Starr was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of actress Jean St. James.[4] He is a Buddhist.[5] In an interview with Wired, Starr said that he felt "frustrated and depressed" at 22 due to lack of offers in the years after Freaks and Geeks was cancelled. He had fired his agent and decided to quit acting altogether; however, a few years later he was offered Knocked Up, and other offers then started to come his way.[6] In May 2024, Starr married Alex Gehring, the bassist of the band Ringo Deathstarr.[7]
Starr was cast as Bill Haverchuck in the NBC sitcom Freaks and Geeks. The series received positive reviews from critics, but it suffered from low ratings and was canceled after only one season.[8] It gained a strong cult following.[9] Starr then had a number of guest appearances and one-time roles on shows such as Ed, Mysterious Ways, Providence, King of the Hill, and Normal, Ohio. He had a small recurring role during the third season of Roswell as the character Monk. In 2002, Starr appeared in the films Stealing Harvard and Cheats. He reunited with both Freaks and Geeks producer Judd Apatow and Freaks and Geeks co-star Seth Rogen when he made a guest appearance on Apatow's situational comedy Undeclared in the episode "The Perfect Date". In 2005, he appeared in the miniseriesRevelations and the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
Starr co-starred in the 2007 comedy film Knocked Up, which was directed by Judd Apatow. The same year, he had small appearances in Superbad and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, both of which were produced by Apatow. Knocked Up was critically praised and was successful at the box office.[10] The success of Knocked Up led to Starr having larger roles in films, such as Good Dick and Adventureland. Starr also appears in many well-received short films that premiere at film festivals, such as the Sundance Film Festival.[11]
From 2009 to 2010, Starr was a series regular portraying Roman DeBeers on the Starz sitcom Party Down. The series was cancelled after two seasons and there were discussions of adapting the series into film, but this never came to fruition.[13] From 2011 to 2013, he co-starred on the Adult Swim television series NTSF:SD:SUV::, in which he played Sam Stern. In 2011, Starr had a major role in the film A Good Old Fashioned Orgy and also had guest appearances on television series such as Mad Love, Community, and Childrens Hospital. In the latter, he reprised his role of Roman DeBeers from Party Down. Starr reunited with Freaks and Geeks and Party Down cast member Lizzy Caplan in the 2012 film Save the Date, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.[13] The same year, he had a supporting role in the thriller filmDeep Dark Canyon, as well as guest-starring on sitcoms Parks and Recreation and New Girl.
In 2019, Party Down's co-creator and producer Dan Etheridge announced plans for a reunion with the original cast (including Starr) during a discussion at Vulture Festival.[15] The third season of the series premiered in February 2023.
^Rhodes, Kara (October 2, 1999). "Logan Native, Son Succeeding in Hollywood". The Salina Journal. p. C5. Martin Schienle (stage name Martin Starr) plays 'Bill' in 'Freaks and Geeks'...
