Griffin Newman

*Griffin redirects here. For the guest named Griffin, see Griffin McElroy*

Styled per the show logo

**Griffin Claude Beresford Dauphin Newman** (on Twitter as @GriffLightning) (born February 19, 1989 3:27am) is an American actor and comedian.

He co-starred as Arthur in the Amazon Studios remake of "The Tick" TV series. He is the co-host of the podcast Blank Check (with Griffin and David) in which he and movie critic David Sims over-analyze filmographies of directors that have massive success early on and are given a "blank check" by the Hollywood studios to make their passion projects. He is one half of #TheTwoFriends.

## Biography

Growing up in New York City, Griffin was the child of actress Antonia Dauphin and film producer & educator Peter "Pistol Pete" Newman. He has a younger brother James (aka Jamesy), and a younger sister Romilly whom he often refers to as his best friend. His grandfather is actor Claude Dauphin.

As a child, Griffin's parents kept a somewhat tight leash on his media consumption, and he was not allowed to watch a number of television shows and movies until he was older. Notably he was not allowed to watch the animated TV show "Rugrats" because his mother thought it was too 'cynical'. He was also a student at unusual elementary/secondary schools which gave students increased freedom to pursue their own academic goals. For post-secondary education Griffin attended film school for a brief period before dropping out to pursue comedy (mostly at the UCB in New York) and acting.

Griffin is known to be fond of Pixar movies and animated movies in general, demonstrated in his enthusiasm for movies like *Toy Story 2*, *The Lego Batman Movie* or *Hotel Transylvania*. He is also a big fan of the Fast & Furious movie franchise, and in the past has mounted semi-serious social media campaigns to appear in at least one Fast & Furious movie.  He loves the character Watto in the Star Wars: The Phantom Menace trilogy, going so far as to cosplay him on stage in live shows - and his fondness for Watto was even the genesis of the Blank Check podcast, in a way. See About The Show or The Phantom Podcast miniseries pages for more info.

On the other hand he remains highly critical of the work and films of Colin Trevorrow and Walt Becker.

In Blank Check, Griffin is known for his tangents and numerous bits which sidetrack the podcast and anger his co-host and producer in a very loving manner. These and other personality traits such as a penchant for making very silly jokes occasionally cause co-host David Sims to refer to his friend as "a child."

Unlike his brother James, Griffin showed little interest in sports. Still, searching for a deeper connection to his father, Griffin instead started showing tremendous interest in movie box office results. The knowledge he acquired during weekly conversations and phone calls with his father about film grosses/budgets and release strategies and week-over-week holds comes in handy during The Box Office Game, a regular feature on the podcast.

Griffin is a rather anxious person and is known to be a sufferer of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). He is unafraid to be politically active demonstrated by him tweeting to President Donald Trump to go fuck himself  almost daily following the 2016 USA presidential election. He also famously got himself banned from Twitter dot com right before *Disenchanted* was released by impersonating Elon 'Comedy is Legal Now' Musk.

His fans may sometimes refer to themselves as "Griff-heads."

Griffin is a frequent guest on other podcasts. For more information on those appearances, see Outside Podcast Appearances.

## Nicknames

While not having as many nicknames as fellow podcaster and Blank Check producer Ben Hosley, Griffin does have some.

* **Downtown Griffy Newms**
* **Patricia Heaton**, which he has called himself as a reference to his preferred seating in a movie theater – *The Middle*.
* **Griff "The Grip" Newman**, his drive-time radio alter ego.
* **Dr. Tangent** in the First Blank Check Mailbag
* **The Walk-On Kid**, revealed in For Love of the Game (at approx. 00:10:50) because of his tiny stature and left-handedness, he was impossible to pitch to in little league.
* **Backseat Newms**, given in the BC Takes AC episode during the car ride.
* **The King of Manhattan**, decided upon in The Sixth Blank Check Mailbag when asked who the other monarchs of the 5 boroughs are besides *The King of Queens* and *The King of Staten Island*

### Nicknames from Other Podcasts

* **The King of Kranch**, from Doughboys
* **(Accidental) PTR Legend**, from Podcast: The Ride - Griffin was (accidentally) bestowed Legend status in the Casey Jr. Circus Train Live episode due to a Powerpoint error but his status was reaffirmed in the Shrek 4-D episode.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.change.org/p/comcast-barack-obama-griffin-newman-really-wants-to-join-the-cast-of-the-eighth-fast-furious-movie
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/GriffLightning/status/922195901560520710
3. ↑ Bethy Squires (Nov 7, 2022). Kathy Griffin Elon’d Her Way Off Twitter. Vulture. Retrieved on July 23, 2023.