William "Will" Emerson Arnett (born May 5, 1970) is an Emmy Award-nominated Canadian actor known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II (pronounced Job, like the biblical figure) on the FOX comedy Arrested Development. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major film roles. He recently played a supporting role in the comedy film Semi-Pro, Blades of Glory and the antagonist in Hot Rod. He played the starring roles in 2006's Let's Go To Prison and 2007's The Brothers Solomon. Arnett has also done work as a voiceover artist for commercials, films, and television programs. Even more recently, Arnett plays a funeral director in Dave McLaughlin's On Broadway, set entirely in Boston, Massachusetts.

Early life

Arnett was born in Toronto, the son of Alexandra and E. James Arnett, a corporate lawyer, and brewer among many other occupations. In Toronto, he attended French-speaking schools. He still speaks French, but has stated that he is not currently fluent in the language. He graduated from Leaside High School and briefly attended Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ontario. He attended Concordia University in Montreal for a semester, but dropped out. When he was a teenager, Arnett's mother encouraged him to pursue an acting career and he began to audition for commercials in Toronto. He decided that he really enjoyed acting and that it was something that he wanted to do with his life. At age 20, in 1990, Arnett moved from Toronto to New York in order to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He began appearing in plays in New York and his first acting role was in the Felicity Huffman independent film Erie, which was filmed on the Erie Canal.

Career

Early struggles

In February 1996, Will Arnett began acting in television pilots. His first was a pilot with Kevin Pollak and his wife, Lucy Webb, for CBS, that was not picked up. The pilot was The Underworld which revolved around "The head of an organized crime family [who] hounds an ex-con who only wants to go straight. After the show was not picked up, he appeared in the movie Southie, which was directed by Arnett's friend Dave McLaughlin. In 1999, Arnett was cast in another pilot for The Mike O'Malley Show on NBC. Arnett was a regular on the series, playing the protagonist's friend Jimmy. The show was picked up, but it was canceled after only two episodes. Arnett has referred to 2000, the year after that show was cancelled, as "the darkest year of [his] life" and he admits that he "didn't get a lot of work" and "drank those years away." Arnett considers the summer of 2000 to have been a turning point for him because a friend helped pull him out of his battle with alcoholism and he began to get his career back on track.

In 2001, Arnett was cast in another television pilot, Loomis, for CBS. The pilot starred comedian Cheri Oteri as a local news reporter, and Arnett played her slacker brother. The pilot was not picked up. In 2002, Arnett was cast in a fourth television pilot. This pilot was for the CBS sitcom Still Standing; but even though the show was picked up and ran for many years, his character was cut from the series after the pilot. Arnett became so frustrated, after his fourth failed pilot, that he "swore off pilots" altogether, until his agent persuaded him to audition for the pilot for Arrested Development.

Career breakthrough

In 2003, Will Arnett finally found success in television when he was cast in the role of George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II in the Fox comedy series Arrested Development. Arnett's character was one of the show's most popular and he was nominated for an Emmy for his role. The show was canceled due to low ratings, despite its critical acclaim and cult following. His favorite episodes of the show are "Pier Pressure" and "Afternoon Delight."

After the cancellation of Arrested Development, Arnett leveraged his newly gained credibility into a number of large roles in feature films. Although he had worked largely as a dramatic actor in films before Arrested Development, the roles he has taken since have been mostly comedic, often playing smug bad guys. Despite the fact that Arnett has emerged as a comedic actor, Arnett "never considered himself a comic" and considers himself an "actor first.

Arnett's first major starring role was in Let's Go to Prison, a comedy film directed by Bob Odenkirk. The film was made on a small budget of $4 million. It made over $4 million at the box office and over $13 million in rentals, making it a minor success. One of Arnett's recent films was Blades of Glory, an ice skating comedy in which Arnett and his wife Amy Poehler played supporting roles to Will Ferrell. In an ironic twist they played a brother/sister skating duo whose relationship seemed to cross a few lines more often than not. The film was number one at the box office during its first two weeks and has grossed approximately $118 million domestically and $36 million on home video. Because the film's budget was only $61 million, the theatrical gross and home video gross made the film a huge success.

Arnett recently appeared as a guest star on King of The Hill and 30 Rock. In 30 Rock, he played Devon Banks, a scheming network executive who plays a rival to Alec Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy. His role as Devon Banks earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series. He also has recently finished filming supporting roles in Spring Breakdown, Hot Rod, The Comebacks, and On Broadway. In On Broadway, he once again works with director Dave McLaughlin who is a close friend of Arnett's and gave him one of his first movie roles in Southie.

