Thomas Middleditch
Middleditch at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Thomas Steven Middleditch[1]

(1982-03-10) March 10, 1982
British Columbia, Canada
Citizenship
  • Canada
  • United States
OccupationActor
Years active2009–present
Spouse
Mollie Gates
​
​
(m. 2015; div. 2021)​

Thomas Middleditch (born March 10, 1982) is a Canadian and American actor. He is known for his role as Richard Hendricks in the HBO series Silicon Valley (2014–2019), earning a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He has voiced Penn Zero in the Disney XD animated series Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero (2014–2017), Harold Hutchins in Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017), Sam Coleman in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Terry in the Hulu adult animated sci-fi series Solar Opposites. Middleditch also appears in ads for Verizon Wireless.[2][3]

Early life

Middleditch was born on March 10, 1982, in British Columbia, Canada.[4] His parents are British.[5] He was cast in a play in eighth grade which he said "changed everything" for him. He discovered improv in grade school from performing with Theatresports.[4] His first job was acting in Canadian Heritage Plays for his hometown.[6]

He studied theatre at the University of Victoria before moving to Toronto, where he auditioned for and enrolled in George Brown Theatre School, but never began his course.[7] He instead opted to make sketches on his own and worked at a New Balance store for an income.[4] He relocated to Chicago, where he took classes at The Second City and iO Theater, while also performing regularly.[4] He was a founding member in 2005 of The Improvised Shakespeare Company.[8] Due to immigration issues, he worked various cash jobs until Charna Halpern sponsored him to get his work visa.[4] While performing on a Second City cruise, he got an audition for Saturday Night Live.[4] Though he did not get cast, the routine he used in his audition landed him a network holding deal and he moved to New York City.[4]

Career

Middleditch at SXSW 2016

While living in New York City, Middleditch began acting in commercials. In 2007 a sketch video for Chicken McNuggets he made with Fernando Sosa in Chicago was purchased by McDonald's and used as a commercial.[4][9] He appeared in the 2009 romantic comedy Splinterheads, portraying the lead role of Justin Frost.[10] On March 25, 2010, he joined a CBS pilot, Hitched, written by Josh Schwartz and directed by Rob Greenberg.[11] On May 5, 2011, Middleditch made his first appearance in Jake and Amir, in the episode "Jake and Amir: Doobs".[12]

On May 31, 2011, Middleditch joined the cast of the Paramount Pictures' comedy film Fun Size, directed by Josh Schwartz.[13] On August 8, 2011, he joined Road to Nardo,[14] a film that would have been Scot Armstrong's directorial debut. On December 12, 2011, he joined Jay Roach's The Campaign, starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis.[15]

On July 23, 2012, Middleditch joined the cast of the comedy film Someone Marry Barry, directed and written by Rob Pearlstein and produced by Barry Josephson.[16] On August 23, 2012, he appeared in The Office's final season episode "The Farm".[17] He had a role in the 2013 comedy fantasy film The Brass Teapot, directed by Ramaa Mosley,[18] and played a police officer in the 2013 CBS Films coming-of-age comedy film The Kings of Summer.[19]

On January 30, 2013, Middleditch joined HBO's comedy pilot Silicon Valley playing Richard Hendricks.[20] He has said that the pilot was written with him specifically in mind as the lead (the character was originally named Thomas Pickering; the latter being his mother's maiden name).[4] This was a result of a "random" audio sketch he once made for a stand-up routine which he would later animate himself and pitched to several people, including Mike Judge's production partners John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, who would later create the show.[4]

For his work on the show, Middleditch has garnered four Satellite Awards nominations and a win in 2019,[21] and two Critics' Choice Television Award nominations.[22][23] In 2016, Middleditch earned his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in the show.[24]

On April 23, 2013, he was added to the cast of the comedy film Search Party, playing Nardo, who travels to Mexico to win his fiancé back, starring alongside one of his Silicon Valley alumni, T.J. Miller.[25] Middleditch made a small cameo appearance in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street as a broker who is fired for cleaning his fish bowl during office hours.[26]

He has played as a hipster thief in the You're The Worst episode "Sunday Funday". On The Pete Holmes Show, he played Nightcrawler and Gambit from the X-Men and Vega and Ken from Street Fighter II. On October 16, 2013, it was announced that the Disney XD-produced animated series Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero would star Middleditch as the titular multiverse-hopping hero. The series premiered in late 2014.[27] In 2015, he co-starred in the films The Final Girls and The Bronze.[28][29] Also in 2015, he began streaming himself playing video games on the website Twitch.[30]

In 2014 he joined a CollegeHumor series on YouTube called CAMP.

