Neil Richard Flynn (born November 13, 1960) is an American actor, voice actor, and comedian, known for his role as Janitor on the NBC/ABC medical comedy-drama Scrubs. Since 2009, Flynn has portrayed Mike Heck on the ABC sitcom The Middle.
Flynn was born on the south side of Chicago. He is of Irish descent and was raised Roman Catholic. He moved to Waukegan, Illinois, at an early age. As a student at Waukegan East High School in 1978, he and partner Mike Shklair won an Illinois Individual Events state championship for "Humorous Duet Acting." He attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity and participated on the Bradley University Speech Team. After graduating in 1982, Flynn returned to Chicago to pursue an acting career.
In Chicago, he acted with the renowned Goodman and Steppenwolf theaters. Flynn was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award (Actor in a Principal Role, for The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, 1986). He also performed at the Improv Olympic and the Second City Comedy Troupe.