Damon Wayans Jr.

DAMON WAYANS JR.

Date of Birth: November 18, 1982

Damon Wayans Jr. is an actor and stand-up comedian. He is the oldest son of actor Damon Wayans and Lisa Thorner.

Damon Jr. was born at his grandmother’s home in Vermont, but was raised in Los Angeles. He made his film debut in 1994 at age 11 when he was cast in Blankman, playing the role of young Kevin.

He then pursued his passion for fine arts and animation at the Otis College of Art and Design. Later, Damon appeared on his father’s sitcom My Wife and Kids as John, and at age 20, was hired as a staff writer on the series, which gave him the distinction of being the youngest staff writer on television.

Damon appeared in and served as a writer on the TV sketch comedy series The Underground. His appearance on HBO’s series Def Comedy Jam garnered a standing ovation during his debut. Damon also wrote, directed and starred in a series of Internet-based comedy sketches for Way-Out TV, a website launched by his father in 2007.

In 2009, Damon starred in his father’s comedy Dance Flick. He played a street boy named Thomas who is passionate about dancing, but gets stuck working for a gang lord.

For two years, Damon portrayed Brad Williams in the ABC-TV sitcom Happy Endings alongside Elisha Cuthbert, Adam Pally, Eliza Coupe and Zachary Knighton. After three seasons, the network cancelled the show due to low ratings, but during the run Damon received nominations from the Critics Choice Television Awards, the NAACP Image Awards and the Teen Choice Awards.

In 2010, Damon made an appearance in the action comedy The Other Guys. The film starred Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as two mismatched NYPD cops who are presented with an opportunity to step up like the city’s top detectives.

In 2011 he was cast in a regular role in the TV series New Girl, the Fox Network sitcom featuring Zooey Deschanel in the title role. The series was a hit and so far has enjoyed three successful seasons.

During hiatus from the show Damon had the chance to play a starring role in the 20th Century Fox motion picture comedy Let’s Be Cops (2014). In the film, he and Johnson play two friends pretending to be police officers.

In 2014, he voiced the character of Wasabi in Disney's animated film Big Hero 6. He then starred in How to Be Single (2016) and Super Troopers 2 (2018). In 2020, he starred as the lead in the Netflix film Love, Guaranteed, opposite Rachael Leigh Cook.

Damon has a brother Michael and two sisters Cara and Mia. He also has two daughters with his ex-girlfriend Aja Metoyer.

In addition to his passion for arts, Damon is also an accomplished mixed martial artist and enjoys snowboarding.

Filmography:

Love, Guaranteed (2020)
Super Troopers 2 (2018)
How to Be Single (2016)
Big Hero 6
Let's Be Cops (2014)
Someone Marry Barry (2014)
The Other Guys (2010)
Marmaduke (2010)
Dance Flick (2009)
Blankman (1994)