John Michael Higgins

John Michael Higgins was born on February 12, 1963, in Boston, Massachusetts. His father served as a naval officer, which led the family to relocate frequently across sixteen military bases during Higgins' youth. While his father was stationed in Washington, D.C. Higgins started acting for the first time, performing at the Folger Theatre, Arena Stage and Round House Theatre. Higgins continued acting in plays but also decided to further his education at Amherst College where he studied literature.^[5]

Following graduation Higgins relocated to New York to pursue his acting and theatre career.^[6]

In the early 1980s Higgins was a theatre instructor with Street 70, a theatre production company in Rockville, Maryland that is now known as Round House Theatre. He also taught voice and improvisation. In 1991, Higgins was featured in Broadway's La Bête, and in 2000 he was seen Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre in a production of Edward Albee's Tiny Alice. He also originated the title role in Paul Rudnick's Jeffrey Off-Broadway in 1993.

Higgins's numerous television credits include recurring characters on Ally McBeal, Brother's Keeper, Boston Legal and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show. In Season 8 of Seinfeld, he portrayed Elaine's boyfriend Kurt. He also played attorney Wayne Jarvis in five episodes of Arrested Development. Higgins arranged the dense vocal harmonies sung by the nine-part ("neuftet") New Main Street Singers in 2003's A Mighty Wind, a change from the writers' original concept of having the group sing in unison, leveraged by Higgins' musical talent.

Higgins gained more recognition by being featured in the films Fun with Dick and Jane, Pitch Perfect and its sequels, and The Break-Up, for which he also wrote vocal arrangements. His work as a voice actor includes the roles of Judge Mentok in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, 2401 Penitent Tangent in Halo 2, and Riddler in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Higgins also portrayed David Letterman in the HBO TV film The Late Shift. Higgins was seen in the pre-show video for the Epcot attraction Test Track. However, the ride was refurbished in 2012 and the pre-show room was removed.

Higgins directs and appears on the stage from time to time as well. In 2004, he played Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in the American premiere of David Hare's Stuff Happens at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In 2003, he played the title role in A. R. Gurney's Big Bill at New York's Lincoln Center Theater.

Higgins has been featured in TV ads for DirecTV, alongside fellow co-stars Christopher Guest and Ed Begley Jr., and for Old Navy. He also stars in the second season of TNT's Raising the Bar as an openly gay, rule-obsessed judge. Higgins took part in The Suite Life on Deck, taking the role of the sinister and secluded Mr. Tipton.

In 2011, Higgins was cast in Happily Divorced opposite Fran Drescher. He played Fran's gay ex-husband, Peter Lovett, a character based on Drescher's real-life ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson. In 2012, Higgins was cast as the voice of vain and eccentric businessman Iknik Blackstone Varrick in The Legend of Korra. Higgins’s would receive acclaim for this role winning best vocal performance in a television series in a supporting role Action/Drama at the 2014 Behind the Voice Actor awards. From 2017 to 2018, Higgins starred as Chuck Pierce on the NBC comedy series Great News.

Since 2012 Higgins has also served as the voice of the recurring character Doug Wheeler on the show Bob's Burgers. Occasionally providing other voices as well.

Higgins would also gain recognition for his role alongside Elizabeth Banks in the trilogy of Pitch Perfect films, with their two characters serving as announcers during all 3 films.^[7]

In 2017 Higgins was cast as Tod Crawford in the show Tween Fest. He would receive praise for this role being nominated for a primetime Emmy in the Outstanding actor Award in a short comedy film or drama series category.^[8]

Higgins became the host of the game show America Says in 2018. The show originally ran for 5 seasons, going on break for four years, before returning for its sixth season on April 14, 2026.^[9] Coincidentally, he played a game show host 14 years earlier in a season 3 episode of the TV comedy/drama detective series Monk. Since 2019, Higgins has appeared in TV commercials for Omaha-based Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. In 2020, Higgins began appearing in a series of adverts for 123.ie, an Irish insurance company. Higgins played the role of Principal Toddman in the 2020 Peacock comedy series Saved by the Bell, which was created by Tracey Wigfield.^[10]

Since 2021 Higgins has stared in multiple Physicians Mutual commercials.^[11] He has continued to lend his voice in animated films and shows. In 2022 he voiced Warren Stone in the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie.^[12] Higgins appeared on 2 episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy! that same year.^[13]

In 2023 Higgins became the host of the new iteration of the game show Split Second. Also serving as executive producer.^[14] From 2023 to 2024 Higgins voiced Mayor Anchovy in Baby Shark's Big Show!.

Higgins married actress and writer Margaret Welsh on February 1, 2003. They met in Connecticut while actors in George Bernard Shaw's play, Arms and the Man. He said he never wanted to date a workmate or marry an actress until he met his wife. They have two children, a daughter and a son.^[15][16]