Paul Schneider (actor)

For other people named Paul Schneider, see Paul Schneider (disambiguation).

Paul Andrew Schneider is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Dick Liddil in the epic western film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) and his lead role as Mark Brendanawicz on the first and second seasons of the NBC political satirical sitcom Parks and Recreation (2009–10).^[1] He also appeared in lead roles in the romantic drama film All the Real Girls (2003) and the comedy film The Babymakers (2012), the former of which he co-wrote with David Gordon Green and was nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performer.

Paul Schneider
Schneider in July 2018
Born	Paul Andrew Schneider Oakland, California, United States
Education	University of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Theresa Avila ​ ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	2

He has since appeared in supporting roles in films such as Elizabethtown (2005), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Away We Go (2009), Water for Elephants (2011), Hello Carter (2013), Rules Don't Apply (2016), Brothers by Blood (2020), and American Murderer (2022).^[2] For his portrayal of Charles Armitage Brown in the biographical romantic drama film Bright Star (2009), Schneider won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was also awarded Best Actor in a Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival for his performance in the romantic comedy drama film Goodbye to All That (2014).^[3][4]

Early life

Schneider was born in Oakland, California,^[5][6] and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.^[7]

Career

In 2000, Schneider made his film debut in David Gordon Green's George Washington and starred in Green's All the Real Girls.^[8][9] As research for his role as Jesse Baylor in Elizabethtown, director Cameron Crowe suggested that Schneider tour with the band My Morning Jacket for five days. Schneider accompanied the band to concerts held in such locations as Irving Plaza, the Webster Theater, the Theater of the Living Arts, and Stone Pony Landing.^{[citation needed]}

After Elizabethtown, Schneider had supporting roles in The Family Stone and Live Free or Die. In 2007, he portrayed Gus Lindstrom in Lars and the Real Girl and Dick Liddil in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.^[7] He was named one of "Ten Actors to Watch" by Variety.^[10] In 2008, he made his directorial debut with the independent film Pretty Bird.^[11] Also in 2008, Schneider played President William Henry Harrison in an episode of the Comedy Central series Drunk History Vol. 4.^[12]

In 2009, Schneider appeared as Charles Armitage Brown in Bright Star, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Award from the National Society of Film Critics. The award was shared with Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds.^[13] He portrayed Courtney Farlander in Away We Go.^[12]

In arguably his most mainstream role, Schneider co-starred as Mark Brendanawicz in the NBC series Parks and Recreation, appearing in the first 2 seasons from 2009 to 2010 before leaving the series because he felt sidelined.^[14] Quoting an April 2014 interview with ScreenCrush:^[15]

That experience was very strange for me. You know, I signed up for a specific character that was changed in mid-season. And it became a character with a lot less to do. And, all of a sudden, I was kind of confused and kind of having a lot less to do.

In 2018, Schneider made his Broadway debut in Young Jean Lee's play Straight White Men as Matt. Schneider's performance earned praise, with The New York Times critic Jesse Green singling him out as one of the highlights of the production.^[16]

Personal life

On April 16, 2016, Schneider married Theresa Avila, an occupational therapist and co-founder of The World Lens Foundation, of which Schneider is a board member.^[17][18] The two have two daughters, Lou and Rae. Schneider is an Innocence Project Ambassador.^[19]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Pleasant Grove	Bedford	Short film
1998	Physical Pinball		Short film
2000	George Washington	Rico Rice
2003	Security, Colorado	Paul	Filmed in the Dogme 95 style.
2003	All the Real Girls	Paul	Also writer
2003	Crude	Gabe
2004	50 Ways to Leave Your Lover	Owen McCabe
2005	Elizabethtown	Jesse Baylor
2005	The Family Stone	Brad Stevenson
2006	Live Free or Die	Jeff Lagrand
2007	The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford	Dick Liddil
2007	Lars and the Real Girl	Gus
2008	Pretty Bird	Beach Dog Jogger	Also writer, director
2009	Bright Star	Charles Armitage Brown
2009	Away We Go	Courtney Farlander
2011	Water for Elephants	Charlie O'Brien
2011	Beloved	Henderson
2012	The Flowers of War	Terry
2012	The Babymakers	Tommy Macklin
2013	Hello Carter	Aaron
2014	Goodbye to All That	Otto Wall
2014	Black Eyed Dog
2014	Straight Men/Same Bed		Short film Writer, director, producer
2015	The Daughter	Christian
2016	Café Society	Steve
2016	Rules Don't Apply	Richard Miskin
2020	Brothers by Blood	Jimmy
2021	A House on the Bayou	John Chambers
2022	Abandoned	Dr. Carver
2022	American Murderer	David Brown

