Chris D'Elia

Chris D'Elia
Birth name Chris D'Elia
Born March 29, 1980
New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Medium Comedian, actor
Years active 1996-–present
Influences Eddie Murphy[2]
Jim Carrey[3]
Spouse Emily Montague
(2006–2010; divorced)
Parent(s) Bill D'Elia
Ellie D'Elia
Relative(s) Matt D'Elia (brother)
Website chrisdelia.com

Chris D'Elia (born March 29, 1980) is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, actor, writer and rapper. He is best known for the role of Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom Whitney and the role of Danny Burton on the sitcom Undateable which also airs on NBC.

Early life

D'Elia was born in New Jersey, the son of TV producer and director, Bill D'Elia,[4] and interior decorator Ellie D'Elia (née Dombroski). He has a younger brother, filmmaker/actor Matt D'Elia. His father is first generation Italian-American.[5]

D'Elia grew up in New Jersey until he was 12 years old, when his family relocated to Los Angeles.[6]

Career

Stand-up

D'Elia started acting in high school, did some guest starring parts on Chicago Hope.[7] He went to New York University and studied acting but dropped out after a year because he didn't like college.[7] He then got in a movie that went straight to DVD. During his downtime as an actor he started writing scripts. When he was 25 he decided to do standup, which is what he always wanted to do.[8]

D'Elia has been doing stand-up comedy since 2006.[6] He considers himself to be a standup comedian who acts,[8] saying "Once I started doing stand-up, everything fell into place. That was when I started acting more; I felt like I’d found my place in the business."[9] D'Elia has been featured on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham and Comedy Central Presents as well as on Showtime's Live Nude Comedy. On December 6, 2013, D'Elia's first one-hour stand-up special, White Male Black Comic, aired on Comedy Central.[10] It was directed by his dad.[3]

Acting

D'Elia was introduced to a broader audience as a regular on the series Glory Daze,[11] which ran for one season on TBS, playing "the Oracle", William Stankowski. He was originally only cast for the pilot but they made him a series regular.[8] He co-starred in the NBC comedy series Whitney, opposite comedian Whitney Cummings for two seasons.[11][12]

In March 2013, D'Elia was cast in the lead role of a new NBC sitcom called Undateable, which premiered on May 29, 2014.[13] Bill Lawrence executive produced Undateable,[14] a multi-camera sitcom with a live audience[15] that was based on the book Undateable: 311 Things Guys Do That Guarantee They Won't Be Dating or Having Sex by Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle.[16] Undateable was unique in that it was a cast full of stand-up comics who were good friends before the show aired. The show often incorporates improv, with D'Elia playing Oscar to Brent Morin's straight-man Felix à la The Odd Couple.[17][18][19]

Bill Lawrence and the cast (D’Elia, Brent Morin, Ron Funches, and Rick Glassman) went on a series of stand-up tour dates to promote the show.[20][21]

Other ventures

D'Elia is one of three hosts of the Ten Minute Podcast, along with Bryan Callen and Will Sasso.

In January 2013, D'Elia released a parody rap album as MC "Chank Smith," releasing a debut album called "Such Is Life" that was produced by Mr. Green (Snoop Dogg, Malik B, Matisyahu).[22]

Personal life

D'Elia says he was raised Catholic. In a standup routine, he talked about how he recently attended a mass and joked about how creepy certain aspects of it are.

In 2006, D'Elia was married to actress Emily Montague. They divorced in 2010.

Despite the fact that his character, Alex Miller, in Whitney is portrayed drunk, D'Elia has never done drugs or consumed alcohol, besides communion wine. [23]

D'Elia lives in the Beachwood Canyon area of Los Angeles.[24]

Filmography

Films
Year Title Role Notes
2004 Almost Marc
2005 Bad Girls from Valley High Gavin
2005 Fool in the Headlights Stark Short film
2005 Crazylove Jake
2012 Celeste and Jesse Forever Snow White
2013 Funny: The Documentary Himself Documentary
TV shows and appearances
Year Title Role Notes
1996–97 Chicago Hope Luke Sarison "Quiet Riot" (Season 2, Episode 21)
"Love on the Rocks" (Season 3, Episode 25)
2000 Get Real Chuck "Choices" (Season 1, Episode 11)
"Absolution" (Season 1, Episode 12)
2004 Boston Legal Kevin Quinlan "An Eye for an Eye" (Season 1, Episode 5)
2005 American Dreams Phil Toolin "California Dreamin'" (Season 3, Episode 15)
2005 Monk Cal Gefsky "Mr. Monk Gets Drunk" (Season 4, Episode 5)
2010–11 Glory Daze Bill Stankowski Main role
2011 Workaholics Topher "To Friend a Predator" (Season 1, Episode 8)
2011–13 Whitney Alex Miller Main Role
2012 Sullivan & Son Ryan Capps "The Fifth Musketeer" (Season 1, Episode 7)
2013 Chris D'Elia: White Male. Black Comic Himself Television special
2014–present Undateable Danny Burton Lead role
2014 Jennifer Falls Adam Story arc, 3 episodes

