Benjamin Joseph Manaly BJ Novak born July 31 1979 is an American actor standup comedian screenwriter and director from Newton Massachusetts He is widely known for his contributions to the US version of The Office from 2005 to 2013 being a writer coexecutive producer for and playing the role of Ryan Howard on the series He is also known to international audiences for appearing in the Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds 2009