Ken Marino
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Joseph "Ken" Marino (born December 19, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He was a cast member on MTV's The State
and on the Starz comedy Party Down
. He currently co-stars on the Adult Swim
series Childrens Hospital.
, New York to an Italian family. He studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute and Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYC). He had early success on television as a member of a comedy troupe on the MTV sketch comedy
series' The State
in 1993, of which he was also a founding member. Marino co-starred with Rob Schneider in the second season of Men Behaving Badly
. He starred in the short lived series First Years in 2001. He had a recurring role as Prof. Wilder on the TV series Dawson's Creek
(2001–2002) and in You Wrote It, You Watch It
(1992). He made multiple appearances on Charmed
and Rock Me Baby
, and appeared in three seasons of Veronica Mars
as private detective Vinnie Van Lowe. He was cast to star in a re-make of the TV series The Courtship of Eddie's Father
, but the pilot was not picked up. Instead, he was cast in the Starz original series Party Down
. He also starred as a gay demon on the TV series Reaper
. He currently plays Dr. Glenn Richie in the satirical television series Childrens Hospital.
Marino also made guest appearances in Will & Grace
(in the season three episode "Three's a Crowd, Six Is A Freakshow"), in Angel
season one, in Reno 911 (episode 2 season 1 and episode 3 season 3), in Stella
season one, in Grey's Anatomy
season two, in Monk
(in season 3's Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine) and in Private Practice season three
. He can also be seen as a music producer/board operator in the film that accompanies Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
at Disney's Hollywood Studios
. He has recently appeared in Wet Hot American Summer
, The Ten
and Role Models
, and had a cameo in the end of The Baxter
. He also starred in the Hallmark Channel
movie Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door
in 2006. In 2009, he had a cameo in an episode of Californication
.
Marino wrote the screenplay for Diggers
(2007), a coming-of-age film set in mid-1970s Long Island
, as well as and co-writing/producing The Ten
and Role Models
with David Wain
.
Marino and Wain most recently wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Wanderlust
starring Paul Rudd
and Jennifer Aniston
. Wain will direct the 2011 comedy.
The State (TV series)
The State is a half-hour sketch-comedy television show, originally broadcast on MTV between December 17, 1993 and July 1, 1995. The show combined bizarre characters and scenarios to present sketches that won the favor of its target teenaged audience...
and on the Starz comedy Party Down
Party Down
Party Down is an American comedy television series created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States.-Conception:...
. He currently co-stars on the Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
series Childrens Hospital.
Early life and career
Marino was born in West IslipWest Islip, New York
West Islip is a hamlet and CDP, located in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Situated on the south shore of Long Island, the population of the CDP was 29,907 at the time of the 2000 census.-Geography:West Islip is located at ....
, New York to an Italian family. He studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute and Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYC). He had early success on television as a member of a comedy troupe on the MTV sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
series' The State
The State (TV series)
The State is a half-hour sketch-comedy television show, originally broadcast on MTV between December 17, 1993 and July 1, 1995. The show combined bizarre characters and scenarios to present sketches that won the favor of its target teenaged audience...
in 1993, of which he was also a founding member. Marino co-starred with Rob Schneider in the second season of Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly (U.S. TV series)
Men Behaving Badly is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1996 to 1997. It was based on the earlier British sitcom of the same name....
. He starred in the short lived series First Years in 2001. He had a recurring role as Prof. Wilder on the TV series Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
(2001–2002) and in You Wrote It, You Watch It
You Wrote It, You Watch It
You Wrote It, You Watch It was a short-lived MTV sketch comedy series starring members of The State comedy troupe before they were given their own show by the network...
(1992). He made multiple appearances on Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
and Rock Me Baby
Rock Me Baby
Rock Me Baby is an American television series set in Denver, Colorado. It is a comedy / drama that debuted on September 15, 2003 on UPN. Rock Me Baby stars actor and comedian Dan Cortese as Jimmy Cox, co-host of a popular Denver radio show with his best friend, Carl, played by Carl Anthony Payne II...
