Jim Rash

James Rash^[1] (born July 15, 1971)^[2] is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He played Dean Craig Pelton on the NBC sitcom Community (2009–2015), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012.

Jim Rash
Rash in 2013
Born	James Rash (1971-07-15) July 15, 1971 (age 53) Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupations	Actor comedian filmmaker
Years active	1995–present

He co-wrote The Descendants (2011) alongside Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon for which they received the Academy Award, Independent Spirit Award and Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. They were also nominated for the BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Critics' Choice Movie Award.^[3] Rash has since with Faxon, written and directed the comedy films The Way, Way Back (2013), and Downhill (2020).

Early life

Rash grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[4] Both he and his sister were adopted.^[5] He attended Charlotte Latin School.^[6] After graduating, he spent a post-graduate year at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.^[6] He was a member of The Groundlings, a Los Angeles-based improv comedy group.

Career

Rash played Mr. Grayson/Stitches in the 2005 film Sky High, Fenton on That '70s Show, That '90s Show, and Andrew the "whore house guy" on Reno 911!. He appeared in the final episode of Friends, and played Head T.A. Philip in Slackers. From 2009 to 2015, Rash starred on Community as Craig Pelton, the dean of the community college in which the show takes place.

Rash and comedy partner Nat Faxon moved into screenwriting with a pilot in 2005 for a series entitled Adopted, which did not take off.^[5][7] They wrote the screenplay for The Descendants (2011), based on the novel of the same name, which appeared on the 2008 edition of the Black List (the most popular unproduced scripts in Hollywood at that time).^[8] The film was released to critical acclaim,^[3] receiving a Golden Globe nomination and winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Both Rash and Faxon co-wrote and co-directed the film The Way Way Back (2013), which received a standing ovation at its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.^[9] Parts of the film are based on Rash's teenage life.^[7] The ensemble comedy starred Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph, and Sam Rockwell. The film was a commercial and critical success, earning a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy nomination.

In 2020, Rash and Faxon reunited for Downhill, an adaptation of the film Force Majeure (2014) by Swedish director Ruben Östlund. The film starred Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Rash and Faxon co-wrote the script with Jesse Armstrong. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival where it received mixed reviews, with critics' comparing the film to the original.

Rash has voiced the Marquess of Queensbury for all four seasons of the Adult Swim animated comedy Mike Tyson Mysteries. From 2017 to 2021, he voiced Gyro Gearloose in the reboot of DuckTales.^[10] In 2023, Rash voiced the Fixer, the enforcer for the Conglomerate and recurring character in My Dad the Bounty Hunter.^[11] He also voiced a video game announcer in the same series.^[12]

Personal life

Rash stated he came out "well over 10-plus years ago" during an interview promoting Bros in September 2022.^[13]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Auto Motives	Accountant
2002	Hiding in Walls	Jane's Assistant
	One Hour Photo	Amateur Porn Guy
	Slackers	Head T.A. Philip
	Minority Report	Technician
	S1m0ne	Studio Executive
2003	Wrong Hollywood Number	Caller	Short film
	George & Gracie	George
2005	Sky High	Mr. Grayson/Stitches
2007	Smiley Face	Talent Agency Secretary
	Balls of Fury	Techie
2008	The Onion Movie	Bryce's Manager
2009	The Slammin' Salmon	Disgruntled Businessman
2011	The Descendants	—	Co-writer
2013	The Way Way Back	Lewis	Also co-writer, co-director and executive producer
2014	Yellowbird	Karl	Voice[14][15][16]
2015	Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run	Cecil Turtle	Voice, direct-to-video[16]
2016	Captain America: Civil War	Dean of M.I.T.	Cameo
2017	Thoroughbreds	—	Producer
	Bernard and Huey	Bernard
2019	Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs	Prince Average	Voice
2020	Downhill	—	Co-director and co-writer
	Lazy Susan	Phil
2021	Long Weekend	Larry
	Home Sweet Home Alone	Bell Choir Leader
2022	Bros	Robert
2024	Fly Me to the Moon	Lance Vespertine

