From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Paul Dinello (born November 28, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and an alumnus of Chicago-based The Second City, Improv Institute, and Annoyance Theatre. He is best known for his role on Comedy Central's Strangers with Candy as Geoffrey Jellineck, the closeted gay art teacher at Flatpoint High, who carries on a not-so-secret relationship with his colleague Chuck Noblet (Stephen Colbert). Dinello dated the show's star Amy Sedaris for eight years after they met at Second City. In 2003 Dinello co-authored the novel Wigfield with Sedaris and Colbert, which they promoted by creating a traveling play. Most recently, Dinello has made guest appearances on Colbert's show The Colbert Report as Tad, the building manager. The character is often berated by Colbert, who forces him to do dangerous things. Dinello has made at least five appearances on The Colbert Report, including a tumbling act with Colbert and their Strangers costar Sedaris in July 2006. Dinello was also a writer, producer and director for the Strangers with Candy film, which was released in July 2006. In January 2009, Participant Media announced it would produce Dinello's next film, Mr. Burnout (about a burned out teacher seeking to rekindle his love of teaching). He was one of the main cast in the show Exit 57, also starring Sedaris and Colbert. He also appeared as Mr. Rooney in the film Be Kind Rewind, alongside Jack Black and Mos Def. Dinello recently directed the Nickelodeon original movie Gym Teacher: The Movie, starring Christopher Meloni and Amy Sedaris. Dinello can be seen with Amy Sedaris in the "Mummified Hand" episode of the Science Channel show Oddities. Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Dinello, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 28, 1962 (63)
- Chicago, Illinois
- Actor, writer and director
- 10 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
What are Paul Dinello's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 1
Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
Grounded 1 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 0
A split, not a type: Steady 1 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Allyas Jimmy Nova in Plump Fiction (1997)
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Paul Dinello's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Paul Dinello's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
17 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.
Girls5eva(2021)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows
At Home with Amy Sedaris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all shows
Difficult People(2015)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all shows
Clarence(2013)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all shows
Gym Teacher(2008)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Be Kind Rewind(2008)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Strangers with Candy(2005)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
The Colbert Report (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
The Wrong Coast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Strangers with Candy(1999)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
Janeane Garofalo: HBO Comedy Hour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Plump Fiction(1997)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Shock Asylum (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Exit 57 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Straight Talk(1992)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all filmsThe Wasp Woman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 83rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 17 titles, 16 of them dated from 1992 to 2021; peak year 2007.
Film career
Peak 2007 · at the high point of their film career. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1992Screen debut· Straight Talk
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Paul Dinello's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 44th percentile, the median of all 5; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 33rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 10 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the acting 58/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 42. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Paul Dinello work with?
People who share at least 2 of Paul Dinello's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Amy Sedaris shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Amy SedarisShared titles: Gym Teacher (2008), Strangers with Candy (2005), Strangers with Candy (1999)See all 3 shared titles with Amy Sedaris
- Deborah RushShared titles: Strangers with Candy (2005), Strangers with Candy (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Deborah Rush
- Greg HollimonShared titles: Strangers with Candy (2005), Strangers with Candy (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Greg Hollimon
- Stephen ColbertShared titles: Strangers with Candy (2005), Strangers with Candy (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Stephen Colbert
Producers
- Lorena DavidShared titles: Strangers with Candy (2005), Plump Fiction (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Lorena David
- Mark RobertsShared titles: Strangers with Candy (2005), Plump Fiction (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Mark Roberts
