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Michael Rapaport

Highest Rated: 100% A Brother's Kiss (1997)

Lowest Rated: 0% 29 Palms (2002)

Birthday: Mar 20, 1970

Birthplace: New York, New York, USA

Character actor Michael Rapaport essayed larger-than-life figures on both sides of the law in countless features and television series for more than two decades, earning critical praise for dramatic work in "True Romance" (1993) and "Justified" (FX, 2010-15) and comic turns in "Mighty Aphrodite" (1995) while also cultivating an impressive second career as a documentarian, most notably with "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest" (2011). Born Michael David Rapaport on March 20, 1970 in New York City, he came from a family of broadcasters: his mother, June Brody, was an on-in personality, while his father was radio executive David Rapaport, who transformed the venerable WKTU into an all-disco format in the mid-1970s. After graduating from high school, Rapaport headed west to try his hand at stand-up comedy, but found greater success as an actor on television and in features, beginning in 1992 with "Zebrahead," an independent drama about the tensions created by a romance between black and white teenagers (N'Bushe Wright and Rapaport, respectively). However, his New York heritage and streetwise screen persona translated more directly to "wiseguy" roles - working class types ("Money for Nothing," 1993), small-time crooks ("Hand Gun," 1994), and second bananas in comedies like "The Pallbearer" (1996) and "Kicked in the Head" (1997). His ability to enliven supporting roles in features like the Quentin Tarantino-penned "True Romance" (1993), which cast him as Christian Slater's hapless roommate, and as a student seduced by white supremacy in John Singleton's "Higher Learning" (1997), quickly established Rapaport as a talented player in both comic and dramatic fare. For a period of time in the late '90s, Rapaport was a ubiquitous presence in major features, playing a sweet if slow-minded boxer in Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite" (1995), a police officer wanted by corrupt fellow lawmen in James Mangold's "Cop Land," and a doomed engineer pursued by intelligent sharks in "Deep Blue Sea" (1998), among other roles. His big screen cooled in the new millennium, though there were still high-profile turns in films like "The 6th Day" (2000) and Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" (2000); however, television offered more consistent and diverse work, including a recurring turn as a cop boyfriend to Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) on "Friends" (NBC, 1994-2004) and an amiable convict on "My Name is Earl" (NBC, 2005-09), two seasons on David E. Kelley's "Boston Public" (Fox, 2000-04) as teacher Danny Hanson, and two seasons as the star of "The War at Home" (Fox, 2005-07) as an opinionated Long Island insurance salesman. During this period, Rapaport also parlayed his long-standing interest in hip-hop music into "Beats, Rhymes & Life" (2011), a critically praised documentary about the ground-breaking rap trio A Tribe Called Quest. He helmed a second documentary, "When the Garden Was Eden" (2014), about the New York Knicks in the 1970s, for ESPN's "30 for 30" (2009- ), as was a 2016 short, "Hard-Lovin' Woman," about actress Juliette Lewis's pursuit of a music career, and Rapaport also enjoyed notoriety as an outspoken basketball and culture commentator for Fox Sports and through his own podcast, I Am Rapaport. However, acting continued to remain his primary career, and he maintained steady work as earthy characters in features like "The Heat" (2013), the boxing biopic "Chuck" (2016), with Liev Schreiber, and Clint Eastwood's "Sully" (2016). He was also a ubiquitous presence on television, both as a series regular on dramas like "Public Morals" (TNT, 2015) and a guest player, most notably in the fifth season of "Justified" (FX, 2010-2015) as the malevolent head of a Florida organized crime family, and as a fictional music manager in "The New Edition Story" (BET, 2017).

