John Michael Higgins

About John Michael Higgins

John Michael Higgins (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor, comedian and game show host whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's The Late Shift, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim. He portrayed Peter Lovett in the TV Land original sitcom Happily Divorced and provided the voice of Iknik Blackstone Varrick in The Legend of Korra and Mini-Max in Big Hero 6: The Series. He also starred in the NBC sitcom Great News as Chuck Pierce for two seasons. From 2018-2022, and 2026-present he hosted the game show America Says, which earned him a 2019 Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host. Higgins attended Amherst College, graduating in 1985, and was a member of the a cappella group the Zumbyes. From 2023 to 2024, he hosted a new version of the game show Split Second on Game Show Network.

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Early life

John Michael Higgins was born on February 12, 1963, in Boston, Massachusetts. His father served as a naval officer, which led the family to relocate frequently across sixteen military bases during Higgins's youth. While his father was stationed in Washington, D.C., Higgins started acting for the first time, performing at the Folger Theatre, Arena Stage and Round House Theatre. Higgins continued acting in plays but also decided to further his education at Amherst College where he studied literature.

Following graduation, Higgins relocated to New York to pursue his acting and theatre career.

Career

In the early 1980s Higgins was a theatre instructor with Street 70, a theatre production company in Rockville, Maryland that is now known as Round House Theatre. He also taught voice and improvisation. In 1991, Higgins was featured in Broadway's La Bête, and in 2000 he was seen Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre in a production of Edward Albee's Tiny Alice. He also originated the title role in Paul Rudnick's Jeffrey Off-Broadway in 1993.

Higgins's numerous television credits include recurring characters on Ally McBeal, Brother's Keeper, Boston Legal and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show. In Season 8 of Seinfeld, he portrayed Elaine's boyfriend Kurt. He also played attorney Wayne Jarvis in five episodes of Arrested Development. Higgins arranged the dense vocal harmonies sung by the nine-part ("neuftet") New Main Street Singers in 2003's A Mighty Wind, a change from the writers' original concept of having the group sing in unison, leveraged by Higgins's musical talent.

Higgins gained more recognition by being featured in the films Fun with Dick and Jane, Pitch Perfect and its sequels, and The Break-Up, for which he also wrote vocal arrangements. His work as a voice actor includes the roles of Judge Mentok in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, 2401 Penitent Tangent in Halo 2, and Riddler in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Since 2012 Higgins has also served as the voice of the recurring character Doug Wheeler on the show Bob's Burgers, occasionally providing other voices as well. Higgins also portrayed David Letterman in the HBO TV film The Late Shift. Higgins was seen in the pre-show video for the Epcot attraction Test Track. However, the ride was refurbished in 2012 and the pre-show room was removed.

Higgins directs and appears on the stage from time to time as well. In 2004, he played Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in the American premiere of David Hare's Stuff Happens at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In 2003, he played the title role in A. R. Gurney's Big Bill at New York's Lincoln Center Theater. He played Phil Knight in the American version of Kath & Kim.

Higgins has been featured in TV ads for DirecTV, alongside fellow co-stars Christopher Guest and Ed Begley Jr., and for Old Navy. He also stars in the second season of TNT's Raising the Bar as an openly gay, rule-obsessed judge. Higgins took part in The Suite Life on Deck, taking the role of the sinister and secluded Mr. Tipton.

Personal life

Higgins married actress and writer Margaret Welsh on February 1, 2003. They met in Connecticut while actors in George Bernard Shaw's play, Arms and the Man. He said he never wanted to date a workmate or marry an actress until he met his wife. They have two children, a daughter and a son.