Chris Parnell

Chris Parnell

Biography: ​Thomas Christopher "Chris" Parnell (born February 5, 1967) is an American comic actor best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998–2006 and currently for his recurring role as Dr. Leo Spaceman on NBC's Emmy Award-winning comedy series 30 Rock. Parnell is currently one of the lead voices on the FX animated comedy Archer. In 2010, Parnell starred alongside his former SNL castmate Horatio Sanz in the Comedy Central series Big Lake. After performing as a company player with The Groundlings for a number of years, Parnell was hired to join the cast of Saturday Night Live as a featured player on September 26, 1998, and was promoted to repertory player the following season. In the summer of 2001, budget cuts and hiring four new cast members required Lorne Michaels to dismiss two cast members; he chose to lay off Parnell and Jerry Minor over Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, and Maya Rudolph. While on SNL, Parnell appeared in numerous sketches, and commercial parodies, and performed memorable impressions of various celebrities. One of his most popular sketches is Lazy Sunday, a rap video he shot with Andy Samberg about buying cupcakes and going to see The Chronicles of Narnia. He has also performed raps about hosts Jennifer Garner, Britney Spears, Kirsten Dunst and Ashton Kutcher. In the summer of 2006, Lorne Michaels announced that four cast members would be fired due to budget cuts, but he did not say who. On September 22, 2006 it was announced that three cast members had been fired: Parnell, Horatio Sanz, and Finesse Mitchell. This effectively made him the only SNL performer to have been fired twice by Lorne Michaels, though Parnell did say in a 2008 interview with The Sound of Young America podcast that he was okay with being let go this time, because he was considering leaving after that season anyway, but added that he probably would have stayed one last season if he was asked back. He had been with SNL for eight seasons; at the time only four people (Darrell Hammond, Tim Meadows, Kevin Nealon, and Al Franken) have been cast members longer. He has since made uncredited cameo appearances on the show, most recently in 2008 parodying newscasters Tom Brokaw, Jim Lehrer, and Bob Schieffer. Parnell and his former SNL castmate Horatio Sanz recently starred together in Big Lake, a 2010 sitcom on Comedy Central from executive producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. He also recently appeared as Dr. Drummer/Santa in the SyFy Holiday Special episode from the television show Eureka, which aired on December 7, 2010 (Season 4 Episode 10).

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: February 05, 1967

Deathday: N/A

Popularity:

12.66

Known For

Hot Rod
Hot Rod

2007-08-03

Down with Love
Down with Love

2003-05-08

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

2007-12-21

Evil Alien Conquerors
Evil Alien Conquerors

2003-12-03

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

2004-06-28

Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie

2004-12-28

Turbo
Turbo

2013-07-11

I'm Reed Fish
I'm Reed Fish

2007-06-01

Yung Punx: A Punk Parable
Yung Punx: A Punk Parable

2021-11-12

Eavesdrop
Eavesdrop

2008-08-01

Paper Man
Paper Man

2009-06-15

Escape from Planet Earth
Escape from Planet Earth

2012-10-09

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers

2022-05-20

Answer This!
Answer This!

2011-10-13

Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice

2011-12-05

Electric City
Electric City

2016-01-07

Millennial Hunter
Millennial Hunter

2023-08-13

Break Point
Break Point

2014-03-08

As We Know It
As We Know It

2023-11-24

Hot Mess Holiday
Hot Mess Holiday

2021-12-11

Austin Found
Austin Found

2017-07-07

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell

2002-09-28

Kung Fu Magoo
Kung Fu Magoo

2010-05-11

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies

2006-05-23

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler

2009-04-18

Our Little Secret
Our Little Secret

2024-11-27

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again

2022-12-08

Ira & Abby
Ira & Abby

2006-06-23

The Ridiculous 6
The Ridiculous 6

2015-12-11

The Grand
The Grand

2007-06-07

Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood
Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood

2015-09-17

Hotel Transylvania
Hotel Transylvania

2012-09-20

The Ladies Man
The Ladies Man

2000-10-13

Sisters
Sisters

2015-12-18

Jingle All the Way
Jingle All the Way

1996-11-21

Labor Pains
Labor Pains

2009-06-19

The Religetables
The Religetables

2002-11-16

Micro Budget
Micro Budget

2024-09-21

Harold
Harold

2008-07-13

Kabluey
Kabluey

2007-06-25

Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special
Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special

2017-02-07

Elena and the Secret of Avalor
Elena and the Secret of Avalor

2016-11-20

Looking for Kitty
Looking for Kitty

2004-05-06

The Five-Year Engagement
The Five-Year Engagement

2012-04-27

Barely Legal
Barely Legal

2003-05-15

Life of the Party
Life of the Party

2018-05-10

AJ's Infinite Summer
AJ's Infinite Summer

2014-05-16

Hollywood & Wine
Hollywood & Wine

2011-05-03

Battle of the Sexes
Battle of the Sexes

2017-09-22

The Dictator
The Dictator

2012-05-15

The Better Half
The Better Half

2015-12-15

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

2018-10-11

21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street

2012-03-14

Hotel Transylvania 2
Hotel Transylvania 2

2015-09-21

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

2018-06-28

Slice
Slice

2018-09-10

The Laundromat
The Laundromat

2019-09-27

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

2013-12-18

The Last Laugh
The Last Laugh

2019-01-11

Sunny and Share Love You
Sunny and Share Love You

2007-01-01

The Women of SNL
The Women of SNL

2010-11-01

The Maya Rudolph Show
The Maya Rudolph Show

2014-05-19

A Freezerburnt Christmas
A Freezerburnt Christmas

2002-12-21

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend

2020-05-12

WordGirl: The Rise of Ms. Power
WordGirl: The Rise of Ms. Power

2012-01-01

Home Sweet Home Alone
Home Sweet Home Alone

2021-11-11

I Am Woman
I Am Woman

2020-08-28

Farm Sluts
Farm Sluts

2003-01-01

Finding ʻOhana
Finding ʻOhana

2021-01-29

Senior Year
Senior Year

2022-05-11

The Dogfather
The Dogfather

2010-04-12

Elena of Avalor: Realm of the Jaquins
Elena of Avalor: Realm of the Jaquins

2017-08-12

In Fidelity
In Fidelity

2024-11-04

The Dink
The Dink