Wesley Mann
Encyclopedia
Wesley Mann is an American character actor
.
Many of Mann's roles are minor and he frequently he delivers only a handful of lines, but he has a somewhat distinctive appearance, that of a long-suffering, vaguely glib demeanor that makes him easily recognizable whenever he shows up in a film or on television. He is, by definition, a character actor, and thus he has never performed a lead role.
His acting career began in the early 1980s, landing guest roles on mainstay sitcoms The Golden Girls
and Night Court
, and appearances in Who's Harry Crumb?
and My Stepmother Is An Alien
. His distinctive face and demeanor were featured prominently in 1989's Back to the Future Part II
, as the high school student who thinks that Marty
has just robbed Biff
of his wallet. As Biff regains consciousness after having been knocked out by George, Mann (credited as "CPR Kid," but later labeled by fans as the Wallet Guy) shouts "I think he took your wallet!" after Biff, then turns back to the other onlookers and repeats "I think he took his wallet."
Mann has also appeared in the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
in Garrison, New York
, for five seasons.
(including an appearance as Murphy Brown
s sixty-ninth secretary), mostly via guest appearances on sitcoms, with movie roles coming only occasionally now. He has appeared in the following films, as of 27 April 2006:
Mann also starred in one of the popular Fairfield Inn by Marriott
television commercials in the mid-1990s. He portrayed a traveler desperate for a restroom who finds one at a desert gas station, only to be locked out by a child who only uses it as a playhouse. Mann's character portrays comedic "desperate" antics while waiting, but the child never comes out. The tagline for the commercials were, "Traveling's an adventure, where you stay shouldn't be."
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
.
Many of Mann's roles are minor and he frequently he delivers only a handful of lines, but he has a somewhat distinctive appearance, that of a long-suffering, vaguely glib demeanor that makes him easily recognizable whenever he shows up in a film or on television. He is, by definition, a character actor, and thus he has never performed a lead role.
His acting career began in the early 1980s, landing guest roles on mainstay sitcoms The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
and Night Court
Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
, and appearances in Who's Harry Crumb?
Who's Harry Crumb?
Who's Harry Crumb? is a comedy-mystery film featuring John Candy as the title character.Paul Flaherty directed the film, which co-stars Annie Potts, Jeffrey Jones and Shawnee Smith...
and My Stepmother Is An Alien
My Stepmother Is an Alien
My Stepmother Is An Alien is a 1988 comedy science fiction film produced by the Weintraub Entertainment Group for release through Columbia Pictures, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Kim Basinger and Dan Aykroyd, with featured performances by Jon Lovitz and Alyson Hannigan.-Plot:Celeste is...
. His distinctive face and demeanor were featured prominently in 1989's Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film and the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson...
, as the high school student who thinks that Marty
Marty McFly
Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly, Sr. is the protagonist in the Back to the Future film trilogy, and is portrayed by actor Michael J. Fox. Marty was also the protagonist in the animated series where he was voiced by David Kaufman...
has just robbed Biff
Biff Tannen
Biff Howard Tannen is a character in the Back to the Future trilogy, serving as the primary antagonist of the first two films. He is played by Thomas F. Wilson in all three films as well as the ride, and Wilson voiced the character in the animated series....
of his wallet. As Biff regains consciousness after having been knocked out by George, Mann (credited as "CPR Kid," but later labeled by fans as the Wallet Guy) shouts "I think he took your wallet!" after Biff, then turns back to the other onlookers and repeats "I think he took his wallet."
Mann has also appeared in the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is a regional, nonprofit theater company that performs at Boscobel in Garrison, NY. It produces classic works with an economy of style, focusing on script, actors and audience with the Hudson River and Hudson Highlands as its set and setting...
in Garrison, New York
Garrison, New York
Garrison is a hamlet in Putnam County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown and is on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the United States Military Academy at West Point...
, for five seasons.
Filmography
Since then, he has appeared mainly on televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
(including an appearance as Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
s sixty-ninth secretary), mostly via guest appearances on sitcoms, with movie roles coming only occasionally now. He has appeared in the following films, as of 27 April 2006:
- My Stepmother Is An AlienMy Stepmother Is an AlienMy Stepmother Is An Alien is a 1988 comedy science fiction film produced by the Weintraub Entertainment Group for release through Columbia Pictures, directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Kim Basinger and Dan Aykroyd, with featured performances by Jon Lovitz and Alyson Hannigan.-Plot:Celeste is...