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Cybill	Production Assistant	Episode: "Local Hero"
1997	Tracey Takes On...	Pollster	Episode: "Movies"
1997–1998	The Naked Truth	Harris Van Doren	3 episodes
1998	Working	Carl	Episode: "Good Val Hunting"
1999	Becker	Eddie Blatt	Episode: "Becker the Elder"
	Clueless	Bart	Episode: "Big Sissies"
	Katie Joplin	Mitchell Tuit	7 episodes
	Thanks	Cotton	6 episodes
2000	The Hughleys	Census Guy	Episode: "Scary Hughleys"
2001	Loomis	Derek	Pilot
	The Practice	Quimby	Episode: "Vanished: Part 1"
2002	Less Than Perfect	Rob McLyle	Episode: "Claude the Liar"
2002–2006	That '70s Show	Fenton	6 episodes
2003	Alligator Point		Pilot
	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Todd Benton	Episode: "Random Acts of Violence"
	The Guardian	Court Therapist	Episode: "All the Rage"
	Baby Bob	Dougy	Episode: "Reality Bites"
	Coupling	Stalker	Episode: "Check/Mate"
2003–2009, 2020	Reno 911!	Andrew	15 episodes
2004	Friends	Nervous Passenger on Plane	Episode: "The Last One"
	Grim & Evil	Various	Voice, Episode: "A Kick in the Asgard"
	NCIS	Dr. Joel Sanderson	Episode: "Left For Dead"
2005	Will & Grace	Brent	Episode: "Love is in the Airplane"
	Jake in Progress	Freddie Blake	Episode: "Rivals and Departures"
	Adopted		Pilot; co-creator and executive producer
2006	Saturday Night Live		Guest writer on episode "Dane Cook / The Killers"
2006–2007	Help Me Help You	Jonathan	14 episodes
2008	Hackett		Pilot
	Eli Stone	Bradley Kitsis	Episode: "I Want Your Sex"
	Samantha Who?	Artist	Episode: "The Gallery Show"
2009, 2016	American Dad!	Bouncer, Puddin'	Voice, 2 episodes
2009–2015	Community	Dean Craig Pelton	90 episodes; also wrote "Basic Human Anatomy" co-directed 2 episodes
2010	Open Books	Kyle	Pilot
2011	Worst. Prom. Ever.	Pizza Pete	Television film
2011–2014	The Soup	Various roles	7 episodes
2012	Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated	JR Kipple	Voice, episode: "The Night the Clown Cried II - Tears of Doom"
	The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange	Pineapple Joe	Voice, episode: "Follow the Bouncing Orange"
2012–2013	The Looney Tunes Show	Cecil Turtle	Voice, 2 episodes
2012–2015	Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja	Principal Slimovitz	Voice, 34 episodes[16]
2013–2014	The Writers' Room	Himself (host)	12 episodes; also producer
	TripTank	Tony, Sir Ruthert, Cowboy Dad	Voice, 3 episodes[16]
2013–2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Various roles	2 episodes
2014–2015	Glee	Lee Paulblatt	2 episodes
2014–2020	Mike Tyson Mysteries	Marquess of Queensberry	Main voice role[16]
2015–2016	Jake and the Never Land Pirates	Sinker	Voice, 2 episodes
2015	Rick and Morty	Glaxo Slimslom	Voice, episode: "Big Trouble In Little Sanchez"
2016	Dr. Ken	Devon Drake	Episode: "Ken's an Expert Witness"
	Lucifer	Richard Kester	Episode: "Et Tu, Doctor?"
	The Odd Couple	Joshua Norwall	Episode: "Chess Mates"
	Black-ish	Cody	Episode: "VIP"
	The Grinder	Bill Foosley	Episode: "The Retooling of Dean Sanderson"
2017	Girlboss	Mobias	4 episodes
	SuperMansion	NASA Scientist	Voice, episode: "Blazarmageddon"
	Animals.	Chuckles	Voice, episode: "Cats Part I"[16]
	Nobodies	Himself	5 episodes
	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Hotel Day Manager	Episode: "The Pickle Gambit"
	Beyond Stranger Things	Himself (host)	7 episodes
	Superior Donuts	Mr. Mathers	Episode: "Error of Admission"
2017–2021	DuckTales	Gyro Gearloose, Bulby, Gizmoduck Armor	Voice, 14 episodes[16]
2017, 2021	Vampirina	Mr. Thornberg	Voice, 2 episodes[16]
2018	Blaze and the Monster Machines	Grandpa	Voice, episode: "The Pickle Family Campout"
	Great News	Fenton Pelt	2 episodes
	Big City Greens	Ted	Voice, episode: "Fill Bill"[16]
	The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants	Mr. Jerry Citizen	Voice, episode: "Captain Underpants and the Jarring Jerkiness of the Judge J.O.R.T.S."[16]
	Angie Tribeca	Philip Grammbbowski	Episode: "Trader Joes"
2018–2020	Star Wars Resistance	Flix, Pirate	Voice, 13 episodes[16]
2019–present	Harley Quinn	Edward Nygma/Riddler, various voices	Voice, 14 episodes[16]
2020	Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Dr. Darren Watkins	Episode: "Pimemento"[17]
	Archibald's Next Big Thing	Fritz	Episode: "The Royal Strutters/Impromptu Cruise"
2020–2021	American Housewife	Walker Montgomery	6 episodes
2021	Solar Opposites	Keith	Voice, episode: "The Solar Opposites Almost Get an Xbox"
	Impeachment: American Crime Story	Ken Bacon	4 episodes
	Tacoma FD	CEO Frank Drake	Episode: "Fire at the Fire Station"
2022	The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window	Flight Attendant	Episode: "Episode 8"
	Out of Office	Edward	Television film
2023	That '90s Show	Fenton	2 episodes
	My Dad the Bounty Hunter	Fixer, various voices	Voice; recurring role[16]
	The Ghost and Molly McGee	JR	Voice, episode: "Dance Dad Revolution"[16]
2023–Present	Krapopolis	Dionysus	Voice, 3 episodes
2023-2024	Velma	Mayor Dave	Voice, 6 episodes[16]
2024	Kite Man: Hell Yeah!	Edward Nygma / Riddler	Voice
2025	Ironheart	Dean of M.I.T.	Upcoming series[18]

