Will Arnett Biography

Summary

"William 'Will' Emerson Arnett" (born May 5, 1970; pronounced ) is an Emmy Award-nominated Canadian-American actor known for his role as George Oscar 'G.O.B.' Bluth II (pronounced Job, like the biblical figure) on the FOX comedy "Arrested Development". Since his success on "Arrested Development", Arnett has landed major film roles. He recently played a supporting role in the comedy film "Blades of Glory" and the antagonist in "Hot Rod". He played the starring role in 2006's "Let's Go To Prison". Arnett has also done work as a voiceover artist for commercials, films, and television programs.

Early life

Arnett was born in Toronto, the son of Alexandra and E. James Arnett, a corporate lawyer, and brewer among many other occupations. In Toronto, he attended French-speaking schools. He still speaks French, but has stated that he is not currently fluent in the language. He graduated from Leaside High School and briefly attended Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ontario. He attended Concordia University in Montreal for a semester, but dropped out. When he was a teenager, Arnett's mother encouraged him to pursue an acting career and he began to audition for commercials in Toronto. He decided that he really enjoyed acting and that it was something that he wanted to do with his life. At age 20, in 1990, Arnett moved from Toronto to New York in order to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He began appearing in plays in New York and his first acting role was in the Felicity Huffman independent film "Erie", which was filmed on the Erie Canal.

Career

Early struggles

In February of 1996, Will Arnett began acting in television pilots. His first was a pilot with Kevin Pollak and his wife, Lucy Webb, for CBS, that was not picked up.' The pilot was "The Underworld" which revolved around 'The head of an organized crime family who hounds an ex-con who only wants to go straight.' After the show was not picked up, he appeared in the movie "Southie", which was directed by Arnett's friend Dave McLaughlin. In 1999, Arnett was cast in another pilot for "The Mike O'Malley Show" on NBC. Arnett was a regular on the series, playing the protagonist's friend Jimmy. The show was picked up, but it was canceled after only two episodes. Arnett has referred to 2000, the year after that show was cancelled, as 'the darkest year of his life' and he admits that he 'didn't get a lot of work' and 'drank those years away.' Arnett considers the summer of 2000 to have been a turning point for him because a friend helped pull him out of his battle with alcoholism and he began to get his career back on track.

In 2001, Arnett was cast in another television pilot, "Loomis", for CBS. The pilot starred comedian Cheri Oteri as a local news reporter, and Arnett played her slacker brother. The pilot was not picked up. In 2002, Arnett was once again cast in a fourth television pilot. This pilot was for the CBS sitcom "Still Standing"; but even though the show was picked up and ran for many years, his character was cut from the series after the pilot. Arnett became so frustrated, after his fourth failed pilot, that he 'swore off pilots' altogether, until his agent persuaded him to audition for the pilot for "Arrested Development".

Career breakthrough

In 2003, Will Arnett finally found success in television when he was cast in the role of George Oscar 'G.O.B.' Bluth II in the Fox comedy series "Arrested Development". Arnett's character was one of the show's most popular and he was nominated for an Emmy for his role.' The show was canceled due to low ratings, despite its critical acclaim and cult following. His favorite episodes of the show are 'Pier Pressure' and 'Afternoon Delight.'

Due to his work on "Arrested Development" and the fact that he was no longer tied down to the series after its cancellation, Arnett began being cast in large roles in a number of films. Although he worked largely as a dramatic actor in films before "Arrested Development", the roles that he has taken since have been mostly comedic, often playing smug bad guys. Despite the fact that Arnett has emerged as a comedic actor, Arnett 'never considered himself a comic' and considers himself an 'actor first.'

Arnett's first major starring role was in "Let's Go to Prison", a comedy film directed by Bob Odenkirk. The film was made on a small budget of $4 million.. It made over $4 million at the box office and over $13 million in rentals, making it a minor success. Arnett's most recent film was "Blades of Glory", an ice skating comedy in which Arnett and his wife Amy Poehler played supporting roles to Will Ferrell. In an ironic twist they played a brother/sister skating duo whose relationship seemed to cross a few lines more often than not. The film was number one at the box office during its first two weeks and has grossed approximately $118 million domestically.

Arnett recently appeared as a guest star on "King of The Hill" and "30 Rock". In "30 Rock", he played Devon Banks, a scheming network executive who plays a rival to Alec Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy. He also has recently finished filming supporting roles in "Spring Breakdown", "Hot Rod", "The Comebacks", and "On Broadway". In "On Broadway", he once again works with director Dave McLaughlin who is a close friend of Arnett's and gave him one of his first movie roles in "Southie".