, and appeared in three seasons of Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
as private detective Vinnie Van Lowe. He was cast to star in a re-make of the TV series The Courtship of Eddie's Father
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
The Courtship of Eddie's Father is an American television sitcom based on the 1963 movie of the same name, which was based on the book written by Mark Toby...
, but the pilot was not picked up. Instead, he was cast in the Starz original series Party Down
Party Down
Party Down is an American comedy television series created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States.-Conception:...
. He also starred as a gay demon on the TV series Reaper
Reaper (TV series)
Reaper is an American television series that focuses on Sam Oliver, a "reaper" who works for the Devil by retrieving souls that have escaped from Hell.The series originally ran on the CW from September 25, 2007 to May 26, 2009....
. He currently plays Dr. Glenn Richie in the satirical television series Childrens Hospital.
Marino also made guest appearances in Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
(in the season three episode "Three's a Crowd, Six Is A Freakshow"), in Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
season one, in Reno 911 (episode 2 season 1 and episode 3 season 3), in Stella
Stella (TV series)
Stella was a short-lived television series that originally ran from June 28, 2005 to August 30, 2005 on the American television channel Comedy Central, created by and starring Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain, the three members of the sketch comedy troupe of the same name and...
season one, in Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
season two, in Monk
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
(in season 3's Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine) and in Private Practice season three
Film and screenwriting
Marino starred in 2004's Love for RentLove for Rent
Love for Rent is a 2005 romantic comedy directed by Shane Edelman. It stars Angie Cepeda, Ken Marino, Nora Dunn, and Martita Roca.-Plot:...
. He can also be seen as a music producer/board operator in the film that accompanies Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is an enclosed steel roller coaster ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort and at the Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris...
at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
. He has recently appeared in Wet Hot American Summer
Wet Hot American Summer
Wet Hot American Summer is a 2001 satirical comedy film written by David Wain and Michael Showalter, and directed by Wain. The film takes place during the last day at a fictional Jewish summer camp in 1981, before closing for the summer...
, The Ten
The Ten
The Ten is a 2007 American comedy film, directed by David Wain and cowritten by Wain and Ken Marino, released through ThinkFilm. The film was released on August 3, 2007...
and Role Models
Role Models
Role Models is a 2008 American comedy film directed by David Wain about two energy drink salesmen who are ordered to perform 150 hours of community service as punishment for various offenses. For their service, the two men work at a program designed to pair kids with adult role models. The film...
, and had a cameo in the end of The Baxter
The Baxter
The Baxter is a 2005 film written by, directed by and starring American comedian Michael Showalter. A “Baxter”, as defined by the film, is the nice, dull guy in a romantic comedy who is dumped at the end of the story for the protagonist....
. He also starred in the Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
movie Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door
Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door
Falling in Love With the Girl Next Door is a Hallmark Channel original television movie filmed primarily on location in Avalon, Catalina Island...
in 2006. In 2009, he had a cameo in an episode of Californication
Californication (TV series)
Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend...
.
Marino wrote the screenplay for Diggers
Diggers (film)
Diggers is a coming-of-age film directed by Katherine Dieckmann. It portrays four working-class friends who grow up in The Hamptons, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, as clam diggers in 1976. Their fathers were clam diggers as well as their grandfathers before them...
(2007), a coming-of-age film set in mid-1970s Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, as well as and co-writing/producing The Ten
The Ten
The Ten is a 2007 American comedy film, directed by David Wain and cowritten by Wain and Ken Marino, released through ThinkFilm. The film was released on August 3, 2007...
and Role Models
Role Models
Role Models is a 2008 American comedy film directed by David Wain about two energy drink salesmen who are ordered to perform 150 hours of community service as punishment for various offenses. For their service, the two men work at a program designed to pair kids with adult role models. The film...
with David Wain
David Wain
David Benjamin Wain is an American comedian, writer, actor and director. He is most widely known for the feature films Role Models and Wet Hot American Summer, the 1990s' sketch comedy series The State and for producing/directing/writing the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital...
