Mike White (filmmaker)
Michael Christopher White (born June 28, 1970) is an American writer, actor, and producer for television and film. He has won numerous awards, including the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for the 2000 film Chuck & Buck, which he wrote and starred in.[1] He has written the screenplays for films such as School of Rock (2003) and has directed several films that he has written, such as Brad's Status (2017). He was a co-creator, executive producer, writer, director, and actor on the HBO series Enlightened.[2] White is also known for his appearances on reality television, competing on two seasons of The Amazing Race and later becoming a contestant and runner-up on Survivor: David vs. Goliath. He created, writes, and directs the ongoing HBO satire comedy anthology series The White Lotus, for which he has won three Primetime Emmy Awards.
For other people named Mike or Michael White, see Michael White.
Mike White
Early life[edit]
White was born in Pasadena, California.[3] He is the son of Lyla Lee (née Loehr), a fundraising executive, and former executive director of the Pasadena Playhouse, and James Melville "Mel" White, a former speechwriter and ghostwriter for Religious Right figures such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.[2] His father came out as gay in 1994 and became an activist.[4][3] Due to his father's religious background, White grew up in a modest household in a conservative Christian community.[5] He attended Polytechnic School which he thought was a "very conservative country-club school".[5] Later he went to Wesleyan University, where he met writing partner, Zak Penn. Penn convinced him to move back to Los Angeles, and helped him to get work soon after graduating.[5]