Steven Wiig

Steven Ray Wiig (born December 30, 1972) is an American film actor, director, producer and musician. He appeared in the films Into the Wild, I'm Charlie Walker, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Milk (2008 American film), Yosemite and The Master. Wiig is also a primary songwriter in the bands Hoofbound, The Lesser, The Martichora, Shrakys and Radio Incognito.
Life and career
Wiig was born December 30, 1972, in Ishpeming, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He grew up in Negaunee and graduated from Negaunee High School in 1991, where he was voted "Most Artistic" by his classmates. Wiig attended Northern Michigan University. He relocated to Minnesota after college in the mid-nineties, where he performed with his band, The Martichora, and produced & acted in several student films, including All Praise The Electric Light. Soon after, he began working on the road and in the recording studio with multi-Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Metallica.
In 2000, Wiig relocated to Sausalito, California to work with Metallica bassist Jason Newsted at his home studio and play in Newsted's band, Papa Wheelie. They recorded two albums for Chophouse Records - "Unipsycho" in 2002 and "Live Lycanthropy in 2003, which was recorded at The Record Plant in Sausalito, California. He continued working and traveling the world with Metallica for well over a decade performing numerous duties through out the years—fan club writer, photographer, videographer, backline assistant, production, and band personal assistant. Wiig played bass for Metallica at The Playboy Mansion in 1998 (filling in for Newsted). He first appeared on screen as himself in the Metallica documentary Some Kind Of Monster while he worked as Lars Ulrich's Personal Assistant.
Wiig went on to act professionally in the films Into The Wild and with Sean Penn and continued assisting the Academy Award-winner on several projects. He also worked as a consultant for Social Capital Films for Ridley Scott's Tell-Tale. In 2009, Wiig teamed up with fellow Upper Michigan-native Ron Riekki to produce Riekki's novel, [http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/548152.html U.P. (2008)], later to be made into a movie.
In 2010, Wiig documented Faith No More's homecoming reunion 'trilogy' performances at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre and directed Jerry Hannan's "The Bridge", a music video for the film Guitar Man. In September 2010, Wiig & Riekki embarked on a tour of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, promoting Riekki's novel, U.P.. During a homecoming event at The Vista Theater, Mayor Paul Gravedoni presented Wiig with a resolution recognizing him for his vision of bringing the City of Negaunee recognition through film and his dedication to the arts.
2011 saw Wiig return to acting in HBO's Hemingway & Gellhorn. Under Philip Kaufman's direction, Wiig portrayed Simo Häyhä during the Winter War, leading a group of Finnish soldiers to shelter where Martha Gellhorn (played by Nicole Kidman) is reporting on World War II. resulting in him joining the Screen Actors Guild. As a member of the SAG-AFTRA, Steven continued working on numerous films with a variety of well-known directors, including Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, Tim Burton's Big Eyes and Jordan Peele's '. According to Wiig, working with such caliber of filmmakers and actors "was my film school."
In 2018, Wiig acted as a New England Patriots drummer for an NFL/Tostitos 'Lucky Bags' Super Bowl commercial.
After working on over fifty film and television productions, Steven Wiig still resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family and has enjoyed many years of working on both sides of the camera.
Wiig continues acting, producing & directing and is actively working to bring more film projects to Upper Michigan.
In 2022, I'm Charlie Walker was released which featured Steven Wiig in a major supporting role as Charlie Walker's main ally Dan Wallace. The film is based on a true story and features Mike Colter, Dylan Baker and Monica Barbaro.
Most recently he has been busy focusing on recording with the musical projects Shrakys (who have released two albums "Anthems For The Damaged" (2021) and "Lightning Medicine" (2023)) and Radio Incognito who are currently recording a full length album at Joshua Tree Recording Studios which is set for release in 2025.
Filmography
As Actor:
*All Praise The Electric Light (student film)
*Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004) as self
*Into the Wild (2007) as Lee's Ferry Ranger
*Milk (2008) as McConnelly
*Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012) deleted scene as Finnish Soldier
*The Master (2012) as The Master's Follower
*Yosemite (2015) as Michael
*America Is Still The Place (2015) as Dan
*Dead Metaphors (2015) as Hank Nichols
*Waiting For Wiig (2016) as Wiig
*I'm Charlie Walker (2022) as Dan Wallace
Discography
*Groinblitzer
*The Lesser
*The Martichora - full discography
*Papa Wheelie - "Unipsycho" (2002) & "Live Lycanthropy" (2003)
*Shrakys - "Anthems For The Damaged" (2021) & "Lightning Medicine" (2023)
*Radio Incognito - debut album (2025)

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