(1988) - Who's Harry Crumb?Who's Harry Crumb?Who's Harry Crumb? is a comedy-mystery film featuring John Candy as the title character.Paul Flaherty directed the film, which co-stars Annie Potts, Jeffrey Jones and Shawnee Smith...
(1989) - ChattahoocheeChattahoochee (film)Chattahoochee is a 1989 film directed by Mick Jackson. The film stars Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Pamela Reed, and Ned Beatty and is based on the experiences of Chris Calhoun.-Plot:...
(1989) - Back to the Future Part IIBack to the Future Part IIBack to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film and the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson...
(1989) - L.A. StoryL.A. StoryL.A. Story is a 1991 American romantic comedy film, written by and starring Steve Martin. Set in Los Angeles, California, it relates a series of episodes in the romantic life of an L.A. TV weatherman. It includes surreal sequences in which he is offered romantic advice flashed to him by a freeway...
(1991) - The ShadowThe Shadow (1994 film)The Shadow is a 1994 American superhero film, directed by Russell Mulcahy, and based on the character of the same name created by Walter B. Gibson in 1931. Alec Baldwin starred in the title role...
(1994) - Angus (1995)
- Critics and Other Freaks (1997)
- Every Dog Has Its Day (1997)
- Academy Boyz (1997)
- But I'm a CheerleaderBut I'm a CheerleaderBut I'm a Cheerleader is a 1999 satirical romantic comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit and written by Brian Wayne Peterson. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, an apparently happy heterosexual high school cheerleader...
(1999) - The Adventures of Rocky and BullwinkleThe Adventures of Rocky and BullwinkleThe Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle is a 2000 comedy film based on the television cartoon The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show by Jay Ward. The animated characters Rocky and Bullwinkle shared the screen with live actors portraying Fearless Leader , Boris Badenov , Natasha Fatale , and FBI agent Karen...
(2000) - Race to SpaceRace to SpaceRace to Space is an American family/drama film. The film was shot on location at Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach and Edwards AFB CA in cooperation with NASA and the U.S. Air Force.-Plot:...
(2001) - Slackers (2002)
- Grand Theft ParsonsGrand Theft ParsonsGrand Theft Parsons is a 2003 film based on the true story of the country musician Gram Parsons , who died of an overdose in 1973...
(2003)
Television
- Adventures in WonderlandAdventures in WonderlandAdventures in Wonderland is a live-action musical television series based on Walt Disney's animated classic Alice in Wonderland. In the series, Alice , was portrayed as a girl who can go to and from Wonderland simply by walking through her mirror .Usually the...
as The Caterpillar (1991–1995) - Home Improvement
- Night CourtNight CourtNight Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
- The Golden GirlsThe Golden GirlsThe Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
- Murphy BrownMurphy BrownMurphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
- Full HouseFull HouseFull House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
- Tales From the CryptTales from the Crypt (TV series)Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
(1994) - Even StevensEven StevensEven Stevens is an American comedy television series that aired on Disney Channel with a total of three seasons and 65 episodes from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003...
- That's So RavenThat's So RavenThat's So Raven is an American cable television teen sitcom/fantasy series. The show premiered on the Disney Channel on January 17, 2003, and ended on November 10, 2007. The show spawned Disney Channel's first spin-off series: Cory in the House...
as Mr. Lawler (2002–2004) 6 episodes - Drake & JoshDrake & JoshDrake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,...
as Blemin (2005) - Family Matters
Mann also starred in one of the popular Fairfield Inn by Marriott
Fairfield Inn by Marriott
Fairfield Inn by Marriott is a lower cost brand of hotels that are franchised by Marriott International. The intended use is for guests requiring simply a place to sleep with fewer amenities. This allows Marriott to offer lower prices than would otherwise be possible...
television commercials in the mid-1990s. He portrayed a traveler desperate for a restroom who finds one at a desert gas station, only to be locked out by a child who only uses it as a playhouse. Mann's character portrays comedic "desperate" antics while waiting, but the child never comes out. The tagline for the commercials were, "Traveling's an adventure, where you stay shouldn't be."