Wayne Knight

Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. After several smaller film parts, including in box office successes like Dirty Dancing and Basic Instinct, Knight's breakthrough role was portraying Dennis Nedry in the film adaptation of Jurassic Park, which earned him a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. His other two most prominent roles followed on television, where he played Newman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001), which earned him a Q Award nomination for Best Recurring Player and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, respectively.

Knight would go on to appear in films such as Space Jam (1996), For Richer or Poorer (1997), Rat Race (2001), Punisher: War Zone (2008), and Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025). He has also worked extensively as a voice actor, playing the roles of Tantor in Tarzan (1999), Al McWhiggin in Toy Story 2 (1999), and Frank in Goat (2026). Knight has also voiced Igor in Toonsylvania (1998–1999), Dojo Kanojo Cho in Xiaolin Showdown (2003–2006), Mr. Blik in Catscratch (2005–2007), Baron Von Sheldgoose in Legend of the Three Caballeros (2018), and Lime in Among Us (2026).

Early life Wayne Elliot Knight was born on August 7, 1955, in New York City to Grace and William Knight. He was raised Catholic. The family moved to Cartersville, Georgia, where his father worked in the textile industry. Knight attended local schools and was a lineman on his high school's football team.

Knight attended the University of Georgia before beginning his acting career and later returned to complete his degree in 2008.

Career

Early career Knight received an internship at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, which produced repertory works. After completing his internship, he joined the company and gained standing as an Equity actor. Knight subsequently moved back to his birthplace, New York City. After two years, he landed his first role on Broadway. After his time on Broadway, he also worked as a private investigator for five years. He also appeared in To Die For (1995), Space Jam (1996), For Richer or Poorer (1997), and Rat Race (2001). He played the Punisher's techno sidekick Microchip in Punisher: War Zone (2008). In April 2012, Knight was featured in the romantic comedy, She Wants Me.

Television work In the 1990s, Knight played supporting roles on two television series on NBC. He played the mailman Newman, Jerry's neighbor and nemesis, in Seinfeld, and Officer Don Orville, Sally's love interest, in 3rd Rock from the Sun. He had earlier appeared in Against the Grain. He also appeared as a regular on two sketch comedy series, The Edge for Fox and Assaulted Nuts for Cinemax and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.

Knight appeared on the pilot episode of the American version of Thank God You're Here. He made a second appearance, on the last episode of the first season of the television series. He won the Thank God You're Here blue door award.

In November 2009, Knight reprised his role as the Seinfeld character Newman, for the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. He also guest starred on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Season 10 in the episode "Working Stiffs".

Knight guest starred on a 2010 episode of Fox's drama series Bones, in the first season of the TV Land comedy series Hot in Cleveland (2010), where he became a recurring character for season two, and on an episode of The Whole Truth in the fall of 2010. He played an Internet-fixated couch potato in the TV Land sitcom, The Exes. In the summer of 2011, he appeared in the BBC/Starz series Torchwood: Miracle Day as Brian Friedkin.

In February 2014, Knight reprised the character Newman, during one commercial during the Super Bowl, alongside Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander. In December 2017, Knight was featured in an advertisement for KFC depicting Colonel Sanders.

Voice work Knight has done voice work for numerous animations, including the black cat Mr. Blik in Catscratch, Igor in Toonsylvania, the dragon Dojo Kanojo Cho in the Kids' WB! animated series Xiaolin Showdown, Emperor Zurg on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command on Toon Disney and Disney Channel; Demetrius the shopkeeper in Hercules (1997); Al McWhiggin, the toy store manager of Al's Toy Barn in Toy Story 2 (1999); Tantor the elephant in Tarzan (1999), and the bug Juju on Tak and the Power of Juju (2003). He made guest appearances on Billy & Mandy's Jacked-Up Halloween as Jack O'Lantern, Dilbert as the Security Guard, and Brandy & Mr. Whiskers as Mr. Cantarious the snail. Knight guest starred in The Penguins of Madagascar as Max the Cat, in the episodes "Launchtime" and "Cat's Cradle". He played The Elf Elder in Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon (2014).

