David Benjamin Wain is an American comedian, writer, actor and director.
He is most widely known for directing the feature films Role Models, Wanderlust and
Wet Hot American Summer, the sketch comedy series The State, for producing, directing
and writing the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital, and for voicing The Warden on the
Adult Swim series Superjail!.
Wain is a founding member of comedy group Stella, along with Michael Showalter and Michael
Ian Black.
Early life Wain was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
As a young man, Wain went to a summer camp in Chardon,Ohio on which Wet Hot American
Summer was loosely based.
Career In 1988 while attending NYU film school, Wain
became a founding member of the sketch comedy group The New Group.
This group would later come to be known as The State, and in 1993 he and his fellow members
created and starred in The State, a sketch show that lasted 26 episodes on MTV.
After The State ended, he, Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter eventually formed the
comedy trio Stella.
Wain's first feature film Wet Hot American Summer is an absurdist summer camp comedy
starring Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni,
Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Ken Marino, Michael Ian Black and Elizabeth Banks.
Wain directed the film, and co-wrote and co-produced it with Michael Showalter, who also plays
a lead role.
Showalter credits Wain with being an active and observant Jew who infused the movie with
an authentically Jewish sense of humor.
His second feature film The Ten, starring Winona Ryder and Paul Rudd had a short theatrical
run and was released on DVD on January 15, 2008.
Wain's third feature, Role Models, starring Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Christopher
Mintz-Plasse, Jane Lynch and Elizabeth Banks, was his first widely released film.
Released in theaters on November 7, 2008, the film received positive reviews from critics
and fans alike, as well as earning $19 million on its opening weekend.
Its eventual worldwide gross was over $91 million.
Wain stars in a web series titled Wainy Days on the website My Damn Channel, which is in
its fifth season as of December 2011.
The series follows a fictionalized version of Wain through his everyday life as he tries
to romance numerous women and discusses his problems with his friends at the sweatshop
where he works.
Elizabeth Banks, Jonah Hill, Jason Sudeikis, Rob Corddry, Thomas Lennon, Josh Charles,
A.D.
Miles, Paul Rudd, and Michael Ian Black, and various other Stella, The State and Wet Hot
American Summer alumni have all guest-starred in various episodes.
As one third of the comedy troupe Stella, Wain has hosted a long running New York City
nightclub show, toured the United States, made a series of shorts, and created a 2005
series on Comedy Central.
Wain is featured as the voice of The Warden in the animated series Superjail!.
He was a featured commentator in the I Love the 70s series, I Love the 90s Part Deux series,
and the weekly VH1 show Best Week Ever.
Wain has also dabbled in theatre; he, Michael Showalter and Joe Lo Truglio wrote the play
SEX, aka Wieners and Boobs.
With The State, Wain co-wrote the book State by State with The State.
He has appeared in such movies as The Baxter, Keeping the Faith and Role Models.
Wain's fourth feature film, Wanderlust, was released on February 24, 2012.
It stars Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Malin Akerman and Alan Alda.
Wain directed the film, from a screenplay he wrote with Ken Marino, and has a cameo
in the film as a TV weatherman.
His fifth feature They Came Together was released in June 2014.
The cast includes Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Ed Helms, Cobie Smulders, Max Greenfield,
and Christopher Meloni.
Personal life Wain lives in New York City with his wife,
actress Zandy Hartig.
They have two sons.
Filmography References
External links Official website
David Wain at the Internet Movie Database Wainy Days series