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Ike Barinholtz (born February 18, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his starring roles in the comedy series MADtv (2002–2007), Eastbound & Down (2012), The Mindy Project (2012–2017), Bless the Harts (2019–2021), The Afterparty (2022), History of the World, Part II (2023), and The Studio (2025–present), the latter which earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination.
His films include Disaster Movie (2008), Neighbors (2014), Sisters (2015), (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), Snatched (2017), Blockers (2018), Late Night (2019), The Hunt (2020), and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022). He co-wrote the action comedy film Central Intelligence (2016), and directed, wrote, produced, and starred in the comedy film The Oath (2018).
On February 2, 2023, he won the inaugural primetime season of Celebrity Jeopardy!, winning $1,000,000 for charity, Pacific Clinics, and placed as a semifinalist in the 2024 Tournament of Champions. On August 14, 2024, he and his father, Alan Barinholtz, became the first duo and the second celebrities overall to win the $1,000,000 top prize for their charity, the ASL Program at Los Encinos School, and the fifteenth overall million dollar winners on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He also previously won $125,000 for his charity, Uplift Family Services, on April 22, 2020.
He attended Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School and then The Latin School of Chicago for high school, where he played on the school's Scholastic Bowl team when it won the state championship in 1994; he also competed in the 1994 Texaco Star National Academic Championship, held at Rice University. He worked at a telemarketing company and as a busboy before starting a career in comedy.
Barinholtz attended Boston University. After dropping out of college, he worked for the Chicago Transit Authority before starting his comedy career. In a 2013 interview, he said he dropped out of school because he hated it and was doing poorly. In a 2012 phone interview, Barinholtz said he was inspired to pursue a career in comedy after attending a comedy show at The Vic Theatre. Thereafter, he took comedy classes at The Second City, ImprovOlympic and Annoyance Theatre. He had planned on becoming a politician but instead decided to move to Los Angeles to be an actor.
In 2009, he performed at the Chicago Improv Festival alongside former MADtv cast member Jordan Peele. In 2012, Barinholtz performed at another Chicago Improv Festival event with his brother, Jon.
He is a founding member of The Lindbergh Babies, an improv group directed by Del Close, who worked with John Belushi, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, and Chris Farley. In 2012, Barinholtz joined the cast of the third season of the HBO series Eastbound & Down, playing the role of Ivan Dochenko, Kenny Powers' Russian rival. He starred alongside Seth Rogen in the 2014 comedy Neighbors, as well as its 2016 . Also in 2016, Barinholtz played prison guard Griggs in the DC Comics film Suicide Squad.
He has frequently worked with comedian Dave Stassen, with whom he attended high school. They co-wrote a SPIKE pilot in which Barinholtz also starred, Mega Winner, and the 2016 film Central Intelligence.
Barinholtz appeared in a regular role as nurse Morgan Tookers on the comedy series The Mindy Project. He was also a writer and story editor on the series. He also has a role in Friends from College, a Netflix original. In 2022, Barinholtz was in the main cast of the Apple TV+ mystery comedy series The Afterparty.
Competing on the first season of Celebrity Jeopardy! on ABC in 2022-23, Barinholtz defeated Patton Oswalt and Wil Wheaton in the finals to win the championship. He earned $1,000,000 for his charity, Pacific Clinics, and, due to rule changes, became the first celebrity champion to receive a berth to the Tournament of Champions. Competing in 2024, Barinholtz won his quarterfinal match against 13-game winner Ray Lalonde and 3-game winner Melissa Klapper, before losing in the semifinals. An article in Slate described Barinholtz as the "chaos agent Jeopardy! needed".
In July 2025, he was officially confirmed to portray Elon Musk in Luca Guadagnino's upcoming AI‑themed film Artificial, a comedic drama centered on the internal turmoil at OpenAI.
Barinholtz's celebrity impressions included Abraham Lincoln, Alex Trebek, Andy Dick, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ashton Kutcher, Bo Bice, Dane Cook, Felicity Huffman, Fidel Castro, George Michael, Howard Dean, Howie Long, Jack Osbourne, Kevin Federline, Mark Wahlberg, Clay Aiken, Matt Damon, Nick Lachey, Nick Nolte, Orlando Bloom, Pat Sajak, Ralph Nader, Rafael Palmeiro, Tom Hanks, and Vin Diesel.
In 2007, he decided not to renew his contract for the 13th season of MADtv. Barinholtz has commented that he started getting "restless" and did not see eye to eye with some of the MADtv bosses about how decisions were being made.
| He is the principal of St. Francis High and Coach Hines' nemesis. |
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| 2023 | Maximum Truth | Rick Klingman | Also writer |
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| 116 episodes; also writer | ||
| Episode: "Laura Prepon" | ||
| Voice, episode: "I Dream of Jesus" | ||
| 6 episodes | ||
| Episode: "Fran Tarkenton" | ||
| 4 episodes | ||
| Episode: "Newsreaders" | ||
| 6 episodes | ||
| Episode: "Sabbath-tage" | ||
| Television film; also writer and executive producer | ||
| 115 episodes; also writer and executive story editor | ||
| Episode: "Chicago" | ||
| Voice, episode: "Bullies" | ||
| Episode dated October 23 | ||
| Episode: "Ike Barinholtz" | ||
| Voice, 30 episodes | ||
| Episode: "Oh Armond" | ||
| Voice, 4 episodes | ||
| Episode: "The Old Date" | ||
| Episode: "Hair Swap" | ||
| Episode dated January 8 | ||
| Voice, episode: "Blonde Ambition" | ||
| Voice, episode: "Pigeons." | ||
| 2 episodes | ||
| Voice, episode: "Hamptons Water Magic" | ||
| Episode: "Gintars" | ||
| Episode: "Not All Men" | ||
| Episode: "Elevator" | ||
| Episode: "Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons" | ||
| Voice, 34 episodes | ||
| 2 episodes | ||
| 3 episodes | ||
| Voice, 15 episodes; also writer and executive producer | ||
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| 8 episodes | ||
| Central Park | Voice, episode: "A Hot Dog to Remember" | |
| 2022–2023 | 2 episodes | |
| 8 episodes; also writer and executive producer | ||
| 3 episodes | ||
| 2 episodes | ||
| Episode: "The Gettysburg Address" | ||
| Voice, episode: "Homer and Her Sisters" | ||
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| 2021 | Two-Face | Dennis McNicholas | Blue Ribbon Content | |
| 2023 | White House Plumbers Podcast | Himself |
| 2013 | Writers Guild of America Awards | The Mindy Project | ||
| 2024 | History of the World, Part II | |||
| 2025 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | The Studio |
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