Benjamin Joseph, aka BJ Novak, born on July 31, 1979, is an American actor, writer, comedian, director, and author. He is most recognized for his work on the NBC comedy The Office (2005–2013), in which he also appeared as Ryan Howard and served as one of the show’s writers, executive producers, and directors.
He has portrayed roles as Alistair Smythe in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), Robert B. Sherman in Saving Mr. Banks (2013), PFC Smithson “The Little Man” Utivich in Inglourious Basterds (2009), and Harry J. Sonneborn in The Founder (2016). The dark comedic thriller Vengeance, in which Novak featured and made his directing debut, was released in 2022. He was also a cast member of The Newsroom (2014) and The Mindy Project (2013–2016), as well as the creator and executive producer of The Premise, a Hulu anthology series (2021). Here are BJ Novak’s top 5 roles, IMDb ranked.
In addition to his work in movies, Novak is the author of the critically praised novel The Book with No Pictures and One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories (2014). (2014).
Top 5 Roles of BJ Novak, IMDb Ranked
Saving Mr. Banks: 7.5
The first time Novak worked with the aforementioned John Lee Hancock was in the 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks, when he played Robert B. Sherman, the author of several Disney songs (including “It’s a Small World” and “There’s a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow”).
The lovely origin tale of Mary Poppins, in which BJ Novak co-stars with Jason Schwartzman (who played Bob’s brother, Richard M. Sherman), is arguably the most underappreciated in her résumé. He gives the movie a great heart, and as Dick plays the piano with Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, he also takes a sleep on a couch. What more could a person ask for?
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: 7.8
Novak makes just a little more of an appearance on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend than in Community, where he plays Mr. Egypt in the season five finale.
It’s not like BJ Novak had a difficult time acting because he played himself on the program. But it was still lovely to watch him hang out with Rachel Bloom and company since he is such a soothing and pleasant screen presence.
Also read Weekend Box Office: Theaters have the power of Mortal Kombat
Inglourious Basterds: 8.3
B.J. Novak plays Smithson Utivich in one of Quentin Tarantino’s finest movies, Inglourious Basterds, from 2009. Aldo Raine, the commander of the Basterds, played by Brad Pitt, has a close friend named Utivich.
Although Christoph Waltz steals the show in the picture, Novak receives a lot of screen time in sequences with Pitt and even supports the movie’s dramatic conclusion. The critically praised film served as a platform for Novak to demonstrate that he was more than simply a TV comedic actor (which is fantastic in and of itself!)
The Newsroom: 8.6
Going back to television, it was only a matter of time until Aaron Sorkin and BJ Novak teamed together. The two are masters of language, and Novak exudes the right amount of coolness to blend in with any of Sorkin’s numerous TV projects.
The Newsroom was a close second for him since he was too young to watch Sports Night when it was airing. There, Novak played Lucas Pruitt for four episodes of the third season’s mini-arc. Although more respected characters on the program frequently put him in his place, it was at least a more entertaining guest appearance than Paul Lieberstein, his co-star and fellow Office writer. The latter played a more gloomy and melancholy role.
The Office: 8.9
Speaking of The Office, it continues to be one of BJ Novak’s best Roles, according to IMDb. It’s also not all that shocking. In addition to writing some of the finest episodes of the series, such as “Diversity Day,” “Initiation,” and “Threat Level Midnight,” Novak was also a key member of the show’s core cast.
In his performance as Ryan Howard, Novak flawlessly transitioned from eager rookie to arrogant wunderkind to hipster one-liner machine. Rewatch The Office, and you’ll see that Ryan, while being utterly unlikeable, is one of the show’s sneakiest greatest characters. That speaks highly of B.J. Novak.
