Early life

Arnett was born in Toronto, the son of Edith Alexandra "Alix" (née Palk) and Emerson James "Jim" Arnett, who was a corporate lawyer and brewer, among other occupations. His father and mother were originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba and he has roots on both sides of his family in Manitoba going back many generations. Arnett briefly attended Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ontario, but was asked not to return after a semester for being a troublemaker. The Subway Academy II allowed him to take theatre classes at the Tarragon Theatre. He eventually graduated from Leaside High School and attended Concordia University, Montreal for one semester, but dropped out. As a teenager, he was encouraged by his mother to pursue an acting career, auditioned for commercials in Toronto and enjoyed acting. In 1990, he moved to New York City to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He appeared in plays in New York and his first acting role was in Felicity Huffman's independent film Erie, which was filmed on the Erie Canal.

Career

In February 1996, Arnett made his first television pilot with Kevin Pollak and his wife, Lucy Webb, for CBS, that was not picked up. In 1999, Arnett starred in another pilot for The Mike O'Malley Show on NBC as the protagonist's friend Jimmy. The show was picked up, but was canceled after only two episodes. Arnett has referred to 2000, the year after that show was cancelled, as "the darkest year of life" and he admits that he "didn't get a lot of work" and "drank those years away." In summer 2000, a friend helped pull Arnett out of his battle with alcoholism, and he began to get his career back on track. In 2001, Arnett was cast in the CBS television pilot, Loomis as the slacker brother of a local news reporter (Cheri Oteri), that was not picked up. In 2002, Arnett was cast in a fourth television pilot which was for the CBS sitcom Still Standing, which was picked up and ran for several seasons, but his character was cut from the series after the pilot. Arnett became so frustrated, after his fourth failed pilot, that he "swore off pilots" altogether, until his agent persuaded him to audition for the pilot for Arrested Development.

In 2003, Arnett found mainstream success in television when he played George Oscar "Gob" Bluth II in the Fox comedy series, Arrested Development and in 2006 he was nominated for his first Emmy The show was cancelled after three seasons due to low ratings, despite its critical acclaim and cult following. He also played Max the Magician in Sesame Street, in a nod to Gob Bluth's penchant for using Europe's "The Final Countdown" during his magic shows. According to a 2006 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Arnett's two favorite episodes of the show were "Pier Pressure" and "Afternoon Delight". His exposure on Arrested Development led to a number of larger roles in feature films.

Though having worked in drama, his role for Arrested Development is still comedy, and he often portrays smug antagonists. He "never considered himself a comic" and considers himself an "actor first". In 2002, prior to Arrested Development, Arnett played an FBI agent on two episodes of The Sopranos and appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

In 2006, Arnett starred in his first leading role in Let's Go to Prison, directed by Bob Odenkirk, made on a budget of US$4 million. It earned more than US$4 million at the box office and more than US$13 million in rentals. In Blades of Glory, Arnett and his wife, Amy Poehler played brother/sister ice-skating pair with an incestuous relationship. The film was No. 1 at the U.S. box office during its first two weeks, and grossed approximately US$118 million domestically during its theatrical run. and US$36 million on home video. He guest-starred in King of the Hill and 30 Rock, in which he was nominated for four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Arnett also played supporting roles in the films Spring Breakdown, Hot Rod, The Comebacks, and On Broadway, where he once again worked with his close friend and director Dave McLaughlin.

In The Brothers Solomon, he again teamed with Odenkirk and starred with Saturday Night Live member, Will Forte. He appeared in a major supporting role in the basketball comedy Semi-Pro, his second film with Ferrell. He plays Lou Redwood, the commentator of the team, who is "a former player, a bit of a womanizer, and a boozer".

On November 17, 2009, it was announced that Arnett would try to win over real-life wife Amy Poehler in a guest spot on Parks and Recreation. Arnett played Chris, an MRI technologist and possible love interest for Poehler's Leslie Knope. Justin Theroux appeared in the same episode as yet another suitor. Arnett signed on for one episode, and the episode entitled "The Set Up" aired January 14, 2010. In 2010, Arnett and former Arrested Development co-star Jason Bateman created DumbDumb Productions, a production company focusing on digital content. Their first video was "Prom Date," the first in a series of "Dirty shorts" for Orbit (gum). He also starred in Running Wilde which was cancelled in January 2011, due to poor ratings as well as The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret with David Cross.

On March 23, 2011, Arnett appeared in the final episode in The Office season 7. Arnett co-starred in the NBC television comedy series Up All Night, about a couple who struggle to balance their home lives (especially with their newborn child) and their work ones. He is currently the spokesman of a series of Hulu advertisements and his role in television spots deliberately recalls Devon Banks as a power-hungry manipulator.

In March 2012, Mansome, Arnett’s first executive-producer credit with Jason Bateman, was announced as a Spotlight selection for the Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary, directed by Morgan Spurlock, is a comedic look at male identity as it is defined through men's grooming habits featuring celebrity and expert commentary. He had been attached to play the lead role of David Miller in the 2013 comedy We're the Millers, but had to pass due to "scheduling reasons"; the part went to Jason Sudeikis.

