Mike Binder (born June 2, 1958) is an American filmmaker, stand-up comedian, and actor.
Life and career Binder, descended from Russian-Jewish immigrants, grew up in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham. During the summers of 1966 through 1975, he attended Camp Tamakwa, a summer camp in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada; that experience was the inspiration (and the filming location) for his 1993 film Indian Summer.
Beginning his career as a screenwriter and standup comedian, in March 1990 with the March 9 theatrical premiere of his first screenplay, Coupe de Ville, directed by Joe Roth and co-produced by Binder, and his own HBO stand up comedy special, broadcast the following night.
Binder's directorial debut was with his second screenplay, 1992's Crossing the Bridge.
Binder gained further prominence with his 20-episode 2001-02 HBO comedy series, The Mind of the Married Man, which he co-wrote, co-directed and starred in as the central character "Micky Barnes". That same year, his independently produced film The Sex Monster won "Best Film" and Binder won "Best Actor" at the 2001 Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen.
Binder wrote and directed three mid-2000s films in which he also played supporting roles. The first, The Upside of Anger, starring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner, premiered at the January 2005 Sundance Film Festival; thirteen months later, Man About Town with Ben Affleck, was first seen at the February 2006 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and, after another 13 months, Reign Over Me was released; Binder directed, wrote, and appeared in the film, starring Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle. His most recent film is 2014's Black or White, starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer.
As an actor, Binder has appeared in Steven Spielberg's Minority Report with Tom Cruise, Rod Lurie's The Contender with Joan Allen, and Rebecca Miller's The Private Lives of Pippa Lee with Robin Wright Penn. He also appeared in Season 2, Episode 10 of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2001).
Binder has directed many of the screenplays he has written, and has acted in a number of them as well. As a writer, he has written screenplays for Steven Spielberg, Julia Roberts, Robert Zemeckis, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Tim Allen and Reese Witherspoon.
Binder's first novel, Keep Calm, a thriller set in the UK, was published in 2016.
Binder directed stand-up comedian Bill Burr's 2019 Netflix comedy special Paper Tiger.
On October 4, 2020, his five-part documentary series The Comedy Store which was based on the years he spent at The Comedy Store comedy club and features interviews with many of the major comedians who appeared at the famous nightclub, aired on Showtime.
Filmography Film Year Title Director Writer Producer1990Coupe de Ville 1992Crossing the Bridge 1993Indian Summer 1994Blankman 1999The Sex Monster 2001Fourplay The Search for John Gissing 2005The Upside of Anger 2006Man About Town 2007Reign Over Me 2014Black or White
Acting roles Year Title Role 1994 Blankman Dr. Victor Norris 1999 The Sex Monster Marty Barnes 2000 The Contender Lewis Hollis2001 Fourplay Ben Greene The Search for John Gissing Matthew Barnes 2002 Minority Report Leo Crow 2005 The Upside of Anger Adam "Shep" Goodman 2006 Man About Town Morty 2007 Reign Over Me Bryan Sugarman 2009 The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Sam Shapiro2011 Fanboy Acting coach One Day Dexter's agent (Uncredited)
Television Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2001–2002 The Mind of the Married Man Also creator;Directed 3 episodes 2009 Two Dollar Beer Unaired pilot 2016 Billions Episode "All the Wilburys"2017–2018 Nashville 3 episodes Ray Donovan Wrote 3 episodes2019Paper Tiger Stand-up comedy special2020 The Comedy Store Documentary
Acting roles Year Title Role 1993 Roseanne Mike 2001–2002 The Mind of the Married Man Micky Barnes 2020 The Comedy Store Himself
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