Theatre work Knight also appeared on Broadway in productions of Gemini, Mastergate, 'Art' and Sweet Charity with Christina Applegate. Knight appeared as Santa in Elf: The Musical in November 2012. He previously appeared on Broadway in Art in 1999.

Personal life Knight married makeup artist Paula Sutor on May 26, 1996, in a ceremony held in the home of fellow Seinfeld cast member Michael Richards. They had divorced by December 2003. He married his second wife, Clare de Chenu, on October 15, 2006; together they have a son, Liam. The family lives in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, an area where Knight has resided for many years.

Knight attended the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Ahead of the 2020 United States presidential election, Knight appeared in an advertisement that examined "ethical breaches" of mail workers in the U.S. and the lack of support they received from the government. The advertisement was in support of the Democratic Party and anti-Donald Trump.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1979 The Wanderers Waiter Uncredited 1987 Dirty Dancing Stan 1988 Everybody's All-American Fraternity Pisser 1989 Born on the Fourth of July Official #2 – Democratic Convention 1991 V.I. Warshawski Earl 'Bonehead' Smeissen 1991 Dead Again Pete 'Piccolo' Dugan 1991 JFK Numa Bertel 1992 Basic Instinct John Correli 1993 Jurassic Park Dennis Nedry Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor 1995 To Die For Ed Grant 1995 Chameleon Stuart Langston 1996 Space Jam Stan Podolak 1997 Hercules Demetrius Voice 1997 For Richer or Poorer Bob Lachmen 1998 The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars Microwave Voice, direct-to-video 2025 Five Nights at Freddy's 2 Mr. Berg 2026 Goat Frank Voice

Television Year Title Role Notes 1982 For Lovers Only Video Game Fanatic TV filmUncredited 1983 The Day After Man In Hospital TV film 1985 Assaulted Nuts Various Main role (seven episodes) 1988 Tattingers Kenny Axelrod 2 episodes 1990 Mathnet Peter Pickwick Episode: "The Case of the Parking Meter Massacre" 1990 Square One TV 3 episodes 1992–1998 Seinfeld Newman Recurring roleNominated—Q Award for Best Recurring Player (1998) 1992 Double Edge Tommy White TV film 1992–1993 The Edge Various Characters Main role 1992 T Bone N Weasel Roy Kramp TV film 1993 Fallen Angels Leo Cunningham Episode: "Dead End Delia" 1993 Against the Grain 'Froggy' Wilson Episode: "Pilot" 1993–1994 The Second Half Robert Piccolo Main role 1994 Golden Gate Arthur Genopopoulos TV film 1996–2001 3rd Rock from the Sun Don Orville Main roleNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1998–1999) 1997 Contempt of Court Merill Bushman TV film 1998 Hercules Orthos (ponytail head) Voice, 2 episodes 1998 Toonsylvania Igor Voice, main role 2000 Dilbert Security Guard Voice, episode: "The Security Guard" 2000–2001 Buzz Lightyear of Star Command Zurg Voice, main role

Video games Year Title Role Notes1999 Toy Story 2 Al McWhiggin Voice 2007 Catscratch Mr. Blik Voice 2007 Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots Mr. Blik Voice, (Nintendo DS version only) 2011 Jurassic Park: The Game Dennis Nedry Voice, Uncredited2011 The Penguins of Madagascar: Dr. Blowhole Returns – Again! Max Voice2019 Jurassic Park (Pinball) Dennis Nedry Voice

Theatre Year Title Role Notes 1977–1981 Gemini Herschel Weinberger Broadway 1989 Mastergate Steward Butler, Senator Knight, Representative Byers Broadway 1999 Art Yvan Broadway 2005 Sweet Charity Herman Broadway 2006 Measure for Pleasure Sir Peter Lustforth 2007 The Front Page Sheriff Hartman 2008 The Odd Couple Murray 2012–2013 Elf Santa ClausBroadway

Awards and nominations +Awards and nominations Year Award Category Title Result 1994 Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor Jurassic Park 1998 OFTA Television Award Best Guest Actor in a Comedy SeriesSeinfeld Q Awards Best Recurring Player Screen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series3rd Rock from the Sun 1999 Stinker Award Most Botched Comic Relief My Favorite Martian