Missi Pyle
Actor
Born in Texas and raised in Tennessee, Missi Pyle received a BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts and moved to New York after graduation to pursue a career in theatre and waitressing. While working as a waitress at the Jekyll and Hyde Club, she found out she had been cast opposite John Malkovich in Steppenwolf Theater Company's THE LIBERTINE. Soon thereafter, she made her film debut in AS GOOD AS IT GETS and had a couple scenes with Jack Nicholson, which she enjoyed immensely. Pyle’s big breakthrough came with her portrayal of the alien “Laliari” in GALAXY QUEST with Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, and Tony Shalhoub. Later, she made her Broadway debut as German flight attendant “Gretchen” opposite Mark Rylance in BOEING BOEING.
Though Missi is widely known and beloved for her broadly comedic roles in iconic features like CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, DODGEBALL, JOSIE AND THEPUSSYCATS, and THE ARTIST, which won 5 Academy Awards including “Best Picture”(2012), she is also well regarded for her work in dramatic projects portraying flawed, aloof or gritty characters (CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, GONE GIRL, and the critically acclaimed IMPULSE (YouTube Originals) and FX/Hulu limited series, Y: THE LAST MAN, playing a dark, complex cult leader. Her darkly comic feature, FOR WORSE, debuted at this past year's SXSW film festival.
She recently wrapped two very different features: Trey Parker/Matt Stone/Vernon Chatman's historical satire, UNTITLED PG feature for Paramount, and the intense, based-on-a-true-story dramatization of THE LIFE AND DEATH OF WILSON SHEDD, starring with Amanda Seyfried and Scoot McNairy in Tim Blake Nelson's film, which made its world premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
Missi is also appearing in a pair of fun streaming roles: she recently joined Megan Park’s STERLING POINT on Amazon, bringing her signature comedic energy to the series, and has a scene-stealing arc on Apple TV+’s golf comedy STICKS, starring Owen Wilson and Timothy Olyphant, as a love interest to the latter.
Missi loves to run and sing with her good friend and fellow actress Brooke Dillman. They've run 5 marathons together, recently filmed a pilot called THE MASTERPIECE and have an evangelical parody band called “The Tumbleweeds”. Missi lives in Los Angeles with her young daughter, Zooey, two dogs, two cats and the spirit of her recently deceased chinchilla, Leo, who co-wrote this bio.
