Judd Apatow

Judd Apatow is considered one of the most sought-after comedy minds in the business. He has been closely associated with many of the biggest comedy films and hit television shows worldwide.

Born in Syosset, New York, Apatow aspired to become a professional comedian at an early age. Following an appearance on HBO's Young Comedians Special, he eventually stopped performing in favor of writing. Apatow co-created and executive produced The Ben Stiller Show, which brought him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program. Fresh from his win, Apatow joined The Larry Sanders Show in 1993 as a writer and consulting producer, and he later served as a co-executive producer and director of an episode during the show's final season.

Apatow served as an executive producer of the critically praised, award-winning series Freaks and Geeks, which debuted in the 1999–2000 season. He also wrote and directed several episodes of the series. His other television credits include creating and executive producing the series Undeclared.

Apatow made his feature directorial debut in 2005 with the comedy hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which he also co-wrote with the film's star, Carell, for Universal. The film opened at No. 1 and grossed more than $177 million worldwide. The comedy garnered numerous awards and nominations, including being named one of AFI's Movies of the Year, and it took home Best Comedy Movie at the 11th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. The 40-Year-Old Virgin also earned Apatow a nomination for Best Original Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America.

In 2007, Universal Pictures released Apatow's Knocked Up, his directorial follow-up to The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which he also wrote and produced. Knocked Up grossed more than $219 million worldwide, and it was named one of AFI's Movies of the Year and nominated for Best Original Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America. Immediately following, Apatow produced the hit comedy Superbad, which starred Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, for Sony Pictures.

Major successes followed in 2008, beginning with Universal's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which Apatow produced with Shauna Robertson. Directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Jason Segel, the romantic-disaster comedy starred Segel, Hill, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand. Apatow followed by producing Sony's action-comedy Pineapple Express, a film written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg from a story by Apatow. The film, which starred Rogen, James Franco and Danny McBride, opened at No. 1 at the box office. Other Apatow projects released in 2008 include the comedy smash You Don't Mess With the Zohan, which Apatow co-wrote with Adam Sandler and Robert Smigel.

In 2009, Apatow wrote, directed and produced Universal's Funny People, which starred Sandler, Rogen and Mann. In 2010, he produced Universal's hit comedy Get Him to the Greek, which starred Brand and Hill.

In 2013, Apatow returned to produce the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 2004 cult classic Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which followed Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner as the Channel 4 News team heads to New York City to start the world's first 24-hour news network, opened nationwide on December 18, 2013, and grossed more than $172 million.

In 2012, Apatow wrote, directed and produced Universal Pictures' This Is 40, which starred Paul Rudd, Apatow's wife Leslie Mann and daughters Maude and Iris. The official "sort-of sequel" to the 2007 hit comedy Knocked Up went on to make more than $88 million worldwide.

Apatow produced the most successful "R"-rated female comedy of all time, Bridesmaids, which received Oscar® nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Melissa McCarthy) and Best Original Screenplay (Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig), as well as numerous awards.

Apatow has been the executive producer of HBO's Girls, a series from producer/writer/actress/director Lena Dunham, which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2012, Girls also received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a win for Outstanding Casting in a Comedy Series, and in 2013, Girls won two Golden Globes.

Other film credits for Apatow include producing The Cable Guy and producing and co-writing Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which was nominated for two Golden Globes - for Best Original Song - Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (for John C. Reilly).

Universal Pictures