Quick Facts
Biography
Kenneth Joseph "Ken" Marino (born December 19, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He was a cast member on MTV's The State and has starred in shows such as Party Down, Marry Me, Burning Love, and Childrens Hospital.
Early life
Marino was born in West Islip, New York, to an Italian-American family. He studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute and Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in New York City.
Career
Marino had early success on television as a member of a comedy troupe on the MTV sketch comedy series' The State in 1993, of which he was also a founding member. Marino co-starred with Rob Schneider in the second season of Men Behaving Badly. He starred in the short lived series First Years in 2001. He had a recurring role as Prof. Wilder on the TV series Dawson's Creek (2001–2002) and in You Wrote It, You Watch It (1992). He made multiple appearances on Charmed and Rock Me Baby, and appeared in three seasons of Veronica Mars as private detective Vinnie Van Lowe. He was cast to star in a re-make of the TV series The Courtship of Eddie's Father, but the pilot was not picked up. Instead, he was cast in the Starz original series Party Down. He also starred as a homosexual demon on the TV series Reaper. He played Dr. Glenn Richie in the satirical television series Childrens Hospital.
Marino also made guest appearances in Will & Grace (in the season 3 episode, "Three's a Crowd, Six Is a Freakshow"), Angel (season 1), Reno 911! (Season 1, Episode 2 and Season 3, Episode 3), Stella (season 1), Grey's Anatomy (season 2), Monk (in season 3's "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine"), Private Practice (season 3), and Happy Endings (season 2, episode 10, "The Shrink, the Dare, Her Date and Her Brother").
Marino starred in 2004's Love for Rent. He can also be seen in a non speaking role as the music producer/board operator in the pre-ride film that accompanies Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios. He has appeared in Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten and Role Models, and had a cameo in the end of The Baxter. He also starred in the Hallmark Channel movie Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door in 2006. In 2009, he had a cameo in an episode of Californication.
Marino wrote the screenplay for Diggers (2007), a coming-of-age film set in mid-1970s Long Island, as well as co-writing/producing The Ten and Role Models with David Wain.
Marino and Wain wrote the screenplay for the comedy film Wanderlust, which starred Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, and was released in 2012.
Marino starred as Mark Orlando in the Yahoo! web series Burning Love, a spoof of the TV series The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. The series was created by his wife Erica Oyama, while Marino also directed all three seasons. Afterwards, Marino starred opposite Casey Wilson on the NBC sitcom Marry Me, which ran for one season from 2014 to 2015.
Marino has also directed several episodes of the sitcoms The Goldbergs, Super Fun Night, and Trophy Wife.
Personal life
Marino is married to screenwriter Erica Oyama. They have a son, Riley Ken'ichi Marino and a daughter, Ruby.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Gattaca | Sequencing Technician | |
| 1999 | Love Happens | Mike Parker | |
| Carlo's Wake | Antonio Torello | ||
| 2000 | 101 Ways (The Things a Girl Will Do to Keep Her Volvo) | Officer Russotelli | |
| 2001 | Wet Hot American Summer | Victor Pulak | |
| Tortilla Soup | Jeff | ||
| Joe Somebody | Rick Raglow | ||
| 2005 | The Baxter | Jack Mechanic | |
| Hoodwinked! | Raccoon Jerry (voice) | ||
| Love for Rent | Dr. Neil Gardner | ||
| 2006 | Duncan Removed | Ben | Short film |
| Diggers | Lozo | (also producer & writer) | |
| 2007 | The Ten | Dr. Glenn Richie | (also producer & writer) |
| Reno 911!: Miami | Deaf Tattoo Artist | ||
| 2008 | Role Models | Jim Stansel | (also writer) |
| 2009 | The Antagonist | Party Host | Short film |
| 2010 | Jeffie Was Here | Roger | |
| 2012 | Wanderlust | Rick Gergenblatt | (also producer & writer) |
| Struck by Lightning | Dr. Wealer | ||
| For a Good Time, Call... | Harold | ||
| 2013 | In a World... | Gustav | |
| Bad Milo! | Duncan | ||
| We're the Millers | Todd | ||
| 2014 | They Came Together | Tommy | |
| Veronica Mars | Vinnie Van Lowe | ||
| 2015 | Goosebumps | Coach Carr | |
