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IMDbPro

Ken Kwapis

  • Director
  • Producer
  • Writer
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Ken Kwapis in A Walk in the Woods (2015)
Ken Kwapis is an award-winning director of motion pictures and television. He has directed eleven feature films, among them A Walk In The Woods, based on Bill Bryson's acclaimed comedic memoir; He's Just Not That Into You, inspired by the New York Times bestselling advice book; and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, adapted from the beloved young adult novel. Other films include the rescue adventure Big Miracle, and the romantic comedies License to Wed and He Said, She Said (co-directed with Marisa Silver). His feature debut was Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird, starring Jim Henson's Muppets.

For television, Kwapis helped launch nine series, including the groundbreaking HBO comedy The Larry Sanders Show, Fox's Emmy Award-winning The Bernie Mac Show, and NBC's The Office. Kwapis directed the pilot of The Office and its series finale, along with many memorable episodes -"Casino Night," Booze Cruise," "Diversity Day," to name a few. He earned an Emmy nomination for directing the episode "Gay Witch Hunt."

Kwapis also earned an Emmy nomination for his work as a producer-director of Fox's Malcolm In The Middle. Other series Kwapis helped launch include NBC's Outsourced, Showtime's Happyish, and Netflix's #blackAF. He directed numerous episodes of shows such as Freaks and Geeks, One Mississippi, and Santa Clarita Diet.

Kwapis studied filmmaking at Northwestern University and the University of Southern California. He won the Student Academy Award in Dramatic Achievement for his USC thesis film "For Heaven's Sake," an adaptation of Mozart's one-act comic opera Der Schauspieldirektor ("The Impresario").
BornAugust 17, 1957
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
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BornAugust 17, 1957
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See rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys

Photos29

Nick Nolte, Ken Kwapis, and Susan McPhail in A Walk in the Woods (2015)
Ken Kwapis in A Walk in the Woods (2015)
Ken Kwapis in Big Miracle (2012)
Alexis Bledel, Ken Kwapis, Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn, and America Ferrera in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
Drew Barrymore and Ken Kwapis in Big Miracle (2012)
Ken Kwapis and Marisa Silver in He Said, She Said (1991)
Ken Kwapis in He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Jennifer Aniston and Ken Kwapis in He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Nancy Juvonen, Ken Kwapis, and Greg Behrendt in He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Ken Kwapis
Ken Kwapis in License to Wed (2007)
Ken Kwapis, Mandy Moore, and John Krasinski in License to Wed (2007)

Known for

Tig Notaro in One Mississippi (2015)
One Mississippi
7.5
TV Series
  • Director
Nick Nolte and Robert Redford in A Walk in the Woods (2015)
A Walk in the Woods
6.3
  • Director
  • 2015
Steve Coogan in Happyish (2015)
Happyish
7.2
TV Series
  • Director
Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski in Big Miracle (2012)
Big Miracle
6.5
  • Director(directed by)
  • 2012

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director

  • Thelma
    • Pre-production
  • The Shaggs
    • Pre-production
  • Sisterhood Everlasting
    • In Production
  • John Malkovich, Steve Carell, Don Lake, Ben Schwartz, Jimmy O. Yang, Tawny Newsome, and Diana Silvers in Space Force (2020)
    Space Force
  • Rashida Jones and Kenya Barris in #BlackAF (2020)
    #BlackAF
  • Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant in Santa Clarita Diet (2017)
    Santa Clarita Diet
  • The Dangerous Book for Boys (2018)
    The Dangerous Book for Boys
  • Tig Notaro in One Mississippi (2015)
    One Mississippi
  • Steve Coogan in Happyish (2015)
    Happyish
  • Nick Nolte and Robert Redford in A Walk in the Woods (2015)
    A Walk in the Woods
  • Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, and B.J. Novak in The Office (2005)
    The Office
  • Friday Night Dinner
  • Sarah Silverman in Susan 313 (2012)
    Susan 313
  • Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski in Big Miracle (2012)
    Big Miracle
    • (directed by)
  • Outsourced (2010)
    Outsourced
  • Adam Scott, Rashida Jones, Jim O'Heir, Nick Offerman, Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, Retta, Aziz Ansari, and Aubrey Plaza in Parks and Recreation (2009)
    Parks and Recreation
  • Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Ben Affleck, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, and Justin Long in He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
    He's Just Not That Into You
  • Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, and John Krasinski in License to Wed (2007)
    License to Wed

Producer

  • The Shaggs
    • Pre-production
  • John Malkovich, Steve Carell, Don Lake, Ben Schwartz, Jimmy O. Yang, Tawny Newsome, and Diana Silvers in Space Force (2020)
    Space Force
  • Steve Coogan in Happyish (2015)
    Happyish
  • Outsourced (2010)
    Outsourced
  • Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, and B.J. Novak in The Office (2005)
    The Office
  • Bernie Mac in The Bernie Mac Show (2001)
    The Bernie Mac Show
  • Frankie Muniz, Justin Berfield, Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, Christopher Masterson, and Erik Per Sullivan in Malcolm in the Middle (2000)
    Malcolm in the Middle
  • About a Boy
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Watching Ellie (2002)
    Watching Ellie

Writer

  • Sexual Life (2004)
    Sexual Life
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos1

10 Chick-Flick Clichés You Won't Find in He's Just Not That Into You
Promo 5:52
10 Chick-Flick Clichés You Won't Find in He's Just Not That Into You

Personal details

Edit
    • official website for Ken Kwapis
    • August 17, 1957
    • Belleville, Illinois, USA
    • Marisa Silver? - present (2 children)
  • Other works
    Published article entitled 'Office Work' about directing the first and final episodes of The Office (2005) in DGA Quarterly magazine.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He is of Polish descent.
  • Quotes
    Since Pants [The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)] was released, I can't tell you how many conversations I've had about public displays of emotion in general, and crying at the movies in particular. I've received messages from male friends berating me for creating something that brought them to tears. I've received emails from girls who claim they'd never cried at the movies before Pants. And there are many rave reviews that are quite apologetic in tone. Many journalists have a hard time distinguishing between honest emotion and sentiment. I feel certain the audience knows the difference.

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