# Michael Rapaport

Michael David Rapaport (born March 20, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and podcast host. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he has made over 100 appearances in film and television. His film roles include Zebrahead (1992), True Romance (1993), Higher Learning (1995), Metro (1997), Cop Land (1997), Deep Blue Sea (1999), The 6th Day (2000), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Big Fan (2009), and The Heat (2013). On television, he headlined the Fox sitcom The War at Home (2005–2007) and was a series regular on the Fox drama Boston Public (2001–2004), the fourth season of the Fox serial drama Prison Break (2008–2009), and the Netflix comedy drama Atypical (2017–2021). Rapaport held recurring roles on the NBC sitcoms Friends (1999), My Name Is Earl (2007–2008), and Justified (2014). Outside of his acting career, Rapaport directed the 2011 documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest about the hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Active on several podcasts, he is the host of the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast.

## Early life and education

Rapaport was born in New York City, the son of June Brody, a New York radio personality, and David Rapaport, a radio executive who was the general manager of the All-Disco format at New York radio station WKTU Disco 92. He has a brother named Eric Rapaport and an older half-sister named Claudia Lonow (née Rapaport) via his father's prior marriage.
Rapaport grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, near 70th Street and York Avenue. He is Ashkenazi Jewish; his family is originally from Poland and Russia.
Rapaport had a hard time in school. He attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn in the 1980s, but was expelled. He graduated from Martin Luther King High School in Manhattan.

## Career

In 1989, Rapaport moved to Los Angeles, California when he was 19 years old to try to become a stand-up comic. Rapaport's stepfather, comic Mark Lonow, who owned The Improv with Budd Friedman, helped him get into the stand-up world. He did that for three years.
His big break in acting was on the TV series China Beach.
Rapaport had a recurring role in My Name Is Earl as Frank, a convict Earl reunites with in prison. He played one of the main characters in the season four of Prison Break as Homeland Security Agent Don Self.
In October 2008, Rapaport announced that he was directing a documentary about hip hop act A Tribe Called Quest. The film, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, was released in 2011 and received mostly positive reviews.
Rapaport guest starred in the fifth season of the FX series Justified as villain Daryl Crowe Jr, kingpin of the Crowe family.
On February 12, 2010, Rapaport participated in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Celebrity Game and was named the MVP because of his defense on football player Terrell Owens, the MVP of the last two Celebrity Games, despite scoring just four points and having only a single rebound.
On April 17, 2014, an ESPN 30 for 30 film he directed premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film was about the 1970s championship-winning New York Knicks led by Earl Monroe, Walt Frazier, and Willis Reed.
Rapaport is a frequent guest on The Howard Stern Show on Sirius XM, and participates in the show staff's fantasy football league.
Rapaport hosts the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast on the CBS Local radio network with childhood friend Gerald Moody.
Other podcasts that Rapaport has appeared on include The Monday Morning Podcast with Bill Burr, Mailtime and Pardon My Take by Barstool Sports, The Adam Carolla Show, The Fighter and the Kid, Unqualified, The Bill Simmons Podcast and its predecessor, The BS Report; The Chive Podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, His & Hers Podcast, Cari Champion's Podcast, The Joey Boots Show, The Dirty Sports Podcast and more.
On June 19, 2017, Rapaport announced on Twitter that he would be joining the sports satire website Barstool Sports where he would be a correspondent for the podcast Pardon My Take. On February 18, 2018, Rapaport was fired from Barstool Sports after making a rude comment toward their fan base.
Rapaport is a reporter for Fox Sports, covering the Big3 basketball league formed by Ice Cube. He is the narrator of the WWE 365 series on WWE Network.
In 2023, Rapaport competed in season ten of The Masked Singer as the wild card contestant "Pickle". A running gag is that he would bump into Nick Cannon. Rapaport was eliminated on "2000s Night".
After the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Rapaport appeared in many independent activist shorts supporting the release of hostages taken by Hamas and its affiliates. Rapaport has since become a vocal pro-Israel advocate. In 2025, Rapaport praised far-right Rabbi Meir Kahane, saying that "Kahane was always right."

