life On Deck
The Suite Life on Deck
The Suite Life on Deck is an American sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody...
taking the role as the obnoxious and secluded Mr. Tipton.
In 2011 Higgins was cast in Happily Divorced
Happily Divorced
Happily Divorced is an American sitcom created by Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson. Inspired by their experiences, the series, which became TV Land's third original scripted series following Hot in Cleveland and Retired at 35, premiered on June 15, 2011, and revolves around a Los Angeles...
opposite Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher
Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher is an American film and television actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, author, singer, talk show host, political lobbyist and health activist...
. He plays Drescher's gay ex-husband, a character based on Drescher's real gay ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson
Peter Marc Jacobson
Peter Marc Jacobson is an American television writer, director and producer, and actor. He is best known as the co-creator of the popular sitcom The Nanny which he created and wrote with his then wife actress Fran Drescher, who was the star of the series.-Producer:*What I Like About You Peter Marc...
.