Jason Woliner

Jason Woliner (born June 1, 1980) is an American comedy director, writer and a former child actor. He was the non-performing member of the comedy group Human Giant and directed the bulk of their output. The group, which also consisted of comedians Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer, produced an MTV sketch comedy show that ran for two seasons. He has been directing, writing on, and executive producing the Adult Swim series Eagleheart, starring Chris Elliott. The show has completed production of three seasons and is on hiatus. Woliner has directed episodes of Fox TV's The Last Man on Earth, NBC's Parks and Recreation, and Comedy Central's Nathan for You and Jon Benjamin Has a Van, among others.

Jason Woliner
Woliner in July 2011
Born (1980-06-01) June 1, 1980
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
OccupationDirector, writer, actor
Years active1989–present

Early life and acting career

Woliner was born in The Bronx, New York, and began acting when he was four years old, having been discovered performing in a "father/son magician team" (alongside his father, Alan, who did children's birthday parties under the name "Amazing Alan The Magical Rabbit"). He appeared in over thirty television commercials, including those for Kix, Lego, Teddy Ruxpin, Apple Jacks, Burger King, Fruit Roll-Ups, and Kool-Aid. Woliner also appeared in the commercial parody "McSooshi" on Saturday Night Live and as "Matt", a series regular during the first season of PBS's Shining Time Station. On Broadway, he performed in the play Conversations with My Father and he played the role of "Bratty Kid" in the cult film Weekend at Bernie's. Woliner attended Pelham Memorial High School and for higher study at Sarah Lawrence College from 1998 to 2000 before dropping out to pursue a directing career.[1]

Directing career

After leaving school, Woliner began making films and videos, both on his own and with comedians in New York, and screening them at shows like Invite Them Up, the monthly First Sundays film festival, Baltimore's now defunct MicroCineFest, UCB, and others. It was at these shows that he met and began working with the comedians who would become Human Giant. During this period, Woliner also frequently collaborated on short films with Frank Lesser, an author and former writer for Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.

The first three Human Giant videos ("Shutterbugs", "Illusionators", and the "Shittiest Mixtape Boombox Blast") caught the eyes of executives at MTV, who offered the group a pilot. The resulting pilot got a green light, and the show ran for two seasons. Woliner, in addition to directing the majority of the series, served on the writing staff and wrote or co-wrote sketches such as "Camping Weekend", "Car Accident (a.k.a. Gay Porn Ghost)", "Bruce Willis Lookalike", "Sci-Fi Makeup", "Foley Artist", and "Rollerblading". He also served as an executive producer and lead editor on the series.

Woliner is working with Red Hour Films on an untitled Human Giant feature project and directing television projects for HBO, Comedy Central, Adult Swim, PBS, and SpikeTV. He has directed several episodes of the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation, including "Beauty Pageant", "Woman of the Year", and the second season finale, "Freddy Spaghetti".

Working with frequent collaborator Aziz Ansari, Woliner directed and co-wrote the mockumentary shorts series RAAAAAAAANDY, based on Ansari's character in Judd Apatow's Funny People. After the success of those shorts, Apatow and Universal signed a deal with Woliner and Ansari to write three movies. The pair are working on the first of those screenplays, a comedy about a disgraced astronaut (Ansari) who must figure out a way to return to the moon and clear his name.[2] Woliner has also directed Ansari's stand-up specials Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening and Dangerously Delicious, and two recent specials of comedian Patton Oswalt.

Woliner also directed and co-wrote the live-action version of Robert Smigel's Ambiguously Gay Duo starring Jon Hamm, Jimmy Fallon, Steve Carell, and Stephen Colbert for NBC's Saturday Night Live.

He has collaborated with writer-performer Brett Gelman on a series of horror/comedy specials for Adult Swim. The first of these, titled Dinner with Friends with Brett Gelman and Friends, aired in April 2014, and the most recent special, titled Dinner with Family with Brett Gelman and Brett Gelman's Family, aired in February 2015. Woliner and Gelman wrote the specials together; Gelman stars and Woliner directed.

In 2020, he directed the comedy film Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor Notes
1989 Weekend at Bernie's No No No No Actor; Bratty Kid
1990 Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift No No No No Actor; Matt
1996 Bullet No No No No Actor; Young Boy #3 - Buck Teeth
2006 Other Music Yes No Yes No
2007 An Evening with P. Oswalt Yes No No No
2014 Food Club Yes Yes Yes No Actor; Captain Woliner
2018 Origin Story No No No No Very special thanks
2019 Mister America No No No No Special thanks
2020 Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Yes No No No

Television
Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor Notes
1989–91 Shining Time Station No No No No Matt Jones; 22 episodes
2005–10 Shutterbugs Yes Yes Yes No 11 episodes
2007–08 Human Giant Yes Yes Yes Yes 21 episodes
2009 The Electric Company Yes No No No Episode: "Scent of a Human"
Delocated No No No Yes Episode: "Pilot"
Raaaaaaaandy! Yes Yes No Yes 3 episodes
Patton Oswalt: My Weakness Is Strong Yes No No Yes Television special
2009–10 Parks and Recreation Yes No No No 3 episodes
2010 Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening Yes No No Yes Television special
Funny or Die Presents Yes Yes Yes Yes 6 episodes
MTV Movie Awards Yes Yes Yes No Television special
Players Yes No Yes No 10 episodes
2011 Saturday Night Live Yes Yes No No Episode: "Ed Helms/Paul Simon"
Jon Benjamin Has a Van Yes No No No 2 episodes
Patton Oswalt: Finest Hour Yes No No No Television special
Eagleheart Yes Yes Yes No 25 episodes
2012 Aziz Ansari: Dangerously Delicious Yes No No No Television special
New Girl Yes No No No Episode: "Menzies"
2013 Good Morning Tri-State Yes No No No Television short
Nathan for You Yes No No No 2 episodes
2014 Dinner with Friends with Brett Gelman and Friends Yes Yes No No Television short
Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories No Yes No No 7 episodes
2015 The Jack and Triumph Show No No Yes No 6 episodes
W/ Bob and David Yes No No No 4 episodes
Master of None No Yes Yes No 10 episodes
2015–18 The Last Man on Earth Yes No No No 12 episodes
2019 What We Do in the Shadows Yes No No No 2 episodes
Trade Show Show Yes No No No 6 episodes

References
  1. WTF With Marc Maron Episode 455: Jason Woliner
  2. Ansari, Woliner score with trio of comedy concepts
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