Arnett's next starring role was in the comedy The Brothers Solomon, in which he again teamed with director Bob Odenkirk and starred opposite Saturday Night Live's Will Forte. He recently appeared in a major supporting role in the basketball comedy Semi-Pro, his second film with Will Ferrell. He plays Lou Redwood, the commentator of the team, who is "a former player, a bit of a womanizer, and a boozer". Arnett's next movie role will be in Ye Olde Times, along with Jack Black, which will commence filming this September.

Will Arnett is signed on to many new projects in which he will play starring roles. He is signed on to Jeff the Demon for New Line Cinema, in which he will play a demon who is summoned by a pair of high school losers. He is also signed on to the lead role in The Ambassador for DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures, in which he will play "a former U.S. vice president's privileged son, who is assigned an ambassadorship in Europe, where he quickly becomes the quintessential ugly American. Arnett is also signed on for the lead in Space Invader for Fox Atomic, which will center on a love triangle set on a space station. He is also attached to lead roles in the projects Dad Can't Lose, Get 'Em Wet, and Most Likely to Succeed. Arnett was originally attached to play the lead role of David Miller in the film We're the Millers, but he had to pass on the project due to "scheduling reasons" and the part went to Steve Buscemi. Arnett has also stated in an interview that he's "working with Mitch [Hurwitz] on something right now", but the details of the project have not yet been revealed, although there seems to be an "Arrested Development" film in production, with Arnett set to reprise his role of GOB. Arnett has also stated in interviews that he is not sure that he would return to television for another series anytime soon.

Voice work

Arnett has a distinctive gravelly voice and has done voice-over work for CBS TV promos, film trailers and numerous advertisements, including Lamisil medication. Perhaps most recognizable is Arnett's voice saying, "It's not more than you need, just more than you're used to" in ads for GMC trucks.

Arnett has also lent his voice to a number of television shows. In 2006, Arnett voiced the character Duncan Schiesst for the Comedy Central animated program Freak Show, which was created by and also stars the voice of his former Arrested Development co-star, David Cross. Recently, Arnett took the role of announcer for the faux trailer "Don't" in the movie Grindhouse. He also lent his voice to the film Horton Hears a Who!, and the upcoming Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

In 2007, he was part of the hugely successful Disney•Pixar film Ratatouille, voicing Horst, the stern sous-chef at Gusteau's Restaurant.

Arnett was to have been the voice of the new K.I.T.T. in Universal's Knight Rider, a sequel to the popular 1980s series, but has been replaced by Val Kilmer due to conflicting contractual agreements due to K.I.T.T. being a Ford Mustang.

Personal life

Arnett lists Steve Martin and Chevy Chase as his two biggest comedic influences. His favorite band is Built to Spill, his favorite movie is Shaun of the Dead, his favorite television show is The Office. Will grew up watching hockey in Canada, and is an avid Toronto Maple Leafs supporter.

Arnett has twin sisters who are three years older and a brother younger by nine years. His father James Arnett was a corporate lawyer and became the president and CEO of Molson Breweries in 1997, until he stepped down in 2000. James had previously worked as a director for the company and he attended Harvard Law School.

In 1994, Arnett married actress Penelope Ann Miller, and they divorced in 1995. Arnett dated actress Missy Yager, with whom he lived for four years. They starred on The Mike O'Malley Show together and broke up around the time that the show began.

Arnett began dating comedic actress Amy Poehler in 2000; Arnett moved to New York in 2001 when she became a featured player on NBC's Saturday Night Live. On August 29, 2003, Arnett and Poehler married. Poehler appeared in four episodes of Arrested Development in 2004 and 2005. She played a woman whom his character G.O.B. marries during a drunken night of increasingly outrageous dares. Arnett and Poehler starred alongside each other in the films Blades of Glory and Horton Hears a Who!, and will star together in the upcoming films On Broadway, Spring Breakdown, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. He and Amy have two dogs, Hank and Gerald. They live in New York City.

