Paul F. Tompkins is from Philadelphia, PA, where he started performing stand-up comedy in 1986. In 1994, he moved to Hollywood, where he met comic actor Jay Johnston, with whom he crafted the live sketch show "The Skates." This led Paul to a stint as a writer and performer on HBO’s "Mr. Show with Bob and David" where he was nominated for an Emmy award for writing. Paul also wrote and starred in his own one-man show, "Driven to Drink," for HBO.

In 1999, Paul landed a small role in director Paul Thomas Anderson's critically acclaimed film "Magnolia." That same year, he and Jay Johnston reunited to create and perform the science-fiction anthology parody "Playground of the ID" at the HBO Workspace.

In 2000, Paul played the title role of "Peter" in the Warner Bros. pilot "The Peter Principle," which led to his being cast as "Sullivan Pope" in the situation comedy "DAG" for NBC. His other acting credits include "Frasier," "The Sketch Show" on Fox, DreamWorks’ "Anchorman" and New Line's "Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny."

Currently, Paul can be seen weekly on VH1’s hit show "Best Week Ever." His stand-up has been featured on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "Comedy Central Presents Paul F. Tompkins," and he garnered a WGA nomination for his work as a writer and correspondent on HBO’s "Real Time with Bill Maher."

Recently, Paul has been featured on episodes of "Weeds," "The Sarah Silverman Program," "Help Me Help You," "1321 Clover," and Lewis Blacks' "Root of All Evil." He can also be seen in the movie "There Will Be Blood."

In addition to acting and creating film/television projects, each month Paul appears in "The Paul F. Tompkins Show" -- a live variety program in which he hosts the likes of Jack Black, Dave Foley, Andy Richter and Aimee Mann -- to sold-out audiences at Largo in Hollywood.