Jason Mantzoukas

Jason Mantzoukas (, ; born December 18, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series The League, and as one of the three co-hosts of the podcast How Did This Get Made? alongside Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael. After beginning his career as an improv comedian, he has played several comedic roles in film and television. He appeared in the films The Dictator, The Long Dumb Road, Sleeping with Other People, They Came Together, Conception, and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. He has had recurring roles on three TV series created by Michael Schur: Parks and Recreation (as Dennis Feinstein), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (as Adrian Pimento), and The Good Place (as Derek Hofstetler). He voices the characters Jay Bilzerian in the Netflix animated series Big Mouth, Alex Dorpenberger in the HBO Max animated series Close Enough, Rex Splode in the Amazon Prime animated series Invincible, and Jankom Pog in the Paramount+ animated series Star Trek: Prodigy. Early life and education Mantzoukas was born in Lynn, Massachusetts and raised in Nahant, Massachusetts, and is the eldest child of Cynthia (née Mourousas) and William Mantzoukas, second-generation Greek-Americans. He has one younger sister, Melissa. He has described himself as "100 percent Greek." Mantzoukas began taking drum lessons at age 10 and studied under Steve Barrett for over 8 years. In interviews, he has cited Stewart Copeland, Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction, and Jimmy Chamberlin from The Smashing Pumpkins as his biggest influences as a young musician. He participated in jazz and marching bands in high school, as well as playing in a cover band called Slygoul. He continued with jazz drumming in college and also played for a bebop group.