Nat Faxon Biography

Nathaniel "Nat" Faxon (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. Though a frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he is best known for winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing The Descendants (2011) and for his starring roles in the FOX comedy series Ben and Kate (2012-2013) and the FX comedy series Married (2014-2015). He also co-wrote and co-directed The Way, Way Back (2013) with writing partner Jim Rash.

Early life

Faxon's early years started in the seaside community of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, where he attended the Brookwood School. He later graduated from the Holderness School near Plymouth, New Hampshire and then Hamilton College in 1997.

Career

Acting

Faxon is an alumnus of the Los Angeles-based improvisational and sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings, where he began performing in 2001.

Faxon may be best known for his appearances in comedic films such as Orange County (2002), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Bad Teacher (2011), and several Broken Lizard films including Beerfest (2006). He co-starred in Darren Star's semi-autobiographical satire Grosse Pointe and had recurring roles in several television series such as The Cleveland Show, Joey, Up All Night and Reno 911!.

Faxon has been featured in a series of prominent Holiday Inn commercials featuring Joe Buck as well as an ad by Blockbuster. However, he did not get a significant lead role until 2012 when he was cast as the titular Ben in Ben and Kate, for which he received many positive reviews. Faxon starred alongside Judy Greer in the FX comedy series Married, which ran for two seasons.

Writing and directing

Faxon and writing partner Jim Rash, whom he met while performing at The Groundlings, co-wrote the screenplay for the film The Descendants, starring George Clooney and directed by Alexander Payne. On February 26, 2012, the screenplay for The Descendants won an Oscar, with Faxon, Rash, and Payne all receiving Oscars for their efforts. The duo made their directorial debut with The Way, Way Back (2013), based on their original screenplay, and starring Steve Carell, Toni Collette, and Sam Rockwell, among others. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired it for $10 million, and was released domestically to acclaimed reviews that July.

Personal life

Faxon is married to Meaghan Gadd and they have three children: Ruthie, Otis and Beatrice.

Work

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Orange County	Kip
	Slackers	Karl, the Grad Student
2004	Club Dread	Manny
2006	The TV Set	Reporter
	Beerfest	Rolf
2007	Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story	Awards Show Stage Manager
2008	Hamlet 2	Glenn from Copy Shop
	Lower Learning	Turner Abernathy
2009	The Slammin' Salmon	Carl the Manager
2011	Freeloaders	Fritz
	Bad Teacher	Mark
	Zookeeper	Dave
	The Descendants		Co-screenwriter only; Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2012	The Babymakers	Zig-Zag
2013	The Way, Way Back	Roddy	Also co-screenwriter and co-director
2014	Tammy	Greg
	Sex Tape	Max
2016	Operator	Gregg

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Rude Awakening	Slackula	Episode: "Slackula"
2000-2001	Grosse Pointe	Kevin the P.A.	17 episodes
2003-2004	Reno 911!	Milk Shake	6 episodes
2004	Significant Others	Breck	Episode: "A Breck, a Brother & a Funeral"
2004-2005	Joey	Bodie	3 episodes
2005	Romy and Michele: In the Beginning	Chad	TV movie
	NCIS	Carter Finch	Episode: "The Voyeur's Web"
	Reba	Elder Care Worker	Episode: "Grannies Gone Wild"
2005-2014	American Dad!	Various voices	4 episodes
2006-2008	Happy Hour	Brad Cooper	14 episodes
2008	Mad Men	Flatty	Episode: "The Benefactor"
2009	DJ & the Fro	The Fro (voice)	12 episodes
	Glenn Martin DDS	Trailer Park Teen (voice)	Episode: "Halloween Hangover"
	The Big D	Brady	Pilot
	The Burr Effect	Dale	Pilot
2009-2012	The Cleveland Show	Raymond the Bear (voice)	10 episodes
2010	Party Down	Garlan Greenbush	Episode: "Party Down Company Picnic"
2011	Allen Gregory	Jeremy (voice)	7 episodes
	Happy Endings	Chef Leslie	Episode: "Bo Fight"
2012	Are You There, Chelsea?	Tim Kornick	Episode: "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying"
	Up All Night	Lawrence	Episode: "Couple Friends"
2012-2013	Ben and Kate	Ben Fox	Series lead, 16 episodes
2013	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Earl of Crathmore	Episode: "Jessica Alba Wears a Jacket with Patent Leather Pumps"
	Spy	Alan	Pilot
2013-2014	Trophy Wife	Sad Steve	3 episodes
2014	Robot Chicken	(voice)	Episode: "Noidstrom Rack"
	Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja	Sinjin Knightfire (voice)	Episode: "Julian's Birthday Surprise/True Bromance"
	Marry Me	Scooby	Episode: "Win Me"
	Benched	Harold	Episode: "Solitary Refinement"
2014-2015	Married	Russ Bowman	Lead role, 23 episodes
2014-2016	TripTank	Various voices	8 episodes
2014-2017	Blaze and the Monster Machines	Pickle (voice)	45 episodes
2015	Community		Director, 2 episodes
	The Grinder	Lyle	Episode: "Little Mitchard No More"
2015-2017	SuperMansion	Ivan Whiff (voice)	2 episodes
	Family Guy	Various voices	3 episodes
2016	Black-ish	Joseph Everton	Episode: "Super Rich Kids"
	Mike Tyson Mysteries	Will (voice)	Episode: "Save Me!"
2017	Dogs In A Park	Various Dogs (voice)	8 episodes
	Nobodies	Himself	2 episodes
	Friends From College	Nick	Main cast
2018	Disenchantment	Elfo (voice)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
2011	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2011	Toronto Film Critics Association Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2011	Satellite Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2011	San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2011	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2011	Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2011	Florida Film Critics Circle Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2011	Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2011	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2011	National Board of Review	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	Writers Guild of America	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	Vancouver Film Critics Circle	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	USC Scripter Award	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	Online Film Critics Society Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	London Critics Circle Film Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	Independent Spirit Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	Golden Globe	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	Central Ohio Film Critics Association	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	BAFTA Awards	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	Australian Film Institute	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2012	Academy Award	Adapted Screenplay	The Descendants
2013	Newport Beach Film Festival Audience Award	Feature Film	The Way Way Back
2013	Filmfest Hamburg	Art Cinema Award	The Way Way Back
2014	St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association	Best Comedy	The Way Way Back
2014	Critics' Choice Movie Awards	Best Comedy	The Way Way Back