References

  1. ↑ O'Brien, Conan. "Chris D'Elia Loves Mocking British Tough-Guys". Conan on TBS. YouTube. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "I am comedian Chris D'Elia (from Workaholics and other things). Ask me anything. (self.IAmA)". Reddit. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 King, Larry (6 December 2013). "Larry King Now: Alex Borstein & Chris D'Elia". Larry King Now. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  4. ↑ Tomashoff, Craig (March 2013). "Like Father, Like Son". Emmy. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Martin, Babara E. (Winter 2001). "Bill D' Elia: Hollywood Storyteller". WP: The Magazine of William Paterson University. Archived from the original on 30 December 2001. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Downs, Gordon (19 January 2011). "Interview With Comedian Chris D'Elia". San Diego. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gleib, Ben (11 July 2012). "#034: Guest Chris D'Elia: "God Particle Testicle Fish"" (AUDIO INTERVIEW / PODCAST). Last Week on Earth with Ben Gleib. Smodcast. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lamoray, Lena (2 February 2011). "Exclusive Interview Chris D’Elia, Chris plays STANKOWSKI in GLORY DAZE on TBS". Lena Lamoray. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Eakin, Marah (12 June 2012). "Chris D'Elia". AV Club. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  10. ↑ Ortiz, Jen (2 December 2013). "The GQ+A: Comedian Chris D'Elia on His Comedy Central Special and Getting Heckled by Drunk Girls". GQ. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Wiegand, David (21 September 2011). "'Whitney' review: Too much stand-up in sitcom". San Francisco Chronicle. p. E1. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  12. ↑ Clements, Erin (15 November 2012). "Whitney Cummings, Chris D'Elia Talk Dating Deal-Breakers, Go-To Excuses For HuffPost's #nofilter". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  13. ↑ Kasperowicz, Leslie (March 3, 2013). "Whitney's Chris D'Elia Joins NBC's Undateable Pilot". Cinemablend. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  14. ↑ Stanley, Alessandra (28 May 2014). "A Bunch of Friends? Yeah, Again: ‘Undateable’ Keeps a Sitcom Formula Alive". New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  15. ↑ Steinberg, Lisa (23 May 2014). "Interviews - TV: Chris D’Elia & Bill Lawrence – Undateable". Starry Constellation Magazine. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  16. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (20 February 2013). "NBC's Bill Lawrence Comedy 'Undateable' Casts Lead". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  17. ↑ Ray, Lincee (19 June 2014). "5 reasons to watch ‘Undateable’". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  18. ↑ Radish, Christina (6 July 2014). "Brent Morin Talks 'Undateable,' Performing Stand-Up, His Weird Life Journey with Chris D’Elia, Being Funny on Camera, Singing on the Show, and More". Collider. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  19. ↑ King, Larry (11 June 2014). "The Cast of "Undateable"". Larry King Now. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  20. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (25 February 2014). "Bill Lawrence and ‘Undateable’ Stars Hit the Road to Promote NBC Comedy ‘Undateable’". Variety. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  21. ↑ Lawrence, Bill (28 May 2014). "The ‘Undateable’ Comedy Tour: How to Launch (or Not Launch) a TV Show in 2014". Grantland. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  22. ↑ Gutierrez, Juan (12 September 2013). "Chris D'Elia's Loveably Clueless Rap Persona". LA Weekly. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  23. ↑ Roots, Kimberly (12 November 2012). "Whitney Season 2 Preview: Whitney Cummings on Alex's Issues, the Possible Patter of Little Feet". TV Line. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  24. ↑ David, Mark (8 August 2013). "Comedian Craig Ferguson Sells to Comic Chris D’Elia". Variety. Retrieved 15 August 2014.

External links