A versatile, young, blond performer, Rapaport segued smoothly from standup comedy to acting with a 1990 guest shot on ABC-TV's "China Beach" and a starring role in "Zebrahead" (1992) as a white high schooler involved in a tense interracial relationship. For the latter, he garnered good notices and an Independent Feature Project Spirit Award nomination. More TV work followed including a recurring role on the fleeting but acclaimed comedy-drama "Middle Ages" (CBS, 1992).
Rapaport's film career took off in 1993 with appearances in four diverse projects, including the delirious Quentin Tarantino-scripted crime adventure "True Romance". Playing the edgy actor friend of Christian Slater, Rapaport held his own amid the formidable ensemble. He also had a small role in writer-director John Singleton's "Poetic Justice" that year. Rapaport graduated to a major role in Singleton's "Higher Learning" (1995) playing a not entirely unsympathetic Midwestern college student who becomes a skinhead in a misguided effort to forge an identity for himself. Later that year, he won praise for his role as a not-too-bright boxer being set up with a prostitute in Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite". In Ted Demme's "Beautiful Girls" (1996), Rapaport was Matt Dillon's roommate who was fixated on models. He appeared in supporting roles in "The Pallbearer" (1996), "A Brother's Kiss" (1997) and headlined Nick Gomez's "illtown" (1998).
Family
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Father: David Rapaport. worked at WKTU Disco 92 in NYC
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Mother: June Brodie.
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Son: Julilan Ali Rapaport. born on May 2, 2000; mother, Nichole Beattie
Significant Others
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Wife: Nichole Beattie. married on January 15, 2000
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Companion: Lili Taylor. together from summer 1996 to spring 1997; Taylor complained to police that Rapaport was harrassing her after their break-up and he was arrested on May 18, 1997; he pled guilty in 1998 and agreed to therapy and no contact with Taylor for three years in lieu of jail time
Education
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Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, New York
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Martin Luther King High School, New York, New York
Milestones
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1989 Performed standup comedy at The Improv on Melrose Avenue in L.A. for two-and-a-half years (date approximate)
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1990 TV acting debut, a guest shot on China Beach
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1992 Cast as a recurring character on the short-lived critically acclaimed comedy-drama series Middle Ages
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1992 Feature debut, starred in Zebrahead
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1993 Had featured role in True Romance
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1996 Cast a boxer in Woody Allen s Mighty Aphrodite
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1998 Co-wrote and co-produced the short film Trouble Spot , about baldness; directed and co-written with actor Paul Schulze
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1998 Starred in Nick Gomez s illtown
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1999 Guest-starred on several episodes of Friends, (NBC) as Phoebe s (Lisa Kudrow) police officer boyfriend, Gary
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2000 Co-starred in Woody Allen s Small Time Crooks
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2000 Portrayed a TV executive in Spike Lee s black comedy Bamboozled
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2001 Joined the cast of Boston Public (Fox) as an idealistic teacher with unorthodox methods of instruction
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2005 Cast in the Fox sitcom The War at Home, playing an average Joe type dealing with the everyday challenges of family life
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2007 Co-starred in Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin s crime comedy Live Free or Die
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2007 Joined the cast of NBC s My Name Is Earl in a recurring role
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Moved to Los Angeles
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Was kicked out of seven schools in NYC