American actor Joshua Malina was born on January 17, 1966 in New Rochelle, New York. After graduating from Yale University with a theater degree, he made his debut on the Broadway production of Aaron Sorkin’s play A Few Good Men. This would be the beginning of his long term collaboration with the writer, with him having appeared in almost all of his film and television projects, except for the film Charlie Wilson’s War and the television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
Malina’s screen debut was in 1992, when he starred in the film adaptation of A Few Good Men. After roles in other films—In the Line of Fire, Separate Lives, Just Friends and Clockwatchers, to name a few—and guest roles on television, he got his first regular television role. In 1998, he joined the half-hour series Sports Night, another Sorkin project which revolved around the crew of a fictional sports news program; he played the show’s associate producer, Jeremy Goodwin. The series failed to get a fan base and was cancelled two years after.
Malina would find wider success in another Sorkin drama, The West Wing. He joined the program in 2002 as William Bailey, a campaign officer who eventually worked up to being the chief of staff of Vice President Bob Russell (Gary Cole). He stayed in the series until its finale in 2006. His next regular television role was on the short-lived drama series Big Shots, which premiered in 2007. He played the role of Karl Mixworthy, an intelligent and loveable pharmaceutical executive whose life turns upside down when his wife (Amy Sloan) and mistress (Jessica Collins) became best friends. The series was cancelled about one season because of negative reviews.
Malina’s acting hasn’t gone unnoticed; as part of the casts for Sports Night and The West Wing, he was nominated for five Screen Actors Guild awards.