.
Marino and Wain most recently wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Wanderlust
Wanderlust (2011 film)
Wanderlust is a 2012 comedy film directed by David Wain, starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, as a married couple who try to escape modern society by leaving their cushy lives in New York.-Plot:...
starring Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
and Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
. Wain will direct the 2011 comedy.
Feature films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Gattaca Gattaca Gattaca is a 1997 science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law with supporting roles played by Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal and Alan Arkin.... |
Sequencing Technician | |
| 1999 | Love Happens | Mike Parker | |
| Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is an enclosed steel roller coaster ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort and at the Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris... |
Music Producer | Short Film | |
| Carlo's Wake | Antonio Torello | ||
| 2000 | 101 Ways | Officer Russotelli | |
| 2001 | Tortilla Soup Tortilla Soup Tortilla Soup is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Maria Ripoll. The screenplay by Tom Musca, Ramón Menéndez, and Vera Blasi is based on the film Eat Drink Man Woman, which was written by Hui-Ling Wang, Ang Lee, and James Schamus.-Plot:... |
Jeff | |
| Wet Hot American Summer Wet Hot American Summer Wet Hot American Summer is a 2001 satirical comedy film written by David Wain and Michael Showalter, and directed by Wain. The film takes place during the last day at a fictional Jewish summer camp in 1981, before closing for the summer... |
Victor Kulak | ||
| Joe Somebody Joe Somebody Joe Somebody is a 2001 American comedy-drama film written by John Scott Shepherd and directed by John Pasquin. The film stars Tim Allen as a man stirred into action by a workplace bully... |
Rick Raglow | ||
| 2005 | Hoodwinked! | Racoon Jerry | Voice Only |
| The Baxter The Baxter The Baxter is a 2005 film written by, directed by and starring American comedian Michael Showalter. A “Baxter”, as defined by the film, is the nice, dull guy in a romantic comedy who is dumped at the end of the story for the protagonist.... |
Jack Mechanic | ||
| Love for Rent Love for Rent Love for Rent is a 2005 romantic comedy directed by Shane Edelman. It stars Angie Cepeda, Ken Marino, Nora Dunn, and Martita Roca.-Plot:... |
Dr. Neil Gardener | ||
| 2006 | Duncan Removed | Ben | Short Film |
| Diggers Diggers (film) Diggers is a coming-of-age film directed by Katherine Dieckmann. It portrays four working-class friends who grow up in The Hamptons, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, as clam diggers in 1976. Their fathers were clam diggers as well as their grandfathers before them... |
Lozo | Also Producer/Writer | |
| 2007 | The Ten The Ten The Ten is a 2007 American comedy film, directed by David Wain and cowritten by Wain and Ken Marino, released through ThinkFilm. The film was released on August 3, 2007... |
Dr. Glenn Richie | Also Producer/Writer |
| Reno 911!: Miami Reno 911!: Miami Reno 911!: Miami is a film based on Comedy Central's Reno 911! directed by cast-member Robert Ben Garant, who plays "Junior." It was released on February 23, 2007... |
Deaf Tattoo Artist | ||
| 2008 | Role Models Role Models Role Models is a 2008 American comedy film directed by David Wain about two energy drink salesmen who are ordered to perform 150 hours of community service as punishment for various offenses. For their service, the two men work at a program designed to pair kids with adult role models. The film... |
Jim Stansel | Also Writer |
| 2009 | The Antagonist | Part Host | Short Film |
| 2010 | Jeffie Was Here | Roger | |
| 2011 | Wanderlust Wanderlust (2011 film) Wanderlust is a 2012 comedy film directed by David Wain, starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, as a married couple who try to escape modern society by leaving their cushy lives in New York.-Plot:... |
Rick | Also Producer/Writer |