On April 28, 2008 it was announced in People that the couple are expecting their first child together, due in the fall.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Erie
1996	Close Up	Dave
	Ed's Next Move	Weather Video Guy
1998	The Broken Giant	Ezra Caton
	Weekend Getaway	Chuck	short film
1999	Southie	Whitey
	The Waiting Game	Lenny
2000	The Acting Class	Will Bennett
2001	Series 7: The Contenders	Narrator
2005	Monster-in-Law	Kit
2006	Ice Age: The Meltdown	Lone Gunslinger Vulture	voice only
	RV	Todd Mallory
	The Great New Wonderful	Danny
	Let's Go to Prison	Nelson Biederman IV
2007	Blades of Glory	Stranz Van Waldenberg
	Grindhouse	Announcer	voice only, segment: "Don't"
	On Broadway	Tom
	Ratatouille	Horst	voice only
	Hot Rod	Jonathan
	Wristcutters: A Love Story	Messiah
	The Brothers Solomon	John Solomon
	The Comebacks	Mailman
2008	Semi-Pro	Lou Redwood
	Horton Hears a Who!	Vlad Vladikoff	voice only
	The Rocker	Lex
	Spring Breakdown	Ted	completed
2009	G-Force	TBA	post-production
	When in Rome	TBA	post-production
	Monsters vs. Aliens	Dagon the Missing Link	post-production, voice only
	Arrested Development	George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II	announced

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
1997	The Underworld		Series regular, failed television pilot
1999	Sex and the City	Jack	Guest star, episode: "La Douleur Exquise!"
	The Mike O'Malley Show	Jimmy	Series regular
2000	Third Watch	Kenny	Guest star, episode: "Spring Forward, Fall Back"
2001	Loomis		Series regular, failed television pilot
	Boston Public	Hand Salesman	Guest star, episode: "Chapter Twenty-nine"
2002	Still Standing		Appeared in the pilot and was intended to be a series regular, but his role was cut out of the pilot and he did not appear in later episodes
	Yes, Dear	Bobby	Guest star, episode: "Johnny Ampleseed"
	The Sopranos	Agent Mike Waldrup	Guest star, episodes: "For All Debts Public and Private", "No Show"
	Law and Order: Special Victims Unit	Tony Damon	Guest star, episode: "Angels"
2003	Undefeated	Scott Green's assistant	Small role, television movie
2003–2006	Arrested Development	George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II	Series regular
2004	Will & Grace	Artemis Johnson	Guest star, episode: "Back Up Dancer"
2005	Odd Job Jack	Tiberius McKorkindale	Guest star, voice only, episodes: "The Biggest Bang", "Close Encounters of the Uncomfortable Kind"
	Danny Phantom	Ghost Writer	Guest star, voice only, episode: "The Fright Before Christmas"
2006	All-Star American Destiny Trek	TJ Cooter	Series regular, failed television pilot, voice only
	Freak Show	Duncan Schiesst/Various	Series regular, voice only
2007	''King of the Hill	Portis	Guest star, voice only, episode: "Hank Gets Dusted"
2007–2008	30 Rock	Devon Banks	Guest star, episodes: "Fireworks", "Jack Gets In the Game", "Succession"
2009	Class Dismissed	Ennis Hofftard	Series regular, voice only

Awards

Year	For	Award	Category	Won	Other notes
2005	Arrested Development	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Shared with Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, and Jessica Walter
2006		Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Shared with Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, and Jessica Walter
		Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
2008	30 Rock	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Honors

New York Magazine named Will Arnett and wife Amy Poehler "New Yorkers of the Year" for 2005 during their New York Magazine Culture Awards.

In April 2007, during a panel hosted by the Museum of Television and Radio, talk show Conan O'Brien and his writing staff named Will Arnett as one of their three all-time favorite guests, sharing the honor with Norm Macdonald and Harland Williams. Also in April 2007, Entertainment Weekly named Will Arnett a Future King of Comedy. In May of 2007, Arnett ranked #9 on Best Week Ever's "Top 15 Sexiest Nerd Boys" poll. In July of 2007, Premiere magazine named Arnett one of "The 20 Hottest New Faces in Comedy.

References

External links

• Will Arnett at the Internet Movie Database
• Will Arnett at RottenTomatoes
• Will Arnett at TV.com

Interviews

• 2007 Interview with Arnett at space-meat.com
• 2007 Interview with Arnett and Amy Poehler at Comingsoon.net
• 2007 Interview with Arnett and Poehler at CHUD.com
• 2007 Interview at Playboy Magazine
• 2006 Chat Session at The Los Angeles Times
• 2006 Interview at About.com
• 2006 Interview at TV Squad
• 2005 Interview at Television Without Pity