Chris Redd

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Chris Redd
Born
Christopher Jerell Redd

1985 or 1986 (age 38–39)
St Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian
Years active2012–present

Christopher Jerell Redd[1] (born 1985/1986)[2] is an American actor and comedian who has been a cast member of Saturday Night Live since 2017. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics in 2018 for co-writing the SNL song "Come Back Barack". He is also known for his roles in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), Disjointed (2017–2018), and Kenan (2021–present).

Early life

Redd was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved to Naperville, Illinois, at the age of eight.[3] According to Redd, he had a childhood stutter that he overcame by learning how to rap.[4] He attended Naperville schools, including Gregory Middle School and Neuqua Valley High School[5] He later attended community college in Elgin, Illinois, where he took his first improvisational theater class.[6]

Career

Redd briefly pursued a career as a rapper, but switched to sketch comedy after discovering that he enjoyed improvisational comedy.[7] He joined the comedy group The Second City, and was a member of its touring company.[8] He moved to Los Angeles in 2016 to further pursue an acting career, and made his film debut as Hunter the Hungry, an underground rapper, in the 2016 mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.[9] Redd co-starred in the 2017–2018 Netflix comedy series Disjointed, in which he played the role of Dank, a stoner.[6]

After a previous unsuccessful audition for Saturday Night Live,[10] it was announced in September 2017 that Redd had joined the show's cast as a featured player for season 43, alongside fellow newcomers Heidi Gardner and Luke Null.[11] In 2018, Redd won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for writing the SNL song "Come Back Barack", which lamented former president Barack Obama's departure from the White House and aired during Chance the Rapper's episode on November 18, 2017.[12][13] The award was shared with co-writers Kenan Thompson and Will Stephen, and composer Eli Brueggemann.[12] Redd and Gardner were promoted to repertory status in 2019, ahead of SNL's 45th season.[14] His celebrity impressions on the show have included U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Kanye West, and Sterling K. Brown.[15]

As of February 2021, Redd co-stars in the comedy television series Kenan, alongside his SNL castmate Kenan Thompson.[16] Their ongoing roles in both shows resulted in frequent travel between New York City, where SNL is filmed, and Los Angeles, where Kenan is filmed.[17] Upcoming roles include the biographical film Spinning Gold,[18] the Lorne Michaels–produced comedy series Bust Down,[19] and a stand-up comedy special on HBO Max.<[20]

Other activities

In June 2020, Redd and fellow The Second City alumna Lisa Beasley raised over $360,000 on GoFundMe to cover the medical costs of racial justice protestors who had contracted COVID-19.[21] After The Second City CEO Andrew Alexander resigned during the same month over allegations of institutional racism within the group, Redd and 18 other black alumni and current employees signed an open letter calling for an independent investigation into the allegations.[22]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2016 Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Hunter the Hungry [9]
2017 Handsome Detective Gunner [23]
2018 A Futile and Stupid Gesture Skeptical Black Man [24]
2018 Deep Murder Jace [25]
2019 Joker Comedy Club Emcee [26]
2020 Scare Me Carlo [27]
2020 Vampires vs. the Bronx Andre [28]
TBA Spinning Gold Post-production [18]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Last Laff Various
2014 Chicago P.D. Carl Episode: "Thirty Balloons"
2014 Greetings! From Prison XXXpressive Episode: "XXXpress Yourself"
2015 Empire Roger 2 episodes
2016 Freestyle Wraps MC Hot Pot Episode: "Hot Pot"
2016 Lonely and Horny Omar 4 episodes
2016 Comedy Bang! Bang! The Cleaning Crew Rapper Episode: "Krysten Ritter Wears a Turtleneck and Black Boots"
2017 Love Justin 2 episodes
2017 Detroiters Donut Episode: "Smilin' Jack"
2017 Sofia the First Singe (voice) Episode: "The Royal Dragon"
2017 Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later Mason 2 episodes
2017–2018 Disjointed Steven "Dank" Dankerson 18 episodes
2017 Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents Himself Stand-up special
2017–present Saturday Night Live Himself/Various Repertory player
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (2018)
2017 Will & Grace Alvin Episode: "Emergency Contact"
2018 Teachers Darnell Episode: "For Poorer or Poorer"
2019 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Additional voices Episode: "Junkin' Janna/A Spell with No Name"
2019 Big Mouth Additional voice 2 episodes
2020 The George Lucas Talk Show Himself Episode: "Digital Magic"
2021 Kenan Gary Williams

