| Mike White | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Michael Christopher White |
| Born: | June 28, 1970 |
| Birth Hometown: | Pasadena, California |
| Occupation: | Actor Writer Producer |
| Years active: | 1997-present |
Michael Christopher White (born June 28, 1970) is an American writer, actor and producer for television and film, and reality tv show contestant. He has won numerous awards including winning the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for Chuck & Buck. He has written the screenplays for films such as School of Rock (2003) and Nacho Libre (2006) and has additionally directed several films that he has written such as Brad's Status (2017). He was the co-creator, executive producer, writer, director and actor on the HBO series Enlightened. White is also known for his appearances on reality television, competing on two seasons of The Amazing Race and later becoming a contestant and runner-up on Survivor.
Personal life[]
White was born in Pasadena, California. He attended Polytechnic School and Wesleyan University. White is the son of Lyla Lee (née Loehr), a fundraising executive, and Reverend Dr. Mel White (James Melville White), a former speechwriter and ghostwriter for Religious Right figures such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. White is openly bisexual. His father came out as gay in 1994.
Career[]
White was a writer and producer on Dawson's Creek and Freaks and Geeks and wrote and acted in the films Chuck & Buck, The Good Girl, Orange County, School of Rock and Nacho Libre. He also had a role in the 2004 remake of The Stepford Wives, and the 2008 film Smother. Chuck & Buck was named the best film of 2000 by Entertainment Weekly. In an interview with The New York Times, Jeff Bridges called White's performance in Chuck and Buck "the performance of the decade".
He frequently collaborates with actor–writer Jack Black on films. Together they formed the production company Black and White, which closed in 2006. White is not a fan of classic rock, but he wrote School of Rock specifically so Black could perform his own favorite rock music.
White made his directorial debut with the self-penned Year of the Dog at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. He was a member of the US Dramatic Jury at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Laura Dern brought White into a project with HBO which became the series Enlightened that premiered on October 10, 2011. White himself had suffered an on-the-job meltdown while running an earlier television series and incorporated elements of that experience into the new series' plot. Dern's character Amy Jellicoe goes to a Hawaiian retreat after her meltdown and is introduced to meditation, echoing to a degree White's own exploration of Buddhist meditation, and the character Jellicoe tries to continue the discipline as she resumes her working life. White wrote the pilot and all the episodes in the first and second seasons.
White co-wrote the screenplay for computer-animated film The Emoji Movie, for which he received a Golden Raspberry Award. He wrote and directed the 2017 film Brad's Status.
The Amazing Race[]
He appeared on the fourteenth season of The Amazing Race along with his father Mel. They lasted for seven legs before being eliminated in sixth place in Phuket, Thailand. Mel and Mike returned to compete in The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business, where they were the second team eliminated in Japan.
Survivor[]
White was a contestant on Survivor: David vs. Goliath, as a member of the Goliath tribe, then to reshuffled Jabeni tribe and the merged Kalokalo tribe. He made it to Day 39 and received three jury votes, finishing in second place behind the winner Nick Wilson.
White said he had been a big fan of the show, and because of his connections had developed a friendship with the show's host Jeff Probst, providing the host suggestions towards improving the show. For instance, Jeff Probst stated that it was Mike who discouraged him from bringing back Redemption Island for Survivor: San Juan del Sur. At some point White decided to start trying out to be a participant of the show, but he failed to be picked over what he believed was a concern of having "sloppy seconds" from other reality television programs. White noted that once he was selected, he had had no other conversations with Probst until the game was concluded.