<P> Jake Johnson (born Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger; May 28, 1978) is an American actor and comedian who plays Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom New Girl opposite Zooey Deschanel, for which he has received a Teen Choice Award nomination . Johnson also co-starred in the 2009 film Paper Heart and the 2012 film Safety Not Guaranteed, as well as appearing in Get Him to the Greek, 21 Jump Street, and Jurassic World . His first starring role in a feature film was Drinking Buddies, and he also starred in the 2014 comedy Let's Be Cops, alongside fellow New Girl star Damon Wayans, Jr . </P> <P> Johnson was born in Evanston, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, the son of Eve Johnson, an artist who made stained glass windows, and Ken Weinberger, who owned a car dealership . He was named after his maternal uncle, Mark Johnson, who died at the age of 26 in a motorcycle accident in 1977, a year before Jake was born . Jake's father is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family, while his mother's ancestry is English, Irish, and Polish Catholic . Johnson attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL . His parents divorced when he was two, and he and his older siblings, brother Dan and sister Rachel, were raised by his single mother . Johnson then took his mother's last name during high school . Johnson has stated that since his 20s, his father has resurfaced and now they are close . </P> <P> Johnson grew up a fan of the Second City improv troupe . He graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka and started his post-secondary education at the University of Iowa . While in Iowa City, he wrote a play, which wound up earning him admission to the Dramatic Writing Department at NYU's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, followed by the 2002 John Golden Playwriting Prize and the Sloan Fellowship for Screenwriting . The New York City off - Broadway group, The Ensemble Studio Theater, produced his play Cousins . </P> <P> While in New York, Johnson started the sketch comedy troupe The Midwesterners, modeling their material and style after HBO's sketch comedy Mr. Show with Bob and David . After moving to Los Angeles, Johnson supported himself as a waiter and a production assistant, also scoring a series of bit feature and guest TV roles . In 2007, he landed a more regular gig with the TBS mini-show Derek and Simon: The Show, produced by Bob Odenkirk . </P>

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