Paul Lieberstein

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Paul Bevan Lieberstein (born February 22, 1967[1]) is an Emmy Award-winning American screenwriter and television producer who is most widely known as a writer and supporting cast member (in the role of Toby Flenderson) on the NBC sitcom The Office.

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[edit] Career

Lieberstein's first job in show business was as a writer on the television series Clarissa Explains It All, a job he won based on the strength of a spec script for The Simpsons that he co-wrote.[2] Following that he was a writer on Weird Science in 1994 and later on the sitcom The Naked Truth.

In 1997, he became a producer and writer on the animated sitcom King of the Hill. He also had brief stints as a writer/co-executive producer on The Drew Carey Show and The Bernie Mac Show. He was also a writer for the short-lived series Greg the Bunny and Dead Like Me.[3]

In 2005, producer Greg Daniels (with whom he worked on King of the Hill) hired him as a co-executive producer and writer for the American remake of the British comedy The Office. He made his directorial debut with the season four episode Money.

[edit] Acting

Lieberstein's acting career began with a single line in the pilot episode for The Office[4]; according to Lieberstein, that screen-time expanded after "the president of NBC saw my scene and said, 'He's funny. Let's use more of him.'"[4] Lieberstein's role as the sad-eyed human resources director Toby Flenderson subsequently grew into a recurring role. Numerous cast and crew members, including Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, and B.J. Novak, have praised Lieberstein's acting work and called him a natural.[citation needed]

[edit] Dual cast-and-crew role

Lieberstein has commented on his dual cast-and-crew role. In a SuicideGirls interview, he noted that "as an actor, which is just a very small percentage of me, I don’t feel Toby while I’m writing. It’s the hardest of the characters to access."[2] In an interview for his alma mater, Lieberstein commented on the bigger picture:[4]

“ When we are in pre-production, this is the best job in the world. Working 10 to 7, sitting around and brainstorming with the other writers, making things funnier and writing and rewriting scenes — that's as fun as it gets. Adding acting on top of all that makes for incredibly long, grueling days, sometimes 6 to midnight. But acting has its own rewards. Comedy becomes intensified in short scenes. Doing a scene with Steve Carell, trying to keep up with him, is as tough and fun and weird as any part of the process. ”

Toby was written out of the show in the season 4 finale (moving away to Costa Rica), but in an online chat on NBC's website after the show, Lieberstein confirmed he will remain on the writing staff for season 5 and serve as a co-showrunner.[5]

[edit] The Office writing credits

Lieberstein has written the following episodes:[update needed]

  1. "Health Care" (April 5, 2005)
  2. "The Client" (November 8, 2005)
  3. "The Carpet" (January 26, 2006)
  4. "Dwight's Speech" (March 2, 2006)
  5. "The Coup" (October 5, 2006)
  6. "Cocktails" (February 22, 2007)
  7. "The Job" (May 17, 2007) (co-wrote with Michael Schur)
  8. "Money" (October 18, 2007) (also directed)
  9. "Goodbye, Toby" (May 15, 2008) (co-wrote with Jennifer Celotta)

Lieberstein also co-wrote The Office: Accountants webisodes with Michael Schur.

[edit] Awards

Lieberstein's work on The Office has resulted in numerous awards. In June 2007, Lieberstein shared in a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Broadband Program - Comedy", for his work on The Office: Accountants webisodes.[6] As an actor, Lieberstein shared in a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series"; as a writer, he shared a 2006 Writers Guild of America Award for the series, in addition to a WGA Award nomination for "The Coup". As co-executive producer, he shared a 2006 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Comedy Series".

As a producer, Lieberstein shared a 1999 Emmy for "Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less)" for his work on King of the Hill.

[edit] Personal life

Lieberstein grew up in Westport, Connecticut[2] He attended Hamilton College, graduating in 1989[4] with a major in economics[4] (he "wanted to be a financier of some kind"[2]). His first job after graduation was as an auditor at Peat Marwick International, a job that didn't last six months.[4] He followed that with part-time work in his father's law firm, "working as little as [he] could so [he] could write."[4]

His sister Susanne is a president at Lifetime Entertainment Services and is married to Greg Daniels.[2] His brother Warren is married to Angela Kinsey.

Paul is an atheist, as stated on his MySpace account.[7]

According to NBC's "Adventures with Angela" video segments, in which Angela gave exclusive behind the scenes access to her office baby shower, she mentioned to the camera that "Paul is getting married." Whether this was a joke, is unclear.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Paul Lieberstein at TV.com
  2. ^ a b c d e 2006 interview with Paul Lieberstein by Daniel Robert Epstein, at the SuicideGirls website
  3. ^ Writer credits from TV.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Roll Credits, a profile of Lieberstein from the Hamilton College website
  5. ^ The Office: Live Blog: May 2008 Archives
  6. ^ 34th Annual Creative Arts & Entertainment Emmy Awards, from the Emmy Awards website
  7. ^ Paul Lieberstein's MySpace page

[edit] External links

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