Middleditch voiced Harold Hutchins in DreamWorks Animation's animated feature Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017), based on Dav Pilkey's book Captain Underpants.[31] As of 2017, Middleditch has appeared in Verizon commercials as their spokesperson.[32] In 2019, he appeared in the MonsterVerse film Godzilla: King of the Monsters[33] and the basketball video game NBA 2K20.[34]

In April 2020, Middleditch and fellow improviser Ben Schwartz starred in Netflix's first long-form improv special, Middleditch and Schwartz, a series of three-hourlong performances filmed at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.[35]

In October 2020, Middleditch began playing the lead role of Drew Dunbar in the CBS comedy series B Positive which was written by Chuck Lorre.[36][37] The series was originally supposed to air in March 2020, but production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, filming of the pilot had already taken place and so the show was moved to be CBS' only fall debut.[38]

Personal life

Middleditch became engaged to costume designer Mollie Gates in June 2015.[39] They were married on August 22, 2015, in Middleditch's hometown. In a 2019 Playboy interview, he revealed that the pair had an open relationship and said that "swinging has saved our marriage."[40] In May 2020, Gates filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.[41] The divorce was reportedly finalized in April 2021.[42]

Middleditch stated during a January 2022 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that he had become a U.S. citizen.[43]

Allegations of sexual misconduct

In March 2021, the Los Angeles Times published allegations that Middleditch sexually harassed women at Cloak & Dagger, a Los Angeles-based goth club, including one incident where he groped a woman's breast.[44] The woman revealed several messages she received from Middleditch in which he apologized for the incident.[45]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2009 The Rebound Maverick
2010 Splinterheads Justin Frost
The Other Guys Art Exhibition Curator Uncredited cameo
Night Home James Short film
2011 Certainty Game Guy
Michel Jean-Michel: Overexposed Michel Jean-Michel Short film
2012 Being Flynn Richard
The Campaign Travis
The Brass Teapot Gilad
Fun Size Manuel Fuzzy
2013 The Kings of Summer Rookie Cop
The Wolf of Wall Street Stratton Broker in a Bowtie Cameo
2014 Someone Marry Barry Kurt
Search Party Daniel Narducci
2015 SMILF Dan Short film that inspired the TV series SMILF
The Bronze Ben Lawfort
The Final Girls Duncan
2016 Joshy Josh
Sunspring H Short film
2017 Kong: Skull Island Jerry Voice role
Entanglement Ben Layten
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Harold Hutchins Voice role; also songwriter for "Saturday"
Once Upon a Time in Venice John
2018 Tag Dave
Replicas Ed Whittle
Henchmen Lester Voice role
2019 Jake and Kyle Get Wedding Dates Kyle Westen Voice role
Direct-to-video
Godzilla: King of the Monsters Sam Coleman
Zombieland: Double Tap Flagstaff
2020 Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe Garnoz Voice role
2022 DC League of Super-Pets Keith Voice role

