Wayne Knight
From The TV IV
| Wayne Knight | |
| |
| Born | August 7, 1955 in Cartersville, Georgia, USA |
| Notable Roles | Seinfeld: Newman
3rd Rock from the Sun: Officer Don Orville Xiaolin Showdown: Dojo Kanojo Cho Catscratch: Mr. Blik |
| Notable Episodes | |
| Awards | |
Wayne Knight is an American Actor, best known for portraying Newman on Seinfeld and Officer Don Orville on 3rd Rock from the Sun. His notable film roles include Jurassic Park, Basic Instinct and Dirty Dancing. He is well known for his large spectacles, wich have become some sort of a trademark for him.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Wayne Knight was born August 7, 1955 in Cartersville, Georgia, USA to Bill Knight, a textile factory supervisor. Knight studied at the University of Georgia, while attending here, he was told by a theater professor that he would never make it as an actor. After he dropped out in 1975 he joined the Barter Theatre company in Abingdon, Virginia, one of the premier regional theaters in the country. Knight polished his craft at the as part of the repertory company, which gained him his Equity union card, he then moved to New York City, where he had his first mayor broadway role as Herschel Weinberger in the award winning play Gemini. After some small or uncredited roles his film breakthrough came in 1987 when he had a small role as Stan in the Academy Award winning film Dirty Dancing. He continued having small film, television and stage roles until in 1991 he was cast to portray Newman on Seinfeld wich gained him television immortality. In 1993 he was the first person to get cast for Jurassic Park, after Steven Spielberg saw him in the "interview scene" of Basic Instinct. During the mid-to-late 1990s he simultaneously played a prominent supporting role on 3rd Rock from the Sun as Officer Don Orville, he was als featured in the pilot episode of Against the Grain, wich featured the then unknown Ben Affleck. During filming of an episode of Seinfeld, Knight felt what he thought to be angina pains and sought the help of a cardiologist who told him that he was morbidly obese, had high blood pressure and was near diabetic. The actor then took on a serious program involving diet, exercise and outside support. He eventually lost 117 lb (53 kg). Currently, he maintains about 75-80 lb (about 35 kg) of that loss. In 2001 he had a supporting role in the Jerry Zucker comedy, Rat Race wich was poorly recieved. In 2003 he went on voicing the dragon Dojo Kanojo Cho on Xiaolin Showdown. He voiced the angry Mr. Blik on Catscratch for a total of 20 episodes.
[edit] Roles
[edit] Starring Roles
| Series | Role | Year(s) | Season(s) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Edge | Various | 1992–1993 | 1 | |||||||
| The Second Half | Robert Piccolo | 1993–1994 | 1 | |||||||
| Seinfeld | Newman | 1991–1998 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Toonsylvania | Igor | 1998–2000 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | Don Orville | 1996–2001 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Xiaolin Showdown | Dojo Kanojo Cho | 2003–2006 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| Catscratch | Mr. Blik | 2006–2007 | 1 | |||||||
[edit] Guest Starring Roles
[edit] Specials and Made-for-TV Movies
| Title | Role | Airdate | Series/Banner |
|---|---|---|---|
| For Lovers Only | Video Game Fanatic | October 15, 1982 | |
| Double Edge | Tommy White | March 22, 1992 | |
| T Bone N Weasel | Roy Kramp | November 2, 1992 | |
| Golden Gate | unknown | May 8, 1994 | |
| M*A*S*H, Tootsie & God: A Tribute to Larry Gelbart | Himself | March 5, 1998 | |
| Bleacher Bums | Mr. Zig | April 7, 2002 | |
| Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story | Walter Ballou | November 10, 2002 | |
| Billy and Mandy's Jacked Up Halloween | Jack | October 31, 2003 | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy |
| Nicole Kidman: An American Cinematheque Tribute | Himself | December 1, 2003 |
[edit] Talk, News and Game Show Appearances
| Series | Episode | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Show 1116 | June 17, 1999 |
| Pet Star | Show 30 | November 12, 2003 |
| Thank God You're Here (USA) | Episode 101 | April 9, 2007 |
| Thank God You're Here (USA) | Episode 106 | May 16, 2007 |
[edit] Notable Film Roles
| Film | Role | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Dirty Dancing | Stan | November 13, 1987 |
| Born on the Fourth of July | Official #2 - Democratic Convention | March 2, 1990 |
| JFK | Numa Bertel | February 8, 1992 |
| Basic Instinct | John Correli | May 8, 1992 |
| Jurassic Park | Dennis Nedry | September 30, 1993 |
| Toy Story 2 | Al | February 7, 2000 |
[edit] Memorable Moments
[edit] Awards and Accolades
[edit] Screen Actors Guild Awards
(2 Nominations)
- Nominated: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1999)
- Nominated: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1998)
[edit] Viewers for Quality Television Q Awards
(1 Nomination)
- Nominated: Best Recurring Player (1998)
[edit] Other Awards
- Saturn Award
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (1994) - Jurassic Park