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Highest rated movies

100% 69% A Brother's Kiss
Watchlist
93% 93% True Romance
Watchlist
90% 90% Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
Watchlist
86% 62% Big Fan
Watchlist
85% I'll Be Right There Watchlist 82% 63% The Bleeder Watchlist
80% 53% America Brown
Watchlist
78% 73% Mighty Aphrodite
Watchlist
78% 80% Beautiful Girls
Watchlist
75% 69% Zebrahead
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet October H8te Self - 2024
No Score Yet No Score Yet Stealing Jokes Unknown (Character) - 2024
85% No Score Yet I'll Be Right There Marshall (Character) - 2024
No Score Yet 79% Glisten and the Merry Mission Grizz (Voice) - 2023
82% 63% The Bleeder John (Character) $320.7K 2016
No Score Yet 26% A Stand Up Guy Colin (Character) - 2016
No Score Yet No Score Yet Living the Fantasy Narrator - 2015
26% 78% Little Boy James Busbee (Character) $6.5M 2015
No Score Yet 24% My Man Is a Loser Marty (Character) - 2014
No Score Yet 86% When the Garden Was Eden Director - 2014
No Score Yet 47% Once Upon a Time in Queens Bobby DiBianco (Character) - 2013
No Score Yet No Score Yet Last I Heard Bobby (Character) - 2013
65% 71% The Heat Jason Mullins (Character) $159.6M 2013
68% 39% Kiss of the Damned Ben (Character) $14.3K 2012
23% 54% The Baytown Outlaws Lucky (Character) - 2012
27% 22% Inside Out Jack Small (Character) - 2011
90% 90% Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest Director,
Writer
$1.2M 2011
86% 62% Big Fan Philadelphia Phil (Character) $234.4K 2009
No Score Yet 0% The Deported Self - 2009
No Score Yet 63% A Day in the Life Detective Grant (Character) - 2009
No Score Yet 82% It Ain't Easy Unknown (Character) - 2008
55% 46% Assassination of a High School President Coach Z (Character) - 2008
59% 63% Special Les (Character) $6.4K 2006
40% 43% Live Free or Die Putney (Character) $12.7K 2006
No Score Yet 31% Push Tommy G (Character) - 2006
No Score Yet 21% Grilled Bobby (Character) - 2006
68% 62% Hitch Ben (Character) $177.6M 2005
80% 53% America Brown Daniel Brown (Character) - 2004
No Score Yet 64% A Good Night to Die August (Character) - 2003
50% 44% This Girl's Life Terry (Character) - 2003
No Score Yet 40% Triggermen Tommy O'Brian (Character) - 2002
No Score Yet 87% Paper Soldiers Mike E. (Character) - 2002
0% 36% 29 Palms The Cop (Character),
Executive Producer
- 2002
No Score Yet 28% Comic Book Villains Norman (Character) - 2002
41% 26% Dr. Dolittle 2 Joey the Raccoon (Voice) $113.0M 2001
No Score Yet 44% Chain of Fools Hitman (Character) - 2001
24% 61% King of the Jungle Francis (Character) $27.2K 2000
40% 33% The 6th Day Hank (Character) $34.5M 2000
42% 81% Men of Honor Snowhill (Character) $48.8M 2000
23% 19% Lucky Numbers Dale the Thug (Character) $10.0M 2000
53% 74% Bamboozled Dunwitty (Character) $2.2M 2000
66% 57% Small Time Crooks Denny (Character) $17.1M 2000
60% 39% Deep Blue Sea Tom Scoggins (Character) $73.6M 1999
No Score Yet 35% Kiss Toledo Goodbye Kevin Gower (Character) - 1999
No Score Yet 54% Some Girls Neal (Character) - 1998
39% 31% Palmetto Donnely (Character) $5.8M 1998
No Score Yet No Score Yet Rescuers: Stories of Courage -- Two Families Szarany (Character) - 1998
20% 37% The Naked Man Edward Bliss Jr. (Character) - 1998
No Score Yet 61% Subway Stories Jake (Character) - 1997
75% 67% Cop Land Murray "Superboy" Babitch (Character) $44.9M 1997
17% 27% Metro Kevin McCall (Character) $32.0M 1997
100% 69% A Brother's Kiss Stingy (Character) $25.8K 1997
20% 42% Kicked in the Head Stretch (Character) $102.7K 1997
45% 54% Illtown Dante (Character) $49.1K 1996
48% 18% The Pallbearer Brad Schorr (Character) $5.7M 1996
78% 80% Beautiful Girls Paul Kirkwood (Character) $10.6M 1996
45% 76% The Basketball Diaries Skinhead (Character) $2.1M 1995
69% 38% Kiss of Death Ronnie Gannon (Character) $14.7M 1995
46% 74% Higher Learning Remy (Character) $36.8M 1995
78% 73% Mighty Aphrodite Kevin (Character) $4.8M 1995
32% 21% The Scout Tommy Lacy (Character) $2.6M 1994
93% 93% True Romance Dick Ritchie (Character) - 1993
20% 31% Money for Nothing Kenny Kozlowski (Character) $917.6K 1993
75% 69% Zebrahead Zack (Character) $1.1M 1992

TV

Credit
89% 67% Life & Beth Leonard (Character) 2022 2024
90% 92% Atypical Doug (Character) 2017-2019 2021 2023
No Score Yet No Score Yet Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen Self,
Guest
2015-2023
85% 76% The Simpsons Mike Wegman (Guest Voice) 2019 2022-2023
No Score Yet No Score Yet Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Guest 2022
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Wendy Williams Show Guest,
Host
2017-2019 2021-2022
No Score Yet No Score Yet Nick Cannon Guest 2022
No Score Yet No Score Yet Martha & Snoop's Potluck Party Challenge Guest 2020
No Score Yet No Score Yet Larry King Now Guest 2019
No Score Yet 87% Lights Out With David Spade Guest 2019
No Score Yet 48% The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Guest 2017-2018
53% 73% White Famous Teddy Snow (Guest Star) 2017
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Untitled Action Bronson Show Guest 2017
64% 88% The Guest Book Adam (Guest Star) 2017
No Score Yet No Score Yet The $100,000 Pyramid Guest 2017
56% 69% Any Given Wednesday With Bill Simmons Guest 2016
78% 83% Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Richie Caskey (Guest Star) 2016
81% 84% The Big Bang Theory Kenny Fitzgerald (Guest Star) 2015
82% 90% Public Morals Charlie Bullman (Character) 2015
93% 95% Louie Lenny (Guest Star) 2015
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Chew Guest 2015
No Score Yet No Score Yet 30 for 30 Director,
Narrator
2014
97% 95% Justified Unknown (Guest Star) 2014
96% 90% Raising Hope Unknown (Guest Star) 2014
21% 43% The Mob Doctor Unknown (Guest Star) 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Lopez Tonight Guest 2011
No Score Yet No Score Yet Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Guest 2011
94% 78% Royal Pains Stanley (Guest Star) 2010
30% 40% Accidentally on Purpose Unknown (Guest Star) 2009-2010
61% 77% Prison Break Donald Self (Character) 2008-2009
82% 88% My Name Is Earl Frank (Guest Star) 2007-2008
24% 62% The War at Home Dave Gold (Character) 2005-2007
No Score Yet No Score Yet MADtv Unknown (Guest Star) 2006
No Score Yet No Score Yet Boston Public Danny Hanson (Character) 2001-2005
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Daily Show Guest 2000-2001
78% 93% Friends Gary (Guest Star) 1999
No Score Yet 85% ER Paul Canterna (Guest Star) 1998
83% 95% NYPD Blue Jaime DiLeo (Guest Star) 1993
No Score Yet 91% The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Unknown (Guest Star) 1993