References

  1. ^ Saturday Night Live (October 18, 2017), 43 For 43: Chris Redd - SNL, retrieved November 2, 2017
  2. ^ Brusie, David (March 13, 2019). "Chris Redd aims to be a singular stand-up and 'SNL' team player". Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020. Redd, 33...
  3. ^ Ihejirika, Maudlyne (August 21, 2018). "SNL's Chris Redd to his hometown Chicago: 'Stop killing each other, man'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  4. ^ Donald, Elizabeth (September 27, 2017). "Live from St. Louis, it's one of SNL's new cast members". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  5. ^ Hegarty, Erin. "New 'SNL' cast member attended Naperville schools". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Metz, Nina (July 13, 2017). "With summer camp comedy and a Netflix pot series, Chris Redd's star on the rise". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  7. ^ "'I Love What That Job Has Brought Me': Chris Redd On 'Saturday Night Live', The Second City, 'Deep Murder'". CBS Local. June 11, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  8. ^ Virtusio, Jessi (December 12, 2019). "Second City skewers holiday season in 'Ugly Sweater' show at Beverly Arts Center". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Beechick, Talia (June 17, 2016). "'Whirlwind of rap' got Chicago comedian Chris Redd into 'Popstar'". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  10. ^ "Chris Redd: How comedy can be a force for social change". MSNBC. December 11, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 26, 2017). "'Saturday Night Live' Taps Heidi Gardner, Luke Null & Chris Redd As New Cast Members, Adds 7 Writers For Season 43". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  12. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (July 16, 2020). "Don Johnson, Chris Redd Join Kenan Thompson Comedy Series at NBC". Variety. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  13. ^ Calfas, Jennifer (November 19, 2017). "Saturday Night Live Begs Barack Obama to Come Back in '90s-Inspired Sketch". Time. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 24, 2019). "'SNL' Promotes Heidi Gardner & Chris Redd To Full Cast Members". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  15. ^ Porter, Rick (September 24, 2019). "'Saturday Night Live' Promotes Heidi Gardner, Chris Redd to Regular Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  16. ^ "New NBC comedy 'Kenan' stars Kenan Thompson, Don Johnson and Chris Redd". KSNT. February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  17. ^ White, Peter (January 26, 2021). "'Kenan': Kenan Thompson Prepared For Challenge Of Filming New NBC Comedy & 'SNL' – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Fleming Jr, Mike (August 1, 2019). "Richard Dreyfuss Is Roulette Records' Morris Levy, Sebastian Maniscalco Is Giorgio Moroder In Neil Bogart '70s Music Pic 'Spinning Gold'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  19. ^ White, Peter (February 17, 2021). "Peacock Picks Up Craig Robinson Comedy & Lorne Michaels' Bust Down To Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  20. ^ Porter, Rick (July 22, 2020). "Chris Redd Scores HBO Max Comedy Special". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  21. ^ Metz, Nina (June 24, 2020). "'Saturday Night Live' star Chris Redd and Chicago comedian Lisa Beasley set up a COVID-19 protestor relief fund". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  22. ^ Evans, Greg (June 8, 2020). "'SNL's Chris Redd, 'Veep's Sam Richardson Among Second City Alum Demanding Investigation Into Comedy Institution's Racism & Sexual Misconduct Allegations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  23. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (May 7, 2017). "Handsome". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  24. ^ Zuckerman, Esther (January 25, 2018). "David Wain's Futile and Stupid Movie Is a Vital Piece of Comedy History". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  25. ^ Cruz, Niki (June 11, 2019). "Chris Redd talks 'Deep Murder,' NYC and 'SNL' after-parties". AM New York Metro. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  26. ^ Reilly, Dan (October 15, 2019). "What Joker Gets Right About Stand-Up Comedy". Vulture. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  27. ^ Scheetz, Cameron (September 30, 2020). "SNL's Chris Redd believes aliens are trolling us with crop circles". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  28. ^ Allen, Nick (October 2, 2020). "Vampires vs. the Bronx". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 24, 2020.

External links

Template:SNLCurrentCast

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