Chris Parnell
ActingThomas 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).
Known For
Hotel Transylvania
Mr. Fly (voice)
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Stan / Fish Man (voice)
Hotel Transylvania 2
Fly (voice)
The Dictator
News Anchor
21 Jump Street
Mr. Gordon
Turbo
Announcer #2 (voice)
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Garth Holliday
Life of the Party
Mr. Truzack (Wayne)
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Dave Bollinari (voice)
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
Walter
Filmography — Acting
Hotel Transylvania
Mr. Fly (voice)
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Stan / Fish Man (voice)
Hotel Transylvania 2
Fly (voice)
The Dictator
News Anchor
21 Jump Street
Mr. Gordon
Turbo
Announcer #2 (voice)
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Garth Holliday
Life of the Party
Mr. Truzack (Wayne)
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Dave Bollinari (voice)
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
Walter
Jingle All the Way
Toy Store Sales Clerk
Sisters
Phil
The Ridiculous 6
Bank Manager
The Five-Year Engagement
Bill
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Garth Holliday
Escape from Planet Earth
Hammer (voice)
Home Sweet Home Alone
Uncle Stu
A Loud House Christmas Movie: Naughty or Nice
Gerald (voice)
Battle of the Sexes
DJ
The Laundromat
Doomed Gringo #2
Hot Rod
Barry Pasternack
Our Little Secret
Veterinarian
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again
Washington (voice)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Theo
Senior Year
Jim Conway
Down with Love
TV Emcee
Barely Legal
Mr. Ronald Greitzer
The Last Laugh
Charlie Green
Lorne
Narrator
Finding ʻOhana
Brown
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie
Garth Holliday
Stop! That! Train!
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Self (archive footage)
Elena and the Secret of Avalor
Migs (voice)
The Grand
Harold Melvin
Ira & Abby
Dr. Ronald Silverberg
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
Self
Paper Man
Peter
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend
Junior
Labor Pains
Jerry Steinwald
Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
Mr. Thistleton (voice)
Eavesdrop
Terrence
Slice
Mayor Tracy
Kabluey
Frank
Kung Fu Magoo
Cole Fusion / Ninja (voice)
Harold
Coach Vanderpool
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler
Edward Turlington (archive footage)
Mimics
Jack Conrad
The Ladies Man
Phil Swanson
The Dink
I'm Reed Fish
Ralph
The Women of SNL
Various (archive footage)
Hollywood & Wine
Peter West
Break Point
Jay LaRoche
I Am Woman
Artie Mogull
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell
Self / Various (archive footage)
Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special
Dr. Vince Harbert
Answer This!
Brian Collins
As We Know It
Ted Sommers
Austin Found
Alan Dickinson
Micro Budget
Toby
The Maya Rudolph Show
Self
Elena of Avalor: Realm of the Jaquins
Migs (voice)
Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again
Self
Sunny and Share Love You
Kevin Keith Baker
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies
Harry and the Mutant Mid-Century Furniture
The Dogfather
Brian Franks
Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood
Self
In Fidelity
Lyle Ayker
Looking for Kitty
Guy Borne
The Better Half
Daniel
WordGirl: The Rise of Ms. Power
Wake
Hot Mess Holiday
Mike
AJ's Infinite Summer
Dad (voice)
Evil Alien Conquerors
Du-ug
Farm Sluts
Larry
A Freezerburnt Christmas
The Religetables
Millennial Hunter
John (voice)
Yung Punx: A Punk Parable
therapist (voice)