Early Life and Education
Nicholas Stoller was born on March 19, 1976, in London, England, to Phyllis, a travel tour operator, and Eric, a bank executive. He was raised with his younger brother, Matthew, in Miami, Florida. Matthew would go on to become a political commentator, author, and the Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project, best known for his influential 2019 book “Goliath: The Hundred‑Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy.” As a teenager, Nicholas attended St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. For his higher education, he went to Harvard College, where he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon and performed with the improv comedy group the Immediate Gratification Players.
Film Career
Stoller’s first major film was the 2005 remake of “Fun with Dick and Jane,” which he co-wrote with Judd Apatow. It stars Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni. Stoller made his directorial debut three years later with the romantic comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” produced by Apatow and written by and starring Jason Segel. The same year, Stoller co-wrote the Jim Carrey comedy “Yes Man.” His next film was the 2010 comedy “Get Him to the Greek,” which he both wrote and directed. Starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, it is a spinoff sequel to “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Stoller’s other credit in 2010 was the Jack Black vehicle “Gulliver’s Travels,” which he co-wrote. The next year saw the release of “The Muppets,” which Stoller co-wrote with the film’s star Jason Segel. Stoller reunited with Segel to write the romantic comedy “The Five-Year Engagement,” starring Segel and Emily Blunt. He also directed the film, which came out in 2012. Stoller had three films in 2014, two of which he co-wrote: the “Muppets” sequel “Muppets Most Wanted” and the Segel film “Sex Tape.” His other film that year was “Neighbors,” which he directed. Stoller went on to co-write and direct the 2016 sequel “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.” The same year, he had a writing credit on another sequel, “Zoolander 2,” and had directing, writing, and producing credits on the animated film “Storks.”
Television Career
Stoller began working on television in 2000, when he wrote an episode of the sitcom “Strangers with Candy.” From 2001 to 2002, he wrote for Judd Apatow’s short-lived Fox sitcom “Undeclared.” Stoller mostly focused on his film career after that. He returned to the small screen in 2015 as the co-creator of the NBC sitcom “The Carmichael Show,” starring comedian Jerrod Carmichael. The series ran for three seasons until it was canceled in 2017. Meanwhile, in early 2016, Stoller directed an episode of the short-lived Fox sitcom “The Grinder.” After that, he co-created the Netflix comedy series “Friends from College” with his wife Francesca Delbanco. Stoller directed and co-wrote most episodes of the show, which ran for two seasons before its cancellation in early 2019. He subsequently co-created the series “Panhandle” with Carla Kettner; it premiered on Spectrum in 2022 and on the Roku Channel in 2023, running for a single season. Stoller co-created two other shows that premiered in 2023: the Apple TV+ comedy series “Platonic” and the Disney+ and Hulu supernatural horror series “Goosebumps.” He has also written for both shows.
Personal Life & Real Estate
In 2005, Stoller married Francesca Delbanco, a writer and fellow Harvard alumna. They have two daughters together. In 2009, Nicholas and Francesca paid $6.8 million for a 9,000-square-foot mansion in Los Angeles. Today this home is likely worth at least $10 million.