## Personal life

On May 18, 1997, Rapaport was arrested for harassing ex-girlfriend Lili Taylor and charged with two counts of aggravated harassment. He pleaded guilty to the charges in court and New York Supreme Court Justice Arlene Goldberg issued a protection order to keep the actor from contacting Taylor, as well as mandating that he undergo counseling sessions.
In 2000, Rapaport married writer and producer Nichole Beattie. They have two sons. They divorced in 2007.
In 2005, Rapaport wrote an article for Jane magazine about having to evict the actress Natasha Lyonne from a property he was renting to her during a period of heavy drug use on her part. The two have since reconciled and remain friends.
In 2016, Rapaport married his long time girlfriend, actress Kebe Dunn.
In June 2018, Rapaport, while on an American Airlines flight from Houston to Los Angeles, stopped another passenger attempting to open an emergency door mid-flight.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | Zebrahead | Zack | |
| 1993 | Point of No Return | Big Stan | |
| 1993 | Poetic Justice | Dockworker | |
| 1993 | Money for Nothing | Kenny Kozlowski | |
| 1993 | True Romance | Dick Ritchie | |
| 1994 | Hand Gun | Lenny | |
| 1994 | The Scout | Tommy Lacy | |
| 1994 | The Foot Shooting Party | Lizard | Short |
| 1995 | Higher Learning | Remy | |
| 1995 | The Basketball Diaries | Skinhead | |
| 1995 | Kiss of Death | Ronnie Gannon | |
| 1995 | Mighty Aphrodite | Kevin | |
| 1996 | Beautiful Girls | Paul Kirkwood | |
| 1996 | The Pallbearer | Brad Schorr | |
| 1997 | Metro | Kevin McCall | |
| 1997 | A Brother's Kiss | Stingy | |
| 1997 | Kicked in the Head | Stretch | |
| 1997 | Cop Land | Murray Babitch | |
| 1998 | Illtown | Dante | |
| 1998 | Palmetto | Donnelly | |
| 1998 | Some Girl | Neal | |
| 1998 | The Naked Man | Edward Bliss Jr. | |
| 1999 | Deep Blue Sea | Tom Scoggins | |
| 1999 | Kiss Toledo Goodbye | Kevin Gower | |
| 2000 | Next Friday | Mailman with Tax Notice | |
| 2000 | Small Time Crooks | Denny | |
| 2000 | Men of Honor | GM1 Snowhill | |
| 2000 | Bamboozled | Thomas Dunwitty | |
| 2000 | Chain of Fools | Hitman | |
| 2000 | King of the Jungle | Francis | |
| 2000 | Lucky Numbers | Dale | |
| 2000 | The 6th Day | Hank Morgan | |
| 2001 | Dr. Dolittle 2 | Joey the Raccoon (voice) | |
| 2002 | Paper Soldiers | Mike E. | |
| 2002 | Triggermen | Tommy O'Brian | |
| 2002 | 29 Palms | The Cop | |
| 2002 | Comic Book Villains | Norman Link | Video |
| 2003 | A Good Night to Die | August | |
| 2003 | This Girl's Life | Terry the Car Salesman | |
| 2004 | The N Word | Himself | |
| 2004 | America Brown | Daniel Brown | |
| 2004 | Scrambled Eggs | Drama Teacher | Short |
| 2005 | Hitch | Ben | |
| 2006 | Special | Les Franken | |
| 2006 | Live Free or Die | Lt. Putney | |
| 2006 | Push | Tommy G | |
| 2006 | Grilled | Bobby | |
| 2006 | It Aint Easy | - | Video |
| 2008 | Assassination of a High School President | Coach Z | |
| 2009 | Big Fan | Philadelphia Phil | |
| 2009 | A Day in the Life | Detective Grant | |
| 2009 | Tom Cool | - | |
| 2011 | Inside Out | Jack Small | |
| 2012 | Should've Been Romeo | Danny | |
| 2012 | The Baytown Outlaws | Lucky | |
| 2012 | Kiss of the Damned | Ben | |
| 2013 | The Heat | Jason Mullins | |
| 2013 | Once Upon a Time in Queens | Bobby DiBianco | |
| 2014 | My Man Is a Loser | Marty | |
| 2015 | Little Boy | James Busbee | |
| 2016 | A Stand Up Guy | Colin | |
| 2016 | Chuck | John Wepner | |
| 2016 | Sully | Pete the Bartender | |
| 2016 | Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life | Animation Voice (voice) | |
| 2019 | 100%: Julian Edelman | Narrator | |
| 2020 | Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story | Bill Fitch | |
| 2021 | Conflicted | Mike | |
| 2023 | I'll Be Right There | Marshall | |
| 2023 | Glisten and the Merry Mission | Grizz (voice) | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | China Beach | Kravits | Episode: "One Small Step" |
| 1992 | Murphy Brown | Robbie | Episode: "He-Ho, He-Ho, It's Off to Lamaze We Go" |
| 1992 | Middle Ages | Jimmy | Episode: "The Pig in the Python" & "Night Moves" |
| 1993 | Fresh Prince of Bel Air | Mike | Episode: "Where There's a Will, There's a Way: Part 1" |
| 1993 | NYPD Blue | Jaime Dileo | Episode: "Brown Appetit" |
| 1997 | Subway Stories | Jake | Episode: "The Listeners" |
| 1998 | ER | Paul Canterna | Episode: "Of Past Regret and Future Fear" |
| 1998 | Rude Awakening | Johnny | Episode: "Naked Again" |
| 1998 | Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Families | Szarany | TV movie |
