Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak[1] (born July 31, 1979[2]) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, author, and producer, widely known for his role as Ryan Howard in the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2013) In addition to writing and producing for The Office, he appeared in the films Inglourious Basterds (2009), Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and The Founder (2016).

Novak also appeared in The Mindy Project (2013–2016) and The Newsroom (2014), and was the creator and executive producer of Hulu anthology series The Premise (2021).

His father co-edited The Big Book of Jewish Humor, and has ghostwritten memoirs for Nancy Reagan, Lee Iacocca, Magic Johnson and others.

[12] He was the lead accomplice to Ashton Kutcher on the show's second season in 2003, playing pranks on Hilary Duff, Rachael Leigh Cook, Usher and Mýa.

An image of Novak entered the public domain as a stock photo and has been used on various international products, reportedly including a particular type of Calvin Klein cologne in Sweden.

[18] After hearing Novak's opening joke at a comedy club, executive producer Greg Daniels decided he "wanted to do something with him.

"[12] Novak was subsequently cast as Ryan Howard, who is introduced on the show as a temporary employee at Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Novak's character goes through ups and downs throughout his work career and has an on-and-off relationship with Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling).

In a 2021 podcast interview on Dax Shepard's show, he confirmed that he had been offered the Season 9 showrunner position, but declined it because he decided that his "fire for the job had burned out", and it was time for him to move on to other projects.

Novak and his fellow "The Office" writers and producers were nominated five consecutive times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, from 2007 to 2011.

In a June 2009 interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Novak spoke about sharing the success of The Office with his Newton South High School classmate John Krasinski:[19]Sometimes when this feels too good to be true, I think that if this were all a dream, that would be what should have tipped me off.

[21] On April 11, 2013, publishing house Alfred A. Knopf announced it had signed a seven-figure, two-book deal with Novak, with the first book to be a collection of Woody Allen-like fiction stories.

[30] Novak has a close friendship with Mindy Kaling, whom he met through writing for The Office, and called her "the most important person in my life" (on Fresh Air with Terry Gross).

They dated on and off while writing and acting on the show, sometimes mirroring the on-again, off-again relationship between their characters Ryan Howard and Kelly Kapoor.