Paul Reiser (/ˈraɪzər/; born March 30, 1956) is an American actor, comedian, and television writer. He is known for his roles as Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom My Two Dads, Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom Mad About You, Modell in the 1982 film Diner, Carter Burke in the 1986 film Aliens, and as Detective Jeffrey Friedman in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. More recently, he has gained recognition for his roles as Jim Neiman in the 2014 film Whiplash and Dr. Sam Owens in the Netflix series Stranger Things.