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Robotomy Additional voices Episode: "Bling Thing"
2011 Ugly Americans Episode: "Wet Hot Demonic Summer"
2011 Beavis and Butt-Head Stewart Stevenson / Teacher 7 episodes
2011 The League Julian Episode: "The Light of Genesis"
2011 Fact Checkers Unit Kerry Episode: "Fly Like a Buttress"
2013 Newsreaders Micah Berkley Episode: "Auto Erotic"
2013 The Office Jeb Schrute Episode: "The Farm"
2013 Key and Peele Monsieur Thénardier Episode: "Les Mis"
2013 Trophy Wife Nurse Terry Episode: "Lice and Beary White"
2013 The Pete Holmes Show Gambit / Nightcrawler 2 episodes
2014–2019 Silicon Valley Richard Hendricks Main cast
2014–2019 You're the Worst Hipster Ringleader 2 episodes
2014–2017 Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero Penn Zero / Additional voices 61 episodes; also writer: "Ultrahyperball"
2015 Scheer-RL Jeff Timons Episode: "98 Degrees"
2015 Comedy Bang! Bang! Himself / Tim Landers 2 episodes
2015–2019 Drunk History Various 3 episodes
2016 Great Minds with Dan Harmon William Shakespeare Episode: "William Shakespeare"
2016 TripTank Warlock / Caller (voice) Episode: "TripTank 2025"
2017 Animals. Simon (voice) Episode: "Rats."
2017 Rick and Morty King Tommy (voice) Episode: "The ABC's of Beth"
2018–2019 Bob's Burgers Alex (voice) 3 episodes
2018–2019 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Narrator 2 episodes
2019–2021 Big City Greens Donny Tinselton, Bash (voice) 3 episodes
2020 Middleditch and Schwartz Himself Main role, also the creator and executive producer
2020 Death Hacks Adam (voice) Main role
2020 Dream Corp LLC Virgil Bottoms Episode: "Virgil Bottoms"
2020–present Solar Opposites Terry (voice) Main role
2020–2022 B Positive Drew Dunbar Main role
2021 Amphibia Bernardo (voice) Episode: "Bessie & MicroAngelo"

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Memoirs of a Manchild Danny Nanners 3 episodes; also writer and producer
2010 The Back Room Die Antwoord Episode: "Steve Agee"
2009–2013 CollegeHumor Originals Various characters 20 episodes
2011 Funny or Die Woodshed Guy Episode: "2.8"
2011 Matumbo Goldberg Lenny 5 episodes
2011–2015 Jake and Amir Penis Anthony "Doobs" Doubligner 6 episodes
2012 Bravest Warriors Professor Fartsparkles (voice) Episode: "Time Slime"
2013 The Funtime Gang Randy the Racoon Episode: "Pilot"
2013 The Morning After Dave 5 episodes
2016 HarmonQuest Dildo Bogpelt Episode: "The Doors of Fores"
2019 This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy Guest Star Episode: "Money Laundering: A How-To Guide"
2020 Stream of Blood: Vampires of Pittsburgh Miles Vanderbuck 30 episodes

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Star Wars: The Old Republic - Rise of the Hutt Cartel Additional Voices
2019 NBA 2K20 Zach Bailey Voice role and motion capture
2022 Warped Kart Racers Terry Voice role; Archival recording
2022 High on Life Ranchy Voice role

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result
2014 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actor in a Comedy Series Silicon Valley Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated
2015 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated
2016 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated
Gold Derby Awards Best Comedy Actor Nominated
2017 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated
2020 Satellite Awards Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy Won

