Jake Johnson’s acting career started way back in the city of New York long before he moved to Los Angeles where his dreams finally took form. Ever since his first on-screen role, the Chicago native has appeared in countless movies. There is no doubt that Jake has worked tirelessly to attain his current position as one of the A-list actors in Hollywood and ultimately, his hard work paid-off, distinguishing him among equals as one of the best actors the industry can boast of.
Johnson has a full family life beyond his life on screen; when the veteran actor is not busy depicting movie characters; he is engaged at the home front as the husband of Erin Payne who is a talented painter. Jake Johnson’s wife is not your run of the mill painter; she is one of the best with a 2012 New American Paintings Reader’s Choice Award under her belt.
Jake Johnson Is Of Mixed Extraction
Born with the first name Mark, the American comedian and actor joined the human race on the 28th of May 1978. He was named after Mark Johnson – his maternal uncle who lost his life in 1977 at the age of 26. The actor’s uncle died in a motorcycle accident, a year before Jake was born. The talented actor is of mixed ancestry with Ashkenazi Jewish from his dad’s side and English, Irish, and Polish Catholic from his mum’s side.
His parents have been identified as Eve Johnson who earned a living making stained glass windows; the actor’s dad Ken Weinberger owned an automobile dealership. Jake Johnson has two older siblings; Dan and Rachel with whom he spent his formative years in the northern suburb of Chicago where he was born.
His mother Eve qualifies to be described as a superwoman as she single-handedly took charge of raising Jake and his siblings following the end of her marriage with Ken Weinberger; this happened when the famed actor was still a little child of two. Consequently, he decided to take his mother’s last name in high school; however, Johnson has since reconnected with his estranged father who resurfaced when he was 17. According to the movie star, he now has a close relationship with his dad.
The Actor Made His Acting Debut In 2007
It was in 2007 that the emerging movie star made his mainstream acting debut with an appearance in Derek and Simon: The Show. He also showed up in a couple of TV shows – The Unit and Curb Your Enthusiasm the same year. His big screen debut was accomplished on the set of the action flick Redbelt where he played a cameo role.
Jake Johnson earned his first major role in Paper Heart – the rom-com movie released in 2009. In the movie, Johnson portrayed the character of Nicholas Jasenovec – a documentary filmmaker who accompanies his co-moviemaker on a journey that eventually helps them find their respective love partners. The movie which catered for a specific audience ended up receiving mixed reviews.
Before the year ran out, Jake was seen in an episode of the crime drama series Lie to Me titled Love Always. He then made an appearance in the romantic comedy movie Ceremony; though the rom-com featured some A-list actors like Uma Thurman and Michael Angarano, Johnson managed to steal the limelight with his heart-warming performance.
Johnson Created His Own Comedy Gig While Starring In Other Productions
Using the HBO sketch comedy show, Mr. Show with Bob and David as guideline, Jake Johnson created his own comedy gig, The Midwesterners. He subsequently left New York City to Los Angeles and worked as a production assistant and a waiter. More so, during this period, he oftentimes graced a few acting auditions. The actor starred in the movie, Get Him to The Greek in 2010. Subsequently, he played a minor role as Ashton Kutcher’s friend in the movie, No Strings Attached.
While basking in fame, the Chicago native appeared as Jesus in the movie, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. Subsequently, he showed up as a major cast in Safety Not Guaranteed and was also featured in the dance movie, 21 Jump Street.
Jake Johnson Is Best Known For His Role In New Girl
Furthermore, the year 2011 saw the beginning of his role as Nick Miller on the series, New Girl; he shared the screen with Zooey Deschanel on the series that was wrapped up in 2018 and ended up becoming his best project. The actor was adored for his role in the series which became a big hit, running for seven seasons successfully.
It was thanks to his portrayal of Nick Miller (a poor guy who ended up failing in everything, including relationships) that Johnson became a first-time nominee for Teen Choice Award in the category of Best Actor Comedy. The role also earned him other nominations at various award ceremonies in several categories. He also became a nominee for TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy.
He Has Played Several Other Roles Including Voice
Jake Johnson joined the cast of Jurassic World in 2015, depicting the character of park informatician Lowery Cruthers. The Netflix comedy Win It All cast him as Eddie Garrett a couple of years later, in 2017. Johnson appeared in Drunk History by Derek Waters, essaying diverse characters in different episodes.
The veteran entertainer was part of 2018 Tag as Randy Cilliano and before the year ran out, he appeared in the Netflix adult animation series Hoops, cast in the lead role of Ben Hopkins alongside other New Girl co-stars except for Zooey Deschanel. The Chicago native was the voice behind Peter B. Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and has taken to Instagram to advise parents who have been watching the anime movie during this lockdown to send him an email which he will try and reply with a short voice note.
2019 saw him as a cast of the ABC drama series Stumptown in the lead role of Grey McConnell. His other works include The Mummy, The Lego Movie, Drinking Buddies, Ghost Girls, Digging Fire, and the rest of them.
The Famed Actor Has a Finger In Music And Commercials
Jake Johnson is active in the music industry as he has been featured in a few music videos. He appeared in Rouse Yourself, by indie-soul band JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound with Aubrey Plaza who happens to be his co-star in Safety Is Not Guaranteed. More so, the actor made a stunning appearance as a fictional version of himself in Dodge Dart commercials alongside Craig Robinson.
Having created an impressive repertoire, the actor has pocketed a lot of awards for his works. He has claimed two Teen Choice Awards, a Gotham Independent Film Award, a Critic’s Choice Television Award, an OFTA Television Award, a Golden Derby Award, and lots more.
More so, it was with Jake Jackson’s revelation of the story behind the Otis Redding’s story that the web series, Derek Waters Drunk History was created.
The Actor Got Married To Erin Payne In A Secret Wedding Ceremony
Jake Johnson is one guy who works hard to hide the details of his personal life from the penetrating eyes of the media. Thus, no one really knew his exact relationship status until it came to light that he has been married for years; this was a great surprise to many of his fans.
The identity of Johnson’s wife was later revealed as Erin Payne who earns a living as a painter. Though the couple tried their best in concealing their big love story, some tit-bits still managed to get out. According to our findings, the lovebirds started cohabiting in early 2005 and only exchanged marriage vows in a secretive wedding in 2011. In 2014, the couple welcomed a set of twins – Johnson and Rachel. Their marriage has endured for almost a decade and the Johnson family lives in Los Angeles, California.
Meet Jake Johnson’s Wife Erin Payne
Erin Payne, on her part, is a painter who is good at what she does. For one of her works, the mother of two claimed the New American Paintings Reader’s Choice Award in 2012. Her artistic works have made her quite popular and she has had collaborations with several popular artists, notable among them are Cole James and John O’Brien.
According to Jake Johnson, his marriage is full of trust and love as Erin is the least jealous person in the whole world. Besides, she understands that his line of work sometimes involves kissing female co-stars on set like what he experienced in the seventh episode of New Girl where he had to share a kiss with actress Megan Fox.
