Isaac "Ike" Barinholtz (born February 18, 1977) is an American actor, comedian, voice actor and screenwriter, best known for his role as a cast member on MADtv, from 2002–2007, and for his roles on The Mindy Project, The League and Eastbound & Down.

Biography

Barinholtz was born in the Rogers Park area of Chicago, Illinois and raised in Lake View, the son of Peggy and Alan Barinholtz, an attorney. Barinholtz has described his parents as "liberal people with great senses of humor", and has said that he was raised in a "very funny home". He attended Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School before attending The Latin School of Chicago for high school. Barinholtz had planned on becoming a politician, but decided to move to Los Angeles, California, to be an actor instead. He worked at a telemarketing company and as a busboy before starting a career in comedy.

He also attended Boston University and after dropping out, 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 and seeing several other comedians. Afterwards, he started taking comedy classes at The Second City, ImprovOlympic and Annoyance Theatre, and was not successful at first, but chose to stick with it. His younger brother Jon Barinholtz is also an actor and comedian.

Barinholtz is married to Erica Hanson, with whom he has a daughter.

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