| 1999 | Friends | Gary | Recurring cast (season 5) |
| 2001 | Weakest Link | Himself | Episode: "Disaster Benefit" |
| 2001 | Celebrity Adventures | Himself | Episode: "Belize" |
| 2001 | Night Visions | Harlow Winton | Episode: "Darkness" |
| 2001–2004 | Boston Public | Danny Hanson | Main cast (season 2-4) |
| 2003 | Chappelle's Show | Popcopy Employee | Episode: "Popcopy & Clayton Bigsby" |
| 2005–2007 | The War at Home | David "Dave" Gold | Main cast |
| 2006 | Thugaboo: Sneaker Madness | DJ (voice) | TV movie |
| 2006–2007 | MadTV | Clark Gable/Abraham Lincoln | 2 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | My Name Is Earl | Frank Stump | Recurring cast (season 3) |
| 2008–2009 | Prison Break | Agent Donald "Don" Self | Main cast (season 4) |
| 2009–2010 | Accidentally on Purpose | Sully | Episode: "The Godfather" & "The Rock" |
| 2010 | 30 for 30 | Himself | Episode: "Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks" |
| 2010 | Celebrity Ghost Stories | Himself | Episode: "Rebecca DeMornay/Michael Rapaport/Margaret Cho" |
| 2010 | Royal Pains | Stanley | Episode: "Big Whoop" |
| 2010 | The Line | Steve Waxman | TV movie |
| 2010–2013 | Pound Puppies | Squirt (voice) | Main cast |
| 2012–2013 | The Mob Doctor | Paul Moretti | Recurring cast |
| 2013 | The Haunting of... | Himself | Episode: "Michael Rapaport" |
| 2014 | Raising Hope | Michael | Episode: "Man's Best Friend" |
| 2014 | Justified | Daryl Crowe Jr. | Recurring cast (season 5) |
| 2015 | Black-ish | Jay Simmons | Episode: "Switch Hitting" |
| 2015 | Louie | Lenny | Episode: "Cop Story" |
| 2015 | Public Morals | Officer Charlie Bullman | Main cast |
| 2015 | The Big Bang Theory | Kenny Fitzgerald | Episode: "The Helium Insufficiency" |
| 2016 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Richie Caskey | Episode: "Sheltered Outcasts" |
| 2016 | Dice | Bobby the Mooch | Episode: "Six Grand" |
| 2016 | Crisis in Six Scenes | Trooper Mike | Episode #1.6 |
| 2017 | The $100,000 Pyramid | Himself | Episode: "Richard Kind vs. Rachel Dratch and Margaret Cho vs. Michael Rapaport" |
| 2017 | The New Edition Story | Gary Evans | Episode: "Part 1-3" |
| 2017 | Animals. | Erik (voice) | Episode: "Rats" |
| 2017 | White Famous | Teddy Snow | Recurring cast |
| 2017–2018 | The Guest Book | Adam | Recurring cast (season 1), guest (season 2) |
| 2017–2021 | Atypical | Doug Gardner | Main cast |
| 2018 | Hip Hop Squares | Himself/Panelist | Episode: "Blac Chyna vs. Jeremy Meeks" & "Yvonne Orji vs. Keith Powers" |
| 2018 | Ridiculousness | Himself | Episode: "Michael Rapaport" |
| 2019–2023 | The Simpsons | Mike Wegman (voice) | Guest cast (season 31 & 33-34) |
| 2020 | Sneakerheads | Himself | Episode: "The Match" |
| 2020 | Yo Mama | Himself | Episode: "I PAID Celebs $3,000 for YO MAMA JOKES" |
| 2020 | Cooked with Cannabis | Himself | Episode: "High Holidays" |
| 2020 | Tournament of Laughs | Himself | Episode: "The Exceptional 8" |
| 2021–2022 | The Wendy Williams Show | Himself/Guest Host | Recurring guest host (season 14) |
| 2022 | Celebrity Wheel of Fortune | Himself/Contestant | Episode: "Jaime Camil, Michael Rapaport and June Diane Raphael" |
| 2022 | Life & Beth | Leonard | Recurring cast |
| 2022 | Only Murders in the Building | Detective Kreps | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2023 | The Masked Singer | Himself/Pickle | Season 10 contestant |
| 2023 | Eretz Nehederet | Albus Dumbledore; Himself | Guest (season 21) |
| 2024 | Fallout | Knight Titus | Episode: "The Target" |

### Documentary

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2011 | Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest | Interviewer |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1996 | Don't Quit Your Day Job | Special appearance #2 |
| 2001 | Grand Theft Auto III | Joey Leone |
| 2006 | Saints Row | Troy Bradshaw |
| 2008 | Saints Row 2 | Troy Bradshaw |
| 2018 | NBA 2K19 | Coach Darren Stackhouse |

### Music videos

| Year | Artist | Title |
| 1998 | Jay-Z | "The City is Mine" |
| 2002 | Talib Kweli | "Waiting for the DJ" |
| 2003 | High & Mighty | "I Wanna" |
| 2003 | Jaylib | "McNasty Filth" |
| 2004 | Masta Ace | "A Long Hot Summer" |
| 2006 | Ludacris | "Runaway Love" |
| 2006 | H$_2$O | "What Happened?" |
| 2017 | Snoop Dogg | "Lavender (Nightfall Remix)" |
| 2017 | Sean Price | "Dead or Alive" |

### Music album

| Year | Artist | Title |
| 1994 | Frank Zappa | "Civilization Phaze III" |

## Works and publications

* Rapaport, Michael (2017). This Book Has Balls. New York: Touchstone. ISBN 978-1-501-16031-8. OCLC 975365440.