Ken Kwapis is an award-winning film and television director born in East St. Louis,
Illinois on August 17, 1957. Kwapis studied filmmaking at Northwestern University and the
University of Southern California where he won the Student Academy Award in Dramatic
Achievement for his USC thesis film For Heaven's Sake, an
adaptation of Mozart's one-act opera “Der Schauspieldirektor” (“The
Impresario”).
Kwapis has directed over a dozen feature films, both dramatic and comedic, and worked with
a remarkable array of actors throughout his professional career. He has found significant
success directing more than 100 episodes of television series including the groundbreaking
pilot episodes that launched The Office, The Bernie Mac Show, and The Larry Sanders
Show.
Kwapis has been nominated for Emmy awards for his work on both Malcolm in the Middle and The Office.
