B.J. Novak Biography
He was born in Newton, Massachusetts. Graduated from Newton South High School with future Office costar John Krasinski, from which they graduated in 1997. He attended Harvard University, where he worked for the Harvard Lampoon and majored in English & Spanish literature. He occasionally staged and performed in a variety show called The B.J. Show with fellow Harvard student B.J. Averell. Novak wrote his honors thesis on the films of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Graduated from Harvard in 2001. He moved to LA and began working in clubs as a comedian. His first live stand-up performance took place on Oct 10, 01 at the Hollywood Youth Hostel. He was named one of Variety's "Ten Comedians to Watch" in 03'.
He was a writer for short-lived WB Sitcom Raising Dad. He has also performed on Comedy Central's Premium Blend & on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
His acting career began on MTV's Punk'd, he was the lead accomplice to Ashton Kutcher on the show's second season in 2003, and was most widely known for his pranks on Hilary Duff, Usher & Mya.
After hearing Novak's opening joke at a comedy club, executive producer Greg Daniels immediately decided to include Novak in his upcoming project: a U.S. version of the hit British series The Office. Novak was cast as Ryan Howard, becoming the first cast member. He is also a writer and co-executive producer for the series. Novak was the first writer to pen the line "that's what she said," which has become a popular and recurring joke throughout the series.
He has appeared in the films Unaccompanied Minors, Reign Over Me, Knocked Up & Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.