He co-starred in the 2014 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and is returning for its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Arnett starred in the CBS sitcom The Millers, which lasted for two seasons. Arnett also guest starred in the CBS sitcom Mom, with Anna Faris.

In 2016, he co-created, co-wrote and starred in the Netflix original series Flaked, which received praise from viewers and negative reviews from critics.

Voice work

Arnett's distinctive gravelly voice has earned him voice-over work for CBS television promos, film trailers and numerous advertisements, including Lamisil medication. Perhaps most recognizable is Arnett's voice saying, "It's not more than you need, just more than you're used to" in ads for GMC trucks. He has also lent his voice to a number of television shows, such as Ghostwriter in the 2005 Nickelodeon's hit series Danny Phantom, Duncan Schiesst for the Comedy Central animated program Freak Show, which was created by and also stars the voice of his Arrested Development co-star, David Cross. Arnett was the announcer for the faux trailer "Don't" in the 2007 movie Grindhouse. He also voiced the character "Vlad" from the CGI film Horton Hears a Who!, The Missing Link in DreamWorks' film Monsters vs. Aliens, Horst the German sous-chef, in the Disney Pixar film Ratatouille, and Mr. Perkins in Despicable Me. He planned to be the voice of the K.I.T.T. in Universal's Knight Rider, a sequel to the popular 1980s television series. The production featured a Ford Mustang as K.I.T.T. Since Arnett had a previous long standing relationship with competitor automaker General Motors as the voice for GMC Trucks commercials, GM asked Arnett to pull out of the project. Arnett opted to withdraw from the project and he was replaced by Val Kilmer.

Arnett made a commercial cameo for the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. In 2009, he voiced the titular character in Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, a video game developed by Vicious Cycle Games and starred as an out of work former video game protagonist hoping to make a comeback, versus a greedy game executive played by Neil Patrick Harris. In the Fox animated comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up, he voiced Ennis Hofftard, a bodybuilder who teaches English and always attempts to chase women. The show premiered on April 19, 2009 but was eventually cancelled after several months due to poor ratings. It aired its last episode on free-to-air television on November 21, 2009.

Arnett lent his voice to Batman in the film The Lego Movie, making him the first Canadian actor to portray Batman in a film; he is set to reprise the role in The Lego Batman Movie, a spin-off of The Lego Movie planned for 2017. He also voices the eponymous character in the 2014 Netflix original series BoJack Horseman.

Personal life

Arnett has two older sisters and a younger brother. His father, a graduate of Harvard University and corporate lawyer, served as the president and CEO of Molson Breweries from 1997 to 2000. Arnett lists Steve Martin and Chevy Chase as his two biggest comic influences. Arnett grew up watching sports in Canada, and is an avid follower of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Blue Jays. Arnett married Penelope Ann Miller in 1994 and divorced in 1995.

Arnett and Amy Poehler married on August 29, 2003. Together, they appeared in four episodes of Arrested Development in 2004 and 2005, an episode of Poehler's show, Parks and Recreation, in 2010, and the films Blades of Glory, Horton Hears a Who!, On Broadway, Spring Breakdown and Monsters vs. Aliens. Arnett and Poehler have two sons: Archibald (born October 25, 2008) and Abel (born August 6, 2010). In 2012, Arnett and Poehler announced that they were separating after nine years of marriage. Arnett filed for divorce on April 8, 2014.

Honors

In 2005, New York magazine named Arnett and then-wife Poehler "New Yorkers of the Year" during its annual New York Magazine Culture Awards. In April 2007, during a panel hosted by The Paley Center for Media, talk show host Conan O'Brien and his writing staff named Will Arnett as one of their three all-time favorite guests, sharing the honor with Norm Macdonald and Harland Williams. Also in April 2007, Entertainment Weekly named Will Arnett a "Future King of Comedy." In May 2007, Best Week Ever ranked Arnett No. 9 on its "Top 15 Sexiest Nerd Boys" poll. In July 2007, Premiere magazine named Arnett one of "The 20 Hottest New Faces in Comedy."

