From his critically-acclaimed roles in film and television to his impressive work as a writer and producer, Michael Hitchcock has earned a solid reputation in the entertainment industry.

Hitchcock currently plays Toni Collette’s friend and neighbor “Ted Mayo” on Showtime’s multi-award winning comedy  “United States of Tara.”   Produced by Steven Spielberg and created by Diablo Cody, “United States of Tara” received both an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for Collette’s outstanding work as Tara Gregson, a woman with multiple personalities.  

Hitchcock also plays Scott Bakula’s buddy “Dave” in the acclaimed TNT series “Men of a Certain Age” starring Bakula, Ray Romano, and Andre Braugher.  Other television credits include “Glee,” “Entourage,” “Party Down,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Pushing Daisies,” and “Arrested Development.”    

Hitchcock’s film acting credits include featured roles in all four of Christopher Guest’s award-winning films “Best in Show,”  “For Your Consideration,”  “A Mighty Wind,” and “Waiting for Guffman.”   

“Best in Show” earned a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Comedy” and won “Funniest Motion Picture” by the American Comedy Awards and British Comedy Awards.   “A Mighty Wind” won a Grammy Award and an Oscar nomination for its spirited music, and Hitchcock and his co-actors from “A Mighty Wind” were awarded “Best Ensemble Cast” by the Florida Film Critics Circle and were also nominated for “Best Ensemble Acting” by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.  

Other movie credits include “Serenity,” “Wild Hogs,” “Operation Endgame,”  “Smiley Face,” “Pretty Persuasion,”  “Happy, Texas,” “Heartbreakers,” and the upcoming films “Bridesmaids” starring Kristen Wiig and “Pete Smalls is Dead” starring Steve Buscemi, Peter Dinklage, and Sam Rockwell.  

Hitchcock’s writing credits include the acclaimed drama “Where the Day Takes You,” which was nominated for the “Critics Award” at the Deauville Film Festival and also marked the film acting debut of Will Smith.   Other writing credits include the MGM comedy “House Arrest” starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Disney’s “The Ultimate Christmas Present.”   Hitchcock also performed both writing and producing duties on the long-running Fox latenight comedy series “MAD TV.”    During his tenure at “MAD TV,” the show was nominated three times by the Writers Guild of America for “Outstanding Writing of a Comedy/Variety Series.”  

Born in Defiance, Ohio, and later raised in Western Springs, Illinois, Hitchcock received his Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.   He is also a proud alumnus of The Groundlings, Los Angeles’ premiere comedy and improvisational troupe.  

During the past three holiday seasons, Hitchcock performed comedy improvisation at several United States military bases in Iraq and Kuwait with “Stars for Stripes,” a volunteer organization that brings entertainment to deployed troops.   He resides in Los Angeles.