Name	Michael Rapaport
Height	6' 3"
Naionality	American
Date of Birth	20 March 1970
Place of Birth	New York, USA
Famous for

American actor and comedian Michael Rapaport was born on March 20, 1970 in New York City, New York.

The son of parents in the radio business – his mother, June Brodie, was an on-air personality, and his father, David Rapaport, was a program manager – Rapaport was introduced to the entertainment business at an early age. An outgoing boy from the start, he idolized his fellow New Yorkers and mass celebrities Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro. He was also noted for his adoration of Eddie Murphy, often dressing like his idol in gold chains and stylish white suits.

Rapaport managed to graduate from high school, but only after a series of expulsions. After leaving school he went to Los Angeles to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, though he would not linger on the stage for long.

Soon after his move to Los Angeles Rapaport made the move to acting in front of a camera, appearing in a guest role on the TV series China Beach in 1988. This role helped move him to a leading spot in the independent film Zebrahead in 1992. Zebrahead would prove to be Rapaport’s breakout role, and it clinched him a number of supporting roles in higher paid movies, including True Romance in 1993 (alongside Christian Slater), Higher Learning in 1995 and Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite, also in 1995. His success in these movies led to a string of other movie roles, including a supporting role in the 1997 movie The Metro alongside his idol Eddie Murphy.

Rapaport also enjoyed a number of television roles at the same time, most notably in four episodes of Friends in 1999 as the cop boyfriend of Lisa Kudrow’s character Phoebe Buffay. He also appeared in one episode of ER in 1998 as Paul Canterna. His longest running television role, however, came in the form of the show Boston Public, where he played the part of teacher Danny Hanson in 57 episodes between 2001 and 2004.

In 1998 Rapaport dated fellow actor Lili Taylor. They broke up, however, and Rapaport was later found guilty of having harassed Taylor after the split. He was made to endure a year of counseling and has since been ordered to stay away from Taylor. In 2000 he would find a new woman for his life, Nichole Beattie, with whom he would have two children. They are still married but have filed for divorce.

In addition to acting on-screen Rapaport has enjoyed some success supplying voices for video games, including Saint’s Row and Grand Theft Auto III.

Rapaport owns several residential buildings in New York City and was responsible for evicting actress Natasha Lyonne in 2005. Lyonne, at the time, was a compulsive partier and apparent drug addict. Upon checking her apartment Rapaport found it in a state of severe disrepair, a story he would later write about for Jane Magazine.

Rapaport later formed his own production company in the form of Release Entertainment and continued to star in minor roles, making two more grabs at television success: as the star of the two-season FOX sitcom The War at Home and as a recurring (and somewhat major) character in My Name is Earl. He is currently involved with two more movies, Only in New York and The Saints of Mt. Christopher, and lives in New York City.
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