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Project	Result	Ref.
2011	Academy Award	Best Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants	Won
2011	BAFTA Award	Best Adapted Screenplay		Nominated
2011	Golden Globe Award	Best Screenplay		Nominated
2011	Independent Spirit Award	Best Screenplay		Won
2011	Writers Guild of America Award	Best Adapted Screenplay		Won
2011	Critics' Choice Movie Award	Best Adapted Screenplay		Nominated
2012	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Community	Nominated
2014	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Informational Series or Special	The Writers' Room	Nominated

References

1. Lacher, Irene (August 24, 2013). "Jim Rash writes, directs, acts and hosts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
2. "Today in History". The Associated Press. July 15, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
3. Ebert, Roger (November 16, 2011). "The Descendants". The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012 – via rogerebert.com.
4. Matheson, Whitney (August 5, 2013). "A chat with ... 'Writers' Room' host Jim Rash". USA Today. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
5. Interview with Paul F. Tompkins, 'Speakeasy' Community's Jim Rash is TV Ugly - Speakeasy on YouTube
6. Carter, Lance (November 19, 2010). "Q & A: Community's Jim Rash". Daily Actor. Retrieved March 15, 2012. Two things sort of started me towards what I wanted to do. One was I went to a school called Charlotte Latin School, in Charlotte and after I graduated from there, I really wanted to go to Chapel Hill. And, I just — now the world will know — my grades weren't great. I'll confess that, and so I really wanted to – I went to a post-graduate year at a boarding school up in New Jersey called the Lawrenceville School.
7. Profile Archived October 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, charlotteobserver.com; accessed October 6, 2017.
8. Brown, Lane (December 15, 2008). "The Black List 2008: The Full List". New York. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
9. Labrecque, Jeff. "Sundance 2013: The Way, Way Back makes huge splash with nostalgic summer comedy". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
10. Snetiker, Marc (June 8, 2017). "'DuckTales' Exclusive: Meet the New Faces of Duckburg". EW.com. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
11. Oddo, Marco Vito (November 16, 2022). "'My Dad the Bounty Hunter' Trailer Makes Catching Space Criminals a Family Business". Collider. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
12. "My Dad the Bounty Hunter (2023)". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
13. Betancourt, Manuel (September 29, 2022). "Will Bros convince Hollywood to embrace LGBTQ+ stories? Jim Rash has some thoughts". AV Club. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
14. Sneider, Jeff (February 10, 2014). "Seth Green, Dakota Fanning 3D Animated Movie 'Yellowbird' Acquired by Wrekin Hill". TheWrap. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
15. "Berlin: Wrekin Hill Acquires 3D Animated Pic 'Yellowbird'". Deadline. February 10, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
16. "Jim Rash (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 28, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
17. Steel, Tom (February 10, 2022). "10 Actors That Were In Community & Brooklyn Nine-Nine". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
18. Klein, Brennan (September 10, 2022). "Iron Man Successor's Origin Revealed In Ironheart Footage Description". ScreenRant. Retrieved April 28, 2024.

External links

• Jim Rash at IMDb