Martin Starr

A graduate of the Judd Apatow stable, Martin Starr might not have the profile of Seth Rogen or James Franco, but he quietly became a permanent fixture of American comedy, having appeared in over a dozen sitcoms, several box-office hits and a number of under-rated cult favorites.

Starr first attracted attention as the geeky oddball Bill Haverchuck in the criminally-ignored "Freaks and Geeks" (NBC 1999-2000) and subsequently became a Frat Pack regular, stealing scenes in the likes of "Knocked Up" (2007), "Superbad" (2007) and "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (2007). But it was on the small screen where Starr was allowed to truly showcase his talents, most notably as frustrated writer Roman DeBeers on "Party Down" (Starz 2009-10) and computer wizard Sam Stern on "NTSF: SD:SUV::" (Adult Swim 2011-13), while a string of guest parts on the likes of "Parks and Recreation" (NBC 2009-15), "Community" (NBC 2009-15; Yahoo!, 2015) and "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS 2005-14) further established his funnyman credentials.

Born in Santa Monica, CA in 1982 to an actress mother and teacher father, Starr made his on-screen debut in the Dustin Hoffman comedy-drama "Hero" (1992) where he was credited under his real name, Martin Schienle. But he didn't appear in front of the camera again until 1999 when Judd Apatow cast him as the bespectacled social misfit Bill Haverchuck in the short-lived but much-loved "Freaks and Geeks" (NBC 1999-2000).

Following the show's undeserved cancellation, Starr made brief appearances in comedy-drama "Ed" (NBC 2000-04), sci-fi fantasy "Mysterious Ways" (NBC 2000-02) and John Goodman sitcom "Normal, Ohio" (Fox 2000), before guesting as security guard Monk Pyle on three episodes of alien teen soap opera "Roswell" (The WB 1999-2002).

After playing a liquor store clerk in crime comedy "Stealing Harvard" (2002), a crib sheet genius who tries to outsmart the high school system in "Cheats" (2002) and a coffee shop customer in Will Ferrell's soccer vehicle "Kicking and Screaming" (2005), Starr returned to television with a recurring role on controversial miniseries "Revelations" (NBC, 2005) and a guest spot as Robin's date on "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS 2005-2014).

Having briefly reunited with Apatow on college sitcom "Undeclared" (Fox 2001-02), Starr then teamed up again with the director for three consecutive films, appearing as Seth Rogen's permanently stoned roommate Martin in "Knocked Up" (2007), the bearded coke fiend who forces Michael Cera's character to sing in "Superbad" (2007), and a Hasidic record label boss in music biopic spoof "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (2007).

Starr then returned to his nerdy roots in indie rom-com "Good Dick" (2008) and "The Incredible Hulk" (2008) before landing the role of sarcastic amusement park worker Joel in the nostalgic "Adventureland" (2009) and minor parts in the Ricky Gervais fable "The Invention Of Lying" (2009) and horror comedy "The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu" (2009).

Later that year, he added yet another unfairly cancelled sitcom to his resume when he starred as waiter/aspiring Hollywood writer Roman DeBeers in "Party Down" (Starz 2009-10). Starr then graced a whole host of other TV comedies including "The League" (FX 2009-15) as Pete's old high schoolfriend Stu Pompeu, "Community" (NBC 2009-) as Professor Cligoris and "Mad Love" (CBS 2011) as stalkerish neighbour Clyde.

After appearing as wannabe musician Doug Duquez in ensemble sex farce "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy" (2011), Starr worked with former "Party Down" cast mate Lizzy Caplan in romantic comedy "Save The Date" (2011) and found himself playing yet another computer nerd in police procedural parody "NTSF:SD:SUV::" (Adult Swim 2011-13).

Starr then popped up as a snow globe museum attendant in "Parks and Recreation" (NBC 2009-), Nick's heartbroken law school cohort Dirk in "New Girl" (Fox 2011-) and grown-up premature baby Leo in web series "Burning Love" (2013) before guesting as hacker Adam 'Toast' Charles in three episodes of "Hawaii Five-0" (CBS 2010- ) and working with Kristen Bell on both Sundance hit "The Lifeguard" (2013) and the Kickstarter-funded big-screen adventure, "Veronica Mars" (2014).

Starr returned to series television as one of the stars of Mike Judge's tech world satire "Silicon Valley" (HBO 2014- ).