Jason Woliner

Jason Woliner
Woliner in July 2011
Born (1980-06-01) June 1, 1980 (age 44)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s)Director, writer, actor
Years active
  • 1989–1996
  • 2014
(actor)
2005–present (director)
Known forHuman Giant
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Jason Woliner is an American director,[1] writer and a former child actor. He is best known for being in the sketch comedy show Human Giant, as a non-performing member who instead worked behind the scenes as director. Woliner won a Golden Globe award for directing Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

Early life and education

Woliner attended Pelham Memorial High School and for higher study at Sarah Lawrence College from 1998 to 2000 before dropping out to pursue a directing career.[2] His first acting credit was at age nine, appearing in Weekend at Bernie's.

Career

After leaving school, Woliner began making films and videos, both on his own and with comedians in New York, which led to the formation of Human Giant. The first three Human Giant videos ("Shutterbugs", "Illusionators", and the "Shittiest Mixtape Boombox Blast") caught the eyes of executives at MTV, who offered the group a pilot. The show ran for two seasons.

He was the non-performing member of the comedy group Human Giant and directed the bulk of their output. After that, he directed, co-wrote, and acted as showrunner on the cult Adult Swim series Eagleheart starring Chris Elliott. Woliner has directed episodes of Fox's The Last Man on Earth, NBC's Parks and Recreation, and Comedy Central's Nathan for You and Jon Benjamin Has a Van, among others. In 2020, he directed Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

He has collaborated with writer-performer Brett Gelman on a series of horror/comedy specials for Adult Swim. The first of these, titled Dinner with Friends with Brett Gelman and Friends, aired in April 2014, and the second special, titled Dinner with Family with Brett Gelman and Brett Gelman's Family, aired in February 2015. The third special, Brett Gelman's Dinner in America, aired in July 2016. Woliner and Gelman wrote the specials together; Gelman stars and Woliner directed.

In 2020, he directed the comedy film Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture with Sacha Baron Cohen.[3] In 2023, Woliner directed Paul T. Goldman, a hybrid documentary-comedy series for Peacock.[4]

Filmography

Film

Films directed, written, or produced by Jason Woliner
Year Title Director Writer Producer
2006 Other Music Yes No No
2007 An Evening with P. Oswalt Yes No No
2014 Food Club Yes Yes Yes
2020 Borat Subsequent Moviefilm[5] Yes No No
Acting roles by Jason Woliner
Year Title Role
1989 Weekend at Bernie's Bratty Kid
1990 Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift Matt
1996 Bullet Young Boy #3 - Buck Teeth
2014 Food Club Captain Woliner

Special thanks

Television

Television work by Jason Woliner
Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor Notes
1989–91 Shining Time Station No No No No Matt Jones; 22 episodes
2005–10 Shutterbugs Yes Yes Yes No 11 episodes
2007–08 Human Giant Yes Yes Yes Yes 14 episodes
2009 The Electric Company Yes No No No Episode: "Scent of a Human"
Delocated No No No Yes Episode: "Pilot"
Raaaaaaaandy! Yes Yes No Yes 3 episodes
2009–10 Parks and Recreation Yes No No No 3 episodes
2010 Funny or Die Presents Yes Yes Yes Yes 6 episodes
Players Yes No Yes No 10 episodes
2011 Saturday Night Live Yes Yes No No Episode: "Ed Helms/Paul Simon"
Jon Benjamin Has a Van Yes No No No 2 episodes
Eagleheart Yes Yes Yes No 25 episodes[6]
2012 New Girl Yes No No No Episode: "Menzies"
2013 Good Morning Tri-State Yes No No No Television short
Nathan for You Yes No No No 2 episodes
2014 Dinner with Friends with Brett Gelman and Friends Yes Yes No No Television short
Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories No Yes No No 7 episodes
2015 The Jack and Triumph Show No No Yes No 6 episodes
W/ Bob & David Yes No No No 4 episodes
Master of None No Yes Yes No 10 episodes
2015–18 The Last Man on Earth Yes No No No 12 episodes
2019 What We Do in the Shadows Yes No No No 2 episodes
Trade Show Show Yes No No No 6 episodes
2023 Paul T. Goldman Yes Yes Yes No 6 episodes[7]
TV specials by Jason Woliner
Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor
2009 Patton Oswalt: My Weakness Is Strong Yes No No Yes
2010 Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening Yes No No Yes
MTV Movie & TV Awards Yes Yes Yes No
2011 Patton Oswalt: Finest Hour Yes No No No
2012 Aziz Ansari: Dangerously Delicious Yes No No No

References

  1. ^ Al-Ghamdi, Abdullah (2022-12-12). "Borat 2's Director Has A New Peacock Show (& It's Really Weird)". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  2. ^ WTF With Marc Maron Episode 455: Jason Woliner
  3. ^ "Director Jason Woliner on 'Paul T. Goldman' and 'Borat' Sequel".
  4. ^ White, Peter (May 11, 2022). "'Borat' Sequel Director Jason Woliner Lands Straight-To-Series Mystery At Peacock; Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg Among EPs". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  5. ^ Hibberd, James (2022-05-11). "'Borat' Director Jason Woliner Lands Mysterious Peacock Series 10 Years in the Making". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  6. ^ "5 Lessons In Creating Comedy For TV, From Writer-Director Jason Woliner".
  7. ^ EDT, Deena ElGenaidi Wednesday 5/11/2022 at 5:58PM (2022-05-11). "Peacock Plays Coy With 'Mind-Bending' Series From Borat Sequel Director Jason Woliner". primetimer.com. Retrieved 2023-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)


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