Rainn Wilson, an actor, has taken on the name Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson in an effort to raise climate change awareness. He is best known for the American version of the sitcom The Office where he played the role of Dwight Schrute.

The actor shared the information in a Twitter video on Wednesday, coinciding with the COP27 United Nations climate change summit taking place this week in Egypt.

Also read: Rainn Wilson changes name to Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson: Know why

Wilson, an Arctic Basecamp board member, changed his name with the use of Arctic Risk Name Generator, a website that encourages users to become an ‘Arctic name changer.’

Although Wilson insisted that the change in his name was “not a joke,” it is unclear whether the activist and actor plans to legally change his name on government records. His Twitter and Instagram handles continue to be @RainnWilson. Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson is his current legal name.

Also read: What is COP27? Significance and all you need to know

Who is Rainn Wilson?

Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson was born on January 20, 1966, in Seattle, Washington. He is a writer, producer, comedian, actor, and podcaster from the United States. The Office on NBC, for which he received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, is where he is widely known for playing Dwight Schrute.

After graduating from the University of Washington in 1986, Wilson worked in theatre in New York City. Wilson started performing there. After making his cinematic debut in Galaxy Quest (1999), Wilson went on to appear in supporting roles in Almost Famous (2000), Steven Soderbergh’s Full Frontal (2002), and House of 1000 Corpses (2003). Additionally, from 2003 to 2005, he played Arthur Martin in the HBO series Six Feet Under. He played Trevor from 2018 until 2021 on the CBS sitcom Mom.

Also read: COP27: Developing countries need $1 trillion a year for climate action

Wilson portrayed the role of Dwight Schrute on The Office from 2005 until the show’s finale in 2013. The Rocker (2008) and Super (2010), as well as supporting parts in the horror movies Cooties (2014) and The Boy, are among his other film credits (2015). As the evil Gallaxhar in the computer-animated science fiction picture Monsters vs. Aliens and as Gargamel in Smurfs: The Lost Village, he lent his voice in 2009. On Star Trek: Discovery (2017) and Star Trek: Short Treks (2018), he had a brief but recurring role as Harry Mudd. He also had a supporting role in The Meg (2018). In the DC Animated Movie Universe, he provides the voice of Lex Luthor.

In addition to his work as an actor, Wilson co-founded the online media firm SoulPancake in 2008 and released his autobiography, The Bassoon King, in 2015. Wilson altered his name to Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson in November 2022 in an effort to spread awareness about climate change.

Also read: COP27 2022: Last 8 years warmest in recorded history, UN report reveals

Wilson is married to Holiday Reinhorn, a writer, who had moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington from her native Portland, Oregon, where the couple first met in an acting class. The couple wed on Washington’s Kalama River in 1995, and their son Walter was born in 2004. They own a house in Los Angeles and a house outside of Sisters, Oregon. They also own two Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs named Amy and Snortington, two pit bulls named Pilot and Diamond, a donkey named Chili Beans, and a zonkey named Derek.

Wilson practises the Bahá’i Faith along with his family. Wilson presents a podcast called the Bahái Blogcast on the well-known Bahá’i website Bahái Blog where he conducts conversations with prominent personalities about how their faith and careers interact.

Wilson defined himself as a diverse independent on Bill Maher’s Real Time, having cast votes for Republican, Green, and Democratic candidates.