Ken Marino is a versatile and talented entertainer. He is not only an actor but also a comedian, screenwriter, and film director. He became famous in the early 1990s thanks to his dual role as an actor and writer on the television shows You Wrote It, You Watch It, and The State. He is also known for his roles in Children’s Hospital and Party Down. Marino is also active on the big screen, writing and starring in a variety of movies, including Role Models, Wanderlust, and more. We take you through the highlights of his very successful career and report on facts from his personal life.
Ken Marino Bio
Marino was born on September 19, 1968, in Long Island, New York, as Kenneth Joseph Marino. He is of Italian descent. Marino received his education at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and later at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Manhattan, New York. Marino began his professional career in the entertainment industry in 1992, and it didn’t take long for his work to gain ground. He co-founded a comedy troupe for the MTV sketch comedy series The State, a series that was quite a success.
He was both a writer and a regular actor in the series, which ran until 1995. His next big appearance was a regular series role in the second season of the NBC sitcom “Men Behaving Badly”. In 1997 Ken Marino made his feature film debut in a small role in the science fiction movie Gattaca.
The new millennium began well for Marino, with success on both the small and the big screen. He became more visible in feature films with roles in movies like “Wet Hot American Summer”, “Tortilla Soup” and “Joe Somebody”. On television, he had a recurring role in Dawson’s Creek.
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In the mid-2000s Ken Marino had a recurring role in Veronica Mars. He repeated his role in the feature film released in 2014. Children’s Hospital, which premiered in 2008, introduced him to a wider audience. The show was a huge success and ran for 7 seasons before ending in 2016. Between the seasons of the show, Marino took on more appearances, especially a recurring role in Axe Cop, Marry Me, and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.
Other popular shows where Marino has played a role include NYPD Blue, CSI: Miami, Reaper, Private Practice, House of Lies, iZombie, and many others.
In recent years Ken Marino has expanded his repertoire to include directing. He directed the films “How to Be a Latin Lover” (2017) and “Dog Days” (2018).
Net Worth
Ken Marino has been quite successful in his career. He is able to increase his salary thanks to his non-acting roles. His net worth is estimated at over 2 million dollars.
Ken Marino’s Wife, Children, and Family
Ken Marino is married to Erica Oyama, a screenwriter best known for her work in Burning Love, a web series directed and produced by Marino. Oyama, who was born on March 28, 1981, is from Birmingham, Alabama. However, she has Asian roots. The couple married on October 8, 2005, and have worked together on many projects since then.
Marino’s wife had her first break as part of the authors of the show Children’s Hospital. After a period of working with Marino behind the scenes, Oyama gained a lot of experience, and when Marino got a role in the Children’s Hospital, he got a writing role in addition to his wife. The couple wrote a script for the first season of the show, which was accepted.
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Oyama got her big breakthrough with Burning Love. The show was a parody of the reality TV series The Bachelor, which is one of their favorites. The show was first broadcast as a web series before it was put on TV. It was aired for 3 seasons and 42 episodes and received an Emmy nomination for the special class “Outstanding Achievements” in 2013.
Oyama wrote and produced a series in collaboration with Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, which was purchased by FOX Network. Universal bought their feature film Me Time.
Oyama is not only a writer but also a good actress. She played Breem Bensen in the 2007 film The Ten. She also played the small but memorable role of Flight Attendant No. 3 in an episode of Children’s Hospital.
Ken Marino and his wife have two children, a son named Riley Ken’ichi Marino and a daughter named Ruby Marino.