Arts & Letters Award Recipient for 2024
Will Arnett
Actor
Will Arnett has built an impressive career that spans television, movies, podcasts, commercials, and more. He is the co-host of the immensely popular podcast SmartLess, with close friends Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes. In each episode,
one of the hosts surprises the other two with a mystery celebrity guest. What ensues is a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the SmartLess mind. Guests have included Vice
President Kamala Harris, George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stacy Abrams, Jennifer Aniston, and many more. Most recently, Arnett can be seen as the star of Netflix’s Murderville, which he also serves as an executive producer. In
addition, he hosted and produced the hit FOX competition show Lego Masters, which premiered its second season in 2023.
Most recently, Arnett can be seen in the SmartLess: On The Road Documentary that follows Will, Sean, and Jason on the North American tour of their podcast. Arnett also recently produced and starred in Peacock’s hit series Twisted Metal
. In addition, Arnett serves as an executive producer on FOX’s all-new game show Snake Oil.
Arnett burst onto the scene portraying "Gob" on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom Arrested Development, which earned him his first Emmy nomination in 2006. Arnett also famously guest-starred on NBC's beloved 30 Rock, for which
he received four Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Jack Donaghy's nemesis "Devon Banks."
Arnett has starred in dozens of hit live-action and animated movies, including The Lego Movie, Lego Batman, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ratatouille, Teen Titans GO! to the Movies,
Monsters vs. Aliens, and many more. Audiences heard him in the Paramount family film Rumble.
In television, he starred for six seasons in the critically acclaimed BoJack Horseman on Netflix. He starred and produced the Netflix comedy Flaked and had starring roles on CBS' The Millers, NBC's Up All Night,
Fox's Running Wilde, Sundance TV's Riviera, and IFC's The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.
Arnett's voice is also a mainstay in the advertising world. He has most notably been the voice of GMC Trucks for over 20 years and does spots for Reese's Peanut Butter and Bank of America.
In August 2014, Arnett launched his production company Electric Avenue which develops and produces content across all platforms. Electric Avenue was behind Flaked, The Gong Show, and Pop TV's Hot Date.
Arnett currently resides in Los Angeles with his three sons.
Past Arts & Letters Award Recipients
Margaret Atwood, C.C., LL.D., Novelist & Poet
Aszure Barton, Choreographer
Edward Burtynsky, O.C., Contemporary Photographer
Douglas Coupland, O.C., O.B.C., Author, Visual Artist & Design
Burton Cummings, O.C., O.M., Canadian Rock and Roll Legend
Maureen Forrester, O.C., Classical Singer
Ben Heppner, C.C., Internationally Renowned Dramatic Tenor
Peter C.A.E. Jennings, C.M., Anchor, ABC World News Tonight
Norman Jewison, C.C., O.Ont., Film Director
Karen A. Kain, C.C., O.Ont., Ballet Dancer
Yousuf Karsh, C.C., Photographic Artist
Eugene Levy, C.M., Actor, Television Director, Producer, Musician & Writer
Gordon Lightfoot, C.C., 0.Ont., Singer, Songwriter, Musician & Poet
Rich Little, Celebrity Impersonator & Impressionist
Natalie MacMaster, C.M., Canadian Musician
Peter Mansbridge, O.C., Anchor, The National
Mike Myers, O.C., Actor, Comedian, Screenwriter & Film Producer
Oscar E. Peterson, C.C., Jazz Pianist & Composer
Christopher Plummer, C.C., Theater, Film & Television Actor
Lloyd Robertson, O.C., Chief Anchor, CTV News
Morley Safer, Correspondent, CBS News, 60 Minutes
Paul Shaffer, O.C., Musical Director, CBS Orchestra
Carol Shields, C.C., O.M., F.R.S.C., Pulitzer Award Winning Novelist
Alex Trebek, O.C., Television Personality & Game Show Host
