Comedian

Background:

Comedian Chris Parnell is probably best remembered by “Saturday Night Live” (1975) fans for his hilarious rap parody "Lazy Sunday," a video performed with Andy Samberg about buying cupcakes and going to see "The Chronicles of Narnia." Over the course of his seven seasons (1998-2006) on “SNL,” Parnell appeared in numerous sketches and commercial parodies and performed such memorable impressions as NBC News' Tom Brokaw and PBS’ newsman Jim Lehrer. He also delivered standout impressions of Tom Hanks, Eminem, "American Idol's" Simon Cowell, and Senator John McCain.

The 5' 8" comic also co-starred in the failed NBC unaired sitcom “Thick and Thin” (2006) and the short-lived ABC sitcom "Miss Guided" (2008; as Vice Principal Bruce Terry). He also played Dr. Leo Spaceman (2006-2008) on NBC's Emmy Award-winning sitcom "30 Rock" and narrated PBS’ children's animated series "WordGirl" (2007-2008).

On the big screen, Parnell could be seen in the films "Jingle All the Way" (1996), "Down with Love" (2003), "Looking for Kitty" (2004), "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (2004), "I'm Reed Fish" (2006), "The Grand" (2007), "Kabluey" (2007), "Hot Rod" (2007), "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (2007) and "Harold" (2008). He will next be seen in the upcoming films "Eavesdrop," "Labor Pains" and "Hollywood & Wine."

Most Talented

Childhood and Family:

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on February 5, 1967, Thomas Christopher Parnell, whose father (Jack Parnell) worked as a professional voice-over artist for local radio and television commercials and programs, attended Germantown High School, in Memphis, Tennessee, where he took drama. He auditioned for every play and was voted "Most Talented" by his classmates. While there, he played one of the brothers in a production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." He also announced football games and provided on-air reports.

Graduating high school in 1985, Parnell enrolled at the North Carolina School of Arts in Winston-Salem and received a BFA degree in drama. After performing at the Berkshire Theater in Massachusetts and the Alley Theater in Texas, he returned to his hometown and got a job as a film, video and acting teacher at his own Germantown High School. He soon moved to Los Angeles and got a job at FAO Schwartz in the Beverly Center where he eventually became Operations Manager. During that time, he began taking classes at the famed improv-sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings Main Company.

Parnell, who has a sister, is good friends with Ron Livingston and Lauren Graham. He became friends with Fred Willard after working with him on “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004) and Tom Brokaw after he began impersonating him on "Saturday Night Live" (1975).

Parnell, who frequently wears plaid, enjoys shopping at The Gap. His favorite film is “Chariots of Fire” (1981), his favorite television show is "Twin Peaks" (1990) and his favorite book is "The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke."

Saturday Night Live

Career:

"When I was very little, we'd go up to my grandmother's in Milan, Tennessee, and because we were there, we didn't go to church the next day. So me and my dad would stay up late and catch "Saturday Night Live" (1975) on her small black-and-white set." Chris Parnell

After performing with the Berkshire Theatre in Massachusetts and the Alley Theater in Texas in the late '80s and teaching acting, film and video at Germantown High School in the early '90s, Chris Parnell moved to Los Angeles and worked at the FAO Schwartz in the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. Parnell, who decided to pursue a career in comedy after performing in the play "Greater Tuna" while in high school, subsequently began taking classes at the famed improv-sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings, where he was discovered by "Saturday Night Live" (1975) scouts and was asked to fly to New York to audition. He soon landed a job on “SNL” and was cast as a featured player in the fall of 1998. The following season, he was promoted to a regular cast member.

In the summer of 2001, due to budget cuts, Parnell was fired but was re-hired in March 2002 thanks to lobbying from Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan. His first solo recurring character on "SNL" was Merv the Perv, who debuted in 2002. However, it took over a year for Merv the Perv to make a return appearance.

Parnell gained widespread fame in 2005 with the “SNL” sketch "Lazy Sunday," a rap video performed with Andy Samberg about buying cupcakes and going to see "The Chronicles of Narnia." He also performed raps about hosts Jennifer Garner, Britney Spears, Kirsten Dunst and Ashton Kutcher.

Over the course of his seven seasons on “SNL,” Parnell appeared in numerous sketches and commercial parodies and performed memorable impressions of NBC News' Tom Brokaw and PBS newsman Jim Lehrer. Other standout impressions included Tom Hanks, Eminem, "American Idol's" Simon Cowell, and Senator John McCain.

Parnell also had a small role in the Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy "Jingle All the Way" (1996) and auditioned for the lead role for the NBC sitcom "Working" (1997) but lost out to Fred Savage. However, the casting director remembered him and cast him a few years later in an online comedic short-film called “Farm Sluts” (2003). He also appeared in the award-winning short comedy "Deadtime" (1999) and was cast in the comedy "The Ladies Man" (2000), which was based on the “Saturday Night Live” character made famous by Tim Meadows. Additionally, he was featured as a TV Emcee in "Down with Love" (2003).

In 2004, Parnell starred opposite Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate in the comedy "Anchorman." He was also cast in Edward Burns' "Looking for Kitty" (2004), Zackary Adler's "I'm Reed Fish" (2006; starring Alexis Bledel and Jay Baruchel), and Robert Cary's romantic comedy starring Chris Messina and Jennifer Westfeldt, "Ira and Abby" (2006). Additionally, he starred in the failed NBC unaired sitcom “Thick and Thin” (2006).

In 2006, Parnell left “SNL” due to budgetary cuts. He then landed a recurring role, as Dr. Leo Spaceman (2006-2008), Tracy Jordan's (played by Tracy Morgan) incompetent and unethical doctor, on the critically-acclaimed NBC sitcom "30 Rock." He also narrated PBS’ children's animated series "WordGirl" (2007-2008) and starred in the Supafloss music video, "Chuck Norris" (along with Jack Black and John C. Reilly). He then co-starred as Vice Principal Bruce Terry on the short-lived ABC sitcom "Miss Guided.”

Chris recently appeared in Akiva Schaffer's comedy "Hot Rod" (2007; with Andy Samberg), Zak Penn's comedy film "The Grand" (2007; featuring Ray Romano and Woody Harrelson), Scott Prendergast's comedy "Kabluey" (2007), Matthew Buzzell's "Sunny & Share Love You" (2007), and Jake Kasdan's musical comedy starring John C. Reilly, "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (2007). He will play a coach in T. Sean Shannon's comedy film starring Spencer Breslin, "Harold" (2008) and has completed his new film, "Eavesdrop," written and directed by Matthew Miele and starring Lynn Collins, Anna Chlumsky, and Alan Ruck. He will soon wrap up the upcoming films "Labor Pains," a comedy by Lara Shapiro starring Lindsay Lohan and Cheryl Hines, and "Hollywood & Wine," a comedy by Matt Berman and Kevin P. Farley starring Nicky Whelan.

Awards:
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