References

  1. ↑ Birnbaum, Debra (June 14, 2016). "Thomas Middleditch and Patrick Stewart on Doing Standup, Nicknames and Crazy Fan Encounters". Variety.
  2. ↑ Dano, Mike (November 14, 2017). "The top 5 wireless ads: T-Mobile spends almost $30M on Netflix ads". FierceWireless.com.
  3. ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (April 21, 2017). "Thomas Middleditch of 'Silicon Valley' on Doing Verizon Ads and Flying His Own Plane". The New York Times.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "BA #085: Thomas Middleditch". Box Angeles podcast. June 29, 2015.
  5. ↑ McQuern, Elizabeth (September 15, 2006). "Inside With: Thomas Middleditch, Non-Comedian and Actor". TheApiary.org. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Thomas Middleditch". Anna Faris is Unqualified Podcast. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  7. ↑ Ogden, Alistair (June 8, 2017). "UVic's most famous dropout". Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Players". Improvised Shakespeare Company. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  9. ↑ "McNuggets McNuggets...What?". Ad Age. July 27, 2007.
  10. ↑ Debruge, Peter (November 5, 2009). "Review: 'Splinterheads'". Variety. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  11. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 25, 2010). "Two CBS pilots add cast members". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Jake and Amir: Doobs". CollegeHumor. May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Johnny Knoxville, Unique Blend of Cast Join 'Fun Size' Comedy". Bloody Disgusting. May 31, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  14. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (August 8, 2011). "Middleditch takes 'Road to Nardo'". Variety. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  15. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (December 12, 2011). "Middleditch in Warners' team of 'Rivals'". Variety. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  16. ↑ Kit, Borys (July 23, 2012). "Tyler Labine, Damon Wayans Jr., Lucy Punch Starring in Comedy 'Someone Marry Barry'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  17. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (August 23, 2012). "Thomas Middleditch Cast As Dwight's Brother On 'The Office' Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  18. ↑ Debruge, Peter (April 2, 2013). "Film Review: 'The Brass Teapot'". Variety. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  19. ↑ Cunningham, Todd (January 22, 2013). "'Toy's House' Goes to CBS Films". The Wrap. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  20. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (January 30, 2013). "T.J. Miller, Thomas Middleditch Cast In Mike Judge's HBO Comedy Pilot 'Silicon Valley'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  21. ↑ "2019 Winners". pressacademy.com.
  22. ↑ Mitovich, Matt Webb (May 31, 2015). "Critics' Choice Television Awards: HBO, Better Call Saul, Taraji P. Henson and Amy Schumer Among Big Winners". TVLine. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Satellite Awards (2015)". International Press Academy. December 2, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  24. ↑ Johnson, Zack (July 14, 2016). "2016 Emmy Nominations: Complete List of Nominees". E! Online. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  25. ↑ Kit, Borys (April 23, 2013). "'Search Party' Finds Its Stars, Begins Shooting Next Week". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  26. ↑ The Wolf of Wall Street. YouTube.
  27. ↑ "Disney XD Orders Animated Series 'Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero'". Deadline Hollywood. October 16, 2013.
  28. ↑ Squires, John (April 11, 2014). "Four More Sign on to Tangle with The Final Girls Including The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev". Dread Central. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Sebastian Stan can't out-fox Thomas Middleditch on The Bronze red carpet". HitFix. January 22, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Twitch". Twitch.
  31. ↑ Abramovitch, Seth (January 21, 2014). "Ed Helms, Kevin Hart Slip Into DreamWorks Animation's 'Captain Underpants'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  32. ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (April 21, 2017). "Thomas Middleditch of 'Silicon Valley' on Doing Verizon Ads and Flying His Own Plane". The New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  33. ↑ Kroll, Justin (May 31, 2017). "'Silicon Valley' Star Thomas Middleditch Joins 'Godzilla' Sequel (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  34. ↑ White, Peter (August 20, 2019). "Idris Elba, Rosario Dawson & Thomas Middleditch Star In Sheldon Candis-Directed 'NBA 2K20' Trailer For LeBron James' SpringHill Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  35. ↑ Chuba, Kirsten (April 21, 2020). "Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz on Convincing Netflix to Buy Its First Improv Special". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  36. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 3, 2020). "Thomas Middleditch To Headline CBS Comedy Pilot 'B Positive' From Chuck Lorre & Marco Pennette". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  37. ↑ Halterman, Jim (October 5, 2020). "Actor You Should Know: Annaleigh Ashford of New CBS Comedy 'B Positive'". TV Insider. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Development Update". The Futon Critic. March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  39. ↑ Webber, Stephanie (June 6, 2015). "Silicon Valley's Thomas Middleditch Engaged to Girlfriend Mollie Gates: "They're Both Very Happy"". Us Weekly. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  40. ↑ Gajewski, Ryan (September 17, 2019). "Playboy's 20Q: Silicon Valley's Thomas Middleditch". Playboy. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  41. ↑ Pasquini, Maria (May 30, 2020). "Thomas Middleditch and Wife Mollie Have Split After 4 Years Of Marriage". People. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  42. ↑ Mauch, Ally (April 29, 2021). "Thomas Middleditch Ordered to Pay $2.6 Million to Ex Mollie Gates in Divorce Settlement". People. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  43. ↑ Thomas Middleditch Gets To Work With Acting Legends On His CBS Sitcom, "B Positive", retrieved March 2, 2023
  44. ↑ Brown, August (March 21, 2021). "L.A. Goth nightclub known for rituals and secrecy has closed amid sexual misconduct claims". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  45. ↑ Ryu, Jenny (March 22, 2021). "'Silicon Valley' star Thomas Middleditch accused of sexual misconduct in 2019, report says". Retrieved May 7, 2022.
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