Akiva Schaffer

Akiva Schaffer
Schaffer at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1977-12-01) December 1, 1977 (age 43)[1] Berkeley, California, U.S.
Medium	Internet, stand-up, music, television, film
Years active	2001–present
Genres	Sketch comedy, situational comedy, comedy hip hop
Spouse	Liz Cackowski ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	2
Website	thelonelyisland.com

Akiva D. Schaffer (/əˈkiːvə ˈʃæfər/;^[2] born December 1, 1977) is an American film director, comedian, actor, and writer. He is a member of the comedy group The Lonely Island along with Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. He began his career with The Lonely Island making videos for Channel 101. In 2005, Saturday Night Live hired the trio, Schaffer joining as a writer. In their time at SNL, The Lonely Island pioneered the digital short format, creating some of the most popular sketches of all time, including "Lazy Sunday", "I Just Had Sex", "I'm on a Boat", and "Dick in a Box". After SNL, Schaffer went on to direct movies including, Hotrod, The Watch, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers. The Lonely Island made three albums including Incredibad, Turtleneck & Chain, and The Wack Album. Schaffer also produced a number of TV shows and movies some of which include MacGruber, PEN15, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, and Palm Springs.

Early life[]

Schaffer was born in Berkeley, California to Jewish parents from New York.^[3][4]

In 2000, he graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in film.^[4]

Career[]

After college, he and his childhood friends, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, moved to Los Angeles and began making comedy movies.^[4] Taccone, the son of theater director Tony Taccone, brought home the film Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a choice the other men teased as being "too theatrical". The film, however, inspired Schaffer to write an overwrought play, in the style of Tennessee Williams, called The Lonely Island, in reference to their apartment. The name eventually extended to the comedy group itself.^[4] On the Internet, Schaffer got his start directing The Lonely Island's The 'Bu, the group's record-breaking contribution to Channel 101, which was a parody of The OC and starred Sarah Chalke as Melissa, as well as Samberg and Taccone.^[5] Schaffer has contributed to several other Channel 101 productions as part of the Lonely Island.

In the fall of 2005, Schaffer was hired for Saturday Night Live where he directed, co-wrote, and edited the majority of the SNL Digital Shorts.^[4] Some notable shorts/songs include "Lazy Sunday", "I Just Had Sex", "Natalie's Rap", "Dick in a Box", "Peyton Manning for the United Way", "Iran So Far", "Jizz in My Pants", "Boombox", "I'm on a Boat", "Great Day", "Threw It on the Ground", "Jack Sparrow", "Like A Boss", "YOLO", "Semicolon", "Dear Sister", "Spring Break Anthem", "Shy Ronnie", "Ras Trent" and "Motherlover", the sequel to "Dick in a Box".

In 2007, Schaffer directed and acted in the film Hot Rod, which starred Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Isla Fisher, Ian McShane, and Sissy Spacek, which was produced by SNL's Lorne Michaels.^[6]

Schaffer directed the film The Watch starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade, and written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.^[7]

The Lonely Island has released three albums (Incredibad, Turtleneck & Chain, The Wack Album) along with two full soundtracks (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience).^[8] In 2014, the group co-wrote Everything is Awesome, the theme song to the film, The Lego Movie.^[9] It was nominated for Best Original Song which they performed at the 2015 Oscars®.^[10] That same year, Everything Is Awesome was certified platinum by the RIAA, joining their previous platinum singles, I’m On A Boat (x2), I Just Had Sex, J**z In My Pants, and Like a Boss (gold).

Schaffer was credited as an executive producer on the film MacGruber.^[7] The film was co-written and directed by Jorma Taccone.

In 2016 Schaffer co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in the Judd Apatow produced feature film, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.^[7] The film focuses on pop/rap superstar Conner4Real (Samberg), who goes into a major tailspin and watches his celebrity high life collapse after his new album fails to sell records

He also co-directed/created Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special for Netflix with Scott Aukerman.^[7]

Schaffer directed four music videos for the band We Are Scientists and one for the Eagles of Death Metal.^[7]

In 2018, Schaffer guest-starred on NBC sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, portraying Brett Booth in the episode Show me Going.^[7]

The Lonely Island co-produced both seasons of I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, most episodes of which Schaffer has co-directed with Alice Mathias.^[7] Also in 2019, they released Netflix's The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience, a visual poem about former Oakland A's legends Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire.^[7] That summer, The Lonely Island embarked on their first ever live tour, instantly selling out venues across the United States and drawing some of the biggest crowds of the weekend at the Bonnaroo Festival and Milwaukee’s Summerfest.

Schaffer produced the film Palm Springs,^[7] which debuted on Hulu in July 2020 and delivered the largest opening weekend viewership ever for a film on the platform.^[7] Prior to launching on Hulu, NEON/Hulu acquired the film for a record setting $17,500,000.69 at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, making it the biggest deal in the festival’s history.^[11] Most recently, the film and cast were nominated for five Super Critics Choice Awards, a Golden Globe® “Best Picture, Musical or Comedy” nomination, as well as a “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy” nomination for Samberg. The film also won a Critics Choice Award in the category of “Best Comedy” and garnered a WGA nomination for “Original Screenplay.”^[12]

Schaffer also executive produces Hulu’s Emmy nominated show, Pen15, starring Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle.^[7]

Schaffer is currently directing the Disney film Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers.^[7] The film will star Andy Samberg and John Mulaney and is a combination of live action and computer animation. It will release in Spring 2022.^[13]

Personal life[]

Schaffer is married to comedy writer and actress Liz Cackowski; they have two children.

Filmography[]

Awards[]

In 2007, Schaffer won an Emmy for his participation in the production of "Dick in a Box". He was nominated for an Emmy for the song "Motherlover." He was featured in People's Sexiest Bachelor with Andy Samberg, as Sexiest Best Friends. He has also won two Writers Guild of America Award and a Peabody Award for his work on Saturday Night Live. The Lonely Island was nominated in 2009 for a People's Choice Award and a Grammy Award.

References[]

External links[]

• The Lonely Island
• Akiva Schaffer at IMDb