Michael Rapaport
Acting
- Born:
- 1970-03-20
- Place of birth:
- New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Michael Rapaport is an American actor, comedian, and podcast host who has built a prolific, decades-long career playing memorable characters across film, television, and comedy. Emerging in the early 1990s as a distinct character actor known for his gritty New York persona, fast-talking delivery, and comedic timing, he made his feature film debut in Zebrahead (1992) before landing his breakout dramatic role as a naive marine in Tony Scott's crime classic True Romance (1993). He quickly established himself as a versatile fixture of '90s cinema, delivering standout performances in critically acclaimed films such as Poetic Justice (1993), John Singleton's Higher Learning (1995), Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995), the crime drama Cop Land (1997), and the comedy Deep Blue Sea (1999). In television, Rapaport has maintained an equally robust presence, starring as Phoebe Buffay's police officer boyfriend Gary in NBC’s Friends, playing the lead role of a suburban father in the Fox sitcom The War at Home, and taking on major dramatic arcs in critically acclaimed series like Boston Public, Justified, Atypical, and Only Murders in the Building. Beyond scripted acting and voice work—including his prominent voice role as Ogre in the animated series The PJs—he has achieved widespread recognition as a sports and political commentator, documentary filmmaker (directing the acclaimed Beats, Rhymes & Travels: A Tribe Called Quest Documentary), and host of several popular podcasts, cementing his status as a ubiquitous and outspoken fixture in modern American entertainment.
Known For
Filmography
Matchmaking 3
October 8
Stealing Jokes
Don't F**k with Ghosts
I'll Be Right There
Fallout
Carol & the End of the World
The Choice Is Yours
Glisten and the Merry Mission
The Traitors
Life & Beth
Only Murders in the Building
kid 90
Conflicted
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story
Five Golden Rings
The Follow-Up
Lights Out with David Spade
100%: Julian Edelman
Still Laugh-In: The Stars Celebrate
The Masked Singer
The After Party
White Famous
Steve
Atypical
The Guest Book
Chuck
The New Edition Story
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
Crisis in Six Scenes
Sully
The $100,000 Pyramid
A Stand Up Guy
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Living the Fantasy
Public Morals
Little Boy
Hot Ones
black-ish
My Man Is a Loser
NB90s
The Heat
Last I Heard
Kiss of the Damned
The Mob Doctor
The Baytown Outlaws
Should've Been Romeo
NB80s
Inside Out
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
Pound Puppies
Raising Hope
The Deported
Justified
Celebrity Ghost Stories
Accidentally on Purpose
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
A Day in the Life
Big Fan
The Wendy Williams Show
The Miley and Mandy Show
Assassination of a High School President
The Big Bang Theory
Fugly
Special
Talkshow with Spike Feresten
Thugaboo: Sneaker Madness
Grilled
Push
It Ain't Easy
Live Free or Die
America Brown
My Name Is Earl
The War at Home
Prison Break
Too Late with Adam Carolla
Hitch
This Girl's Life
The Tony Danza Show
Cop Land: The Making of an Urban Western
Eretz Nehederet
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
A Good Night to Die
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Comic Book Villains
29 Palms
Triggermen
Paper Soldiers
Night Visions
Dinner for Five
Dr. Dolittle 2
The Making of 'Bamboozled'
Chain of Fools
The 6th Day
Lucky Numbers
Boston Public
King of the Jungle
Bamboozled
Men of Honor
Small Time Crooks
Next Friday
Kiss Toledo Goodbye
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Deep Blue Sea
The Naked Man
Rude Awakening
Some Girl
Palmetto
Rescuers: Stories of Courage - Two Families
Kicked in the Head
EP Daily
Cop Land
Subway Stories
A Brother's Kiss
Metro
Illtown
The Pallbearer
Beautiful Girls
MADtv
Mighty Aphrodite
Kiss of Death
The Basketball Diaries
Higher Learning
Hand Gun
The Scout
Friends
ER
The Foot Shooting Party
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Money for Nothing
True Romance
Late Show with David Letterman
Poetic Justice
Point of No Return
Zebrahead
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Simpsons
China Beach
The Trophy King
Last Shot
The Line