Wayne Elliot Knight (August 7, 1955, New York City, New York, USA) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Newman in Seinfeld (1992–1998), Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park (1993), Al McWhiggin in Toy Story 2 (1999), and Tantor in Tarzan (1999). His other roles include Officer Don Orville in 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001), Stan Podolak in Space Jam (1996), Zack Mallozzi in Rat Race (2001), Dojo in Xiaolin Showdown (2003–2006), Mr. Blik in Catscratch (2005–2007), Microchip in Punisher: War Zone (2008) and Haskell Lutz in The Exes (2011–2015). He was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Jurassic Park.
Knight appeared in various films produced in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Dirty Dancing (1987), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), JFK (1991) and Basic Instinct (1992). He was the first actor cast in Jurassic Park after director Steven Spielberg saw his performance in Basic Instinct. Knight was cast as InGen Corporation's chief programmer for the park and secret spy for Biosyn, Dennis Nedry.
He also appeared in Dead Again, To Die For, and Space Jam. In the 1990s, Knight played supporting roles on two television series on NBC. He played the mailman Newman, Jerry's neighbour and nemesis in Seinfeld, and Officer Don Orville, Sally's love interest, in 3rd Rock from the Sun. He had earlier appeared in Against the Grain. He also appeared as a regular on two sketch comedy series, The Edge for Fox and Assaulted Nuts for Cinemax and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.
Knight also appeared on Broadway in the plays Gemini, Mastergate, 'Art' and Sweet Charity with Christina Applegate.
Knight has done voice work for numerous animations, including the black cat Mr. Blik on the Nickelodeon cartoon Catscratch, Igor on the Fox Kids cartoon Toonsylvania, the dragon Dojo Kanojo Cho in the Kids' WB! animated series Xiaolin Showdown, Evil Emperor Zurg on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command on Toon Disney and Disney Channel; Al McWhiggin, the toy store manager of Al's Toy Barn, in Toy Story 2; Tantor the elephant in Tarzan, the giraffe in Bee Movie, Demetrius the shopkeeper in Hercules, and the bug Juju on Tak and the Power of Juju. He made guest appearances on Billy & Mandy's Jacked-Up Halloween as Jack-O-Lantern, Dilbert (TV series) as the Security Guard, and Brandy and Mr. Whiskers as Mr. Cantarious the snail.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 
|
Gang Boss | Kung Fu Panda |
| 2003-2006 | 
|
Dojo Kanojo Cho | Xiaolin Showdown |
| 2005 | 
|
Thudd | Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone |
| 1999 |  
|
Al McWhiggin | Toy Story 2 |
| 1999 | 
|
Tantor | Tarzan |
| 1997 | 
|
Demetrius the Pot Marker | Hercules |