Wayne Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American comedic actor, best known for his role as Newman in the TV sitcom Seinfeld. He also appeared as Dennis Nedry in the motion picture Jurassic Park, Don Orville in the TV sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, Al McWhiggin in Toy Story 2, Tantor in Tarzan, and Stan Podolak in Space Jam with Michael Jordan.

Actor Wayne Knight achieved television immortality assaying the role of the overweight mailman Newman, nemesis of the eponymous lead character in the classic TV series "Seinfeld" (1990). He also appears in one of the most notorious scenes in American cinema, as one of the detectives interrogating Sharon Stone (I) in Basic Instinct (1992). Wayne Knight was born on August 7, 1955 in Cartersville, Georgia, where he was raised and lived until matriculating at the University of Georgia. Despite being an honor student, Knight left university before taking a degree to join the Barter Theatre company in Abingdon, Virginia, one of the premier regional theaters in the country. Knight polished his craft at the as part of the repertory company, which gained him his Equity union card. Now a professional actor, Knight moved to New York City, where he made his Broadway debut by replacing Jonathan Hadary in Albert Innaurato's award winning play "Gemini" at the Circle Rep. Since then he has established himself as a leading character actor in television, film and on the stage, and as a voice-artist in cartoons.