Wagner began his career in the entertainment industry at 10 years of age performing in numerous musicals, including "The King & I" with Yul Brynner. Wagner went on to become the 1984 vocal champion on Jr. Star Search with Ed McMahon. He also voiced the character of Linus Van Pelt in the CBS Special "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown", and recorded the Peanuts album "Flashbeagle." Wagner graduated with a BA in Film with an emphasis in screenwriting from CSUN, and completed two years of UCLA's Professional Program in Screenwriting where he won the "Best Screenplay" competition. Wagner went on to write several movies including "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" with Ryan Reynolds, and "The Girl Next Door" with Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert.
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Biography from IMDb.
- Actor and writer
- 12 on MovieCove · 15 credits in all
What are David Wagner's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 4 · Earnest 7
Light 9 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
Grounded 8 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0
Gentle 3 · Charged 8 · Intense 0
Steady 3 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 7
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 0
Casual 10 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 10 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
- Allyas Johnny in Mystery Mansion (1983)
- Threshold guardianas Charlie Yeagher in Pet Shop (1994)
Moods and endings
- Happy10
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch David Wagner's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (5).
Subscription and free streaming for David Wagner's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
15 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Underclassman(2005)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
Pretty Persuasion(2005)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
The Girl Next Door(2004)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
My Baby's Daddy(2004)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Van Wilder(2002)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Holiday in the Sun(2001)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Pet Shop(1994)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Baywatch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
The Littles: Liberty and the Littles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Thrashin'(1986)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Mystery Mansion(1983)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 15 titles from 1984 to 2015.
Biggest box office
Van Wilder (2002)
Highest rated
The Girl Next Door (2004)
Most popular right now
Van Wilder (2002)
Film career
- 1985Screen debut· You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do David Wagner's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 27th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 21st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 12 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the acting 46/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles; fans 69, detractors 29. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is David Wagner's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does David Wagner work with?
People who share at least 2 of David Wagner's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Brent Goldberg shares the most, 7.
Directors
- Marcos SiegaShared titles: Pretty Persuasion (2005), Underclassman (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Marcos Siega
Writers
- Brent GoldbergShared titles: Van Wilder: Freshman Year (2009), Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006), Underclassman (2005), My Baby's Daddy (2004), The Girl Next Door (2004), Van Wilder (2002), Holiday in the Sun (2001)See all 7 shared titles with Brent Goldberg
Actors
- Kal PennShared titles: Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006), Van Wilder (2002)See all 2 shared titles with Kal Penn
Editors
- Sherwood JonesShared titles: Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006), Holiday in the Sun (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Sherwood Jones
- Nicholas C. SmithShared titles: Underclassman (2005), Thrashin' (1986)See all 2 shared titles with Nicholas C. Smith
Producers
- Peter AbramsShared titles: Van Wilder: Freshman Year (2009), Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006), Underclassman (2005), Van Wilder (2002), Holiday in the Sun (2001)See all 5 shared titles with Peter Abrams
- Robert L. LevyShared titles: Van Wilder: Freshman Year (2009), Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006), Underclassman (2005), Van Wilder (2002), Holiday in the Sun (2001)See all 5 shared titles with Robert L. Levy
- Andrew PanayShared titles: Van Wilder: Freshman Year (2009), Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006), Underclassman (2005), Van Wilder (2002)See all 4 shared titles with Andrew Panay
- Ari NewmanShared titles: Van Wilder: Freshman Year (2009), Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Ari Newman