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Close Up	Dave
1996	Ed's Next Move	Weather Video Guy
1998	The Broken Giant	Ezra Caton
1999	Southie	Whitey
1999	The Waiting Game	Lenny
2000	The Acting Class	Will Bennett
2001	Series 7: The Contenders	Narrator (voice)
2005	Monster-in-Law	Kit
2006	Ice Age: The Meltdown	Lone Gunslinger (voice)
2006	RV	Todd Mallory
2006	The Great New Wonderful	Danny	Segment: Emme's Story
2006	Let's Go to Prison	Nelson Biederman IV
2006	Wristcutters: A Love Story	Messiah
2007	Blades of Glory	Stranz Van Waldenberg
2007	Grindhouse	Announcer (voice)	Segment: Don't
2007	On Broadway	Tom
2007	Ratatouille	Horst (voice)
2007	Hot Rod	Jonathan Ault
2007	The Brothers Solomon	John Solomon
2007	The Comebacks	Mailman
2008	Semi-Pro	Lou Redwood
2008	Horton Hears a Who!	Vlad Vladikoff (voice)
2008	The Rocker	Lex
2009	Monsters vs. Aliens	The Missing Link (voice)
2009	G-Force	Kip Killian
2009	Brief Interviews with Hideous Men	Subject No. 11
2009	Spring Breakdown	Ted	Direct-to-DVD
2010	When in Rome	Antonio
2010	Jonah Hex	Lieutenant Grass
2010	Despicable Me	Mr. Perkins (voice)
2012	The Secret World of Arrietty	Pod (voice)	American dub
2012	Men in Black 3	Agent AA	Uncredited
2012	Mansome	Himself	Documentary Producer
2014	The Nut Job	Surly (voice)
2014	The Lego Movie	Batman (voice)
2014	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Vern Fenwick
2016	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows	Vern Fenwick	Post-production
2016	Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping	Paparazzo	Post-production
2017	The Lego Batman Movie	Batman (voice)	In production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Sex and the City	Jack	Episode: "La Douleur Exquise!"
1999	The Mike O'Malley Show	Jimmy	13 episodes
2000	Third Watch	Kenny	Episode: "Spring Forward, Fall Back"
2001	Boston Public	Hand Salesman	Episode: "Chapter Twenty-Nine"
2002	Yes, Dear	Bobby	Episode: "Johnny Ampleseed"
2002	The Sopranos	Mike Waldrup	2 episodes
2002	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Tony Damon	Episode: "Angels"
2003	Undefeated	Scott Green's Assistant	Television film
2003-06, 2013	Arrested Development	George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II	66 episodes
2004	Will & Grace	Artemis Johnson	Episode: "Back Up, Dancer"
2005	Odd Job Jack	Tiberius McKorkindale (voice)	2 episodes
2005	Danny Phantom	Ghost Writer (voice)	Episode: "The Fright Before Christmas"
2006	Freak Show	Duncan Schiesst (voice)	7 episodes
2007	King of the Hill	Portis (voice)	Episode: "Hank Gets Dusted"
2007-13	30 Rock	Devon Banks	9 episodes
2008	Sesame Street	Max the Magician	Episode: "Max the Magician"
2008	Human Giant	Himself	Episode: "I'm Gonna Live Forever!"
2009	Sit Down, Shut Up	Ennis Hofftard (voice)	13 episodes
2009	Delocated	TV Announcer (voice)	Episode: "Good Buds"
2009	Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space	The Missing Link (voice)	Television special
2010	Parks and Recreation	Chris	Episode: "The Set Up"
2010-11	Running Wilde	Steve Wilde	13 episodes; also co-creator and executive producer
2010-12, 2016	The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret	Brent Wilts	17 episodes
2011	Late Night with Jimmy Fallon	Brett Favre	2 episodes
2011	The Office	Fred Henry	Episode: "Search Committee"
2011-12	Up All Night	Chris	35 episodes
2012	The Cleveland Show	General Richter (voice)	Episode: "A General Thanksgiving Episode"
2012	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Dale	Episode: "Seth Rogen Wears a Plaid Shirt & Brown Pants"
2013-14	The Millers	Nathan Miller	34 episodes
2014	The Simpsons	Deputy Director Gratman (voice)	Episode: "Steal This Episode"
2014	Wander Over Yonder	Ryder (voice)	Episode: "The Rider"
2014-present	BoJack Horseman	BoJack Horseman (voice)	25 episodes; also executive producer
2015	The Late Late Show	Guest host	1 episode
2016	Flaked	Chip	8 episodes; also co-creator and executive producer
2016	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Kitty (voice)	Uncredited Episode: "Kimmy Kidnaps Gretchen!"

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
2009	Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard	Matt Hazard
2009	Monsters vs. Aliens	The Missing Link
2009	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	Additional Voice Talent
2014	The LEGO Movie Videogame	Batman
2015	Lego Dimensions	Batman (The LEGO Movie version)

Awards and nominations

Year	For	Award	Category	Result	Other notes
2004	Arrested Development	TV Land Award	Future Classic Award	Won	Shared with cast and producers
2005	Arrested Development	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Nominated	Shared with cast
2006	Arrested Development	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Nominated	Shared with cast
2006	Arrested Development	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2008	30 Rock	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2010	30 Rock	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2011	30 Rock	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2012	30 Rock	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2012	Up All Night	Satellite Award	Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Nominated
2014	Arrested Development	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Nominated	Shared with cast
2014	Arrested Development	American Comedy Award	Best Comedy Supporting Actor - TV	Nominated
2015	The Lego Movie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Kids' Choice Award	Favorite Movie Actor	Nominated

Charities

Will Arnett supports the following charitable cause: Autism.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]