John Hodgman Biography

The American actor and humorist John Hodgman was born in 1971 in Brookline, Massachusetts. As a teenager, Hodgman was very interested in journalism, establishing an underground magazine while still a teenager and hosting a weekly radio talk show. After graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in Literature, John Hodgman began working as a literary agent, but also began writing his own material.

Hodgman enjoyed a career as a humorist and writer for a number of years, until in 2005, when he appeared on the Daily Show to promote The Areas of My Expertise, his most recent work. John’s success on the show led to recurrent appearances, frequently as a “correspondent” for the show, and shortly thereafter he began to appear in the Apple “Get a Mac” commercials, which feature John in personification of an old, out-of-date PC against Justin Long’s trendy, “hip” personification of a Mac.

As a writer, John Hodgman has published multiple books, including The Area of My Expertise (2005), More Information Than You Require (2008), and That Is All (2011.) His essays and commentaries have also appeared in The Paris Review, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, and One Story. His list of public appearances are numerous and growing, and include headlining the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner in 2009; and providing commentary for the 61^st and 62^nd Primetime Emmy Awards. On the small screen, John Hodgman has also appeared in episodes of Bored to Death, Delocated, Husbands, Married, Mozart in the Jungle, and The Knick. Film appearances include small roles in the films: Baby Mama (2008), The Invention of Lying (2009), Arthur (2011), Movie 43 (2013), and Pitch Perfect 2 (2015.)

Most recently, John Hodgman starred in the Netflix Original comedy special, John Hodgman: Ragnarok, in the summer of 2013. Hodgman continues to write, act, and appear in films, on television, and on various radio programs.