By: Meyer Wolfsheim

Actor and outspoken podcaster Michael Rapaport says he’s ready to trade Hollywood for City Hall — at least in his own telling. The 55-year-old announced on a recent episode of his “I Am Rapaport” podcast that he plans to run for mayor of New York City in 2029, floating the idea just weeks after Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the city’s new mayor, the New York Post reported.

“My name is Michael Rapaport, a.k.a. Mayor Rapaport,” the actor declared on air, according to the New York Post, framing the move as a response to what he described as mounting chaos in city and national politics. Rapaport suggested that after a turbulent 2025, he sees little reason to believe the years ahead will be calmer — a belief he says is driving his political ambitions.

The announcement also fits with Rapaport’s increasingly vocal criticism of Mamdani and his democratic socialist agenda. As the New York Post reported, Rapaport has been an unfiltered critic of the new mayor, often using his podcast and social media platforms to blast progressive policies he says are steering the city in the wrong direction.

While Rapaport has no formal political experience, he appears to be leaning heavily on celebrity precedent. He has openly compared his ambitions to actors-turned-politicians like Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, suggesting that name recognition and blunt messaging can translate into real political power, the New York Post noted.

Before politics, Rapaport built his reputation on sharp-edged comedy. He first broke into entertainment as a stand-up comedian, developing a confrontational, rant-heavy style that later became his trademark. As he has recalled in interviews cited by the New York Post, his earliest performances came at Manhattan open mics, where his goal was simply to get one person to laugh — enough motivation to keep going.

That stand-up background eventually opened the door to acting, a career Rapaport has said he quickly fell in love with. He landed his first major film role in the early 1990s and soon became a familiar face in gritty dramas and cult classics. His breakout came with roles in films like “Zebrahead” and “True Romance,” performances that helped establish him as a reliable supporting actor with edge, according to the New York Post.

Rapaport’s career later expanded into television, where he found mainstream recognition. He appeared in a string of popular shows, including a recurring role on “Friends,” followed by stints on series such as “Boston Public,” “The War at Home,” and “Prison Break,” the New York Post reported. More recently, he reached a new generation of viewers through streaming hits like Netflix’s “Atypical” and guest appearances on “Only Murders in the Building.”

In parallel with his acting work, Rapaport reinvented himself as a media personality. He launched his “I Am Rapaport” podcast in 2014, initially centering it on New York sports before expanding into politics and cultural commentary. The show gained a sizable following and even won industry awards, helping Rapaport cultivate an audience drawn to his raw, combative style, the New York Post noted.

That same unfiltered persona is now being positioned as the backbone of his political pitch. Whether Rapaport’s mayoral talk amounts to a serious campaign or a prolonged media stunt remains unclear. Still, as the New York Post reported, his declaration underscores a growing trend of celebrity figures testing the waters of New York politics — and signals that the city’s 2029 mayoral race may already be attracting unconventional contenders.