David Paymer

David Paymer is an American actor and television director born on August 30, 1954, in Oceanside, New York. His father, Marvin Paymer, was a pianist and musical director who had previously worked in the scrap metal business, and his mother, Sylvia, worked as a travel agent and was born in Belgium, having emigrated to the United States to escape the Nazi occupation. His parents divorced in 1973. Paymer, who is Jewish, has a brother named Steve. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in theater and psychology from the University of Michigan and is married to Liz Georges, with whom he has two children.

Paymer's professional acting career began in 1979 when he made his feature film debut as a cab driver in the action comedy The In-Laws. Over the course of his career he has appeared in more than 90 films, taking on both comedic and dramatic roles. His comedic film credits include Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), Crazy People (1990), City Slickers (1991), Get Shorty (1995), The American President (1995), Carpool (1996), State and Main (2000), and In Good Company (2004). His dramatic film work spans Quiz Show (1994), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), Nixon (1995), Amistad (1997), The Hurricane (1999), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014). He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a Golden Globe nomination, a Grammy nomination, and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his performance as a caring brother and exhausted agent in the showbiz drama Mr. Saturday Night (1992).

Paymer has maintained an extensive television presence throughout his career, appearing in series including Taxi, Happy Days, Diff'rent Strokes, Family Ties, L.A. Law, Cheers, Murphy Brown, The Larry Sanders Show, Ghost Whisperer, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Entourage, and The Good Wife, with recurring roles on Cheers, Murphy Brown, and The Larry Sanders Show. His voice work includes the character Sheldon in the Kids' WB animated series Channel Umptee-3 and the neurotic Welsh Terrier Mel in Balto 3: Wings of Change. In addition to performing, Paymer has directed episodes of several television series, among them Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Melrose Place, Everwood, Brothers & Sisters, and Bunheads.

On Broadway, Paymer's stage career spans from 1972 to 2022 and includes appearances in the play A Saturday Night and Grease.