Biography

James Rash (born July 15, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He played Dean Craig Pelton on the NBC sitcom Community (2009–2015), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012. He co-wrote The Descendants (2011) alongside Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon, for which they received the Academy Award, Independent Spirit Award and Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. They were also nominated for the BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Critics' Choice Movie Awards. Rash has since, with Faxon, written and directed the comedy films The Way, Way Back (2013) and Downhill (2020).