Michael Ian Black

Birth Name:

Michael Ian Schwartz

Birth Place:

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Profession

Actor, Writer, Producer, Director, Soundtrack

Studied at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, but left just prior to graduation to pursue his entertainment career full time
Co-founded the comedy troupe The State in 1988 and eventually landed his first national television appearance with the group's self-titled MTV series in 1993
Quote: "I definitely script things out․ Often, my jokes are terrible․ I often cannot distinguish between what is funny, so I need audiences to help me figure that stuff out․ Stand-up is a lot of trial-and-error․"
Quote: "[on interviewing celebrities] "Everybody is always looking for a road map․ People just want to know how to move ahead in their own lives and ․․․ [take] lessons from what other people have gone through․""
A well-known player of the Stella comedy group, which he co-founded in 1997 with Michael Showalter and David Wain
Best known as the screenwriter of "Run, Fatboy, Run" and for playing Phil Stubbs in "Ed․"
Chose to go by the stage name of Black instead of his surname Schwartz, in order to avoid confusion with the Michael Schwartzes already popular in show business
Host of an interview series for Audible․com called "How To Be Amazing․"
Released his first children's book, "Chicken Cheeks," in 2009

Fast Facts