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Third Watch	Thomas Warner	Guest role; 3 episodes
2008	Drunk History Vol. 4	William Henry Harrison	1 episode
2009–2010	Parks and Recreation	Mark Brendanawicz	Main role (seasons 1–2); 30 episodes
2012	The Newsroom	Brian Brenner	Guest role; 2 episodes
2014	The Divide	Clark Rylance	Main role; 6 episodes
2016	The Tunnel	Artem Baturin	Guest role; 4 episodes
2016	Channel Zero: Candle Cove	Mike Painter	Main role; 6 episodes
2017	Chance	Ryan Winter	Main role (season 2); 9 episodes
2018	The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story	Paul Beck	Episode: "Ascent"
2020	Tales from the Loop	George	6 episodes
2020	NOS4A2	Jonathan "The Hourglass" Beckett	3 episodes
2022	A Friend of the Family	Marty	Episode: "Revelation"
2023	Florida Man	Officer Andy Boone	Recurring role

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2003	Gotham Awards	Breakthrough Actor	All the Real Girls	Nominated
2004	Chlotrudis Awards	Best Original Screenplay (shared with David Gordon Green)	All the Real Girls	Nominated
2008	Sundance Film Festival	Dramatic	Pretty Bird	Nominated
2009	Alliance of Women Film Journalists	Best Supporting Actor	Bright Star	Nominated
	Hollywood Film Awards			Won
	Indiewire Critics' Poll	Best Supporting Performance	Bright Star	Nominated
	San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	Dramatic	Pretty Bird	Nominated
	Village Voice Film Poll	Best Supporting Actor	Bright Star	Nominated
2010	National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA	Best Supporting Actor	Bright Star	Won
2012	RiverRun International Film Festival			Won
2014	Tribeca Film Festival	Best Actor in a Narrative Feature	Goodbye to All That	Won
2017	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best TV Actor	Channel Zero: Candle Cove	Nominated

References

1. Spangler, Todd (February 22, 2018). "'Parks and Recreation' Team Rips Into NRA for Using Amy Poehler GIF". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
2. Evans, Greg (May 24, 2018). "Paul Schneider Rounds Out Broadway's 'Straight White Men' Cast; Joins Josh Charles, Armie Hammer". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
3. Debruge, Peter (May 3, 2014). "Tribeca Film Review: 'Goodbye to All That'". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
4. Indsdorf, Annette (July 30, 2012). "Paul Schneider, Versatile 'Babymaker' and 'Beloved' Actor". Huffington Post. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
5. "Paul Schneider". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 17, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
6. "The Birth of Paul A. Schneider". California Birth Index. California Vital Statistics. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
7. Fischer, Jonathan (February 4, 2010). "The Nifty 50: Paul Schneider, Actor". T Magazine. New York Times. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
8. Kehr, Dave (February 28, 2003). "From the Pride of an Art School, a Sophomore Effort". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
9. Adams, Sam (September 30, 2009). "Random Roles: Paul Schneider". The A.V. Club. Onion Inc. Archived from the original on October 29, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
10. Idelson, Karen (October 19, 2007). "Paul Schneider: 'Jesse James' star prefers life over acting school". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
11. "Up, Up and Away: Paul Schneider's "Pretty Bird"". Indiewire. January 25, 2008. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
12. Johanson, MaryAnn. "AWFJ Women On Film - Paul Schneider on "Bright Star" and more - MaryAnn Johanson interviews". Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
13. Childress, Erik (January 4, 2010). "National Society of Film Critics 'Hurt' Oscar Chances?". Moviefone. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
14. Bucholtz, Meg (May 26, 2020). "The Reason Paul Schneider Left Parks And Rec After Season 2". Looper. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
15. Ryan, Mike (April 22, 2014). "Paul Schneider on Why He Left 'Parks And Recreation' and Why He Might Leave Hollywood". ScreenCrush. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
16. Green, Jesse (July 24, 2018). "Review: 'Straight White Men,' Now Checking Their Privilege on Broadway". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
17. "Home". The World Lens Foundation. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
18. "theresa avila tc schneider (@theresaavilas) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
19. "Straight White Men". 2econd Stage Theatre. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.

External links

• Paul Schneider at IMDb
• Paul Schneider Biography - Yahoo! Movies