Akiva Schaffer
Birthdate: Dec 1, 1977
Birthplace: Berkeley, California, USA
Akiva Schaffer (birthname: Akiva Daniel Shebar Schaffer) is a comedy filmmaker who took his sketch comedy collaborators Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone (co-founders of the comedy group, The Lonely Island) from indie shorts filmmaking to Saturday Night Live to the Paramount Pictures comedy feature, Hot Rod (2007), for which Schaffer was director/actor with cast maters Samberg, Taccone, Isla Fisher, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Sissy Spacek and Ian McShane, and produced by SNL creator Lorne Michaels.
Schaffer was one of ten writers for the co-directors/co-writers Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson’s sex satire, Extreme Movie (2008), which starred Kevin Hart, Jamie Kennedy, Frankie Muniz, Matthew Lillard, and Michael Cera, and was released by Dimension Films.
Schaffer was the director/actor of the sci-fi comedy The Watch (2012), co-starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade, with 20th Century Fox as the lead producer and distributor. The movie, which grossed $68 million, also cost $68 million. Schaffer’s next feature comedy, as co-director/writer/producer/actor, was the mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), with his fellow Lonely Island mates Jorma Taccone (as co-director/co-writer/producer/actor) and Andy Samberg (as star/co-writer/producer), lead producer Judd Apatow, featuring Sarah Silverman and Tim Meadows, but grossing a poor $10 million (against $20 million costs) for Universal Pictures.
Schaffer was then producer on three consecutive features: Brigsby Bear (2017), starring and co-written by Kyle Mooney and released to little business by Sony Pictures Classics; director/writer Kris Rey’s comedy-drama, I Used to Go Here (2020), starring Gillian Jacobs; and director/co-writer Max Barbakow’s comedy, Palm Springs (2020), starring Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti and J.K. Simmons, and released to only $1.5 million business for Neon after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.
Schaffer both directed and performed voices of several animated characters in the Disney+ streaming feature, Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022), and then Schaffer returned to the big screen as director/co-writer of the legacy sequel and fourth movie in the franchise, The Naked Gun (2025), starring Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand and Danny Huston, with lead producer Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door Production and released wide by Paramount Pictures.
Schaffer rejoined his Lonely Island partners Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone as producers of the action comedy, Spy Guys (date to be announced), starring Zachary Levi and directed by Jeff Tomsic. Schaffer frequently appeared in bit acting roles in both his movies and others, including star-writer Adam Sandler’s comedy sequel, Grown Ups 2 (2013); the Seth Rogen and Zac Efron-starring hit comedy, Neighbors (2014); and director/writer/producer Gabriel Judet-Weinshel’s sci-fi movie, 7 Splinters in Time (2018).
Personal life
Akiva Schaffer was born and raised in Berkeley, California, by his parents, including his mother Patricia. Schaffer has one brother, Micah. Schaffer graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a B.A. degree in film. Schaffer has been married to comedy writer and actor Liz Cackowski since 2010; the couple has two children. Schaffer’s height is 5’ 9 ¼ ”. Schaffer’s estimated net worth is $7 million.
Known For
Akiva Schaffer Movies
director
Previous (2)
- 2025 |
The Naked Gun
Only one man has the particular set of skills - to lead Police Squad and save the world.
- 2012 |
actor
Previous (4)
- 2022 | Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
- 2018 | 7 Splinters in Timeas McFly
- 2016 |
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
asLawrence
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
When it becomes clear that his solo album is a failure, a former boy band member does everything in his power to maintain his celebrity status.
- 2007 | Hot Rod
producer
Previous (1)
- 2020 |
Palm Springs
Nyles and Sarah find themselves stuck in a time loop and living the same day over and over again. They are drawn to each other, but certain revelations threaten their budding romance.
Facts About Akiva Schaffer
Comedy Roots: Akiva Schaffer’s showbiz entry was through the comedy group The Lonely Island, which he co-founded with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. The trio was then cast in NBC’s Saturday Night Live, with Schaffer joining as a writer and innovating the show’s digital shorts format for comedy sketches.
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