Arnett's next starring role was in the comedy "The Brothers Solomon", in which he again teamed with director Bob Odenkirk and starred opposite "Saturday Night Live's" Will Forte. He recently finished filming a major supporting role in the upcoming basketball comedy "Semi-Pro", his second film with Will Ferrell. Arnett's next movie role will be in "Ye Olde Times", along with Jack Black, which will commence filming this September.

Will Arnett is signed on to many new projects in which he will play starring roles. He is signed on to "Jeff the Demon" for New Line Cinema, in which he will play a demon who is summoned by a pair of high school losers. He is also signed on to the lead role in "The Ambassador" for DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures, in which he will play 'a former U.S. vice president's privileged son, who is assigned an ambassadorship in Europe, where he quickly becomes the quintessential ugly American.' Arnett is also signed on for the lead in "Space Invader" for Fox Atomic, which will center on a love triangle set on a space station. He is also attached to lead roles in the projects "Dad Can't Lose", "Get 'Em Wet", and "Most Likely to Succeed". Arnett was originally attached to play the lead role of David Miller in the film "We're the Millers", but he had to pass on the project due to 'scheduling reasons' and the part went to Steve Buscemi. Arnett has also stated in an interview that he's 'working with Mitch Hurwitz on something right now', but the details of the project have not yet been revealed. Arnett has also stated in interviews that he is not sure that he would return to television for another series anytime soon.

Voice work

Will Arnett has a distinctive gravelly voice and has also done voice-over work for CBS TV promos, film trailers, and numerous advertisements, including Lamisil medication. Perhaps most recognizable is Arnett's voice saying, 'It's not more than you need, just more than you're used to' in ads for GMC trucks.

Arnett has also lent his voice to a number of television shows and commercials. In 2006, Arnett lent his voice to the character Duncan Schiesst for the Comedy Central animated program "Freak Show", which was created by and also stars the voice of his former "Arrested Development" co-star David Cross. Recently, Arnett took the role of announcer for the faux trailer 'Don't' in the movie Grindhouse. He will also be lending his voice to the upcoming films "Horton Hears a Who!", and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs".

Personal life

Arnett has a pair of twin sisters who are three years older and a brother younger by nine years. His father James Arnett was corporate lawyer and became the president and CEO of Molson Breweries in 1997, until he stepped down in 2000. James had previously worked as a director for the company and he attended Harvard Law School.

In 1994, Arnett married actress Penelope Ann Miller, and they divorced in 1995. Arnett dated actress Missy Yager, whom he lived with for four years. They starred on The Mike O'Malley Show together and broke up around the time that the show began.

Arnett began dating comedic actress Amy Poehler in 2000; the couple moved to New York in 2001 when she became a featured player on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." On August 29, 2003, Arnett and Poehler married. Poehler appeared in four episodes of "Arrested Development" in 2004 and 2005. She played a woman who his character G.O.B. marries during a drunken night of increasingly outrageous dares. Arnett and Poehler starred alongside each other in the film "Blades of Glory" and they will star together in the upcoming films "On Broadway", "Spring Breakdown", "Horton Hears a Who!", and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". He and Amy have two dogs, Toby and Elliott.

Arnett lists Steve Martin and Chevy Chase as his two biggest comedic influences.

His favorite band is Built to Spill, his favorite movie is "Shaun of the Dead", his favorite television show is "The Office". Will grew up watching hockey in Canada, and is an avid Toronto Maple Leafs supporter. Arnett also does charity work in his spare time.

Awards

Honors

New York Magazine named Will Arnett and wife Amy Poehler 'New Yorkers of the Year' for 2005 during their New York Magazine Culture Awards.

In April of 2007, during a panel hosted by the Museum of Television and Radio, talk show Conan O'Brien and his writing staff named Will Arnett as one of their three all-time favorite guests, sharing the honor with Norm Macdonald and Harland Williams.

Also in April of 2007, "Entertainment Weekly" named Will Arnett a Future King of Comedy.' In May of 2007, Arnett ranked #9 on Best Week Ever's 'Top 15 Sexiest Nerd Boys' poll. In July of 2007, "Premiere" magazine named Arnett one of 'The 20 Hottest New Faces in Comedy.'