| 2016 | Masterminds | Doug | |
| The Late Bloomer | Dr. Hanson | ||
| 2017 | How to Be a Latin Lover | Director |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | You Wrote It, You Watch It | (various) | Series regular (also writer) |
| 1993–1995 | The State | (various) | Series regular; 27 episodes (also co-creator & writer) |
| 1996 | Boston Common | Bob Cabot | Episode: "Gobble, Gobble, Aggch!" (2x09) |
| 1997 "spin city" Dan | Men Behaving Badly | Steve Cochrane | Series regular (season 2); 12 episodes |
| 1999 | The Practice | Kevin Michaels | Episode: "End Games" (3x16) |
| 2000 | Angel | Wilson Christopher | Episode: "Expecting" (1x12) |
| Veronica's Closet | Wayne | Episode: "Veronica Sets Josh Up" (3x18) | |
| Will & Grace | Mark | Episode: Three's a Crowd, Six Is a Freak Show (3x10) | |
| 2001 | First Years | Miles Lawton | Series regular; 9 episodes (6 unaired) |
| 2001–2002 | Dawson's Creek | Professor David Wilder | Recurring guest star (season 5); 10 episodes |
| 2002 | Charmed | Miles | Recurring guest star (season 5); 2 episodes |
| 2004 | What I Like About You | Dr. Brad Turner | Recurring guest star (season 2); 3 episodes |
| 2005 | Stella | Mr. Fabrizio | Episode: "Paper Route" (1x05) |
| 2005–2007 | Veronica Mars | Vinnie Van Lowe | Recurring; 10 episodes |
| 2006 | Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door | Mark Lucas | TV movie |
| Grey's Anatomy | Brad Ackles | Episode: "17 Seconds" (2x25) | |
| 2008–2009 | Reaper | Tony | Series regular; 9 episodes |
| 2008–2016 | Childrens Hospital | Dr. Glenn Richie/Just Falcon/Ron Donald/Glenn | Series regular; 69 episodes (also writer) |
| 2009 | Private Practice | Mr. Larson | Episode: "The Way We Were" (3x02) |
| Californication | Professor David Wilder | Episode: "So Here's the Thing..." (3x07) | |
| 2009–2010 | Party Down | Ronald Wayne "Ron" Donald | Series regular; 20 episodes |
| 2012 | Happy Endings | Richard "Rick" Rickman | Episode: "The Shrink, The Dare, Her Date and Her Brother" (2x10) |
| The Exes | Brad (Holly's ex-fiance) | Episode: "The Ex Always Rings Twice" (1x10) | |
| The League | Donny 'The Seed' Sedowsky | Episode: "The Tailgate" (4x06) | |
| 2013 | Toy Story of Terror! | Pocketeer (voice) | TV short |
| Eastbound & Down | Guy Young | Recurring (season 4); 8 episodes | |
| 2013–2014 | Drunk History | Harry Houdini/Captain James Cook | Episodes: "Detroit" (1x06) and "Hawaii" (2x07) |
| 2013–2015 | Axe Cop | Flute Cop/Fife Cop (voice) | Series regular; 16 episodes |
| 2014 | Trophy Wife | Coach Dawson | Episode: "There's No Guy in Team" (1x20) (also director) |
| Bad Teacher | Mike | Episode: "Daddy Issues" (1x02) | |
| Uncle Grandpa | Christopher Columbus (voice) | Episode: "1992 Called" (1x27) | |
| Play It Again, Dick | Himself | Recurring; 3 episodes | |
| 2014–2015 | Marry Me | Jake Schuffman | Series regular; 18 episodes |
| 2015 | Togetherness | Craig Weets | Episode: "Family Day" (1x01) |
| Golan the Insatiable | Keith Knudsen Sr. (voice) | Recurring role | |
| Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp | Victor Pulak | Main cast - 5 episodes | |
| Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | Episode: "Ken Marino Wears a Slim Gray Suit and Salmon Tie" (4x27) | |
| 2015 and 2017 | Life in Pieces | Will | Episodes: "Babe Secret Phone Germs" (1x05) and "#TBT: Y2K Sophia Honeymoon Critter" (2x09) |
| 2015–present | Fresh Off the Boat | Gus | 4 episodes |
| 2016 | Agent Carter | Joseph Manfredi | 5 episodes |
| Vinyl | Jackie Jervis | 3 episodes | |
| House of Lies | Mark Fielder | Episodes: "Creative Destruction Phenomenon" (5x01) and "Game Theory"" (5x02) | |
| iZombie | Brant Stone | Episode: "Dead Beat" (2x18) | |
| Family Guy | Quahog Mall Announcer | Episode: "The New Adventures of Old Tom" (14x18) | |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine | C.J. | Recurring role | |
| 2017 | Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later | Victor Pulak | |
| Speechless | Ethan | Episode: "V-a-l-Valentine's D-a-Day" (1x14) | |
| iZombie | Brant Stone | Episode: "Spanking The Zombie" (3x05) |
Other projects
| Year | Project | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Rock 'n' Roller Coaster | Music Producer | Short film |
| 2007-2012 | Wainy Days | Director, writer, actor | Web series |
| 2012 | Krogzilla | Regurgitor/Delivery Guy | Web series |
| 2012–2013 | Burning Love | Mark Orlando | Web series; 29 episodes (also director and executive producer) |